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Page 4A - Pike County Journal Reporter - Wednesday, September 29, 2021
Opinions
Ruffin’s Renderings: Eureka
BY MIKE RUFFIN
ruffinml@gmail.com
The story, we are told,
is probably a legend.
But lots of great stories
belong to that genre, and
this is a really great story.
The story goes that
the mathematician Ar
chimedes, who lived in
the third century BC, was
challenged by his king to
solve a problem. It seems
that an artisan who had
made golden wreaths for
the gods was suspected
of diluting the gold with
silver, but no one could
confirm the suspicions.
Archimedes was commis
sioned to figure out a way
to determine the truth.
While struggling with
the problem, Archime
des decided to visit the
public baths. He noticed
that more water was dis
placed as he went deeper
in the tub. He realized
that the amount of water
he displaced was equal
to the volume of his
body. It occurred to him
that, since gold weighs
more than silver, it would
take more silver to give
the wreath its desired
bulk. So, he could solve
the problem by compar
ing the displacement of a
known pure gold wreath
with one suspected of
having been adulterated
with silver.
Archimedes leapt out
of the bath and went run
ning home naked shout
ing, “1 found it! 1 found
it”—which in Greek is
“Eureka! Eureka!”
To this day people talk
about having a “eureka
moment” when we find
something vital or realize
something important.
Jesus told two stories
about people having a
eureka moment. The sto
ries are parables, which
are stories told to make
a point, often by compar
ing two things that at first
glance don’t seem alike.
In these two parables
Jesus talks about people
finding a trea
sure. The first
person is likely
a peasant who
while plowing
someone else’s
field finds a
treasure-per-
haps a jar of
coins buried
there by a pre
vious owner
unbeknownst
to the present
owner-and
goes and sells everything
he has to in order to buy
the field. The second
person is likely a mer
chant who would know
the value of pearls and
would have some means
and who, when he finds a
pearl of great value, goes
and sells all he has to
purchase the one pearl.
Jesus says that the
kingdom of heaven is like
that.
But what is the king
dom of heaven? Simply
put, the kingdom of
heaven is the kingdom
of God and
the kingdom
of God is the
reign of God;
so the king
dom of God
is where God
rules. That no
doubt means
many things,
but it surely
means that the
kingdom of
God is where
God’s grace,
mercy, and love are the
driving forces and the
guiding principles. Still,
these two parables as
well as other parables
and teachings of Jesus
make the points that in
some way the kingdom
of heaven is hidden from
view and that there are
few that find it.
How then do you
come upon the kingdom?
There’s no one way. After
all, in the first parable the
man came upon the trea
sure accidentally, prob
ably just in the course of
minding his own busi
ness; the treasure he
found was something he
didn’t expect and prob
ably something for which
he wasn’t even looking.
On the other hand, the
merchant in the second
parable was looking for
fine pearls when he found
the finest pearl of all.
One person was looking
while one was not—but
they both found the
treasure.
In the film Pretty
Woman, Richard Gere’s
character takes Julia
Roberts’s character to
the opera. He is a man
of the world—educated,
privileged, and refined—
who frequents, under
stands, and appreciates
opera. She is a woman of
the world—but in a very
different sense; she is not
educated, privileged, or
refined, and she has nev
er even seen an opera.
By the end of the perfor
mance, though, she is
mesmerized and moved
to tears. She liked it even
more than “The Pirates
of Penzance”! He enjoyed
the opera because he
knew what he was look
ing for; she enjoyed it be
cause she stumbled upon
something unexpected
and beautiful.
The kingdom of
heaven is like that.
So you might find the
kingdom if you’re not
looking for it and you
mind find it if you are.
It is, either way, a gift of
God.
Whenever you find
it, wherever you find it,
and however you find it,
shout “Eureka!” It is, after
all, the greatest discov
ery you will ever make.
It is available to every
one.
And there are few who
find it.
Mike Ruffin is a Barnesville native
who lives and works in Macon. His
new book, Praying with Matthew,
is available at helwys.com and at
Amazon.
LETTERS T
THE EDITOR
THINKING FOR A CHANGE
Time passages
SPECIAL PHOTO
The third annual Fall Fruit Plant Sale is open until Nov. 1
and proceeds benefit Pike County Extension’s programs.
Plant sales to help
local extension
It’s that very special
time of year when the
leaves begin to fall, soil
temperatures begin to
cool and we all get to
add some fruit plants
to our gardens and
landscapes!
The third annual Fall
Fruit Plant Fundraiser is
now open and accept
ing orders through Nov.
1. Plants are locally
grown, locally sold and
benefit local programs.
Does it get any better
than that?
So start planning
where you will be put
ting your new fig tree,
blueberry bushes or
maybe even a mus
cadine or two. All
proceeds from this
fundraiser go towards
Pike County Extension’s
agriculture and natural
resources program
ming including but not
limited to materials,
equipment, outreach
and more.
Please contact the
Extension office to
place your order today
at 770-567-2010 or 74
Gwyn Street in Zebulon.
BR00KLYNE WASSEL,
PIKE COUNTY
EXTENSION AGENT
BY ANTHONY VINSON
advkdv@att.net
There
was a
time, once
upon
a time,
when ev
erything
was per
fect in our
country.
A sliver
of sanity and perfec
tion wedged somewhere
between the end of WWII
and the beginning of
the Viet Nam conflict, it
was Lake Wobegon and
Shangri-La wrapped in
a rainbow, dipped in a
dream, tied off with silk
ribbon and festooned
with bows and balloons.
It was the best of times.
Problem is, it never
existed.
Truth is, even during
those distant days, re
called by some as golden
brown and fried to
crispy perfection, things
were far from terrific.
Use the time-traveling
powers of the internet to
return to those thrill
ing days of yesteryear
and examine the news
stories of the day.
You will find plenty of
strife, plenty of imper
fect people, plenty of
misery and plenty more.
You will also discover
that people were com
plaining about the same
basic things we are
today: politicians, prices,
existential threats, and
the lack of anything good
on television. Human
nature is, at least from
our perspective, immu
table. No matter where
we go, there we are, and
we never seem satisfied
with the way things are,
only the way we imagine
they should be, could be,
or once were. The bulk
of our lives are spent
pondering “if only.”
Sure, there is value in
remembering the past
and planning for the
future but living in any
temporal dimension
other than the present is
largely a waste of time.
Literally. Modern life, it
seems, is designed to
reduce us to the trivial.
Our focus is formed and
directed by the media
we consume, and far
too many consume a
limited diet of the media
equivalent of junk food.
It feels good to have our
biases and prejudices
confirmed and sup
ported by monkey-suited
media puppets and pan
dering politicians. We
beam with delight as our
fellow travelers on social
media Like, Love and
comment “Amen” to our
narrow-minded partisan
posts. We fail to recog
nize that it is all trivial.
It is all ephemeral. But it
influences our minds in
ways unseen, and the cu
mulative effect is - pun
intended - mind-numb
ing. We stop thinking for
ourselves and instead
become members of
some hivemind.
Rather than living
in the virtual world of
social and news media,
why not step into the
real world where life
is whizzing past at the
speed of light? Open
your heart and mind to
the possibilities that ap
pear only when engaged
and paying attention
in the real world. Put
down your smart phone
camera and notice that
the world around you is
a beautiful space filled
with light and color and
endless fascinations.
Listen to the sounds. Put
your friends and family
first. Absorb the ambi
ance and spend your
time making a difference
to yourself and the oth
ers in your immediate
orbit.
What once was, either
real or imagined, is no
longer and can never be
again. What will be, isn’t
yet and won’t be until
it is, and even then, it
won’t be for long. Now,
right now, as in this
moment, matters most,
and most miss it. This
moment won’t last long,
and it won’t come again,
but it can resonate for
decades ... if you live it
now.
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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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
September 30, 1921: Dr. Morgan of Moiena
climbed to the roof of his house Sunday night and
jumped off dying within minutes. He was survived
by a wife and several children.
75 YEARS AGO
October 3, 1946: Winner of the high school
spelling contest held in the school superinten
dent office was Anne Willis of Concord who on
October 4 competed at the Southeastern fair
state finals in Atlanta. Emma Jane Davis of Zebu
lon was a close second.
50 YEARS AGO
October 1, 1971: The Pike County Pirates won
their second game of the year Friday defeating the
Newnan Cougars 14-6. The Pirates evened up their
record for the inaugural year of football to 2 wins
and 2 losses.
25 YEARS AGO
October 2, 1996: Four white males in ski masks,
two were armed, robbed the First Bank of Pike in
Concord. The robbery occurred on October 1, the
first day of Crime Prevention Month.