Newspaper Page Text
Page 4A - Pike County Journal Reporter - Wednesday, June 30, 2021
Opinions
I can’t get charged up about electric vehicles
I was on my way to
Savannah recently
and made my usual
pit stop in Metter where,
as you know, everything
is better.
I pulled in to get cof
fee and gas up at Park
er’s then noticed a row
of electric vehicle charg
ing stations at the rear of
the lot. Not one but two
Teslas were plugged in,
drawing their life blood
in order to continue
along 1-16.
The Teslas were sleek,
generally good looking
vehicles. 1 looked around
trying to identify who
might be driving the con
traptions but no one fit
the bill. A weathered old
gentleman was sweeping
up around the place so 1
inquired after the charg
ing operation.
“We see more and
more of those damn
things,’” he replied,
hawking a long string of
tobacco juice onto the
curb.
Asked about the driv
ers, he reported they
plug in the cars and then
walk to a nearby restau
rant or call “one of them
there Ubers” to take
them into greater Metter
to dine.
1 inquired about how
long the charging pro
cess took and he replied
45-minutes to an hour,
depending on how dead
the batteries are.
“I think I will stick to
gas,” 1 commented to
which he replied, “Smart
boy” and went back to
his broom.
1 continued down the
interstate, my SUV belch
ing carcinogens, while
1 reflected on Ray and
Chesley, high
school acquain
tances who lived
not 50 miles as
the crow flies
from the charg
ing station back
in the day.
Ray and Ches
ley were what
they called back
then “good with
their wrenches.”
They both had
Road Runners
they tinkered
with all the time
in order to make them
faster. Both Plymouths
had giant, gleaming car
buretors that the hoods
of their vehicles could
not contain.
When the rest of us
were at the pool, raft
ing the river or dating,
Ray and Chesley were
in barns tuning those
machines. They
were more
comfortable on
rolling dollies
than they were
standing erect.
Grease, oil and
other mechani
cal detritus
were permanent
parts of their
hands and the
skin along their
arms.
Then, on
Saturday nights,
they and those
like them would race.
The boys would close
off some country road
and run quarter and half
mile drag shows. Rupaul
was nowhere to be seen.
These shows were all
testosterone and top
end speed. There was no
thought of conserving
fuel.
“When 1 stomp down
on this thing, the speed
ometer goes up and the
fuel gauge goes down,”
Ray would chortle.
That was 50 years ago.
Times have changed.
A friend bought one
of the first hybrid cars.
1 drove it one day. When
1 stopped at a red light,
the thing just shut down.
1 thought 1 had killed it.
If the Roadrunner
died like that, you had
to hope you were on a
hill for, if you were, you
could put it in neutral,
push to gain speed then
hop in, drop it in gear
and pop the clutch. The
Plymouths would fire up
every time.
1 don’t suppose that
would work with an elec
tric car. Jumper cables
would also be useless.
There is also the matter
of battery disposal. We
have battery backups on
computers at the office.
When one dies, we have
to get permission from
A1 Gore himself to dis
pose of it. Will electric
car junkyards be hazard
ous waste sites?
Ford has an electric
Mustang concept. It is
pig ugly and the com
parison is an affront to
pigs the world over. The
electric F-150 concept
at least looks something
like a pickup, if an emas
culated one.
1 think Ray and Ches
ley are with me when
1 tell you 1 am going to
stick to gas.
Pardon our exhaust.
Walter Geiger is the editor and
publisher of the Pike County Journal
Reporter and The Herald Gazette in
Barnesville.
GEIGER’S
COUNTER
Walter Geiger
Editor & Publisher
Let’s stop living
like animals and
have faith in God
NAVIGATING LIFE’S CURVES
How did religion form
George Washington’s opinions?
BY CHARLES WHATLEY
cbwhatley@hotmail.com
According to feri.
org, animals (and hu
mans who act like ani
mals) fight over food,
mates, and/or terri
tory. Cats are territo
rial; from house cats to
the big cats, they will
fight to defend their
territory.
Lions will attack
giraffes by tripping
them while they are
running, or by holding
their hind legs while
another lion climbs
onto its back... but the
giraffe is not helpless
and has a violent de
fensive kick.
Lions attack el
ephants, being care
ful not to get gored
in the process. One
lion jumps onto the
elephant’s back and
bites the elephant until
it falls, taking care
not to fall off and get
stomped to death.
There is also a
strange rivalry be
tween snakes and
peacocks; peacocks
(where can 1 get one?)
will not allow a snake
in its territory. Neither
will I, a good friend
killed a water moc
casin thirty feet from
our back door in the
middle of a six acre
yard!
These battles are all
outlined in the story
of the Good Samari
tan whose creed is,
“What’s mine is yours.”
The robber’s creed is,
“What’s yours is mine.”
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.
And the merchant’s
creed is, “What’s mine
is mine.”
The fundamental
difference between
animals and humans is
our propensity to fight
for no reason what
soever... over things
that really don’t mat
ter very much. Even
church folks have been
known to fight over the
color of the carpet!?
Our word for this
week is “attitude” and
our Scripture lesson is
from 1 Samuel 17, “[32]
David said to Saul,
“Your Majesty, no one
should be afraid of this
Philistine! I will go and
fight him.” [33]
“No,” answered Saul.
“How could you fight
him? You’re just a boy,
and he has been a sol
dier all his life!”
Goliath stands in
the valley mocking the
people of God; who ap
parently don’t believe
in their God?
Goliath can’t be
beaten; he believes it,
the Philistines believe
it, King Saul believes it,
even the people of God
believe it, until a young
Jewish shepherd boy
happens by and says,
“...no one should be
afraid of this Philistine!
I will go and fight him.”
And all that my
friends is “attitude!”
Charles 'Buddy' Whatley is a
retired United Methodist pastor
serving Woodland and Bold Springs
UMC and, with Mary Ella, a mis
sionary to the Navajo Reservation
in Arizona.
BY BARBARA LATTA
kbkj@bellsouth.net
George
Wash
ington’s
heritage
was one
of reli
gion. His
great-great
grandfather, Lawrence
Washington, was an
Anglican minister in Eng
land. His great-grandfa
ther, John, and his father,
Augustine, were vestry
men in their Anglican
parishes in Virginia.
Writings about his
mother, Mary Ball Wash
ington, depict how she
liked to visit quiet places
outside and instruct her
children about the great
Creator. She read to them
and her grandchildren
out of the family Bible.
There are not a lot of
details about the life of
George Washington as
a child, but his journals
leave behind a lot of
evidence as to how his
opinions and beliefs
were formed.
He practiced his
penmanship by copying
from other manuscripts.
Many of his sayings are
adapted from his copy
of “Rules of Civility and
Decent Behavior in Com
pany and Conversation.”
Because Virginia and
the other colonies were
British subjects, the
religion of England came
over with some settlers.
While the Pilgrims trav
eled to this land based
on their desire to have
freedom of worship, a lot
of the British influence
was still embedded in
American churches. In
England, the King was
head of the church which
was Anglican; therefore,
the Anglican denomina
tion had spread across
the country.
The Washington family
attended two churches
within a few miles of
Mount Vernon. Since
there was a shortage of
ministers, the preachers
visited different houses
of worship on varying
Sundays. Washington
was an active vestryman
in the Truro Parish from
1762 until the start of the
war.
While he was presi
dent, George and Martha
Washington often wor
shipped at St. Paul’s Cha
pel and Trinity Church in
Manhattan because the
capital seat of the United
States was in New York
at that time.
We can deduct from
the writings, speeches,
and records left behind
that George Washington
was a man whose biblical
training from his mother
and the heritage of his
family patriarchs left
a lasting imprint upon
his life. These religious
beliefs no doubt had
an influence on how he
dealt with his soldiers
and other human beings.
During the Revolu
tion, General Washington
instituted chaplains to
serve as religious leaders
to the troops. He encour
aged his soldiers to stop
swearing and gambling,
as to do so was con
trived as unseemly while
asking God to favor their
endeavors in war.
His attitude regarding
slavery changed later
in life, as in his will he
freed all the slaves he
had inherited. He had
struggled with the idea of
slavery for years, yet all
the plans of what to do
about it hadn’t worked.
Some question wheth
er Washington believed
in Jesus Christ, since his
writing never mention
Jesus by name. Whether
he did or didn’t is not up
to us to judge. Only God
knows a person’s heart.
In the 18th century,
and having an Anglican
upbringing, the words
Providence, Almighty
and Creator were used
interchangeably to refer
to deity. So, we shouldn’t
surmise that the lack
of identifying Jesus by
name means that he
didn’t believe in the Son
of God.
In his farewell ad
dress of 1796, he left
the country with these
words. “Let us with cau
tion indulge the supposi
tion, that morality can
be maintained without
religion. Whatever may
be conceded to the influ
ence of refined education
on minds of peculiar
structure, reason and ex
perience both forbid us
to expect that national
morality can prevail in
exclusion of religious
principle.”
We can see how bibli
cal principles formed
his belief in the freedom
of all people to choose
how to worship God.
And this, along with
continued violation of
American rights from
King George, was one of
the deciding factors in
his decision to lead the
colonists in a revolution
for release from British
rule.
The United States of
America was born be
cause he learned through
these precepts to be a
leader full of integrity.
He carried his devotion
to duty to the battlefield
with the determination
of “Victory or Death.”
Thankfully, there are
still some parents who
bring up their children
with a biblical view of
right and wrong. But all it
takes is a look at society
to see what voices are
influencing most youth
today.
If we want future
leaders like Washington,
Lincoln, Madison and
Monroe, where will they
be? Non-existent unless
concerned citizens stay
vigilant against the viola
tion of rights that stifle
religious freedom.
That is what Indepen
dence Day was all about.
Barbara Latta is a freelance writer
who posts online articles at barbara-
latta.blogspot.com and contributes
to the devotion website Christian
Devotions.
HAPPYixl
4THOF
JULY!!!
AT PIKE
BY DWAIN W. PENN
100 YEARS AGO
July 1,1921: Data for Pike from the 1920 census
[Prior to the split to form Lamar] - Population: 21,000;
Total farms: 3039: white, 1431; colored, 1608. Farms
operated by owners/managers, 647; tenants, 2392.
Farm acreage: 164,191. Improved acreage: 112,845.
75 YEARS AGO
July 4,1946: The Lions Club had record atten
dance July 1 at Williamson school due to a contest
where the losing team entertained the winning club
members and ladies. Rev. A.W. Williams’ blue team
had a slight lead over Rev. Wilson Walker’s red team.
50 YEARS AGO
July 1, 1971: Over two dozen Pike 4-H students
won honors during a northwest Georgia project
meet in June at Rock Eagle. First place winners were:
Donnie Manley, housing and equipment; Barry Alex
ander, pecan production; and Pam Price, wildlife.
25 YEARS AGO
July 3, 1996: Griffin took a step closer toward
becoming a regional water system by offering a
contract to sell water to the city of Williamson,
approved June 28 by the Griffin city commission.
Growth in Williamson plus problems with high
levels of iron in the water led to the contract.