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4A Clje 1) eralb Tuesday, May 11,2021
Opinions
Ruffin's Renderings: Fogeyism
Did you celebrate Star
Wars Day on May the
fourth? Get it? Star Wars
Day on May the Fourth—
as in “May the Fourth be
with you!” Of you wor
ship in a liturgical tradi
tion, the proper response
is “And also with you!”)
(I could go on to
explain that it’s a play on
“May the Force be with
you,” but a pun that has
to be explained is a poor
pun. That reminds me of
a pun that appeared on
many church message
boards in the early days
of email: “God answers
knee mail.” It was a pret
ty good pun, as church
message board puns go.
But then I saw a church
message board that said,
“Like email, God answers
knee mail.” 1 thought,
“Way to disrespect the
intelligence of your
readers, church message
board message writer.”
It struck me as conde
scending, which means
to look down on).
I’m a casual Star Wars
Fan. I’ve seen all nine
films that constitute the
primary narrative. I’ve
also seen Rogue One. 1
haven’t gotten around to
Solo, but 1 have watched
the Mandalorian series.
I’ve seen none of the ani
mated series, and don’t
plan to.
1 said all that to say
that 1 don’t care about
Star Wars Day. 1 don’t ob
serve it. I wouldn’t miss
it if it never happened
again. 1 mean, it’s harm
less fun, but I don’t have
time for such frivolity.
Having said what 1 just
said, I’d like to go on to
observe that it doesn’t
matter whether or not 1
am a true Star
Wars devotee
and whether or
not 1 celebrate
Star Wars Day.
Frankly, 1 should
keep my per
spective on such
things to myself.
If you mention
something that
you enjoy that
means nothing
to me—things
such as birdwatching, ice
hockey, romance novels,
bungee jumping, card
games, reading Latin,
drinking Fresca, or listen
ing to polka music—1
contribute nothing to
the betterment of soci
ety by saying, “1 don’t
care about that.” In that
moment, all that should
matter to me is that you
care about it, and 1 care
about you, so I should be
happy for you.
1 should get
joy out of your
enjoyment,
even if 1 have
no idea why
you enjoy it.
My point is
that 1 don’t see
the point in
saying what 1
don’t like. Be
sides, to do so
can be a first
step toward automatical
ly responding negatively
to anything that 1 don’t
understand, that 1 can’t
relate to, or that strikes
me as being too new-fan
gled. 1 can’t do anything
about the fact that I’m
getting older, but 1 hope
and pray 1 won’t become
an old fogey.
1 wrote a poem about
what I’m trying to say.
It’s called “Hardening.” It
goes like this:
Three score and ten
seems fair.
But if you feel pretty
good as you get near it,
four score starts to
sound reasonable,
four score and ten at
tainable, and
five score not out of the
question.
Then you think about
how
your minor arthritis
might become major,
your occasional for
getfulness might become
frequent,
and your declining
hearing might go all the
way down,
and you tell yourself
well, none of that would
be so bad.
Minor inconveniences
requiring bearable adjust
ments.
But what if you become
more set in your ways,
more stuck in your
perspectives,
more callous in your
sympathies,
less open in your
search for truth?
And you find yourself
realizing
you’d rather go sooner
with hardened arteries
than later with hard
ened attitudes.
You may not like
poetry. If you don’t, see
what 1 said above about
things such as birdwatch
ing, ice hockey, romance
novels, bungee jump
ing, card games, reading
Latin, drinking Fresca, or
listening to polka music.
Mike Ruffin is a Barnesville native.
His new book, Praying with Matthew,
is available at helwys.com and Amazon.
Let me be me, and
I will let you be you
KAV S. PEDROTTI
kayspedrotti@gmail.com
The most destruc
tive word spoken today:
divide. The most im
portant word spoken
today: unity. Why do we
continue to believe in
ourselves as “groups”?
We get labeled “privi
leged whites,” “perse
cuted blacks,” “intruder
Hispanics,” “underpaid
women,” “Asian
interlopers,”
“angry red
necks,” “domi
nant males”
- the beat goes
on. Even older,
wiser folk are
often labeled
“a burden to
society.”
If 1 remem
ber everything I’ve
learned from school and
church, all of us were
created as individuals.
A large majority of us
never has followed a
KoolAid cult and never
will. But how many
today find ourselves
drinking bitter potions
of demands that we ad
here to our stereotypes,
or be ostracized, exiled,
beat down or forgotten?
Witness what one politi
cian said to an African
American Republican
leader: “If you are not
a Democrat, you ain’t
black.”
Last 1 heard, your as
signed “group” was not
based on how you vote,
but could be determined
from those places-in-
society which have
been chosen for us, (in
the majority of cases).
Many of us broke away
from our upbringing -
whether riches, poverty,
ignorance or accident
of disability- years
ago. Many, many who
were condemned to “be
criminals” have excelled
in education and fought
their way to comfort
able lives and adept
leadership, no matter
which race.
Families, homes,
churches and other
gatherings of humans
have been tortured and
torn apart by differing
“political views,” and
for WHAT? So we can
pat ourselves on our
backs and say, “It’s okay,
because I’m right!” So
we can claim unearned
positions and
benefits based
on past wrongs?
So we can feel
better about
whichever party
is in charge in
Washington? So
we can swear
the United
States is go
ing to hell in a
handbasket and there’s
nothing we can do about
it?
But, my friends -
there is something we
can do. No one can be
entirely wrong or right
about everything. With
very few exceptions, no
one is so inherently evil
as to deserve complete
destruction. 1 very much
like, or even love in dif
ferent degrees, almost
everyone 1 know.
Those 1 don’t care
for I avoid, but when
there is a reason to give
them credit for some
thing good, 1 do. 1 try to
remember that every
one of us is an indi
vidual, with our stellar
qualities and those that
don’t appear worthy to
somebody else.
The best thing we can
do: unite, work together
for the good of all, and
stop handing the politi
cians the handbasket.
Kay S. Pedrotti has spent some
50 years writing for newspapers. She
is active in the Lamar County com
munity and currently serves as the
president of Lamar Arts. She lives in
Milner with her husband Bob Pedrotti.
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^ CAN'T SAY— N
TH'PURPOSE OF
FISHIN'ISNOTTO
b KNOW WHEN!
^ WHEN WILL x
WE GET BACK FROM
. FISHIN' DADDY? /.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Reader questions placement of news articles
Just a short note to let
you know that I thought
it was in very poor taste
that on the front page
of your April 27, 2021
publication you felt the
need to put the article
about Saffron Abreu on
the same page, same day
as the picture of her ar
rested grandfather.
It really makes for a
nice keepsake for the
young lady who has
worked to become STAR
student of LCHS. Good
thinking!
BILL SPRINGER
mi ii
RACHEL MCDANIEL / THE HERALD GAZETTE
Sophie Crooms (holding her winning photo) won the Towaliga CASA (Court Appointed Special
Advocates) Coloring Contest held during Child Abuse Prevention month. Pictured with her are
her cousins, sibling and mom (front row l-r) Sophie Crooms, Kendyl Davis (second row l-r) Lilia
Davis, Camden Crooms, Kaden Davis (back row l-r) as well as Georgia Hooks and Mary Ann
Leveritt of Towaliga CASA and her mom Brittany Crooms.
Local wins CASA/DFCS coloring contest
Towaliga CASA (Court
Appointed Special Ad
vocates), serving Lamar
and Butts County, in
partnership with the local
Departments of Family
and Children Services, re
cently hosted a coloring
contest to bring aware
ness to April being Child
Abuse Prevention month.
Sophie Crooms, age 9,
won the coloring contest
for Lamar County and has
received a $25 gift card
for her excellent coloring,
said CASA volunteer su
pervisor Georgia Hooks.
“Thanks to Sophie, her
mother and all involved
in preventing child abuse
in our counties,” she
said. “If you would like to
learn more about becom
ing a CASA volunteer to
advocate for children in
foster care, email Mary
Ann Leverett at mlever-
ett@tacourts.com or call
her at 478-394-0315.”
May 9-15
10 years ago
FEMA set up a disas
ter center at the old
Barnesville Academy
gym to assist locals
impacted by the April
28 killer tornado. State
defense force person
nel assigned here were
gaining weight. “1 worked
so hard, got so little
sleep and still gained
20 pounds. Whomever
made the peach cobbler
is in line for a proposal of
marriage,” Col. Michael
Worthington said.
25 years ago
Armed robberies were
on the rise in the com
munity. The Red Apple
store on Atlanta Street
had been hit twice in 17
days. A quick-thinking
clerk spoiled a robbery
at Hot Shot. Her hero
ics led to the arrest of
26-year-old Kevin Nichols
who fled the crime scene
on a bicycle.
50 years ago
Sharon Blevins, a fifth
grader at the Thomaston
Street School, repre
sented Lamar schools at
the district spelling bee.
Sharon, the daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Harold
Blevins, finished fourth.
The top three finishers
were eighth graders.
100 years ago
A jolly fishing party
left Barnesville Tuesday
morning for the Satilla
River, where they know
the fish to be, on a trip to
last several days, dur
ing which their friends
throughout this vicinity
wish for them every pos
sible pleasure, recreation
and sport. On the trip
were W. A. LeSueur, J. B.
Fleming, W. H. and Theo
dore Crowder, J. S. Talley,
John G. Colbert, Frank
Askin, Curtis Sykes, Van
Milner, Cohen Milner, W.
A. Sullivan, A. H. Mc
Carty, Sam Fortson, W. N.
Reeves, George William
son, Dewey Farr and two
cooks.
Zi)t Umltr feette
barnesville.com
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