Newspaper Page Text
Page 4A - Pike County Journal Reporter - Wednesday, June 2, 2021
Opinions
Kudzu and Clay: A post-apocalyptic wasteland
I t is a lot more com
mon these days to
think about what
would happen if the
entire world collapsed
and we woke up to a
post-apocalyptic waste
land. Movies depicting
this kind of horror are a
lot less entertaining and
a little more jarring than
they used to be. We live
in a time where any sce
nario is not really out of
the realm of possibility.
Zombies. Nuclear war. A
black hole swallowing us
up. The sun exploding
into a supernova. Unlike
ly, but not improbable.
Sitting down with my
wife, having our nightly
recap and counseling ses
sion of everything that
bothered us about the
day, this topic came up.
My wife reminded me, as
she does on a regular ba
sis, that if such a thing as
the end of the world is to
happen, 1 will be on my
own. 1 am not allowed to
go with her because I will
slow her down and cause
her to die. 1 remind her
that 1 am an Eagle Scout
and she reminds me that
1 am the worst Eagle
Scout there ever was. She
may be correct. 1 get lost
in my own neighborhood
from time to time.
The problem she has
with me joining her dur
ing such a catastrophic
event has nothing to do
with my orienteering
skills. Face it, if the world
ended, maps are going to
be the last thing on your
mind. No. She will not
take me with her because
she thinks 1 will eat all of
her food, leaving her to
starve. Again, she may be
correct.
1 do most of the gro
cery shopping for my
household. 1 enjoy going
to the grocery store and
walking around. Probably
because 1 was in my early
teens before 1 ever went
into a large supermarket.
They still amaze me. 1
usually am given a list
by my “manager”
but I enjoy going
off script as well.
I’ll get her and my
son a few things
1 think they’d like
but I stop short of
getting myself that
much. I’ll get a bag
of pork rinds or
some wasabi peas,
that’s all. Selfless.
1 have been
made aware of a
very disturbing
trait of mine. The
issue starts when 1 come
home and put away the
groceries. 1 make a big
deal out of whatever
cookie or candy or silly
breakfast thing 1 bought
them. 1 say, “1 bought this
for you.” Within a few
hours, 1 get hungry and
1 look at what 1 bought
myself. 1 look at what 1
bought them. Then, for
whatever reason, the
stuff 1 got them looks
better. Tastier. So 1 eat
some of it. Not all of it,
but some of it. Yes, 1 pur
chased these
things for them,
but we are a
family. We can
share.
My wife
doesn’t see it
that way. Her
viewpoint is
that if 1 bought
food for her
and food for
me, why in the
world would
1 eat her food
first? This fight
comes up a lot, but 1
have only now come to
terms with the fact that
she is right. 1 do eat her
food first. Only then do
1 consume my food. My
food is something 1 have
purchased subconscious
ly knowing they would
never eat. What 6-year-
old eats wasabi peas?
Now that I am aware
of this I notice I do it with
everything. If there is a
beverage that has been
purchased exclusively
for my wife 1 will sub
consciously develop a
thirst for it and drink it
before anything 1 have
for myself. She likes lime
seltzer water, 1 like grape
fruit, but Lord help me if
there is a cold lime in the
refrigerator and a cold
grapefruit, I’ll always pick
the lime.
For paper products, if
she has a box of Kleenex
on her nightstand and
1 have a box on mine,
1 will always reach for
hers first. My son has no
lollipops or popsicles
because 1 ate them all
and only left him with my
pork rinds. 1 am a mon
ster.
1 like to think this kind
of behavior is a survival
mechanism 1 developed
by growing up in a house
full of men. It was either
eat what you can, when
you can, or don’t eat at
all. We were like cave
people. The minute we
found a wildebeest we
went for the part we
wanted, even though we
knew we’d eat the hoof if
nobody else did. 1 don’t
want to be a caveman.
Lately, 1 have been
trying to break this habit
so that in the event of
the end of the world 1 can
survive with my family.
The other morning while
1 was making my cof
fee and reaching for the
fiber-rich cereal 1 bought
for my old man self, 1
hate to admit, some
thing came over me and
1 poured the last bowl
of my son’s chocolate
cereal, leaving him with
nothing but my fiber-rich
twigs. If the end of the
world comes my family
won’t let me come with
them, and neither should
anyone else... if they
want to survive.
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.
KUDZU
& CLAY
Chris Walter
SUBMITTED PHOTO
A large crowd gathered around the 120 foot cross that was
dedicated in Milner on May 16 at Rock Springs Church. The
cross is surrounded by a prayer garden, heated baptismal
pool and engraved bricks in honor and memory of loved ones.
Rock Springs Church
dedicates 120 ft. cross
Rock Springs Church
(RSC) held a dedication
service for their 120
foot cross on Sunday,
May 16 at 3 p.m. at
219 Rock Springs Rd.,
Milner, GA.
The cross, which
was installed in 2020,
includes a prayer gar
den, a heated baptismal
pool, and engraved
bricks in honor and
memoriam of individu
als and families.
“We are excited and
humbled to dedicate
this cross back to the
Lord,” said RSC Senior
Pastor, Benny Tate.
“This cross represents
the true mission of our
church: to reach people
for Christ, and we are
excited to welcome our
community to enjoy
the cross for years to
come!”
The dedication
service included a brief
devotion from Pastor
Benny Tate, worship,
and multiple baptisms.
The cross is open
anytime for the commu
nity to visit and enjoy.
Additionally, churches
are invited to use this
space for baptism ser
vices.
To see more about
this new feature, visit
www.rockspringsonline.
com/cross
For more informa
tion about Rock Springs
Church, visit www.rock-
springsonline.com
DA’s Corner: A primer on property crime
BY MARIE BRODER
mbroder@pacga.org
1 am pleased to report
that jury trials are con
tinuing to go forward
in Fayette and Spalding
Counties. We have also
started trials in Pike and
Upson counties.
As you may recall, we
have focused on ‘smaller’
cases in this first round
of jury trials, so that any
issues raised by COV1D
would be diminished. We
fully expect to go forward
with prosecuting some
of the ‘larger’ cases that
involve potential life
sentences in the next
round of trials scheduled
for this week. 1 am very
pleased with the hard
work of my assistant dis
trict attorneys to bring
these cases to trial, along
with the professional
ism and conscientious
efforts of defense attor
neys, the clerk’s
office, and our
judges. Most im
portantly, jurors
have answered
the call and
performed their
civic duty. Their
service is com
mendable.
1 wanted
to take this
opportunity to
discuss some
confusion surround
ing how the law defines
‘burglary,’ ‘robbery’
and ‘theft.’ In layman’s
terms, a burglary is when
someone enters a home
or business, when no
one is present, to steal
something. For example,
the case that we tried
in Fayette County last
week involved a per
son who broke into a
business in the middle
of the night. The jury
convicted, and because
of prior con
victions, this
defendant was
sentenced to 10
years with the
first nine years
to be served
in prison. The
last year of his
sentence will
be spent on
probation. The
maximum is 10
years in prison.
A robbery is where
someone uses force to
take an item from some
one’s person and, when
a weapon is used, the of
fense is known as ‘armed
robbery.’ In Georgia,
you can face up to life in
prison for armed rob
bery. Robbery by snatch
ing and robbery by force
carry lesser sentences.
Finally, the offense of
‘theft’ has many different
variations under Georgia
law. For example, the law
prohibits theft ‘by decep
tion,’ which is where
someone uses a lie to
take property from some
one. Other examples
include theft by shoplift
ing, theft by receiving
stolen property, and theft
of livestock. The gist of
these offenses is that
force is not used to take
something from someone
else.
There is certainly
more to know about each
of these laws, but 1 hope
1 can shed some light on
what these terms mean
and encourage you not
to try any of them! Until
next time, stay safe and
be kind to one another!
Marie Broder is the District At
torney for the Griffin Judicial Circuit
- which includes Pike County. She
was the first woman to be selected as
the chief prosecuting attorney for the
circuit when she was first appointed
in February 2020.
iff. .
fM
fr 1
“ y * m
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Rock Springs High School grads were honored Sunday, May 23 with students from several surrounding counties including Pike.
Glass of 2021 graduates honored at Rock Springs
Pastor Benny Tate and the Rock
Springs Church family of Milner
honored the church’s 2021 high
school graduates Sunday, May 23.
Students from public schools in
surrounding counties were repre
sented as were students from Rock
Springs Christian Academy and
other private schools.
Pike County
Journal
Reporter
www.pikecountygeorgia.com
P.0. 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, Molena,
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
June 3, 1921: The Zebulon grammar and high
schools closed May 26 after one of the most success
ful years in their history. Eight days of high school
events began May 18 culminating with graduation
as all five seniors had a part, especially Walter Allen,
valedictorian and Cecil Cadenhead, salutatorian.
75 YEARS AGO
June 6, 1946: Pike donated $151.71 to the emer
gency food collection campaign and 900 pounds of
canned food. Local cash donations were: Zebulon,
$52.01; Concord, $35; Meansville, $28.50; Molena,
$20.35; Williamson, $5.10; and Hollonville, $13.75.
50 YEARS AGO
June 3,1971: Pike kindergarten held graduation for
six classes comprised of 145 students. The theme was
“Our First Step Forward,” the class colors were green
and yellow and the class flower was the yellow rose.
25 YEARS AGO
June 5, 1996: Pike sheriff James Gibson vowed
to issue citations to residents picking wildflowers
and littering. Pike’s Pathway to Pride worked hard
to beautify the county and picking the flowers
would prevent seeding and reproducing.