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Page 4A - Pike County Journal Reporter - Wednesday, May 26, 2021 Opinions Ruffin’s Renderings: Here we go again BY MIKE RUFFIN RUFFINML@GMAIL.COM D uring our forty- three years of marriage, my Good Wife and I have moved, on average, every seven years. I sometimes joke that we move so regularly because 1 can’t keep a job. That’s not true. So far as 1 can tell, 1 have left every position voluntarily. I think wanderlust afflicts us. We get bored or antsy. Whatever the reason, we get the feeling that it’s time to move on. And so we do. We moved to Yates- ville in 2015.1 had started a new job at Smyth & Helwys Publishing in Ma con. My new workplace was a 30-minute drive from Yatesville. Due to the generosity of my late Uncle Jack, we owned a few acres on the farm where my father had been born and raised. So we decided to build a house on that land. That’s where we’ve lived for the last six years. I’m grateful that we’ve been there. It’s been good to be back in my home territory after 40 years away. It’s been nice to live closer to family and to reconnect with old friends. 1 suppose 1 thought that our move to Yates ville would be our last one until we moved on to our permanent, heavenly home. It hasn’t worked out that way. When we moved to Yatesville, 1 said that 1 had come full circle. There was truth in that statement. But it may have implied that returning “home” had been a life-long dream of mine. That wasn’t the case. We moved to Yatesville because it seemed con venient to do so more than for some other, greater reason. Besides, what was full circle for me wasn’t full circle for us. 1 left my home in Barnesville in 1975 to attend college at Mercer University in Macon. 1 met my future Good Wife Debra in 1976. We married in June of 1978.1 had just graduat ed from Mercer, but she had a year to go. So we lived in Macon until she graduated the following summer. We left in Au gust of 1979 to undertake our further adventures. By the time you read this, we will be settling into our new home in Macon. So in a very real sense, Debra and 1 have come full circle. We are back where we started four and a half decades ago. As was the case with my return to the area of my birth and upbring ing, our return to Macon wasn’t something that we spent our lives hoping would happen. But now that it has, it feels right. We are grateful. 1 hope this will be the last move we ever make, but I’m not counting on it. I’ve learned better. Given the regularity with which our wander lust symptoms have re curred, it may turn out to be a chronic condition. Mike Ruffin is a Barnesville native. His new book, Praying with Matthew, is available at helwys.com and Amazon. PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE J. JOEL EDWARDS PUBLIC LIBRARY This yard art was painted by Joyce Brenner. She and other artists from the painting group Pallet Pals have art on dis play at the J. Joel Edwards Library for the month of May. Pallet Pals art on display The art of the Pallet Pals is on display for the month of May at the J. Joel Edwards Public Library. Pallet Pals is a group that meets through TUAC, the Thomaston- Upson Arts Council and each artist has their own unique style. “We all have tech niques and perspectives but it came together very well,” said artist Joyce Brenner who has mixed media, art decor and yard art on display in the library’s front window. It is the fourth year she has shown her work at the library. Other artists include Brianna Monroe who creates art through her crochet work, including pictures and portraits. Rebekah Morris is a real ist who ‘paints people’s memories’ using acrylic and oil paints. Tracy This painting by Rebekah Morris is part of the display. Ryan creates unbeliev able stained glass works of art. Brenda Pitts paints nature scenes and animals using mostly acrylic paints. Steve Harrison creates with mixed media and he loves to paint trac tors, trucks and other vehicles in motion. Tonie Monroe paints nature scenes and gar dens, mostly in acrylic. Above left, a crocheted mushroom by Brianna Monroe. Above right, stained glass by Tracy Ryan. THINKING FOR A CHANGE Jeopardy BY ANTHONY VINSON advkdv@att.net The popular televi sion game show, Jeopardy, requires contes tants to frame their answers in the form of questions. A silly conceit, certainly, but it works for the show’s format, help ing make it among the most successful in the history of television. And while Jeopardy’s format rightly underscores the importance of questions in the problem-solving process, it also over emphasizes the value of general knowledge over expertise. Our society is beset with problems large and small, and everyone has answers and solutions. Everyone is an expert in everything. Just ask. Problem is, most of them are, at best, embar rassingly wrong, and at worse, dangerously inciteful. An underlying factor is the illusion of knowledge. Expertise in a particu lar discipline takes years to achieve. It requires foundational general knowledge upon which the structure of expertise is erected. A high school class in rudimentary physics 30 years ago in no way qualifies a person to operate a nuclear reac tor. And yet, a glimpse at local social media discussion pages seems to reveal that our county is littered with doctoral degrees in fields of study as diverse as macroeco nomics, virology and microbiology, chemical engineering, and po litical science. We boast constitutional scholars, sociologists, and classi cally trained historians. Who knew?! Here is a truth: Most of the people posting on so cial media lack expertise and training in any of the fields of study or disci plines upon which they routinely pontificate. It is evident in their posts that most are function ally ignorant of the basic facts supporting their fallacious arguments. This is a problem. Why? Because it is counterpro ductive to our collective welfare and security. It is destructive rather than creative and helpful. There is an old riddle: What’s the difference between ignorance and apathy? The answer? 1 don’t know, and 1 don’t care. Thing is, it is obvious that the misinformed social media posters do care. They are deeply concerned. They want things to be better. In many ways, and while they would likely never admit it, they are fright ened and uncertain. The real question is, do they care enough to do more than grouse on public message boards? The list of solvable is sues and problems in our county is long. The coun ty is constantly seeking citizens to sit on boards of directors but get few applicants for the posi tions. Local organizations need volunteers, goods, and services. Families in our county need cloth ing, shoes, toiletries, and food. Yes, food. There are citizens who go to bed hungry. Local businesses need customers who frequently shop at stores in town and around the county instead of online. And so on. Not everyone has earned a doctoral degree. 1 have not. But 1 have earned experience and gained knowledge over the decades that can help in small ways. And those small assists mat ter. They may not get you press and praise. They may not win you a Nobel Prize or Presidential of Freedom medal, but they matter. They matter in ways unimaginable. At least until you stop tilting at windmills and take whatever expertise you do possess and put it to use. Pick a problem and offer a hand. Or two. Put your muscle where your mouth is and make a difference, not another divisive, unproductive social media post. 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. Pike County Journal Reporter's letter printing guidelines The Pike County Jour nal Reporter welcomes letters to the editor. For a letter to be con sidered for publication, include the writer’s ac tual name, address and telephone number when submitting it. We publish name only. Letters from individual authors will be published no more often than every other week. Limit letters to 250 words or less. Shorter letters are appreciated. All letters are subject to editing. Personal attacks on private citizens, political endorsements or letters that are racially divisive will not be considered. Drop letters by the office on the court house square, mail them to P.O. Box 789, Zebulon, 30295, fax them to 770.567.8814 or email them to news@pikecounty- georgia.com. For additional information, call 770.567.3446. Pike County Journal 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 BWAIN W. PENN 100 YEARS AGO May 27, 1921: Flat Rock Church announced a general meeting of Primitive Baptists through the weekend of Fifth Sunday in May with two sermons a day and lunch at noon. Elder W.H., Crouse of Cordele and Elder A.V. Sims of Atlanta would attend. 75 YEARS AGO May 30,1946: At the June 6 meeting of the Pike American Legion Post, Mrs. Ralph Jones of Griffin organized the women’s auxiliary. The auxiliary was anticipated to grow since the post membership was limited to veterans, but the auxiliary sought support from wives, mothers and sisters of those veterans. 50 YEARS AGO May 27,1971: Pike County High School com mencement exercises were held May 31, at the school auditorium with Donny Manley and Ruth Scoggins as senior speakers. Other honor graduates were Rose mary Dunn, Billy Hendricks and Susan Sharpe. 25 YEARS AGO May 29, 1996: Rains eased drought conditions in Pike but concerns about wildfire dangers and water restrictions remained. County municipali ties delayed water restrictions with encourage ment for residents to conserve water usage.