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Page 4A - Pike County Journal Reporter - Wednesday, April 14, 2021
Opinions
Ruffin’s Renderings: Decisions, decisions
R esearchers
estimate that a
person makes
about 35,000 decisions
each day.
No, I don’t know how
they arrived at that num
ber. I do know that I just
made a quick decision
not to spend any time
trying to find out.
Yes, I think that
number is too high. I
mean, it must be, right?
But I don’t have enough
information to make a
decision on the figure’s
accuracy.
It just feels high to
me. But we never make
decisions based on our
feelings rather than on
facts, do we?
Of course, we make
many decisions without
giving them any thought.
For example, 1 just
decided to rub my chin
thoughtfully. Ironically, I
did so without thinking
about it.
On one hand, such
decisions usually don’t
matter, so it usually
doesn’t matter that we
don’t think about them.
On the other hand, you
never know how differ
ently things might have
gone had you turned left
instead of right as you
drove out of the grocery
store parking lot last
Friday or had you left
work at 5:32 rather than
at 5:34 on that rainy
Tuesday 14 years ago.
Still, it seems to me
that we too often make
big decisions without
thinking about
them.
Sometimes
it can’t be
helped. Situa
tions can de
velop quickly
or unexpected
ly that require
us to make a
split-second
decision. We
can all think
of obvious
examples. If someone
suddenly stops their
car right in front of you,
you’re going to stomp on
your brake pedal with
out thinking about it.
Or maybe that’s not
as much of a split-sec
ond decision as it seems.
Maybe it’s more ac
curate to say that your
split-second
decision is the
end result of a
lifetime of driv
ing experience
(not to mention
a lifetime of
practicing self-
preservation).
Now that 1
think about it, 1
wonder if a lot
of the deci
sions that we
seem to make without
thinking are actually the
culmination of a lifetime
of thinking, considering,
experiencing, and react
ing.
Maybe we should
keep that in mind when
we have a “the right
response to that is so
obvious, 1 don’t even
have to think about it”
moment.
Maybe we should
remember that it is the
sum total of our experi
ences that make that
“right” response seem so
obviously “right” to us.
Maybe we should
consider that our experi
ences can sometimes
affect our thinking and
responding in less than
healthy ways. Certainly
we should remember
that not everyone has
had experiences that
lead them to have the
same response that we
have. Maybe we should
consider the possibility
that we might be wrong
- or at least not totally
right.We can’t go back
and change our lives. We
can’t change our experi
ences.
But we can reflect on
why we react to events
and occurrences as we
do. And we can commit
to paying more attention
to our lives from this
moment forward.
We can work on hav
ing our character be
formed by principles
and commitments that
will cause us to have
split-second reactions
that are worthy expres
sions of a life committed
to - dare 1 suggest the
possibility - love.
Mike Ruffin is a Barnesville native
who lives in Yatesville and works in
Macon. His new book, Praying with
Matthew, is available at helwys.com
and at Amazon.
Ruffin’s
Renderings
LETTERS T<
THE EDITOR
Farm Bureau applauds Supreme
Court ruling in water lawsuit
On April 1, the U.S. Su
preme Court unanimously
ruled in Georgia’s favor in
a lawsuit filed by Florida
over access to water in
the Chattahoochee and
Flint rivers. Florida filed
the suit in 2013, claiming
that Georgia overuses
water from the two rivers,
which feed into the Apala
chicola River in Florida,
ultimately winding up in
Apalachicola Bay, where a
large portion of Florida’s
oyster production occurs.
Florida first directed
blame on metro Atlanta,
which draws water from
Lake Lanier, which is fed
by the Chattahoochee.
Florida later took aim at
farm use of water from the
Flint River in Southwest
Georgia. Florida asked
the court to place severe
water use restrictions that
would have caused enor
mous economic harm to
southwest Georgia farms
and their communities.
Georgia Farm Bureau is
pleased with the Supreme
Court’s ruling in Georgia’s
favor in the lawsuit over
access to water from the
Chattahoochee and Flint
Rivers. Farmers could
have been devastated by
the severe restrictions
Florida proposed. The
state of Georgia and farm
ers have implemented nu
merous water conserva
tion measures in the past
25 years that preserve
water and minimize the
amount of water Georgia
farmers use to grow their
crops. We think the Su
preme Court recognized
this with its ruling.
TOM MCCALL
GFB PRESIDENT
Join efforts to keep Pike clean
While driving around
the country roads and
main highways of Pike, 1
marvel at its beauty. See
ing litter along these love
ly roads, however, breaks
my heart and makes me
sad. This is 2021, not
1970. There is so much
information today about
the environment and what
litter does to our lands,
that doing better in 2021
is so important. There
was nothing wrong with
1970 (personally my era)
however, folks were not as
environmentally knowl
edgeable during this time.
It means so much to see
the highways clean of
litter.
Volunteering to clean
up Pike is also important
to me. We, in Pike County,
are truly blessed with the
beauty of our county.
Litter does not belong on
these beautiful country
roads or highways.
Making Pike clean of lit
ter makes the land value
improve and visitors
excited to see our com
munity. Just cleaning up
near my driveway and
neighborhood is helpful.
1 am going to be at the
“Spring Fling Pike Clean
Up” on April 24 to help
Clean Up Pike. 1 hope oth
ers will join!
Nature offers a great
deal to our mental and
physical health. Cleaning
Up Pike adds to my own
well-being. We all can do a
little to help a lot. Let the
clean up begin.
PATTY GILLELAND
THINKING FOR A CHANGE
Baloney!
BY ANTHONY VINSON
advkdv@att.net
When
1 was 12
years old,
1 saw the
Patterson
foot
age. Not
nearly as
famous
among the general pub
lic as the Zapruder film,
the cameraman taking
the Patterson footage
clearly follows a female
Sasquatch across an
open clearing and into
the tulgey woods. The
hairs on the back of
my neck stood at rigid
attention. Bigfoot was
real! Morning walks to
the bus stop past the
woodsy pine forest
along our street became
fright fests as every
skitter of unseen animal
became in my imagina
tion a huge, hulking,
hairy beast.
Eventually I discov
ered that the famed
footage was a hoax.
The shuffling creature 1
feared was nothing more
than a man in a modi
fied gorilla suit. Rather
than disappointment, 1
felt shame. How could I
have fallen prey to such
an obvious prank? Well,
the answer was simple
enough, it was because 1
was predisposed to cer
tain beliefs, and the film
served to both justify
and reinforce them.
For the longest time 1
believed in the existence
of visiting aliens, bug
eyed, grey-skinned, and
overly interested in cer
tain parts of the human
anatomy. The Loch Ness
Monster, biorhythms,
mood rings, reincarna
tion, malevolent spir
its... 1 believed in it all.
Or at least I wanted to
believe. And why not?
Growing up in the 60s
and 70s there was plenty
of supporting documen
tation in the form of
“nonfiction” books and
documentaries. All of
which were eventually
outed as false. Sigh. So, I
became a skeptic.
Scientific skepticism
is a philosophy that
demands evidence over
anecdote. Skeptics seek
truths through evidence,
and attempt to follow
the evidence even when
it contradicts prior con
ceptions and beliefs. To
some, this seems a fool
ish way to approach life,
when in fact it seems
to us the only practical
solution in a world filled
with falsities, foolers,
and fantastical claims
that defy reality. The
choice between blind
belief and informed evi
dence is, to us, sane and
sensible.
1 am fortunate to have
adopted the mantle of
skeptic long before the
advent of the internet
and its often-evil off
spring, social media.
The spread of misin
formation, disinforma
tion, and outright BS,
has been rendered as
easy-peasy as hunting,
pecking, and smacking
the Enter key. Anyone
can participate in the
perpetuation of errone
ous information. And
boy do they ever!
In his wonderful
book, The Demon-Haunt
ed World: Science as a
Candle in the Dark, the
astronomer and philoso
pher Carl Sagan pres
ents his Baloney Detec
tion Kit, a series of eight
tools to “scientifically
separate sense from
nonsense.” In short, he
recommends, avoid
ing arguments from
authority, demanding
independent confirma
tion of “facts”, encourag
ing debate by experts
that represent various
theories and points
of view, examining all
possible hypotheses,
ensuring that all links in
causal chains of reason
ing support the premise,
exercising falsifiability
by working to prove pet
theories wrong, and ap
plying Occam’s Razor -
the simplest explanation
supporting the evidence
is usually correct.
Most of the monsters
we believe in are not
real. Careful application
of Sagan’s tools would
alleviate a great deal of
the collective misery
we all experience when
exposed to silly, sense
less conspiracy theories
and partisan political
pandering. The facts
are not always sexy, but
they are always depend
able. If, that is, you are
willing to spend the time
and energy required to
find them and to believe
them when you do.
Think about it!
Anthony Vinson is a freelance
writer, speaker and humorist for hire.
He lives in Williamson, GA, and can
be reached at advkdv@att.net.
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Pike County
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Reporter
www.pikecountygeorgia.com
P.O. Box 789
16026 Barnesville St.
Zebulon, Ga. 30295
770.567.3446
The Pike County Journal
Reporter is the official
organ of Pike County, the
cities of Zebulon, Moiena,
Meansville, Williamson
and Concord. It is
published weekly by
Hometown Newspapers
Inc. Second class
postage is paid at the
Zebulon, Ga Post Office.
Publishers: Walter and
Laura Geiger; staff:
Jennifer Taylor,
Brenda Sanchez and
Rachel McDaniel.
AT PIKE
BY DWAIN W. PENN
100 YEARS AGO
April 15, 1921: The Meansville Women’s club
was formed during its inaugural meeting at the
school. The club, with Mrs. E.B. Horne, president,
sought to secure better school equipment and aid
in the development of the town and community.
75 YEARS AGO
April 18,1946: Trustees of the Children’s Home
met at the home with chairman Dr. M.M. Head pre
siding. It was approved to incorporate and charter
the entity and accept children 4 to 20 years old only.
50 YEARS AGO
April 15, 1971: Zebulon mayor and council
declared the period April 19 to May 1 as clean-up,
fix-up and paint-up time. Residents and businesses
were encouraged to dispose of unwanted articles
and rubbish, picked up free by the city, with
prizes awarded for best improvements.
25 YEARS AGO
April 17, 1996: The city of Griffin narrowed
choices for a 750 acre water reservoir to two sites,
both in Pike, and affected landowners were con
tacted by letter. The 1,300 acres Concord site was
near Pedenville Road and the 900 acre Hollonville
site was near Scott Road and GA 362.