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4A ®Ijt l)pra(b <©a??ttf Tuesday, May 4,2021
Opinions
Geiger's Counter: Come fall in love with soccer
I spent several hours
Saturday at the recre
ation department soccer
complex. Several match
es were ongoing simul
taneously all through
the morning and early
afternoon. Other local
teams were playing on
the road.
Parking was at a
premium. Excited soc
cer players from tod
dlers to teenagers were
running all over the
place. Coaches hoarse
from screaming were in
various stages of elation
and frustration. 1 thought
back 20 years to when
our daughters began to
play. There was one game
at a time, maybe two on
a busy day. Most parents,
including this one, didn’t
know the rules.
Our youngest tried out
for the area’s first acad
emy team and made it.
My soccer journey began
and 1 have enjoyed every
minute of it. For the past
several years 1 have had
the pleasure of working
with the LC Lightning se
lect team, the first such
team made up almost
entirely of Lamar County
girls. Eleven of them, all
but one being freshmen,
play on the Lamar Coun
ty varsity girls team now
and are key contributors
because they were im
mersed in fundamentals
very young under coach
Jeff Mason.
It is amazing how
much these young ladies
have grown and devel
oped since 1 went to my
first practice with them
in the summer
of 2018.
Last week,
1 watched the
Lady Trojans
easily win a
Sweet 16 playoff
game 1 thought
they might lose
before a huge
crowd at the
new soccer sta
dium. It was the
largest crowd
1 have seen at
a high school
soccer match.
The following
day, the Trojans also won
a Sweet 16 match and
nearly duplicated the
crowd size. It was thrill
ing to hear the crowd
chant “LC. LC. LC.” at
soccer matches.
Coaches Wayne Cal
vert and Don-
tauneia Traylor
of the Lady
Trojans and Ed
Jules and Ricci
Jules of the
Trojans have
guided their
teams to the
Elite 8 round
of the play
offs. That has
happened only
once before in
2014.
Which brings
us to Wednes
day, which will
be a mammoth day for
LC soccer. Both LC teams
drew Bremen as their
next opponent. Both the
Blue Devils and Lady
Devils are ranked #1 in
the state. They will be
here for a soccer playoff
doubleheader in which
both LC teams will be
underdogs looking to
slay Goliath.
The games have huge
implications for this sea
son but will also serve
as a barometer of local
player development.
Both LC teams are young
with perhaps their best
years ahead of them. Can
these teams - and these
players - take that next
step and prove them
selves to be elite?
1 have spent the last
three years working with
the Lamar middle school
girls and have watched
the middle school boys
closely. Coaches Kelly
Adamson and Chaz Eller-
bee are doing a great job
grooming their players.
Rest assured, there is tal
ent - a lot of talent - in the
pipeline.
Wednesday provides
an opportunity for this
program to emerge as a
dominant one. It will be
an evening to remem
ber. If you are already a
soccer fan, this is about
as good as it gets at
the high school level. If
you are not a fan, come
expose yourself to what
fans worldwide call ‘the
beautiful game’. The ac
tion begins at 5:30 p.m.
Bring a chair. It will be
a packed house!
Walter Geiger is editor and pub
lisher of The Herald-Gazette and Pike
County Journal Reporter. He can
be reached by email at news@
barnesville.com.
GEIGER’S
COUNTER
Walter Geiger
Editor & Publisher
Kudzu and Clay:
Pickle juice
Mosquitoes
and chiggers
have been an
arch-enemy
of mine since
before 1 can
remember.
Georgia would
be an absolute
paradise if it
weren’t for these
two insects. I’d
trade every one
of them for a
new species of
tick, even if it ex
clusively targeted one’s
nether regions. There
have been times that I
have had so many chig-
ger bites on my ankles
from walking through a
pine forest I was certain
I was going to fall over
dead because of blood
loss. Then when I didn’t
die from blood loss I was
certain I would die from
the treatments adminis
tered for these bites.
For chigger bites, the
solution in our house
was an oatmeal bath. No
problems there. Nothing
better than a nice hot
bath in soothing, milky
oatmeal. But the relief
from the terrible itching
only lasts for as long as
you’re in the water, after
that you’re right back to
tearing away at your skin
for sweet relief. That’s
when my dad used to
hold me down while my
mother would paint each
and every little wound
with fingernail polish.
The burning from apply
ing enamel straight to ex
posed flesh is so intense
I wouldn’t be surprised if
it’s been used in terrorist
interrogations.
The thing with the
fingernail polish is that
it is supposed to kill this
tiny little insect that
has burrowed into your
skin by cutting off its air
supply. Maybe it does,
but it doesn’t matter
because the key point
is that an insect has
already crawled under
your skin. Dead or alive,
makes no difference, it
still itches, and with the
combination of fingernail
polish, it’s really just a
cruel punishment. What
would be ideal is a way
to prevent these animals
from attacking in the first
place. But there is no bug
spray on the market that
will keep away mosqui
tos or chiggers. I don’t
care if it is so potent
it causes cancer the
minute it hits your skin,
these parasitic demons
will land on that tumor
and eat it just the same.
At some point in the
early 90s, my dad got
to talking to an old lady
that had a local claim
to fame as the first and
longest-serving Cub
Scout Den Mother in the
county. How they got to
talking about mosquitoes
and chiggers is
beyond me, but
that is where
the subject
landed and she
imparted some
sage wisdom
to him. She
told him that
the only way
to keep these
things at bay
was to drink
pickle juice
before you went
outside, and
if that didn’t work, salt
and vinegar potato chips
would work in a pinch.
This would be some
thing most people would
dismiss immediately as
an old wives’ tale consid
ering the source was, in
fact, an old wife, but not
my father. His respect
for elder scouting folks
was enormous, and if
this oracle said it, it must
have been true. Lucky for
us kids we had a camp
ing trip coming up the
next week. This time we
would be insect-free for
the entirety.
Dressed in full Scout
regalia, we found our
selves standing in front
of a jar of pickles, sans
pickles, and a big bag of
salt and vinegar potato
chips. We were instruct
ed to start drinking. At
first, it didn’t seem like a
bad idea. I liked pickles.
I used pickle juice all
the time to lubricate my
mother’s famous carbon-
cheese sandwiches. But
a sprinkle of pickle juice
and a gulp are two differ
ent things entirely, and
to drink directly from the
pickle jar seemed bar
baric. Dad wasn’t going
to take no for an answer.
I took a mighty gulp and
tried my hardest not to
gag. I kept it down and
went to the chip por
tion of the experiment.
I didn’t like salt and
vinegar chips back then
and I still don’t, but after
gulping pickle juice they
taste just like regular
chips.
As we drove to the
campsite we all broke
into a sweat. “That must
mean it’s working,” the
old man said. As I put
up my tent, my stomach
churned, and I couldn’t
help but notice a cloud
of mosquitoes gathered
around me just like any
other time. By the time
the campout was over
I had lost a gallon of
blood, my ankles were
raw from scratching, and
to top that off some
how I managed to get a
scorpion bite. After the
traditional oatmeal bath
and fingernail polish tor
ture, my dad inspected
my scorpion bite and
immediately attached a
bandage full of greasy ba
con fat to it. “I hear that
sucks the poison out.”
KUDZU &
CLAY
Chris Walter
FLASHBACK
In honor of
Elizabeth Sellers
May 2-8
Gordon State College holds
first-year finish celebration
Gordon State College
held its First-Year Finish
Celebration on April 22
to honor the freshman
class for its perseverance
and success during the
2020-21 academic year.
The event recognized the
substantial developmen
tal transition of students
making it through the
first year of college.
Students who at
tended the event were
greeted by the dean of
their respective school at
GSC, including Dr. Joseph
Jones of the School of
Education, Mathematics
and Applied Sciences,
Dr. Barry Kicklighter of
the School of Business,
Liberal Arts, and Social
Sciences and Dr. Victor
Vilchiz of the School
of Nursing, Health and
Natural Sciences.
“It was a special day at
Gordon State College as
we recognized these stu
dents for their determi
nation and commitment
during these challenging
times,” said Dr. Kirk A.
Nooks, GSC president.
“I am pleased that Dr.
Raynie took the initiative
to honor these women
and men and bring High
lander Nation together
for this special event.”
Dr. Stephen A. Raynie,
professor of English at
GSC who organized the
event, urged students
to keep making good
choices.
“Discover work that
awakens in them a deep
passion,” Raynie said.
Students also heard
from Dr. C. Jeffery Knigh
ton, Provost and Vice
President for Academic
Affairs, who focused on
the Highlander EDGE
- Engaged Learners,
Dedicated Scholars,
Gifted Communicators
and Ethical Leaders - the
qualities of character
intentionally cultivated
throughout GSC.
“It was indeed a day in
which we took time out
of our busy schedules to
reflect on what these stu
dents have accomplished
this academic year,”
Knighton said. “During
these unprecedented
times, they have contin
ued to work diligently to
achieve in the classroom
and look forward to a
bright future.”
10 years ago
Lamar was digging
out from a killer tornado
that ripped through the
county in the wee hours
of April 28. There were
two fatalities and count
less miraculous tales of
survival. Aid was pour
ing in from all over the
southeast as were vol
unteers to help with the
cleanup, a massive task.
25 years ago
There were multiple
winners at the annual
awards banquet. They
were: E. P. Roberts,
citizen of the year; Panzy
Cherry, career woman
of the year; Wendell
Morgan, farmer of the
year; Reginald House,
law enforcement officer
of the year; Kate Wood,
STAR student; Michael
McCauley, STAR teacher;
Shanna English, volun
teer of the year; and Alan
Hudson, business person
of the year.
50 years ago
Federal and state rev
enue agents and sheriff
J. C. Waller and his men
busted a big liquor still
less that a mile from
the Barnesville city
limits on Forsyth Road
near a swimming pool.
They also seized slot
machines, pornographic
films and a projector.
Three arrests were made.
All the suspects were
local.
100 years ago
Messrs. J. A. Roberts
and A. L. Watts this week
bought out the barber
shop on Zebulon Street
from Mr. J. W. Bowers.
Both of these gentlemen
are popular gentlemen
and excellent barbers
and will conduct their
place of business in a
way to merit and win a
liberal patronage.
SUBMITTED
Dr. Kirk A. Nooks, president of Gordon State College, addresses the audience during the
First-Year Finish Celebration on April 22.
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