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The True Citizen, Wednesday, April 21,2021 — Page 5
Michael N. Searles
$200 MILLION
Diana Royal
DOUBLE DOSE
Who would not like to win
$200 million? Think of the
wonderful things you could
purchase.
Writer Crissy Van Meter
gave that subject some thought
and compiled a list of things
that could be purchased for
$200,000,000. 1. Four miles
of untouched, beautiful, and
rugged Santa Barbara coast
line. 2. America’s largest man
sion in the lovely Flamptons
composed of 43,031 square
feet and 29 bedrooms with an
ocean view. 3. A bid on the
most luxurious China collec
tion including a Chinese tea
bowl dating back to the Song
Dynasty (960-1279) as well
as recent pieces from Faberge
and Tiffany & Co. 4. A private
island in the Bahamas. 5. The
Pogue Coin Collection that in
cludes a five cent piece dating
back to 1792 bearing the head
of Miss Liberty. 6. The Playboy
Mansion in Los Angeles. 7. A
1962 Ferrari 250 GTO. Need
less to say, $200 million is a lot
of money.
According to Stacy M.
Brown, NNPA Newswire Se
nior National Correspondent,
Georgia will likely lose $200
million as a result of Major
League Baseball’s decision to
move the All-Star Game from
Atlanta to Denver. Governor
Brian Kemp seemed mildly
disturbed with the All-Star
game leaving Atlanta, but
refused to acknowledge that
the recently passed Voter Law
was a problem. In a note of
bravado, he said, "I will not
back down. Georgians will not
be bullied. We will continue to
stand up for secure, accessible,
fair elections."
It appears for the governor
$200 million is of little im
portance when a “principle” is
involved. The Atlanta Braves
were more sanguine in their
response. In their statement on
Twitter, the Braves said they
were "disappointed" by Major
League Baseball's decision
and they had hoped they could
have used the City of Atlanta
"as a platform to enhance the
discussion (on equal voting op
portunities)." There are reasons
to be disappointed when the
consequences are measured.
The Atlanta Braves had plans
to operate its 41,000 capacity
Truist Park at 100 percent ca
pacity by June. The team esti
mated that more than 100,000
people would attend events as
part of Major League Base
ball’s All-Star Game, which the
Braves were scheduled to host
in July. "This was neither our
decision, nor our recommenda
tion and we are saddened that
fans will not be able to see this
event in our city. The Braves
organization will continue to
stress the importance of equal
voting opportunities and we
had hoped our city could use
this event as a platform to en
hance the discussion. Our city
has always been known as a
uniter in divided times and we
will miss the opportunity to ad
dress issues that are important
to our community. Unfortu
nately, businesses, employees
and fans in Georgia are the
victims of this decision."
While some have estimated
the cost at more than $200 mil
lion, a slightly lower estimate
came from Cobb County Fi
nance Director Bill Volckmann
who anticipated the economic
impact from the game to be as
much as $190 million. The All-
Star game not only
would have an im- SEE
pact on the city, SEARLES,
but on surrounding 6
Over the past several days,
I’ve done my share of yelp
ing and sighing and whining,
but as of right now, nearly
1:30 on Monday morning, my
body soreness is beginning to
dissipate, and I might manage
a few hours of sleep before I
have to get up again and start
the work week.
Of course I’m talking about
getting my second shot of the
COVID-19 vaccine, and if
you are tired of hearing about
it, turn the page — we’ve got
some great sports stories about
all of our local athletes in this
week’s edition.
If you’re still with me, let’s
talk side effects and why so
many of us are saying, “I’d do
it again anyway.”
First, I feel as though I
should recap my initial shot
about a month ago. The head
ache had a quick onset, within
two hours of the shot, and by
the next morning, reaching
for a stapler on my desk made
me contemplate amputation.
Night two came with sweats,
more headache, chills and a
fever, but when I woke up the
following morning all symp
toms were fine albeit some arm
soreness. I remember hearing
the birds singing and thanking
God for restoring my health.
(I’m not being overly dramatic
when I say that.)
Round two hits a bit differ
ently, especially, from what
I’ve heard, for us Gen X’ers.
(I’m not going to get into
conspiracy theories about how
others might be trying to take
out the greatest generation
there’s ever been because,
quite frankly, we don’t care.)
My second shot had a little
extra bite to it and was much
more swollen and red than the
first. Five hours in, I thought
my arm might fall off. My
shirt touching the injection
site created excruciating pain,
but aside from that, I silently
cheered,belie vingl’dbeenone
of the exceptions to the flu-like
experience.
I cheered too soon.
Nausea crept upon me in
waves, each one getting taller
and taking longer to pass. The
headache hurt behind my eyes,
and I was dizzy. By the 24-hour
mark, my skin was on fire on
the outside, but I felt like ice
on the inside. In an attempt
to go get a drink from Sonic,
I removed my old house robe
and walked outside — big
mistake. I started convulsing
from chills. The muscle aches
and insomnia made every other
pain worse, and when the birds
started chirping the next morn
ing, I had a Steel Magnolias
moment play out in my head
(if you’ve seen the movie, you
know exactly what I’m talking
about).
I missed out on Honey’s
cheesecake; I missed the
wedding of two very special
friends; I sat in agony as fam
ily members came in and out,
helping pack and move our
house.
Now, all that remains is some
itchy skin and arm pain.
Though I was miserable for
a few days, I’d do it again in
a heartbeat because I feel so
much closer to normalcy than I
have for more than a year now.
The idea of traveling, of going
to a concert or a Chinese buffet,
just hugging people makes my
heart so happy. This pandemic
has reminded me of the things
we so often take for granted.
And the folks working the
drive-thru vaccine distribution
— I cannot say enough how
amazing y’all are. The gentle
man who gave me my second
shot had such a soothing voice,
I didn’t even know I’d received
it at first.
Now, maybe I’m micro-
chipped, but I haven’t devel
oped any superpowers. On
second thought, I think peace
of mind is one of the greatest
superpowers of all.
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County Business Directory,
County Business Directory,
contact Roy Chalker
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at 706-554-2111.
at 706-554-2111.