Newspaper Page Text
Page 4 — Wednesday, November 4, 2009, The True Citizen
inions
★ ★★ * ★ ★
The Pledge Of Allegiance
I pledge allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America
and to the Republic for which
jit stands, one Nation under
God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all.
★ -A'’*’*- Ir* ★ ★ ★ ★
RFD
Veterans Day
This coming Tuesday our nation will once again ob
serve Veterans Day. As this is being written, many
Americans are exercising one of the important free
doms that have been preserved by the men and women
who have fought and died in wars for over two centu
ries. Members of Congress and state and local officials
are being chosen by the voters. Voting in free and open
elections is one of the most precious freedoms we have,
and is actually the foundation of all the rest.
After the election is over, we should turn our atten
tion to the price that has been paid by millions of veter
ans for the freedoms we hold dear. In addition to the
right to vote, they include:
... Freedom to attend and worship at the church of
our choice.
... Freedom to speak out and criticize our government
and elected officials without fear of retribution.
... Freedom to travel from city to city and state to
state without fear of being watched or monitored.
... Freedom to own and bear arms to defend our homes
and families or to hunt game as man has done since the
beginning of time.
... Freedom to assemble at political or civic meetings
to discuss or debate whatever subjects we choose.
The freedom which we often take for granted is not
even a rational concept for billions of people around
the world. Citizens of North Korea, for example,
couldn’t even imagine writing a letter to their local
newspaper taking issue with a government official.
Americans do it every day.
It is important that we take time out on November 11
to remember the millions of individual sacrifices that
have been made to preserve our freedom over the past
233 years. Take a minute to remember, and to thank
them.
Looking Back
10 years ago: Nov. 3,1999
Martin Dolin won re-election as Mayor of Waynesboro. With
55 percent of the vote he defeated William Patterson and Rich
ard Rogers.
The True Citizen was recognized as Weekly Newspaper of the
Year by the Georgia Association of County Agriculture Agents
for its coverage of agriculture news and events.
Waynesboro’s new Wal-Mart store opened its doors for the first
time.
25 years ago: Nov. 7,1984
President Ronald Reagan won re-election while carrying Burke
County over rival Walter Mondale. 3,137 to 3,027.
Ellis Godbee survived a late-starting write-in effort by W.L.
Usher to win the District 3 County Commission post.
A 1977 Oldsmobile Cutlass crashed into the showroom of
Stewart Chevrolet on West Sixth Street, causing over $15,000 in
damage.
50 years ago: Nov. 5,1959
Burke County Hospital head nurse Mrs. Robert W. Oliver said
there was an urgent need for nurses at the local facility. More
surgeries had increased the workload for the nursing staff.
State Agriculture Commissioner Phil Campbell spoke to the
local Woodmen of the World chapter on the importance of agri
culture in the state economy.
75 years ago: Nov. 2,1934
Rev. J.B. Sloan, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, spoke
to the Waynesboro Rotary Club about the causes of war down
through the centuries.
Five thousand bushels of Fulghun Seed Oats, the largest ship
ment ever to leave Burke County, was shipped to Dadesville,
Ala., by John H. Reese and Arthur Evans.
nt (Ktitsmt
P.O. Box 948 • 601 E. 6th Street
Waynesboro, Georgia 30830
Telephone: (706) 554-2111 • Fax: (706) 554-2437
Published every Wednesday by TheTrue Citizen, Inc. Pe
riodical Postage Paid at Waynesboro, Georgia (USPS
642-300)
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The True
Citizen, P.O. Box 948, Waynesboro, GA 30830.
Roy F. Chalker
1915-1994
Roy F. Chalker Jr. Bonnie K. Taylor
Editor & Publisher General Manager
Elizabeth Billips
Associate Editor
Jill DuMars, advertising composition and computer pho
tography; Susie Barefield, classifieds and circulation;
Betty Belk, accounting and bookkeeping; Lavonna
Drawdy, advertising composition and design and adver
tising sales; Lisa J. Chance, page designer; Anne Marie
Kyzer, staff writer; and Tres Bragg, staff writer and ad
vertising composition..
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
$1 per single copy at locations all over Burke County. By
mail: In Burke County, 6 months, $17.90,1 year, $28.10,
2 years, $48.20; In area (contiguous counties), 6 months,
$21.80,1 year, $35; out of the area, 1 year, $44.30; out
side of Georgia, 6 months, $30.00,1 year, $55. Student
rate: 9 months in state: $25., outside of Georgia, $30;
One-year online subscription, $20. All prices include state
and local tax.
By Bonnie K. Taylor
General Manager The True Citizen
Our high school football teams are playing well this season.
If Burke County High School wins this Friday night against
West Faurens, they are state playoff bound!
i Edmund Burke Academy plays Arlington
Christian in the first game of the state play
offs. If they win they advance to quarter fi
nals.
Good luck teams!
Don't forget the deadline for the 31st annual
Magic of Christmas photos is Thursday at 5
p.m. Remember, we are closed on Fridays.
After the deadline there is a late fee for pho-
J tos to be included.
“As American as baseball, Mom’s apple pie and Chevrolet.”
You’ve heard that.
Americans are proud of our traditions,
| | rightly so. Nobody makes better apple pies
than American mamas. Nobody on the planet
builds better automobiles than Chevrolet.
And, except for football, hockey, basketball,
tennis, soccer, golf and synchronized swim
ming, baseball is the most exciting sport in
America.
Down here in the Blessed South we claim
I | ownership of certain things that, while they
may occasionally stray north of the Mason
Dixon line, they remain uniquely Southern.
Things the we, Southerners everywhere, are fiercely proud of.
Fike magnolia trees that flourish in the South like nowhere
else.
Grits. You can order them other places in America but be sure
to catch the waitress before she desecrates them with honey or
sugar.
NASCAR. Still predominately a Southern pastime in spite of
official attempts to distance themselves from their bread and butter
fan base.
And then there’s my favorite of all traditions rooted in our part
of the world.
The honky tonk.
Of course, like all good things, the influence of honky tonks
has spread to other parts of the world. I once heard George Strait
music being played at an establishment in Glasgow, Scotland.
The twang sounded just as sweet “over there” as it does in Dixie.
I was fortunate enough to spend time in some of the best honky
tonks in America.
The Grizzly Rose in Denver.
Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth.
Gilley’s, before it closed years ago, in Pasadena, Texas.
These days some of the better places like to call themselves “
dance halls” or “ music venues”.
Call them what you will, neon beer signs covering every wall
ascertain them as honky tonks.
Every incursion into a honky tonk convinces me further that
Southern Americans know how to have fun better than other Earth
lings.
Honky tonks are all about good friends, good times and great
music.
Fast week I went to a local place where a brand new record
was being released. Of course it was called a CD release party
but I still prefer to call them records.
The Hush Puppy Band was playing.
If you haven’t heard of them yet, you will. They already have
a maniacally loyal following but the new record should sky
rocket.
I hadn’t been in a honky tonk for a while but it all came back to
me right quick.
The lead singer is a friend and his wife, ever the gracious host
ess, French kissed me just for showing up. Don’t be alarmed,
you have to know her to understand.
The music was loud and proud, rough and rowdy, just like I
I want to congratulate my granddaughter, Jacie Taylor, on her
second place win in Blakeney Elementary’s Drug Awareness Week
Essay entitled "Pawsitively Drug-Free, That’s Me!”
A great big thank you to Camino Real Mexican Restaurant for
their generous contribution of $584.94 from last Wednesday’s
sales.
On Oct. 28 Camino Real advertised they would donate 25 per
cent of total sales on that day to the Wimberly House Ministries
Breast Cancer Support Group.
The Camino Real staff was donned in pink shirts and their
restaurant was filled with pink balloons in honor of Breast Can
cer Awareness.
While some of The True Citizen staff were eating at Camino
Real, Burke County Sheriff Greg Coursey came in dressed in
his pink golf shirt. The occasion called for a photo ... see it in
next week’s newspaper.
expected.
The dancing was lively. I hid and watched from a safe van
tage.
I spotted the redhead who I’ve christened the best looking
woman in the county. I‘m sure her husband’s aware of my in
fatuation. Pm even more certain that he knows he has no reason
to be concerned. Pm harmless.
Across the hardwood was my nephew and his bride, Fireball.
The boy creates his own dance steps every time his feet find a
new floor. Fireball just shrugs and keeps on dancing.
Out in the middle was a group of young women from my home
town who were having a ladies evening out. On this night their
husbands got to stay home and baby sit. The gals were having a
ball.
Good, clean Southern American fun.
At some point I was finally dragged out onto the dance floor.
Not that I was overly reluctant since the asker was the gorgeous
wife of the bass player. It was great fun and I managed not to
injure her with my own smooth moves.
Eater, another lovely young lady approached me. A stranger.
Mary Ann. Thin. Brunette. Pretty green eyes.
Tipsy and half my age.
After a few flirtations she asked me to take her home to Groovy
Town, Grovetown for non-locals.
I laughed and thought to myself, “ Too much imbibing has left
little MaryAnn vulnerable. And unintelligent.”
Still, the two creatures who reside deep inside of me, the South
ern gentleman and the roguish reprobate, began a mighty
straggle.
The gentleman won the day.
I called Maryann a cab and put her in it. Alone.
Eater I was chastised as an idiot for the missed opportunity.
I didn’t see it that way.
I was there for the music. For the friends in the band and on
the dance floor. To dance a bit myself if properly coaxed.
And to sing along.
“I’m a white trash, super hero!”
I was still singing hours after I left.
Heck, I’m singing right now!
That’s what happens when you visit the right joint Down South.
In Honky Tonk, USA.
Don Lively is a retired police officer and freelance writer. He
lives in Shell Bluff. Email Don at Fivelvcolo @ aol.com
We welcome your letters
Fetters to the editor of The True Citizen are welcomed and en
couraged. These are pages of opinion, yours and ours.
Fetters to the editor voice the opinions of the newspaper’s read
ers. The True Citizen reserves the right to edit any and all por
tions of a letter. Unsigned letters will not be published. Fetters
must include the signature, address and phone number of the
writer to allow our staff to authenticate its origin. Fetters should
be limited to 400 words and should be typewritten and double
spaced or neatly printed by hand. Deadline for letters to the edi
tor is Tuesday at 9 a.m.
Email Fetters to the Editor to: lisaj@thetruecitizen.com.
Don Lively
FRIDAY NIGHT NEON