Newspaper Page Text
December 5, 2012
"Reporter
On the Outside Looking In
The real meaning of Christmas?
BY DON DANIEL
think I’ve figured it
out as to why the
Chamber of Com
merce wants to call
the annual parade
held at this time of year
something other than a
Christmas Parade: They
don’t want to offend the
Muslim, Jewish
and atheist resi
dents of Monroe
County. And since
it is held on a pub
lic street they
could get in trou
ble for using a pub
lic road for reli
gious displays. If
they advertise it
as a “Holiday”
parade, none of
the above will be offended.
Wouldn’t be surprised if
next year the rules for a
float will be participants
cannot have a manger
scene and anything reli
gious or anything to do with
Christmas is “verboten”!
Better not call it a
Christmas tree that was
lighted on the courthouse
square. I’m sure some
atheist would file a law
suit in Monroe County
Superior Court that they
were offended by the light
ing since our United
States Supreme Court has
ruled no religious icons
can be on government
property and expect a rul
ing that the Christmas
tree is racist and the
Lord’s Prayer can’t be said
at public events, and the
Pledge of Allegiance can
not be said in public
schools.
Back in the fifth grade
we had a Christmas play
depicting the manger
scene and I was one of the
wise men who traveled
from afar with frankin
cense and myrrh to visit
the newborn baby, Jesus.
Yep, it was held in a public
school auditorium.
And then just a couple of
days ago, it was
announced the Pope
has written a book
that I am sure will
become a bestseller
writing that the
manger where Christ
was born is not---in
his opinion--the way
it really happened.
I will not be giving
that book as a
Christmas present!
DURING my recent visit
to England, the number
one best selling book, as it
had been here in the
states, was “Fifty Shades
Of Grey”. Well, I pur
chased a copy since I do
enjoy reading books that
are sometimes best sellers
and the six-hour flight in a
motorized tube can become
rather boring.
About halfway across the
Atlantic and about
halfway through the book,
I came to the conclusion
that “Fifty Shades Of
Grey” was/is pure what I
define as pornography!
Upon arriving in London, I
intentionally left the book
on the plane and the per
son across the aisle
stopped me and gave the
book back. I should have
said you keep it but a
thank you seemed appro
priate.
I didn’t finish reading it
during the trip and again
intentionally “lost” it leav
ing it for the next guest at
a bed and breakfast. After.
I told my daughter I had
started reading the book,
she was surprised, saying:
“Dad I am really surprised
you read that book. It is a
‘chick’ book”. I didn’t
understand chick book
until she explained women
were/are the primary pur
chasers of the book. The
next time I purchase a
book, I’m gonna look for
reviews and determine if
they are “chick” books.
What is amazing to me,
the author has written two
sequels and they have
become bestsellers.
LEARNED something
new from an Associated
Press story about same-
sex weddings: if it is two
women getting “married”
they are both brides.
Therefore, I assume if two
men are getting “married”,
they are both grooms.
RECENTLY I asked the
Chairman of the
Downtown Development
Authority and Better
Hometown committee, who
owns a business in down
town Forsyth, if she were
in favor of a bypass
around town. Her com
ment was rather adamant
ly against a bypass, stat
ing that the traffic prob
lems in town “could be
accomplished in other
ways”. No explanation of
“other ways”.
THE Development
Authority of Monroe
County has “four listings
of our property in Monroe
Countjf’ on their website.
Kerri Swearingen is chair
man of the DAOMC and
there are eight members
on the board. No correct
answers to “The
Question”.
Here’s “The Question”:
The Monroe County Board
of Education is proposing
to spend how much on a
fine arts building using e-
splost funds. The first cor
rect answer after twelve
noon on Thursday wins a
certificate for a Blizzard
from the Dairy Queen,
Cookie from Jonah’s, hot
dog combo from the Dog
House, fried green tomato
appetizer at the Whistle
Stop and a “I Answered
The Question” t-shirt.
It would be great if our
Board of Education, the
county commissioners and
the Forsyth city council all
decided to invest in coop
eratively and being cooper
ative in building a fine
arts, community and con
vention center. It would be
a sign of really caring and
forgetting egos if that hap
pened.
IT IS obvious that our
incoming commission
chairman has his own
agenda. What he seems to
have forgotten, he ain’t got
the votes until the hands
are raised.
Donald Jackson Daniel
is the founder and former
publisher of The Reporter.
Contact him with a com
ment at tullaybear@bell-
south.net.
Guest Column
Georgia Boys, the power
Tom Eads is an advertis
ing account representative
for the Monroe County
Reporter. He wrote this col
umn last week about the
30th annual trip he’s made
with childhood buddies to
see Jimmy McKinney, direc
tor of the South Dakota
State University marching
band.
BY!
■ ^
J 'I
H fr
1 le;
-L te
BY TOM EADS
fty years ago in
apeville, Ga.., my
friend Ricky (Smi
ley) and I were en
tering the 8th
grade. It was the first day of
school, Tuesday after Labor
Day. Kennedy was still alive.
Ali was still Cassius Clay.
Kareem Abdul Jabbar was
still Lew Alcindor and Smiley
was still just Ricky. It was
our first year of high school.
We thought we were big
stuff. We and our girl
friends were high schoolers
now and life was good! Until
lunch period!
Two upperclassmen
walked over to our table of
eighth graders and literally
picked Ricky up by his
elbows and carried him
across the lunch room to the
table with all the drummers
from the marching band.
Their leader was Jimmy
McKinney.
They put Ricky down in
front of Jimmy and he asks
Ricky who the girl was that
he had been talking to a few
minutes earlier. Ricky said
“her name is Jan Hudson
and she is my girlfriend”.
Jimmy said “well, she’s my
girlfriend now and I don’t
want to see you talking to
her anymore”. They didn’t
carry him back, he had to
walk.
When he got back to our
table we said “what was
that about”? Ricky said “I
can’t talk to Jan anymore”.
We said “Why”?
He said “she is his girl
now”! He didn’t speak to her
again until our 10-year
class reunion.
We soon found out
none of us had our girl
friends any longer, they
were all dating those
evil upper classmen.
We were just learning
how to kiss. They were
already driving cars.
We never had a
chance!
For the next few
weeks every time
Ricky would see one of
those drummers in the
hall he would just
smile and then smile
some more. He was
scared to death of those
guys. Well, they nicknamed
him Smiley and then got
Mr. Miller, the band direc
tor, to put Smiley in the
band. He couldn’t play an
instrument and he couldn’t
read music so he became
“Smiley the Band Manager”.
Five years later Smiley
auditioned for and won the
position of Drum Major. The
same position that evil
upper classman, Jimmy
McKinney, had 3 years ear
lier. Smiley then led our
band, “The Hapeville High
School Marching 100 Plus”,
down Colorado Avenue as
the first high school band
east of the Mississippi to be
invited to the Tournament of
Roses Parade.
A sophomore at Oklahoma
State at the time, as a per
cussion major, Jimmy was
picked up on the way to
California by one of our five
buses and then allowed, by
Mr. Miller, to march in the
parade as a drummer. Just
3 years earlier Smiley was a
band manager and Jimmy
was the Drum Major and
now Jimmy is marching as
a drummer, being lead by
Smiley the Drum Major, in
the Tournament of Roses
Parade.
Fast Forward to 1983:
Smiley walks down to my
house and says “We need to
go on a trip”. I said “when
do we leave?” He tells me
that Jimmy McKinney is at
South Dakota State
University and we need to
go and see him and his
band, The Pride of The
Dakotas, one of the largest
and best college marching
bands in the country. I said,
“that’s fine but we can’t take
our wives, we might not
ever see them again!”
This year, 2012, the 100th
Hobo Day (Homecoming),
was the 30th Hobo Day for
Tom and Smiley, known as
“The Georgia Boys”, a name
given to us by the class of
83, and it stuck.
There are many, many sto
ries from our years of follow
ing our friend, Jimmy, and
The Pride. In addition to the
30 years of attending the
Hobo Day game in
Brookings, South Dakota we
were also there when The
Pride played at the Metro
Dome in Minneapolis, the
Packers game at Lambeau
Field, the Inaugural parade
in DC in 1997, the 4th of
July celebration in DC in
2000 and, of course, the
Rose Bowl Parade in both
2003 and again in 2008.
We traveled to Brookings,
South Dakota in 1983 to see
our friend Jimmy and his
band. Now, we go to see
Jimmy AND all the friends
we have made over the last
The Georgia Boys
on their first trip to
see a friend on a
Convair 580 plane
include, back row,
Henry Dawkins,
Paul Braley and
Tom Eads, front
row, Dave Lea,
Smiley Gilbert and
Greg Smith. Eads
is a sales repre
sentative for the
Monroe County
Reporter.
30
years. And, by the way, we
didn’t even let Jimmy know
we were coming to visit that
first year, we just showed up
(six of us) in two rental cars
at the band rehearsal on the
practice field. We pulled up
between the band on the
field and Jimmy directing
from the podium and, of
course, it stopped the show.
I wish I had a picture of his
face when the car doors
opened and the six of us
came pouring out. After the
initial shock he said “you
need to move those cars,
you’re ruining my show”. We
said “It’s not your show any
more, McKinney, it’s our
show now”. And it has been
our show ever since.
Paybacks are hell!
We think it’s a pretty neat
story but the real story here
is the story of friendship. It’s
about friends keeping in
touch. It’s about making
new friends. Some in far
away places. Some that talk
funny.
We love those people even
if they do sound a little
funny.
Hopefully, Smiley and I
will be able to hear them
talking funny for 30 more
years. We certainly are
going to try.
PAGE 5A
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