Newspaper Page Text
"If human beings had genuine courage, they'd wear their costumes every day of the year,
not just on H alloween." - Douglas Coupland
• Opinions
• Community
Views
• Good Old
Common Sense
The Progress
Editorial
October 26,2023
True Grit: Surviving Bandtober
By Jennifer Paire
Contributing Writer
The jack-o’-lanterns and sugar highs
most of us associate with October don’t
hold a candle to the blood, sweat and
tears high school marching band students
have committed to get here.
For band kids across the country - in
cluding the 74 musicians and color guard
members making up the Pride of Pickens
Marching Band - this is Bandtober: the
culmination of months of intense physi
cal and mental commitment necessary to
vie for top ratings at October’s band
competitions.
As they take the field under Friday
Night Lights and at Saturday contests
these kids have invested the time equiv
alent of a part-time job for one reason -
they love it. Peek behind the scenes of
any band program and you will be
amazed by the hard work and school
pride willingly given to creating soul
stirring half-time shows.
The benefits of marching band are de
tailed in many articles and studies. The
social interaction and friendships, the
creativity, the lessons in teamwork and
personal growth cannot be emphasized
enough.
Band kids do hard things every time
they come together. It all starts in May
with a mini-camp that introduces next
season’s program. These kids give up a
quarter of their summer for band camp,
what can be a grueling two weeks in the
July heat. For rookies, learning what it is
to march for the first time; for seasoned
band kids they are starting with a brand
new program of music and marching ma
neuvers. Two to three several-hour prac
tices weekly begin with the school year,
sometimes in a stadium and often in
steamy, hot parking lots. They will have
sore muscles and achy backs, they will
battle dehydration and juggle homework.
During Bandtober they make it look
easy, but learning the combination of
counting steps, using peripheral vision to
ensure proper spacing, holding heavy in
struments and having perfect form does
not come easily to everyone. Band kids
are mastering these skills while learning
the music they will play in tandem with
each step.
Band kids learn so much more than
music. Christin Lawhorne, director of
bands for Pickens High School, is happy
to share lessons learned in band as long
as she has an audience.
Time management, empathy, problem
solving, and critical thinking skills are
only part of what band kids develop.
“There are so many things I get to
teach on the regular that are so important
to our everyday lives.”
Leadership, discipline, respect - every
single student in any marching band pro
gram is as important as the program as a
whole. These kids develop self esteem
and learn to trust themselves and to be
true to themselves. The art of communi
cation is a crucial part of the whole com
munity. These kids learn how to present
themselves on and off the field. Maybe
most importantly they learn to lose grace
fully because not every performance will
come off without a hitch.
They learn to weather the unknowns -
hot weather that leaves them swampy
under their uniforms, freezing weather
that makes their fingers numb, equipment
or instrument failures and wardrobe mal
functions that require flexibility. The de
termined marcher is one who does not
flinch when they step too wide and bust
the seam in their britches.
Band kids find community in a big
way. While the moniker “band kid” has
been misconstrued, these students de
serve to wear it like a badge of honor.
Band is a place where so many students
find their people; as a section they be
come a tight-knit group with common
goals. As a band member they develop
friendships that last far beyond high
school. These young people learn to rely
on one another on and off the field, sup
porting one another through all the ups
and downs of being teenagers.
Band kids are encouraged to be who
they are. And, amazingly, band kids don’t
have rivals. They love band kids from
other schools and clap the loudest for
their peers. They get to know one another
in line for concessions and sometimes
they have section battles. Drum lines in
vite other drum lines to play together on
the sidelines for the joy of drumming.
Pay attention to your marching bands
and these band kids. They have so much
to teach us.
Senior Moments
For better or worse
By Mary Migliaro
Ahh, romantic love. The
flowers, the music, and those
warm fuzzy feelings that give
your heart a buzz. Just look
around at all the commer
cials, watch the lovers (ac
tors) gazing lovingly into
each other’s eyes. Two beau
tiful people who never seem
to age. The ring, the gown,
the celebration.
Now fast forward to any
chaotic family rushing
around to keep up with kids,
dogs, crazy schedules, and
more. Not so romantic now,
is it?
How many of us tap into
the reality of what the vows
really mean when we make
them? The mind does not
travel into the future to see
the potential true reality.
How many married cou
ples ever envision dire cir
cumstances such as massive
debt, loss of a job, taking care
of a critically ill child or eld
erly parents? And how many
couples divorce when those
significant issues crash into
their “perfect” reality?
Lasting relationships are
like steel. Iron is repeatedly
exposed to the blast furnace
until it becomes steel. Rela
tionships repeatedly working
through tough issues get
stronger. Those are the rela
tionships that last for 40, 50
or even 60 years and more.
What are the qualities of
couples married for decades
and what can we leam from
them? Most importantly,
begin really learning about
each other before the wed
ding. Talk in detail about how
each of you view your work
ethic, money issues, even
parenting issues. Rarely do
couples have these discus
sions but they are important
because knowing how each
other will handle issues be
fore you face them, will go a
long way to navigating them
successfully.
Tips for couples.
Don't Be Afraid to Speak
Your Mind - If you can’t
speak openly and freely and
honor each other’s perspec
tive, you will not be able to
have sober discussions about
the issues you might face in
the future.
Don't Take It Personally -
If you disagree, remember
that no one is 100% wrong or
right. Be willing to try to see
the other person’s point of
view and be willing to com
promise, when necessary.
You are a team and should
function as such.
Learn Each Other's Argu
ment Style - Fight fair.
Agree on how you will han
dle disagreements and argu
ments.
Forgive and Forget-Above
all, don’t hold grudges. Once
an issue is dealt with, let it
go. Elephants never forget
but adults in committed rela
tionships should.
Never Lose Your Sense of
Humor - Try to weave
humor into your lives and
don’t be afraid to laugh at
yourself too.
Friendship First, Last, and
Always - Remember to be
not only lovers but friends. If
your relationship began as a
friendship, you are blessed.
Nurture that relationship.
Marriage is a marathon,
not a sprint so be sure you
understand what you are
signing up for. Enjoy the ro
mantic parts of your relation
ship but be realistic at the
same time. Don’t commit un
less you are prepared to go
the distance.
[Mary Migliaro. M.Ed.. a
Senior Golden Girl is an educa
tor and parent mentor. She may
be reached at
marymigliaro@aol.com.]
(USPS 431-820)
Published by Pickens County Progress, Inc.
94 North Main Street, Jasper, GA 30143
(706) 253-2457
www.pickensprogressonline.com
DAN POOL
Publisher/Editor
Published each Thursday at Jasper, Pickens County, Georgia.
Entered at the Post Office at Jasper, Georgia 30143
as Mail Matter of Second Class.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS, 94 N. Main St., Jasper, GA 30143.
One Year Subscription: $41.17 for residents of Pickens County
or the cities of Ball Ground, Fairmount, and Ranger;
$52.30 for all other Georgia residents; $62.32 out of state residents.
ikljool
Other Voices
Public Policy group releases report on home and lot size
minimums in Georgia, impacting housing affordability
By Joyce Dorian
North Georgia Mountain
Crisis Network, Inc.
According to The Na
tional Coalition Against Do
mestic Violence (NCADV),
domestic violence affects 1 in
4 women and 1 in 10 men in
our country. It does not dis
criminate by race, economic
status, religion or any other
factor.
People find themselves in
domestic violence situations
for many reasons, and there
are many complex and diffi
cult reasons they will choose
to stay. There are many peo
ple that mistakenly think do
mestic violence is only
physical abuse without real
izing that it takes many other
forms.
The NCADV states that
domestic violence is a pattern
of behavior which involves
abuse by one partner against
another in an intimate partner
relationship such as mar
riage, cohabitation, dating, or
family members living with
each other. The pattern of
abusive behavior is used by
one partner to gain and main
tain control over his/her part
ner.
These behaviors include:
physical abuse, emotional
abuse, financial abuse, sexual
abuse, intimidation, isolation,
using privilege, coercion,
threats, denying, minimizing
and blaming. The NCADV
also states that domestic vio
lence is the most underre
ported crime in our country
and yet in 2018, partner vio
lence accounted for 20% of
all violent crime. An alarm
ing statistic from the Vio
lence Policy Center,
American Roulette Murder-
Suicide in the United States
(2020) is that Georgia ranks
fourth in the nation for mur
der-suicide incidents. Some
may wonder why the person
being abused doesn’t leave.
The answer is usually
very complicated, which
often includes fear of retalia
tion. According to the Na
tional Coalition Against
Domestic Violence, women
who leave their abusive part
ners are at a 75% greater risk
of being killed than those
who stay. The North Georgia
Mountain Crisis Network
(NGMCN) is a resource for
anyone impacted by domes
tic violence. We have a
WEATHER
By William Dilbeck
HI LOW RAIN
Oct.
17
78
40
.00
Oct.
18
67
48
.00
Oct.
19
69
52
.13
Oct.
20
68
43
.03
Oct.
21
72
44
.00
Oct.
22
55
44
.00
Oct.
23
54
47
.00
24/7 hotline with trained ad
vocates answering the phone.
The advocates can answer
questions, provide resources,
create safety plans, help the
client find a safe place and
much more. NGMCN main
tains a confidential location
shelter that provides a safe
place, support and many re
sources to help the survivor
navigate the next steps to a
safer life. NGMCN also pro
vides shelter for men at an
other location.
Additionally, anyone who
has a safe place, can still be
served and helped by
NGMCN at our Outreach of
fice. Many of our clients
enter counseling, receive
needed medical attention,
leam new skills, obtain Tem
porary Protective Orders, and
are assisted with transitioning
into a new living situation
and much more. We have
helped several clients get se
curity systems to provide
them much more peace of
mind who were able to stay
in their homes after the
abuser left.
It is the hope of NGMCN
that anyone dealing with any
type of domestic violence
knows that we are here to
help. Some clients need time
to prepare to leave their abu
sive situations and will work
with an advocate to create a
safety plan.
We work with clients at
their pace. It is the mission of
The North Georgia Mountain
Crisis Network to provide
services and programs to em
power victims and survivors
of domestic violence and
sexual assault, that through
community partnerships and
education, we will foster un
wavering community support
for all victims and survivors.
Our 24/7 hotline number is
706-632-6400.
[Joyce Dorian M.Ed.,
Ed.S. is the Community Out
reach/Prevention & Educa
tion Coordinator for the
North Georgia Mountain
Crisis Network, Inc.]
If you spot an
error let us know
dpool@
pickensprogress.com
Local
Matters
Support
Community
Journalism
Subscribe ai
Pickensprogress.com
ESTATE SALE
Including farm equipment, to be
held on November 11 and 12
from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
at 2909 Jones Mountain Road,
Talking Rock, GA30175.
vole
Kirk Raffield
jasper Mayor