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Page 4A — Wednesday, August 31,2016 The True Citizen
OPINIONS
The Pledge U1 Allegiance
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LOOKING BACK
{this week in Burke County history}
10 YEARS AGO-SEPT 6,2006
The Richmond County Bomb Squad was called to Greiner
Circle to investigate a "white box that fell from the sky.” The
squad later reported the box contained a spent infrared flare
that came off an Air Force fighter jet that was practicing over
the area.
Ripped Men’s Fitness was preparing to hold its Grand
Opening.
The Burke County Bears’ Players of the Week were Jona
thon Cohen (offense) and Damien Batten (defense). Edmund
Burke Academy’s were Jeremy Hayes and Stephen Wilson.
25 YEARS AGO-SEPT. 5,1991
The Burke County Dive and Rescue team recovered the
body of 19-year-old Chadwick McCoy. The Kite resident had
disappeared while attempting to cross the Ogeechee River
with friends near Bull Hole.
SGA Elementary School student Lizzie Frank was a winner
in the Young Georgia Author’s Exposition. She was honored
by State School Superintendent Werner Rogers during a
Georgia Board of Education meeting.
Piggly Wiggly advertised whole fryers for 59c per pound
and 12-pack Coca-Colas for $2.88.
50 YEARS AGO-AUGUST 31,1966
Thelma Rackley made history when she qualified to ran for
a seat on the Sardis City Council. She was the first woman in
Burke County to run for a municipal post.
Edmund Burke Academy teacher Maurice McGregor
received her key to the newly constructed Edmund Burke
Academy during the school’s open house. Paul Dye had
served as superintendent of construction.
Augusta’s Ed McIntyre was the keynote speaker for the
4th anniversary of the Burke County Citizens Improvement
Association.
The Grand Theatre was featuring Sean Connery in “Thun-
derball” .... “The biggest Bond of them all.”
75 YEARS AGO-SEPT 4,1941
Thirteen white and 21 black draftees were to be inducted
into the U.S. Army, the former at Fort McPherson and the
latter at Fort Benning. Among the inductees were Frank War
ren Godbee Jr., Robert Hill Powers, Phinazee Smith, Linward
Mobley and Layfette Kimble.
The City Filter Plant reported an average high temperature
of 91 degrees for the week.
Mrs. Roger Fulcher was set to reopen her kindergarten on
Sept. 8. The main attraction was a new doll house.
We welcome your letters
Letters to the editor of The True Citizen are welcomed and
encouraged. These are pages of opinion, yours and ours.
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Don Lively
I i
(Reprinted from 2012)
It was a job.
It was work.
I got paid to do it and it re
quired some effort on my part so
it certainly fit the criteria. But, it
didn't feel like work and it might
be the only job I've ever had that
I would have done for free.
Trail hand.
I actually made money sad
dling horses, helping novice
riders get astride the animals
and riding with them across the
Rocky Mountains of Colorado
or New Mexico, regaling them
with tales of my mountain
man exploits, most of which
I fabricated as we traveled.
I wore scuffed boots and a
sweat-stained Stetson, and, for
anybody who didn't look real
close, I looked like a bona fide
saddle tramp.
I got paid for playing cowboy.
That was the best job I ever
had, albeit part time and low
paying. The benefits were great
and the scenery was spectacular.
Not all of my work experi
ences were so positive.
One summer I spent three
months cleaning old cement off
of old bricks at an old railroad
GETTIN'
station and stacking them in an
old boxcar. It made my young
back feel very old.
Did you know a boxcar will
hold thirty-thousand used
bricks?
Yep.
That was the worst job I've
ever had, but, I was glad to have
it. After all, gas was thirty-six
cents a gallon and movies tick
ets were a buck and a half each. I
had a brand new American Mo
tors Hornet to keep on the road
and a 5T" spitfire of a girlfriend
to keep happy.
So, I scraped and stacked
bricks.
That was work.
This week we celebrate work
and workers.
Labor Day.
Does anybody besides me find
it ironic that we commemorate
labor and laborers in America by
spending the day not laboring?
I certainly don't mind. It's one
of the perks of being a govern
ment employee.
Regardless of the current
employment figures that the two
political parties blame on each
other, America, for the most
part, is still a hardworking, high
achieving nation.
Just look around you.
But, some jobs look less like
work than others.
Until you look closer.
From my office window I
IT DONE
have a clear view of a cotton
ginning and grain elevator op
eration that's been around for
longer than I have. One day
when I glanced out, I saw move
ment near the top of the biggest
silo. I wondered what on Earth
somebody was doing up there.
What else?
Working.
Whatever task he had though,
he did it nimbly and headed
back down.
One recent weekend I sat on
the beach watching a boat pull a
parasail with two humans, either
terrified or exhilarated, strapped
underneath, soaring over the
ocean. Fun and games, sure,
but somebody's working. A boat
driver. Somebody belting in,
launching, and then reeling in
the thrill seekers. Presumably at
least one attorney and one insur
ance professional on speed dial
in case anything goes wrong.
Recently I've had the opportu
nity to visit several places where
live music was being played.
Each time I thought what could
be better? Standing on stage,
playing and singing to an ap
preciative audience. Could that
possibly be thought of as work?
Then I remembered how I get
the cold sweats and knee knocks
every time I get approached
about doing a solo part with the
church praise team. And how
we practice a song, just one
song, dozens of times before
we do it. Multiply that times
thirty or forty and you have a
typical playlist for a musical
group. Add thousands of hours
of practice, more hours hauling
and setting up equipment, even
more tearing it down.
Yep, it looks like work.
I once heard a fellow say
that he was tired of the rat race.
He was going to seminary and
become a preacher. He presum
ably thought that preaching was
easy street.
I laughed.
I'll bet God laughed too.
I recently watched a preach
er work as hard as any coal
miner ever has. He stomped
and pounded and shouted and
sweated. Just the time he spent
stomping on my toes had to be
exhausting. Every night when
he finished the revival sermon
he was literally spent. He had
to sit for a while to get a second
wind. I'm sure he burned more
calories proclaiming the gospel
than I would have in an hour on
my treadmill.
Actually, I no longer have a
treadmill.
I sold the wicked thing.
Way too much labor.
Still, it makes me tired just
thinking back on it.
Nap time.
Happy Labor Day.
Michael N. Searles
FIGHTING SUCCESS
We believe that everyone
wants to be successful in life and
will make every effort to do so.
While this may seem obvious,
we sometimes allow others to
divert us from a likely path to
one that leads to defeat or even
destruction. Young people going
in the wrong direction have in
various ways said, “My uncles,
brothers, and cousins have all
gone to jail, and that’s my des
tiny; or no one in my family ever
graduated from high school, and
I don’t plan to do so.” In some
cases, no argument by teachers,
ministers, counselors, or neigh
bors can convince the young
person that they should chart a
different course from peers and
family members. In the field of
competitive sports, where it is
said that winning is everything,
there are examples of athletes
who abuse their bodies, play
while hurt and risk injury in or
der to be competitive. However,
the desire to win can be over
come if strong social factors are
brought into play. Basketball
is a favorite American as well
as an international sport. One
of the basic shots in basketball
is the free throw or foul shot.
There is a lot of information
on how a free throw should be
made. One description makes
the case as follows: A player
can, through long hours of prac
tice, become a good basketball
shooter and an effective scorer
if he possesses at least minimum
hand-eye coordination. In most
cases, good basketball shooters
are the product of long hours on
the basketball court practicing
their shooting. Like practically
everything else in life, basket
ball shooting is a habitual thing;
that is, it involves repetition of
a given set of movements until
those movements become an
unconscious part of a player’s
court behavior. While this is
textbook advice, some players
are just better than others.
Rick Barry a retired profes
sional (NBA) basketball player
ranked first in NBA history with
a .900 free throw percentage and
in 1996 was named one of the
50 Greatest Players in history by
the NBA. There were entire sea
sons where Barry only missed
nine or ten free throws. In a
recent interview, he was asked
about his amazing free throw
percentage. He credited his suc
cess to the manner in which he
shot the ball. Instead of raising
his arms above his head and
releasing the ball, he starting
with the ball between his legs
and lifted his arms to release
the ball. The position has been
dubbed the granny shot. Few
professional basketball players
have been willing to use this
shot not because it was ineffec
tive but because it looked silly
and would prompt teasing from
fans. Rick Barry recommended
the underhand shot to Shaquille
O’Neal who was a notoriously
poor free throw shooter. O’Neal
told Barry that he would rather
shoot zero than to use the granny
shot. Wilt Chamberlain de
scribed himself as the world’s
worse free throw shooter but
was unwilling to continue us
ing the granny shot even when
it produced success. These ex
amples from basketball indicate
how we make decisions and our
reluctance to act in successful
ways. Success is sometimes less
important than how we look in
the eyes of others. However,
there are the Rick Barrys of the
world who stay the course even
as friends, fans, and family say,
"I don’t like what you are saying
or doing.” We face challenges
on the job, in our families, and
in the community. Doing what is
right and what could ultimately
bring success is not always
an easy choice. Gandhi who
greatly influenced Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. said, “As a
man changes his own nature so
does the attitude of the world
change towards him. A popular
expression says, "Be the change
you wish to see in the world.”As
others see our action, they can
be inspired to become truer
representatives of themselves.
Courage often accompanies suc
cess, and if we want the world
to change, we must summon the
courage to embrace the angels
of our better nature.