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4A die l)pra(& Tuesday, July 27,2021
Opinions
Kudzu & Clay: Southern glitter
As all kids do, 1 had a
fascination with glitter.
Something about the
sparkles really did it for
me. My art supplies were
pretty limited back then.
I had a pack of broken
crayons, a collection of
notepads from drug com
panies my mom would
bring home from work,
and some of my dad’s
carpenter pencils. If
you’ve ever tried to draw
more than a straight line
with one of those barbar
ian implements you have
my respect and are well
on your way to a lucra
tive career in the arts.
Needless to say, some
thing like glitter was a
luxury item that was not
readily available, kind of
like spices were in me
dieval times. If I wanted
something like glitter it
would take begging and
pleading. My parents
would have had to drive
to a Walmart, which was
fifteen minutes away
in either direction and
only reserved for special
occasions, emergencies,
or beer on Sunday. If you
have ever lived
in a dry county
and not had beer
on Sunday...it’s
an emergency.
I think my par
ents saw some
artistic talent in
me back then,
so my dad, in
an effort to not
totally squash
my dreams and
avoid the long
drive to a metro
politan area, de
vised a kill two birds with
one stone plan. He gave
m
KUDZU &
CLAY
Chris Walter
me a plastic
bag and re
ferred me to a
spot by a shed
and an out
door sink in
our neighbor’s
backyard. He
told me to
look around
and I’d find all
the glitter I’d
ever need.
I went back
there and sure
enough, in a
moist area by the sink,
there were some shiny
flecks of something. It
wasn’t exactly glitter
but when I used some
of my Dad’s wood glue
to attach it to a piece of
pharmaceutical notepad,
if the sun was shining
in a certain way, you
could make out a distinct
sparkle and glint. I used
to spend hours on those
masterpieces but none of
them survived.
Come to find out our
neighbor was an avid
fisherman in his day and
the spot next to his shed
is where he scaled his
fish. “Fresher the fish,
fresher the glitter,” my
dad would remark. I don’t
recall ever having any of
my artwork hung up on
the refrigerator from that
period and I guess I know
why. But hey, anything’s
better than that drive to
Walmart.
Chris Walter is a writer, artist,
and Barnesville native. He has just
published his first book, “Southern
Glitter”. You can find more informa
tion about his art and writings at
kudzuandclay.com.
Those were the
weeks that truly
were - great!
KAY S. PEDROTTI
kayspedrotti@gmail.com
Many folks I know can
agree that when some
thing wonderful is ac
complished in one week
when
work
ing with
chil
dren, it
is truly
a great
experi
ence.
That happened to
Lamar Arts July 5-9 in art
camp, and July 12-16 in
theatre camp. Counting
all the attendees during
the first week, there were
24 kids in art camp. It’s
not an exaggeration to
say that “a good time was
had by all.” We had some
fluctuation in numbers:
first day 22, next day 24,
then two days at 23 and
the last day 19 because
family trips already had
been planned.
Not a single student
or parent was unhappy -
although we did not hear
from the one student
who attended only one
day. I’m sorry that hap
pened; I would have done
everything possible to
make the camp a better
experience for him.
The instructors in
cluded Robert Barber, a
recent addition to the LA
board of directors and a
very creative artist. He
had each project well-
planned for the first two
days - he and the vol
unteer who made TWO
weeks run smoothly,
board member Terri
Edmonson. Three other
board members were in
dispensable volunteers:
Bill Bonner, Jeanie Wake
field and Eric Edmonson.
A very faithful gallery
greeter (our new name
for the docents who keep
our open hours on week
ends), also a Grandma,
Susan Allen, added her
years of expertise as
a teacher to the job of
volunteer.
Jennifer Castellanos,
Lamar County Elemen
tary School art teacher,
managed a generally yak-
kety bunch of students
for the last three days of
art camp. She sent them
home with terrific little
projects and paintings
and was the soul of kind
ness and patience. On
Friday, there were sev
eral who asked me, “Ms.
Kay, can we just stay at
art camp?” It was hard to
say “no,” but next year
maybe we can do two
weeks for each kind of
camp.
Drama camp was di
rected by Carol Parrish,
longtime Lamar County
teacher and drama
coach, and a painter in
her own right. Two rising
senior students, Emily
Danielson and Madelyn
Harris, assisted her,
along with Terri, Bill and
Susan. I was the registrar
and snack-fixer, two fun
jobs, and helped when
I was needed. The play
the drama group created
featured seven players
and two narrators; it
included a “magical tree”
and some lessons in get
ting along with diverse
kinds of characters. It
was well-attended by
parents, other relatives
and friends.
My heartfelt thanks go
out to all those men
tioned above, and those
I may have forgotten to
include. And do let me
add big thanks to Lamar
Gives 365, which pro
vided the grant to do the
camps, since Lamar Arts
was unable to do fund
raising because of the
pandemic. We do truly
live in a wonderful place,
where people care!
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.
CALENDAR ITEM,
Email news@barnes-
ville.com or call 770.358.
NEWS to have an event
published as a calen
dar item in The Herald
Gazette.
• Back-2-School
Bash: Saturday, July 31
from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m.
Summers Field Park,
Barnesville hosted by
Niya Chambers. School
supplies and back packs
available while enjoy
ing live music, bounce
house, games and more,
for information or ques
tions contact Niya Cham
bers via Facebook.
• The Milner Commu
nity Library Board has
scheduled a called meet
ing on Thursday July 29
at 5 p.m. at the library to
discuss personnel and
five year budget propos
als.
• Cooling assistance
is available for Lamar
County residents accord
ing to the Middle Georgia
Community Action Agen
cy. Households where all
members are at least 65
years of age, homebound
households or other in
come eligible households
may call 1-844-588-1552
or go online to https://
mgcaa.appointment.
works/ea/home to set up
a phone appointment.
Scheduled appointments
will be done by phone
interviews. Clients will
be contacted on or be
fore their scheduled date
and time to complete the
phone interview process.
No walk-in appointments.
DonA Traylor-Askew
commemorates ‘96 Olympics
EDITOR’S NOTE: DonA Traylor
Askew, a LC grad and current journal
ism major at the University of Georgia,
wrote this piece which was published
last week in the Atlanta Journal-
Constitution.
BY DONA TRAYLOR-ASKEW
In 1996, Olympic
athletes and thousands
of others relayed the
Olympic torch across
the United States, carry
ing the flame that would
remain lit until the closing
ceremony. Boxing great
Muhammad Ali had been
secretly designated to
light the Olympic caul
dron at the opening
ceremony in Atlanta.
Ali was battling Parkin
son’s disease, a disorder
of the central nervous
system affecting move
ment and often causing
tremors. Still, he rose to
the occasion in front of a
worldwide audience.
Former University of
Georgia basketball player
Teresa Edwards watched
from the front row of
center stage. Two days
earlier, she carried the
Olympic torch for a relay
leg in Athens.
The Atlanta Games
were the fourth of her five
Olympic appearances,
in which she won four
gold medals. She had
been elected to recite the
Olympic oath, on behalf
of all competing athletes,
immediately following the
lighting of the cauldron.
“The 1996 Olympics
was just special all
around for me because it
was in Atlanta; it was in
Georgia, my home state. It
was a lot to take in. I was
born and raised in Geor
gia and I think what really
let me know I was born
for that moment- the
opening ceremony was on
my birthday.”
“That little child in me
was excited just to see
who was going to light the
cauldron. I was just sitting
on the edge. So I remem
ber vividly. I remember
being escorted down
Atlanta
1996
OQP
backwards into the stadi
um. I remember standing
around below that giant
stage that I had to go up
on after the lighting of the
cauldron. I just remem
ber being really nervous,
and all of a sudden, I saw
Muhammad Ali.”
“I just know I saw
his forehead, I saw that
haircut-1 can see it now,
vividly-1 saw the skin tone
of him, the shape of that
boxer’s body even in that
old man’s body. As soon as
I saw him, I just knew. He’s
such an iconic figure.”
“I just burst. That
energy, the adrenaline,
the excitement, oh, it just
came bursting through
me. And I started jump
ing and screaming down
there and trying to be
cool at the same time.
But, really, nobody was
watching me, so who
cares? I just remember
getting all that energy out
screaming and somehow
that was so exhilarating.
For us to see someone
higher than us, it was just
amazing. We’ve made it to
the Olympics. We’re the
best in the world; to be
able to look up to some
one higher than you is an
amazing feeling. It was
one heck of a special mo
ment. If the United States
Olympic Committee ever
got it right, they got it
right that year- for me,
and I think for everybody,
for the entire world. Just
the sheer willpower, just
to hold the torch and to
be able to do that.”
“I read that his mind
wasn’t shaking but his
body was. But I was walk
ing with him. I wanted
him to get that thing up
there. It’s like he took on
everyone’s strength and
we walked with him, we
shook with him, we held it
with him.”
“It’s probably one of
the most exciting Olym
pic opening ceremony
moments in the history
of my experiences. It
definitely impacted my
life tremendously because
he was just a man of so
much for everybody. He’s
kind of like Martin Luther
King to me- a man that
wasn’t afraid to walk in
the fire. Sometimes the
moment goes so fast that
you’re like wow, you want
it to repeat itself. But it
was like it just played out
in a movie for me. It was
very spiritual, kindred,
and it was everlasting.”
’’When I say spiritual
I knew it was a moment
that God had already set
into place before Mu-
hammed Ali was born-
because it wasn’t luck and
it didn’t just happen. You
had to put a lot of things
together for a long time
and spiritually speaking,
putting a lot of things
together and working
and imagining yourself
in greatness is a process.
And to me his life was a
process. It was a process
of many things and how
that came together and
how most people would
probably say he was hum
bled in his old age, but
he was supposed to be
whatever he was at that
time. So spiritually speak
ing, even in humbleness,
he was so powerful.”
To commemorate the
25th Anniversary of the
1996 Atlanta Olympic
Games, DonA Traylor-
Askew completed this
interview as a student at
the UGA’s Carmical Sports
Media Institute. She will
begin her third year in the
Fall of2021.
July 25-31
10 years ago
Frenchie McKenzie
Fambro, 48, was arrested
on murder charges
following the shooting
death of Christopher
Martin Stepanski, 26,
who resided on Holmes
Street. The pair got into
an altercation in the
parking lot at JR’s Food
Mart on College Drive
and Stepanski was shot
multiple times. Fambro
was not prosecuted due
to Georgia’s stand your
ground statute. On June
13, 2019, Fambro shot
and killed A1 Ogletree
and Charlie Sutton be
fore taking his own life.
25 years ago
Fugitive Eddie James
Dixson, 31, of Barnesville
was located and arrested
on charges of malice
murder and possession
of a firearm during the
commission of a felony.
He shot Lucille Hughes
Smith, 33, in the head
with a .45 caliber hand
gun in the wee hours
of the morning at the
American Legion on
Roberts Road. Smith
was a former basketball
star at LCCHS. Dixson is
currently serving a life
sentence at Wilcox State
Prison.
50 years ago
Merritt Taylor, son
of Mr. and Mrs. Sam
Taylor of Barnesville,
was electrocuted while
working on a construc
tion project in Rome,
Ga. Lie was rushed to a
hospital where doctors
were forced to amputate
one leg above the knee.
Taylor was said to be
improving.
100 years ago
Judge James M. Smith,
who had been ill for sev
eral months at his home
on Sardis Street, died
early last Friday morn
ing, his death having
been expected for sev
eral days, as he had be
come worse several days
before, and had been in
an almost unconscious
condition for days before
the end came. He was 70
years old. The funeral
was held at First Baptist
Church with burial in
Zebulon.
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