Newspaper Page Text
Page 4A - Pike County Journal Reporter - Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Opinions
Geiger’s Counter: Heady times for Bulldog fans
T hese are heady
times for fans of
the Georgia Bull
dogs. The state’s flagship
football team is undefeat
ed at 7-0 and ranked #1 in
the land for the second
straight week.
The Dawgs are off this
week so there is little
chance of them falling
from that lofty perch in
the next polls.
Since he replaced
Mark Richt as head
coach, Kirby Smart has
been building for this
moment. He is a Dawg
through and through. He
was defensive back at
Georgia. He is married
to a former Lady Dogs
basketball player.
He thinks like we fans
think. We want to win it
all and we want to win it
all every year.
Smart has overseen
vast improvements in
the football facilities in
Athens. They are now
second to none. But,
most importantly, he has
recruited like a man pos
sessed. To paraphrase
the late, great Red ‘Bull
dog’ Haywood, Smart has
five stars stacked up like
cordwood over yonder.
The pundits predicted
Georgia would fall in its
first true road test at
Auburn two weeks ago.
Instead the Dawgs rolled
34-10. The only hardship
faced by UGA on The
Plains was the postgame
traffic nightmare.
Obviously,
there is no engi
neering school
at AU. My third
grade school
patrol buddies
could have done a
better job of traf
fic control.
This past week
end, the Kentucky
Wildcats came to
Athens undefeat
ed. They left with
a 30-13 loss on
their record. UK
was the Dawgs’
toughest test to date,
however, and they will
make some noise as the
season progresses.
The Dawgs have
reached this juncture
with what is the best
defense in the
land. It just
suffocates op
ponents and
brings back
memories of
Erk Russell
head butting
his defenders
in pregame
warmups with
blood trickling
down his fore
head.
The offense
is directed by
Todd Monken
whose unit has been
decimated by injuries.
His schemes have made
stars out of freshmen
A.D. Mitchell and Brock
Bowers, redshirt fresh
man Ladd McConkey and
gutsy backup quarter
back Stetson Bennett.
The road ahead for
the Dawgs includes the
annual Georgia-Florida
game in Jacksonville Hal
loween weekend. After
hanging with Alabama in
a close loss, the Gators
(4-3) have lost to Ken
tucky and LSU. LSU fired
their coach after he beat
the Gators.
The Gators gave up
49 points to the Tigers
Saturday in Death Valley.
Georgia has given up
only 46 points all season.
The last test of the
season will come in
Knoxville Nov. 13 against
the Volunteers (4-3).
The UT fans littered
their own field with water
bottles, mustard contain
ers and even an orange
golf ball after losing to
Ole Miss and the beloved
Lane Kiffin Saturday
night.
Authorities should
have made the fans clean
up after themselves.
They were already
dressed for roadside lit
ter pickup in that hid
eous orange.
The other remain
ing games for UGA are
Missouri and Charleston-
Southern at home and
Georgia Tech in Atlanta.
None of the three poses
much of a threat.
An undefeated season
is out there for the tak
ing!
Heady times indeed.
GEIGER’S
COUNTER
Walter Geiger
Editor & Publisher
Finding fascinating
facts and stories
BY CHARLES WHATLEY
cbwhatley@hotmail.com
We ordered National
Geographic for Kids
years ago and enjoyed
reading it with our two
grandsons. I continue
reading every page of
every issue! Now the
October 2021 issue
asks, “Bet you didn’t
know?”
Snail zombies are
created when a parasit
ic worm takes over the
eyestalks of a snail.
If you stretched out
your small intestine, it
would be longer than
you are tall... 3 % times
longer!
Durian is a green
spiky fruit that smells
like a mix of onions,
sewage, and burning
rubber.
And one ice cream
company sells bone
marrow and sea urchin
ice creams.
There are some fasci
nating stories out there;
some of them are in the
Bible!
The Gospel (Good
News!) from Mark
10:17, 21 GNT, “As Jesus
was starting on his
way again, a man ran
up, knelt before him
and asked him, “Good
Teacher, what must 1 do
to receive eternal life?”
...Jesus looked straight
at him with love and
said, “You need only
one thing. Go and sell
all you have and give
the money to the poor,
and you will have
riches in heaven; then
come and follow me.”
Suddenly the man
stood up, turned, and
walked away from
Jesus, but Ray Stedman
suggests he might have
changed his mind and
come back. Maybe he
gave it all away and
came back with noth
ing but the robe on his
back. Maybe his name
was Mark and he wrote
this gospel.
If that’s true, then
Mark’s story of the un
named young man at
the empty tomb is even
more interesting. Some
people believe this sec
ond man was also Mark,
and he lost his robe, all
he had left, when he ran
back to tell the dis
ciples about the resur
rection. There are some
fascinating stories out
there; many of them are
in the Bible!
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.
Kudzu
It is a lot more com
mon these days to think
about what would hap
pen if the entire world
collapsed and we woke
up to a post-apocalyptic
wasteland. Movies de
picting this kind of hor
ror are a lot less enter
taining and a little more
jarring than they used
to be. We live in a time
where any scenario is not
really out of the realm
of possibility. Zombies.
Nuclear war. A black
hole swallowing us up.
The sun exploding into a
supernova. Unlikely, but
not improbable.
Sitting down with my
wife, having our nightly
recap and counseling
session of everything
that bothered us about
the day, this topic came
up. My wife reminded
me, as she does on a
regular basis, 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 1 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 cor
rect.
1 do most
of the grocery
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 1 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 disturb
ing 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 I got them looks bet
ter. 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.
& Clay: The apocalypse
KUDZU
& CLAY
Chris Walter
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.
^ I'VE BEEN ^
AFRAID TO TAKE MY
DRIVER'STEST... ,
Tfc£KM*Sti
mmmm
ASALUTETO
THE BRAVE FOLKS
WHOTESTYOUNG
DRIVERS!
AT PIKE
BY BWAIN W. PENN
100 YEARS AGO
October 21, 1921: Pike County Grand Jury pre
sentment: Pike is in the midst of an unprecedented
wave of crime, the results of the great world war.
Stills are found on every stream, larceny and murder
are rampant; all must be brought to the bar of justice.
75 YEARS AGO
October 24, 1946: Pike County schools had an
increase in enrollment this year. A total of 2,212
students, both black and white were registered
with 334 in high school. Compared to the previous
year, it was an increase of 366 students or 20%.
50 YEARS AGO
October 22,1971: A large crowd outside the
state capitol witnessed Governor Carter sign an
official declaration proclaiming Oct. 25, 1971 as Vet
eran’s Day in Georgia. It was the first year Veteran’s
Day was observed on a date other than Nov. 11.
25 YEARS AGO
October 23, 1996: Although composite draw
ings of Concord bank robbers were released, GBI
was still working on leads. They were looking for a
store clerk who sold three pairs of work gloves to
the robbers on Oct. 1, the day of the heist.