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THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. OCTOBER 8. 2009 — PAGE 3A
Opinions
September storm, a two-sided coin
The deluge that visited
Georgia and the Southeast
states during the middle of
the last month was both a
blessing and a bear.
The blessing came in the
form of “drought-bustin’”
rains that brought an end to a
very dry summer in our area.
In one week’s time we went
from way behind to com
pletely caught up.
We ended September
already ahead of all of 2008
in total rainfall. Streams and
rivers rose to much more
normal, if not above normal
levels. The big lakes of north
Georgia, dropping weekly
since early summer, rose not
inches but feet in a week’s
time. Farm ponds that were
dry came way up, to the
relief of cattle farmers. By
all accounts, the ground is as
wet as it has been since last
March after the big snow.
It was the fourth wettest
September since 1982. The
bear, of course, visited areas
of north Georgia with histor-
Weather
wise
By Mark Jenkins
ic flooding that forced thou
sands of people from flood-
damaged homes and took the
lives of at least nine people.
As of this writing, at least
3,000 homes in Georgia were
damaged or destroyed, with
estimated losses reaching
the half-billion dollar mark.
The hardest-hit counties were
Carroll, Douglas, Paulding,
Cobb and Gwinnett, with
numerous other counties
declared federal disaster
areas. Incredible rains fell in
these counties, with 15-22
inches during the 7-day peri
od.
Most of Georgia north of
La Grange to Washington
had five to 15 inches during
this week, all courtesy of a
stagnant low-pressure area
that barely budged from its
home in Louisiana for over
a week.
Some hydrologists have
gone so far as to pronounce
this event a “once in 500
years flood.” While it is true
that some of the rain totals
were off the charts (four
month’s worth in a week),
I think that urbanization
of the hardest hit areas, as
well as the most extreme
rains falling right along the
Chattahoochee river basin
were significant contributing
factors to the severity of the
flooding. Certainly the dura
tion and location of the heavi
est cores of rainfall would
have wreaked havoc else
where, but maybe not to the
severity they did in the metro
Atlanta area. And, as weather
patterns would have it, most
of the hardest hit areas had
not experienced the dryness
we did during the summer.
Of the five to 10 inches
that fell in Madison County
from the event, at least the
first four inches soaked right
into the thirsty ground. Street
and low-lying flooding did
not occur much until the last
part of the last day in our area
when the final push of heavy
rain came through. Was this
event the beginning of a wet
ter pattern with El Nino alive
again? I believe it was. Could
a similar event occur again
this coming winter or spring?
Time will tell, but it is cer
tainly a possibility.
Weather averages for
September 2009: Avg. low:
63. Avg. high: 80. Lowest:
46. Highest: 89. Mean: 71.2
(-0.6). Total rainfall: 10.01”
(+5.41”). Total precipitation
for 2009 to September 30:
39.61” (+0.07”).
Mark Jenkins is the coop
erative weather obser\>er for
Madison County. He pro
vides a monthly weather col
umn to The Madison County
Journal.
Still prefer the doughboy to the funnel cake
By Elizabeth Prata
The fair has left Comer,
departing for 360 days and
then it will be back. I was bom
and raised in Rhode Island
before I moved to Maine as
an adult. Our town’s fair came
to a large elementary school
situated right in the middle
of town, and the lot was large
and held many, many rides.
Or so it seemed to my young
eyes then.
In New England the ubiqui
tous carnival or fair snack is
the “doughboy.” (AKA fried
dough). This Northern snack
is something my friends in
the South have never heard of.
Doughboys consist of rolled
out pizza dough fried in pea
nut or canola oil. The dough
puffs up on one side and it
gets flipped in the oil so it
can puff up on the other. Top
it with confectioner’s sugar
and add cinnamon if you like,
and you have a typical New
England doughboy. Warm and
chewy, hot from the oil and
sweet from the sugar, it sure
is tasty.
I’d been hearing about the
Southern mirror to the dough
boy, the famous “funnel cake.”
This Southern fair snack con
sists of non-leavened cake
batter poured out through a
funnel onto hot oil. The batter
is poured in a circular pat
tern criss-cross. When topped
with confectioner’s sugar, it
looks like a large lacy doily. I
have grown fond of the many
Southern kitchen treats I have
sampled since I moved to
Comer from Maine. Chicken
casserole is my favorite and
so is congealed salad. But I’d
never tried a funnel cake, or
even had a conception of what
it looked like.
Now, the major difference
between the two snacks is
that doughboys are made with
yeast dough that rises and
the funnel cake is made with
unleavened batter. I learned
this week that funnel cakes
are actually Pennsylvania
Dutch cuisine. So which is
better, funnel cakes or dough
boys? Both are good, but in
different ways! I grew up with
doughboys so I am partial to
them because of tradition. I
love risen bread in all forms,
so again, the doughboy has
it over the funnel cake in my
opinion. However, the fun
nel cake is good because the
sugar falls into all the nooks
and crannies and stays there.
On a doughboy, the sugar just
falls off. Yet, I still think I
prefer the chewiness of the
doughboy to the crunchiness
of the funnel cake.
See you next year at the fair!
I hear they have this thing
called fried apple pie...
Elizabeth Prata is a Comer
resident.
Fall season replenishes body, soul
By Chris Bridges
chris @ mainstreetnews .com
“Winter is an etching, spring a
watercolor, summer an oil paint
ing and autumn a mosaic of
them all.’ 1
•••
Without a doubt, fall is my
favorite time of year.
I used to think spring was
at the top but there's no doubt
fall holds tire No. 1 position in
my ranking with spring in the
runner-up position. Tlrere’s just
something special about fall that
makes it hold a special place
for me.
As long as I can remember, I
longed for tire fall season. Having
lived in Georgia all nry life, the
summers here can be downright
brutal. While there’s something
to be said for weather hot enough
to swim or do any number of
activities from a friendly game
of baseball to yard work, after a
few weeks of stifling heat, this
old body has had enough.
Of course, living in the Deep
South you can’t count on fall
really arriving until October.
Even then old man summer has
a tendency to rear its ugly head at
least a couple more times.
I think we may have put sum
mer behind us now though. Tire
cooler temperatures are starting
to be a little more frequent and
as I attended an area football
game last Friday, I found it to be
downright pleasant and comfort
able, even in the late afternoon as
the day's temperature continue to
be near its high point.
Childhood memories of fall
remain as vivid as the leaves
which drift down constantly this
time of year. Fall carnivals and
other school functions seemed to
have more meaning at this time
of year. I still recall going to my
school’s annual Halloween car
nival and using the occasion to
do crazy things with my friends.
Somehow, we didn’t seem to
mind being at school as long
as actual school work was not
involved.
In theory, I should have out
grown those Halloween carni
vals as I grew older, but I can
remember attending even during
my senior year of high school.
That was my last one, but I admit
to thinking about them each year
at this time.
Last week as I attended the
an area community celebration,
I enjoyed the community spirit
shown by the hundreds in atten
dance. With tire calendar read
ing October, it even had a feel
similar to that of a fall festival
as visitors made their way from
booth to booth taking it all in. As
night fell and the lights came on,
it seemed to add to the fun.
Halloween and Thanksgiving
are two holidays I consider
among my favorites. Halloween
simply reminds me of a being a
kid and while I obviously don’t
go treat-or-treating these days,
I enjoy the entire Halloween
theme you see.
Thanksgiving simply reminds
me of family and of family gath
erings through tire years. I miss
Arose trips to my grandparents on
this fall holiday that was always
less hectic Aran Christmas. They
were almost a relaxful time as
the cooler temperatures had
definitely taken hold by late
November.
So I welcome fall back with
open arms again in 2009. I will
enjoy the season every day it is
here and not let it go willingly.
Winter is nry least favorite sea
son and I know it will be here
before long.
For now, however, fall is here,
both officially and unofficially.
Tire calendar tells us it is offi
cially here while the numerous
events which take place Aris time
of year tell us it is unofficially
here. Welcome back old friend.
Feel free to stay awhile and let
us bask in your presence.
Chris Bridges is an editor with
Mainstreet Newspapers. E-mail
comments about this column to
chris@mainstreetnews.com.
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Still waiting for the winds of
real change to start blowing
Dear Editor:
Not quite a year ago it seemed
that this nation was about to
wake up from the fear-induced
stupor created by Are Bush
administration and the corpo
rate neo-cons in Washington.
The eight-year long wait to put
this country back on the right
course appeared to finally be
over. Change was the winning
bathe cry and that change would
come soon. The illegal wars of
the Bush administraAon would
end and our troops would come
home. Corporate bailouts would
stop and accountability would
mle the day.
The architects of the cur
rent finical disaster would be
the ones out work. Light would
once again shine into Are dark
comers of illegal prisons and tor
ture chambers. Every one would
have access to good, affordable
health care. We the people, from
the bottom up not from the top
down, would once again ran
America. Change was coming!
Aimost year later we are
still fighting Are wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan and illegally
bombing Pakistan. Our soldiers
are still dying fighting wars
that should never been started.
Billions are still being spent in
an effort to win these ill con
ceived wars that most experts
say can never be won. We are
well into the second massive
bail out of corporate America.
Things are once again looking
better for those at the top but ask
your neighbors if the same is
true for them. The answer is no!
The trickle down policies of the
past didn't work then and Aiey
are not working now. Hundreds
of thousands of billions of tril
lions of dollars have been given
to corporaAons, banks and the
people that ran them well unem
ployment continues to climb.
Ask yourself this question, how
much have Aiese bailouts helped
me? I would bet the answer is
not at all. The definition and use
of torture is still being discussed
and debated while thousands
of people are being detained
without any due process of law.
Every human being deserves to
be treated equally. That is the
foundafion that this country was
built on. If we forget that for any
reason we will one day regret
it. Good affordable health care
for every one is almost a dead
issue. Tire profiteers of health
care have spent millions on a
massive campaign of half truths
and succeeded in convincing
some that healthcare for every
one is un-American. Instead we
are about to put in place a law
that will require every one to
buy health insurance or face stiff
fines. It’s a nice law if you’re an
insurance company but a terrible
law for Are rest of us.
I guess change must have a
new definiAon Arat I don't know
about. As George Orwell wrote.
"Political language is designed
to make lies sound truthful and
murder respectable, and to give
an appearance of solidity to pure
wind.”
I am still waiting for the winds
of real change to start blowing.
Sincerely
Drago Tesanovich
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