Newspaper Page Text
Page 4 — Wednesday, May 5, 2010, TheTrue Citizen
inions
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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'’*’*- ★ ★ ★ ★
Too good to be true
Radio and television channels are overrun with ads
for companies that promise to “make your debt go
away.”
As the recession progressed and unemployment
grew over the last few years, more and more Ameri
cans who had always had good credit records found
themselves struggling to pay their bills. Credit card
balances soared and home foreclosures hit all time
highs. Desperate families have reached for help
anywhere they could find it. Unfortunately, many
have turned to the debt settlement companies who
promise an easy fix when the credit card debt sim
ply disappears.
The truth is that many of those companies end up
making things worse by charging up-front fees and
never really delivering on what they promise. Con
sumers end up owing more than they did before be
cause of late fees and interest and their credit rating
deteriorates even further.
The Better Business Bureau advises the use of non
profit credit counseling services. They provide help
at little or no cost and they work well with banks
and other creditors to help consumers out of diffi
cult situations.
If you or someone you know is experiencing fi
nancial difficulty, ask your bank or credit union
about consumer credit counseling. Responding to
the slick sales pitches on television could lead to
disaster.
"We know being a mom is hard sometimes,
but you sure make being a kid easier !"
RFD
By Bonnie K. Taylor
General Manager The True Citizen
More than 3,500 lbs. of pork, chicken and brisket will be grilled,
prayed over and judged in Waynesboro this weekend ... rain or
shine. In case it rains, there will be plenty of covered areas to
conduct the festivities!
The event will be held at Mr. Golf Carts
Distribution Center (the old Perfection com
plex off Hwy. 56), thanks to James Eastmead,
owner.
Gates open at 5 p.m. on Friday with free
wings while they last! At 6 p.m. you can par-
\ ticipate in Burke County’s largest musical
chairs followed by the crowning of the King
of the Wing and entertainment by the Doug
I I McCormick Band and crowing of the Wing
Reverse Beauty Pageant.
Advance tickets are on sale at all area banks.
On Saturday there will be the mechanical bull, 10-foot slide,
tug o’War, face painting, sack races, cake walk, three-legged and
relay races, Boss Hog Pig Chase, cricket spittin’ and more. Gates
open at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday with live music by the East Dixie
Boys. The People’s Choice Award will be presented followed by
rock wall and extreme air bungee and Celebrity Cow Milking,
more live music by The Brick Dust Band, the Waynesboro Weiner
Hog Dog Eat-off and the finale ... Boss Hog Cook-off Awards.
The judging schedule for Saturday is noon: Chicken; 12:30
p.m.: Pork Ribs; 1 p.m.: Pork; 1:30 p.m.: Beef Brisket and 4
p.m.: Grand winners announced.
The Boss Hog Cook-off is an official Georgia State Champi
onship and is sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society.
This event allows participants to compete for eligibility at the
Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational event in Octo
ber. ‘The Jack’ is considered the most prestigious annual barbeque
event in the world.
The local event is sponsored by D.O.O.R. (Downtown Orga
nization of Retailers) spearheaded by Nan Palmer Lynch, Amy
Lane Lively and our own Elizabeth Billips.
The event would not be possible without all of the community
volunteers! A great big thank you to Tim Lively, judging coordi
nator, and to the volunteers!!!!
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY TO MY MOM, MOTHER-IN-LAW
and all you Burke County Moms! We’re all special!!!!!!
Don Lively
FAMILIES, MINE AND YOURS
Looking Back
10 years ago: May 3, 2000
Joanne Dixon, Greg Chandler, Clinton Bates, Fred Beauman
and Rayborne Lane all qualified to run for the District 4 Board
of Education see.
In the county commission race Ron Reed qualified to run against
incumbent Jimmy Dixon and two Republicans, Wayne Crockett
and Johnny McClellan qualified for the post held by Ellis Godbee,
a Democrat.
Dr. Shelley Griffin was inducted into the Georgia chapter of
the Alpha Omega Honor Medical Society.
25 years ago: May 8,1985
Dairy Queen owner Clifford Jones announced the introduction
of a new ice cream treat - the Blizzard.
Jeff Godbee of Waynesboro, a junior at Newberry College,
was named Most Valuable Offensive Player and Best Blocker for
the school’s 1984-85 football season.
Edmund Burke Academy’s golf team successfully defended its
region title in Savannah. Members included Brent Meeks, Bill
Evans, Mitch Marchman, Chad Shivers, Chris Mann, Rhett
McBride and Dorrah Harrison.
50 years ago: May 5,1960
Paul H. Shivers Jr. received an Associate in Science degree in
Industrial Technology from Southern Technical Institute.
Mr. and Mrs. Ivey Rainwater returned to Waynesboro as man
agers of the Anthony Wayne Hotel.
April Brinson was named valedictorian of the 1960 graduating
class of Waynesboro High School. Emory Whitaker was saluta-
torian.
First Presbyterian Church of Waynesboro announced plans to
observe its 200 th anniversary on May 15.
75 years ago: May 3,1935
Miss Emily Elliott of Covington was appointed to the
Waynesboro school faculty.
University of Georgia president S.V. Sanford was scheduled
to address the upper classes of the Sunday School of First Meth
odist Church.
“The Painted Veil” starring Greta Garbo was playing at the
Grand Theatre.
W-xixt (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; Betty Belk, accounting and bookkeeping;
Lavonna Drawdy, advertising composition and design
and advertising sales; Lisa J. Chance, page designer;
Anne Marie Kyzer, staff writer; Tres Bragg, staff writer
and advertising composition; Marianne Smith,
classifieds, circulation and accounts receivable.
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and local tax.
Just admit it, you have relatives.
You have kinfolk.
You weren’t hatched, you were born, and
by that very fact there has to be at least a few
people on the planet who you are kin to, no
matter how much you wish it wasn’t so.
You can deny it till the bovines make their
slow journey back to the homestead, no mat
ter how much they embarrass you or humili
ate you, unless you arrived alone from an
other planet (not totally out of the realm of
possibility for some local folks I’ve encoun
tered) you have a family.
So just suck it up and deal with it.
If you grew up in the South it’s even worse.
Personally, if my figures are correct, I’m kin to eighty-three
point two percent of the folks in my home county.
It’s so bad that, even now, if I’m considering asking a lady out
on a date, it requires me to do several hours of genealogical
research to determine if she is related to me before I dare make
that first phone call. Because if she is kin to me, even if she nor
I are aware of it, somebody does know, trust me. And, as soon
as she and I are seen out in public together, before you can say
Cousin Honey, I’m branded a heathen, her Mama is begging her
to be re-baptized and somebody is calling Jerry Springer.
It’s a sad and unbendable rule of life that, from the very sec
ond you spring forth from your mother’s womb, you have zero
control over who you’re kin to. Once you’re here, it’s too late.
You’re trapped.
And it continues throughout a lifetime with more births and
marriages adding to the already burgeoning total. It’s not incon
ceivable, with my huge family, that I could one day end up being
related by blood or by marriage to ALL of yall!
It boggles the mind.
I’m kin to so many people around the Blessed South that it
requires no less that four family reunions every year to get them
all covered.
Going to weddings, and funerals, and housewarmings and baby
showers is almost like having a part time job in our clan.
And, with a family that big, there are bound to be more than a
few who can mortify you without trying very hard.
But, as Southerners, we were counseled years ago by the great
philosopher Lewis Grizzard, to put our crazies right out on the
front porch for the world to see. Not to hide them away in a
locked room like they do Up North.
Daddy was by no means a snob and, based on the fact that I am
still cleaning up some of the junk he piled in the woods ten years
after he left us, he wasn’t the most orderly farmer ever born
either. But I remember him shaking his head in exasperation
when we drove by a close relative’s house one afternoon and saw
a new addition to the place.
“Only he would build a hog pen in his front yard!” Daddy
snorted.
I’ve laughed about it over the years but I have no doubt that
Daddy would have defended that same kinsman with physical
ardor against anybody else.
After all, even though you can’t choose your relatives, they
are YOUR relatives.
So, if you visit one of your cousins and you see that he has
planted flowers in a couple of discarded toilets, one on each side
of the steps to his house, as a matter of Southern etiquette, you
just tip your hat and tell him how pretty the flowers are. You
don’t have to mention the commodes unless he brings them up
first.
Another relative decides to dye his hair platinum blond and
start wearing women’s clothes. You grit your teeth and smile
and tell folks a little white lie about him having delayed shell
shock syndrome from some long ago foreign conflict. Then you
make a mental note to put him on the Sunday School prayer list
at the earliest opportunity.
You have a relative who is renowned for gardening naked.
You caution him to use extra sun screen and warn your daughters
and nieces to never drop by his house without calling first.
What you never, ever do is deny kinship.
Never.
That would be a very UnSouthern thing to do.
In my family, whether you land there by birth, marriage or
adoption, you’re there for life.
There’s no escape.
For better or for worse. I’ll take my family over any other.
Quirks, idiosyncrasies and eccentricities notwithstanding.
You know exactly what I mean.
Because you have a family too.
Just admit it.
Don Lively is a retired police officer and freelance writer. He
lives in Shell Bluff. Email Don at Livelvcolo @ aol.com
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