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The True Citizen, Wednesday, September 15, 2021 — Page 5
Michael N. Searles
WHEN A FRIEND DIES
Ronda Rich
OUR WORLD IS NOT HALLMARK PRETTY
We in some sense believe we
will live forever, and this also
is true of our friends. When
one dies it reminds us of our
own mortality and the fragil
ity of life.
These experiences over
whelm us if our friends are in
their thirties, forties, or even
seventies. One of my friends
recently died. While we did
not have continuous contact,
we always talked at some
length when we met. This was
especially true a few weeks ago
when fate had us gather for
another friend’s recognition.
As we sat down, another friend
joined us. The three of us found
our ages were just a year or
two apart. We sat and shared
old memories. Nothing was
said about current affairs and
pending issues in Waynesboro/
Burke County.
As I was going about my
day-to-day activities, some
one told me that my friend
had contracted COVID and
was rushed to the hospital. It
reminded me of a recent con
versation where we sat without
masks and talked face-to-face
for twenty minutes. The issue
of COVID was never brought
up, but, I assumed we both had
been vaccinated. I got my first
Modema shot in January and
the second one in February.
There is an assumption that
senior citizens have definitely
received COVID vaccinations.
To my surprise, I was informed
that my friend had not been
vaccinated. What even came
as a bigger shock was my
friend had advised others to
get the vaccine. The hope that
resonated with me was that
his recommendations to others
saved lives.
There are many things that
seem strange to us. The refusal
to do what seems reasonable
baffles us. I recently had a con
versation with another friend
who runs a profitable and busy
business. In the course of our
conversation, it was mentioned
that he had workers who had
contracted COVID but he had
not taken the shots. When I
asked why, he believed because
he was young the vims would
not affect him. It was as if
the blood of a lamb or goat
had been spread over the tops
and sides of his doorframe as
protection.
However, as I questioned the
impact COVID would have
on his business as well as his
friends and family, the look of
indecision crept into his face.
Once the issue was not merely
an individual matter but one
with far reaching consequenc
es, there may have been an
impact. For those who believe
getting vaccinated is a personal
decision fail to recognize the
effect it could have on others.
An elementary school teach
er in Marin County, California
never thought that taking off
her mask to read to a group
of students would have con
sequences. She had taken
what she thought were all of
the necessary precautions that
day. She wore her mask and
maintained a social distance
with her students. However,
for whatever reason, she had
not been vaccinated. She ap
parently never suspected she
was a danger to the class.
On May 19, she began feel
ing fatigued and had some
nasal congestion. She believed
it was an allergy and would
pass. It was during this time
that she removed her mask to
read a story to the class. By the
time she learned she was posi
tive for the coronavirus two
days later, half of her class of
24 students had been infected.
The infection did not stop with
the students in the class; other
classes, siblings and parents
were infected.
I am writing this article with
the hope that my business
friend reads it and imagines
himself in the shoes of the
elementary school teacher.
Contracting COVID is not
something from which we can
hide. Any person with whom
you have a conversation or
come into contact could be
spreading the vims.
The elementary school teach
er was not named in the article,
but if she could turn back the
clock she likely would have
taken the COVID shots and
avoided the guilt and shame of
being a spreader of the vims.
What do you say to the parents
of the kids you infected? What
do you say to the kids? Is say
ing you’re sorry sufficient? The
Bible tells us, “If anyone then
knows the good they ought to
do and doesn’t do it, it is a sin
for them.”
For almost nine months, I
ran and worked the Rondarosa
alone after Tink found himself
locked behind closed borders
in Canada, producing a new
season of the Hallmark smash
hit, When Calls The Heart.
In wading boots, I crawled
into the east fork of the river
and repaired a barbed wire
fence that kept the horses
from wandering away. I was
soaked from head to toe when
I was finished but the job was
accomplished.
As the heat rose up from
our Massey-Ferguson, I bush
hogged pastures in the July
sun. I couldn’t decide if the
tractor’s engine or the Geor
gia skies were hotter but,
combined, it was a miserable
experience.
When our master suite
wound up painted in the ugli
est white created by man - I
was, against my better instinct,
talked into it by experts - I
took on repainting the en
tire suite (except the walk-in
closet. I refused to tote out
all those belts, scarfs, and
shoes again). For six weeks,
I sidestepped ladders, kept
paint bushes in the fridge (this
makes them easier to re-use)
and tried to paint at least 30
minutes a day.
During this time,Tink called
regularly or checked out my
progress by video chat.
“Call the painters back,” he
said repeatedly.
“I will not,” I replied with the
Appalachian stubbornness that
is a trademark of our people.
“Do you know how much
painting costs? I will not pay
that again. This is my fault and
I will fix it.”
The new color - a milk
chocolate - is beautiful with
the jarring, vivid fabrics and
leopard carpet that I had spent
a year, saving up to buy.
Now, every couple of days,
Tink will look at the gorgeous
carpet and say, “This is the
most beautiful carpet I’ve ever
seen.”
I was inspired to such a
drastic decorating measure by
Tink’s stepmother who car
peted her magnificent, spiral
staircase in leopard and by
Gyphon’s, a wonderful tea
room in Savannah (a drugstore
built around the turn of the
20th Century and now owned
by SCAD) which is floored
in a stunning black and taupe
leopard print.
Folks often say, “Oh, I want
to visit the Rondarosa. I want
to see it.”
Tink said, “People think we
live on a picture-perfect ranch.
They don’t realize it’s an old
farm with weeds and thistle.”
He was gone - working as
hard as I but in air conditioning
- when spring cleaning time
came so I hand-scrubbed the
porches, swings, and rockers.
In addition to the daily bam
chores, something was al
ways breaking or needing re
pair. Plumbing. Garage doors.
Washing machines. Pasture
fences that were swept away,
twice, by storms.
We put in new trees in spring
to replace three dozen that we
lost to winter storms over four
years. I wish I could recover
all the time I spent calling the
landscaper who rarely showed
up as promised. One day, he
delivered a big tree that took
a backhoe to unload. He asked
for a check for the tree he had
paid for, promising to be back
after to lunch to put it in the
ground.
One week and many agitated
calls later, he returned. That
experience took three years
off my life.
That and choosing the wrong
paint.
It was hard but I was always
grateful that Tink had such a
good job at a time when Hol
lywood had shut down almost
completely.
Happily, he returned and
just as happily, I handed over
all the problems. I came home
from the grocery store shortly
thereafter and could not get the
newly-repaired garage door
to open. Tink came out and
fiddled with it until his patience
had evaporated.
I pulled the car up to where
he was standing, shaking his
head, rolled down the window
and smiled.
“Welcome back to our world.
This is not Hallmark.”
Despite himself, he had to
laugh.
John Tinker is executive
producer and head writer of the
Hallmark Channel’s number
one rated drama, When Calls
The Heart. In Hope Valley,
unlike the Rondarosa, things
are usually perfect.
BIKE COUNTY BUSINESS DIRECTORY
These local professionals are here to serve you!
Air Conditioning
TRUST.
ITS MORE THAN A WORD TO US.
ITS OUR WORD TO YOU.
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Electrical & Generator
502 West 6th Street
Waynesboro, GA 30830
PHONE (706) 554-2861
GENERAC
AUTHORIZED DEALER
RffiWELL
ELECTRIC CO.
Air Conditioning
Commercial - Residential
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1040 Bethesda Church Road
Girard, GA
Mobile: 706-339-9343
ftb Hard Tk St tip A Thin*'
Reliable
Durable
Clean Air
Comfort Control
Efficient
First-Rate Warranties
Contractor
HIGHSMITH BUILDING SERVICES, INC.
constructing custom homes since 1991
JOHN A. HIGHSMITH
706-551-0248
Pet Grooming
r
Springwood
Boarding & Grooming
706-592-0444
3209 Old Waynesboro Road
Hephzibah, GA 30815
"Caring hands for your precious pet"
Handyman and Lawn Services
PWN
HANDYMAN SERVICES
AND LAWN CARE, LLC
AU YOUR HANDYMAN AND LAWN CARE NEEDS
NO JOS TOO SMALL!
INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR HOME REPAIR AND IMPROVEMENT
LAWN CARE AND LANDSCAPIN6
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706-526-8303 call or text
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Insurance
Stacey L, Herrmann, LUTCF ■ Agency Mgr.
FARM
BUREAU
GEORGIA
Georgia Farm Bureau Insurance Services
Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company
Office 706-554-2017 FAX: 706-554-7482
Email: slherrmann@gfbins.com
CLAIMS # 1-855-432-2567
P.O. Box 329 Waynesboro, GA 30830
Wrecker Service
706-551-3998
706-551-0876
TAYLOR BROTHERS
Wrecker Service
206 West 12th Street
ADVERTISE HERE!
To be included in the Burke
County Business Directory,
contact Roy Chalker
at 706-554-2111.
Heating & Air
AuntJKyrn
dealer
Turn cu the Expert,
“Trust, Honor & Pride - Our Commitment To You”
346 Old Millen Hwy., Waynesboro, GA 30830
706-554-2665
Burke Memorial Funeral Home
www.burkememorial.com
“A Home of Dependable Seme"
842 Liberty Street, Waynesboro, GA
Family owned S, operated
jane and George DeLoach
706-833-9867 or 706-551-5100
Dustin Rowell,
Owner/President
Rowell
(HEATirVG,&^AlR L