Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2008
THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
PAGE 5A
Other Views
Remembering John Parks
I t was not the news I had
expected to hear moments
before going to cover a
Jefferson business luncheon.
It was the sobering news that
one of the people I had admired
the most from my years in radio
broadcasting had passed away.
John Parks, who for many years
was a mainstay on the north
Georgia airwaves, had stepped on
a rainbow due to natural causes
on Jan. 2. His last day on the
air prior to his passing was New
Year’s Day.
I didn’t have much time to react,
as I had about 10 minutes to get to
the luncheon.
As I sat there, dutifully tak
ing notes while attempting to eat
lunch, I couldn’t stop my mind
from wandering back over the
years.
John’s career exceeded 30 years.
He held a masters degree in jour
nalism from UGA, and had written
for magazines, as well as working
in public relations and advertising.
But radio seemed to be his niche.
He worked at numerous radio
stations in the Atlanta, Athens and
Gainesville markets. He was enter
ing into his 15 th year with Jacobs
Media in 2008, with most of those
spent at WDUN in Gainesville.
That’s where I met him. John
could be a grizzly bear, but if you
were on his good side, he’d stick
with you through thick and thin.
There were several times over
the years where I would need a
favor, be it personal or profes
sional.
For example, when I was
the news director at WCON in
Cornelia, if a story broke in John’s
area and I needed audio for my
own story, I knew I could count
on John to help me get it if he had
it. And the street went both ways.
I would give audio or a heads-up
on stories to John when I wouldn’t
give them to anybody else.
The only cross words I can
remember receiving from John
came because of someone else’s
actions. I was working the week-
end over
night shift
at WDUN,
which was
then and
is today a
news/talk
station.
When the
morning
guy went on
vacation one
week, John
was tapped
to take his place. I was tapped to
take John’s shift overnight through
the week. I told John to just leave
me a list of what needed to be
done. Otherwise, I’d just proceed
as I did on the weekends.
That first night came, and there
was no list in my box. Figuring
that meant proceed as usual, I did
just that. Unknown to both myself
and to John, some wise guy had
thought it would be a good joke on
both of us to steal the list from my
box and dispose of it.
So when John came in and asked
where all the recordings I was to
have made were, I had no clue
what he was talking about. “Why
didn’t you follow the (expletive
deleted) list I left you?” he roared.
When I told him there was no
list, he went and looked in the box
himself. He then angrily told me
to just go home, he’d find a way
to take care of the now missed
recordings.
Later in the day, John called me
at home to apologize for going off
on me, and to tell me that he had
discovered who the guilty party
was, and would “deal with them.”
From that point on, John and I
were friends, and would always
look out for each other.
There were little things here and
there. John uncharacteristically
overslept one night, and was an
hour late to relieve me. When he
finally showed up, he asked “Why
in the world didn’t you call me?”
I told him I had things under con
trol, and figured he needed the
sleep.
He appreciated that, but still
insisted I call next time.
John and I were conspiratorial,
which should come as no surprise
to anyone who worked with us. A
few years ago, we worked together
on producing high school football
broadcasts. We would shoot pri
vate messages back and forth from
our respective broadcast booths,
sometimes about the games, some
times about things that went on
during the broadcasts, but never,
ever, without an element of humor.
I think the best laugh I got out
of him one night was when a post
game highlight show was being
broadcast on both stations. The
hosts of the game were a little
inexperienced, and were apt to be
overly excitable. I sent the mes
sage to John that we needed to tell
them “...we have a perfectly good
transmitter. We don’t need them
to yell so the listeners can hear
them.” I can still see him leaning
over the board, laughing and shak
ing his head.
John was also pretty quick with
a comeback. After another similar
broadcast that had not gone so
well (the term “train wreck” was
used several times), John looked
at me and said a line he was infa
mous for, “Other than that, Mrs.
Lincoln, how did you like the
play?”
There are so many stories, and
they are all flooding back. But the
best thing I can do is just to say
thank you, John. You taught me
a hell of a lot, not just about the
business, but about being a good
friend, and somebody who can be
relied on no matter what. It’s a
lesson a lot of people in the world
could use. Unfortunately, there’s
now one less person to teach it.
After they made John Dean
Parks in 1946, they broke the
mold. Take care, my friend.
Call me if you need me.
Brandon Reed is a reporter for
Mainstreet Newspapers. E-mail
comments about this column to
brandon@mainstreetnews.com.
brandon
reed
Amazed by media’s coverage of
this year’s presidential race
Dear Editor:
I am amazed by the media. Fred
Thompson finishes third in Iowa
and Fox News and the cookie
cutter media ignores him com
pletely; interviewing Amnesty
McCain who finished just under
Thompson. It begs the question;
who is just reporting and who is
trying to manipulate coverage for
the candidates? We report; you
decide; I don’t think so.
Even Ron Paul is conveniently
ignored although he finished the
Caucuses very respectfully. I think
Ron Paul is very naive in his belief
of ‘if we leave the terrorists alone,
they’ll leave us alone.’ But I do
think that since he has a grass roots
movement that isn’t to be ignored,
he should have more media cover
age.
Thompson, my candidate of
choice, is also ignored. Thompson
cannot be touched by the media
on his issues, so they bypass him
altogether. This will only be effec
tive if Georgians decide to let early
states pick the candidates for them.
I issue a challenge: turn off your
biased TV coverage (that includes
Fox News), turn off your little
radios and research the candidates
yourself.
Go to each one’s official website,
read what they themselves are say
ing about the issues of our day and
decide for yourself.
I have a friend who is waiting
to see who will come out on top
in New Hampshire, Florida and
South Carolina before deciding
for whom to vote. That’s akin to
becoming a Brave’s fan after the
1991 season. Show some guts,
show some common sense, for
Heaven’s sake, and vote the can
didate who best represents your
values, not the projected winner.
More food for thought: health
care seems to be a major issue this
election.
If you’re one of those who think
the federal government should
control healthcare consider this:
you criticize the government for
their ineptness in the aftermath
of Katrina, so why would you
allow them the power and control
over your healthcare? It makes no
sense.
We can only make a difference
if we stop being sheep and follow
ing the crowd. Be your own per
son. Vote on February 5, vote for
YOUR candidate, no one else’s.
Sincerely,
Laura Whatley
Alto
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Wrestling team deserves support
Dear Editor:
The crowd murmurs amongst
themselves as they wait for the start
ing whistle. They look for the com
petitors, now walking to the center
ring. With a short whistle blast, two
figures move toward each other with
great intensity. Arms outstretched,
the two are slapping, poking and
prodding, waiting for a chance to
shoot in, to dominate their oppo
nent.
Is it the Roman Coliseum with
gladiators competing for their life?
Or perhaps the television showing
the latest installment of the WWF, as
the men insult one another and then
proceed to jump from ropes and hurl
chairs and other obstacles at each
other.
Neither. It is your local high school
gymnasium and your favorite wres
tling team is now competing.
Aw, shucks, you think, how bor
ing. A couple of teens rolling around
a mat while their parents look for
something to cheer about. Not really.
The WWF has nothing on these
guys. The only thing you won’t find
is the insults, jumping from ropes
and throwing of chairs, at least on
the mat. Actually, bad sportsmanship
is not tolerated, so nothing is thrown,
at least not in sight of spectators. But
the excitement is there, and it is actu
ally 100 percent totally real.
What do you watch the fake stuff
for? Blood and guts, knocking peo
ple unconscious, inhuman acts of
strength and determination, and fan
tastically fit athletes.
You’ll find it all right here and there
is never a script. It is all real, unre
hearsed and it is the kid next door (or
the cute guy in your algebra class).
Yes, it’s high school sports; totally
unpredictable, but just as exciting as
those football games that the whole
town seems to flock to.
Yep, every Friday night in late fall
hundreds of local folks turn out to
see their favorite game, chat with
the neighbors and enjoy watching
the kids duke it out on the football
field.
Later they turn out for the basket
balls games, rooting their teams on
as they enjoy the sport. But when
you look to that same gym during the
wrestling matches, you’ll only find a
very select few in the stands. Mostly
parents and only a few of those even.
Some simply can’t bear to watch
their boys fight for their life out
there, but the devoted do show up, if
only to be sure that they are available
in case of emergency.
What I don’t understand is why
thousands of my neighbors watch the
fake stuff on TV, knowing that it is
all staged, but don’t go out to support
the neighbor kid, who is doing it for
real. He’s really working it, without
resulting to insulting behavior. The
truth is he’s working 10 times harder
than the actors on TV are.
The blood is real and it happens
often. The guys just take their lim
ited ‘blood time’ to try and stem the
flow before walking back into that
ring and taking even more punish
ment. The only sound you’ll hear
from the competitors is the occa
sional grunt, which is amazing given
the horribly contorted positions that
they often end up in. If my nose was
pressed to my upper thigh while my
arm was pulled backward behind my
head, I believe that I’d be scream
ing at somebody! If you do hear a
cry in pain, it is usually well earned
and muffled, as these boys don’t
want to give in to any pain. It usu
ally means that something is terribly
wrong and usually leads to the ref
stopping the match to check on the
boy. Usually they resume, still in
pain and endure until the end of the
match. Such bravery most of us have
never known.
It is rare, but does happen every
once in a while that someone actu
ally gets knocked unconscious. It is
terribly frightening. On the occasions
that I have witnessed it, the whole
gym falls totally silent as the trainers
and coaches tend to the injured. It
is not a part of competition that any
of us like to see. These occurrences
usually follow those acts of incred
ible strength in which one opponent
picks up the other and throws them
down. There are rules about throws
and they are usually followed, but
these accidents still occur.
I do have to say, I love to see them
throw an opponent down, as long
as it’s not a Banks County student
being thrown. Having the strength to
pick up another person of your same
weight and throwing him or placing
him down on the mat in a controlled
fashion shows just how strong these
guys are. No matter if they are 105
pounds, our 285 pounds, it still
amazes me. Our heavyweight (285
pounds) has his signature move; a
bear hug with a throw. Imagine hav
ing a 285 pound teenager crashing
down on your chest as your back
smashes to the mat. It’ll take the life
right out of you. It usually does for
his opponents and ends the match
pretty quickly, all seemingly without
much effort on T’s part.
Some of these wrestlers are so
quick that it boggles the mind. How
do you go from being on your hands
and knees, with someone on your
back, holding your arm and body
down, to being in the totally reversed
position in less than a second? I
don’t know, but they do it. I don’t
know the names of all the moves but
they are impressive, nothing like the
slow, cumbersome, showy antics you
see on TV.
Don’t be deceived, this is a very
physical and dangerous sport. You
only have to sneak a glance at these
wrestlers’ faces to see. Few go
unscathed. Most carry a black eye,
swollen lips and eyebrows, gouges
and scrapes and bruises. Their backs
carry the marks of the mats, finger
nails, shoelaces, and headgear (the
only safety equipment they use).
Their knees have mat burns, their
legs are bruised and their fingers
usually are swelled as well. These
boys are not wimps!
But of course it’s not all blood and
guts. Just the sheer competition is
exciting. Seeing them fight, as the
spectators urge them on is thrilling.
Parents shouting, fans screaming, it
is just as deafening as a basketball
game. I love to glance around at the
fans during these matches and watch
them. So many, me included, can be
seen straining and leaning, urging
the wrestlers on, willing them to
strain even more and trying to help
them along telepathically as they
themselves contort in sync with the
wrestler. I find myself tired from
straining, leaning and sympathetic
clenching as I watch.
The courage of these boys is
strong, their commitment great and
their dedication to their sport unwav
ering. They deserve the same amount
of commitment from their commu
nity as the other more popular sports
receive. The wrestling team actu
ally had a better record last year
than either the football or basketball
teams from BCHS. They broke old
records last year and continue to
break them this year. I believe they
deserve at least a small bit of inter
est from those of you who have not
taken the time to see them in action.
There is only one more opportu
nity to see them compete at home.
January 22 will be the last home
match this season. But if you catch
the bug and decide you need more,
there are more matches at other
schools in January and continuing on
into February.
Come on out and see this amazing
display of strength, determination
and courage. I am positive that you
will go home with a new respect for
what they endure. Just be glad that,
unlike me, you don’t have to sit in
that tin can of a bus with them on the
long ride home.
If it weren’t for the lighthearted
conversation, I swear I’d pass out
from the stench!
Sincerely,
GayLynne Wright
Homer