Newspaper Page Text
Page 4 - Wednesday, December 29, 2021
The Millen News
themillennews .com
Opinions, yours and ours
from the
Desk
-Joe Brady
Millen News Editor
Another Christmas is
in the history books. As
I am technically in the
middle of my vacation,
I confess to enjoying the
quiet. There aren’t any
festivities at my house.
I have napped, watched
Masterpiece Theater,
and caught up on my
reading. New Year’s will
be spent much the same
way, in case you were
wondering. And some of
you thought my life was
so interesting!
This time of year is fun and full of renewed promise.
Dare I say we go through a metamorphosis? January
1 is that renewed hope in fresh beginnings. It’s our
chance to start anew, to throw out the old and reveal
the new. From our resolutions, mine has been to
lose weight for the past twenty years, but that hasn’t
stopped me from discussing gym memberships with
Josh. All of you may agree silently with my statement,
don’t dare remind me of it when you see me.
Like Stanley Thompson did a few days ago, the
conversation went something like this, “Joe, are you
still on your diet?” Grabbing my belly in both hands,
because I can’t hold it one, I replied, “does this look
like a diet to you?” Anyway, I digress as usual. We all
make those resolutions, we promise to save money,
lose weight, be kinder people, go to church, be more
considerate, pay attention, the list goes on and on.
Research shows that most New Year’s Resolutions go
unfinished. We abandon them by March, usually. Now,
why someone would do research on that is beyond me.
Isn’t there more serious topics to do research on? The
truth is, most of us are probably satisfied with our lives
the way they are but it’s the promise of being reborn,
to forget the past and start fresh, that holds the promise
during this time of year.
If you remember, New Year’s in my family meant
we walked around with a penny in our shoe all day.
Granny swore that we would have money all year by
doing it. Oh yeah, we had to eat black eyed peas and
collards as well. Granny wouldn’t hear any discussion
on how this really didn’t make much sense. “You
had money in your pocket all year didn’t you?” Yes,
but that wasn’t because of the penny in my shoe, it’s
because I had a job. Of course, for one more holiday
spent with her, I’d gladly walk on a stack of pennies
all day.
So, let’s get our pencils out and start our New Year’s
Resolution lists. Josh, I’ll be calling directly. But don’t
judge me if you don’t see me in that group with Diane
Wasden sweating to the oldies. I work out with my
mind. That’s all for now, take care and Happy New
Year!
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>URNEV
OF,
Pastor Brad Asbury
pastorbradasbury@gmail.com
The “R’s” of the New Year
Life is full of seasons. Eccle
siastes 3 reveals this to us in a
most vivid way reminding us
that we are always in changing
seasons of life. Every season is
to be embraced. Some seasons
come with great difficulty, other
seasons are peaceful and calm.
Some seasons provide us times
of life and vibrancy, other times
provide us with darkness and
unfortunately times of death.
The new year provides a
season for us that is often excit
ing and frustrating. By the end
of the year, our lives look like
our homes. Usually cluttered,
full of stuff, and time to get rid
of “things.” Resolutions are
made, often out of our frustra
tions of where we have gotten
to by the end of the year. We
resolve to lose weight, exercise
more, spend wiser, clean more,
spend more time with family,
etc. Resolutions often last days,
sometimes weeks, and if we are
fortunate months.
For the new year, follow the
5 r’s of keeping resolutions.
First, take time to remember. It
is important to remember the
goodness of God in the past
year. Remember the good days,
and even remember the bad
days. Take to remember God’s
goodness in every moment.
Remembering keeps all things
in perspective.
Secondly, take time to reflect
before the new year begins
and throughout the year. This
helps us to find meaning in all
moments, and it helps us realize
sometimes there is not an an
swer to moments in life and that
is okay. We desire to see the big
picture and how all things will
turn out in the end. We have to
be okay with the fact that we
may never see the big picture
on this side of eternity, and on
the other side of eternity we will
realize it was all in God’s hands
to begin with.
Third, learn to refuse. Refuse to
give up. Refuse to compromise.
Refuse to back down from your
plans for the year if they are
truly attainable. Refuse to let
others bring you down. Most
importantly, refuse sin and the
compromise it causes. Learning
to say, “no” may be one of the
best things we do in 2022.
Fourth, take time to renew. This
may be the most important
step. This may be necessary
daily. Renew your walk with
the Lord daily. His mercies are
new every morning, delight in
those new mercies. Daily bow
before the Lord and pray, as
did the Psalmist, restore unto
me the joy of my salvation.
Lastly, put this list on repeat.
Unfortunately, we are prone to
forget. We forget His goodness.
We forget His mercies. We
forget our purpose. Life gets
in the way, and we forget. We
must consistently come back
to these r’s of the new year and
fight forward to be resolved to
have a 2022 that is focused first
on Him.
Unearthing Camp Lawton
Dr. Ryan McNutt, Ph.D, FSAScot, R.RA.
Grass; I Cover All
As the 9th Alabama Cavalry
retreated (as discussed last
week) in the face of Shemian’s
advancing corps: the 20th
behind them, and the 14th to
their north, the picture of their
movements becomes even fog
gier. Presumably, they made
their rendezvous at Beaver
Dam Creek in Screven County.
Reattached to Wheeler’s com
mand, they protected the retreat
to Savannah, moved back
northwest to defend Augusta’s
munitions factories, and into
South Carolina in February of
1865 to defend Augusta from
Kilpatrick’s cavalry at the battle
of Aikin. But there were desper
ate attempts to stave off the in
evitable. Sherman’s inexorable
march to the sea had already
taken Savannah on December
21st, 1864, which he presented
to Lincoln as his Christmas gift.
From Savannah, after a month
I Am the
of rest, Sherman stmck north
into South Carolina, driving for
the capital at Columbia, and
from there into North Carolina.
Strikes at Augusta by Kilpatrick
and disparate other actions were
smokescreens, maneuvers to
keep the limited Confederate
forces stretched to the breaking
point and guessing at his true
route. By March, Johnston’s
Army of the Tennessee had
been hammered at the Battle
of Bentonville in North Caro
lina, with Wheeler’s cavalry
driven in in the final actions and
savaged. On April 9th, 1865,
Robert E. Lee surrendered the
Army of Northern Virginia
at Appomattox Court House.
On April 26th, 1865, General
Joseph E. Johnston surrendered
to Sherman at Durham Sta
tion, Orange County, in North
Carolina with the Army of Ten
nessee, and Wheeler’s Cavalry,
including the 9th Alabama. A
little less than a hundred men
from the 9th Alabama lived to
seek parole and swear the oath
of allegiance and loyalty to
the United States of America.
Four years of war were at an
end. And the desperate engage
ments at Lawton were barely
footnotes in its history. And
what of Lawton itself? A poem
by Sandburg perhaps best sums
up the aftermath of conflict, and
the immediate need to heal by
forgetting:
Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz
and Waterloo.
Shovel them under and let me
work—
I am the grass; I cover all.
And pile them high at Gettys
burg
And pile them high at Ypres and
Verdun.
Shovel them under and let me
work.
Two years, ten years, and pas
sengers ask the conductor:
What place is this?
Where are we now?
I am the grass.
Let me work.
At Lawton, the grass went to
work. Remnants of the fortifica
tions, of the stockade, and the
Confederate camp survived.
People from Lawtonville, the
small settlement around Lawton
station, mentioned seeing the
still visible remnants of Camp
Lawton as late as the 1890s, but
now denuded, slowly collaps
ing and being reclaimed by pine
forests and the grass, carpeting
over the site of trauma, death,
and indeed, conflict. Lawton
Station itself still functioned
as a station into the 1900s;
See LAWTON page 5
Eaqle Notes
-Tara Cooper, Jenkins County
School Superintendent
As the year 2021 ends, I
am reflecting on what went
well this year, and what
absolutely did not. It’s not
like the school systems
around the globe haven’t
been hit with challenges
never before seen for the last
couple of years. They have!
We have seen, personally,
how school personnel must
act as “doctors” (we have
gotten really good at that
one), as well as - this year -
cybercrime analysts (we are
still working on that one). But
there is always learning. And
we have learned some things
as we have experienced those
seasons.
I refer to times in life as
seasons. Not the traditional
seasons of winter, spring,
summer, and fall, but the
metaphorical seasons when
phases of life happen. This
season of Covid has now
become a norm - and has
brought heartache and worry,
but the reality is that it will
never go away. Hopefully the
variants will weaken. We are
better equipped to deal with
it now. Wash your hands,
exercise, and take care of
yourself.
We had a season once long
ago when Luke was sick all of
the time with ear infections,
bad coughs, and allergies. We
did all the things that were
recommended by the doctor,
and powered through that
season - with worried hearts
and little sleep. I feel like
September gave us, at the
school, that same season. But
we made it through. October
brought worry about safety,
and we made it through.
I look forward to January
with hope and promise. I look
forward to the next season
of school. Second semester
is always exciting, although
I hope we do not have to go
through anymore learning
experiences- ha! Covid and
emails did enough of that this
past half of the school year.
Ecclesiastes 3 says, “for
everything there is a season,
and a time for every matter
under heaven.” We will, as
a school system, continue to
work through every season to
keep our students safe. As a
new year with new challenges
and new celebrations begins,
I look forward to this season.
Whatever it may bring, we
have proven that we will
do the work. I can’t see the
future, but I know a peace
like I never have. I hope this
next season is the best one yet
for you all as well.
Happy New Year!
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