PAGE 4A - THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 2025
Opinions
‘Private opinion is weak, but public opinion is almost onmipotent."
Henry Ward Beecher
Easter 2025
The Constitution
By Ronda Rich
When Jesus was riding into Jerusa
lem, crowds met him as, solemnly, he
smiled not. He was not to be crowned
King, as they thought, for he knew he
was riding toward his death. One that
would be tortuous in length and cru
elty.
It fulfilled a prophecy from the Old
Testament where the prophet had de
clared “0 daughter of Jerusalem! Be
hold, your king comes to you, righ
teous and having salvation, humble
and mounted on a colt, the foal of a
donkey.”
This prophecy of the Old Testament
came to pass, documented in the New
Testament which took man from suf
fering under the law into the day of
grace. The small donkey was key in
Jesus’ life. Mary rode one to the sta
ble where Jesus was born. Then he,
to Jerusalem, the city where he would
be crucified. The donkey is important
in this tale, particularly to Jerusalem,
because it represented humility and
peace. He did not arrive on a mighty
warhorse which would have symbol
ized conquering with force. The don
key helped to illustrate the offering of
salvation and peace.
On the Rondarosa, we have two
miniature donkeys, a particular breed
known as the Jerusalem donkey. The
first donkey was a Christmas present,
a few years ago, from my sister and
brother-in-law, Rodney, who took us
to pick the donkey up in his truck trail
er. The breeder said, “Here she is.” I
don’t remember what she looked like
but there was another donkey several
yards away.
“That’s the donkey I want,” I said.
“Well,” he replied gruffily. “That
one cost twice as much as this one.”
“I’ll write you a check.” So, home
we brought this precious animal with
huge eyes and enormous ears. Down
the spine of her back runs a dark line
with a similar line across her shoulder
blades. A cross. These small donkeys
are said to be descended from the one
which carried Jesus into the city of His
death. The explains their name and the
cross on their back.
When Rodney let her out into the
pasture with our two large horses, they
jumped, kicked and carried on some
thing awful. The tiny one stood in the
midst of the chaos and did not flinch.
“Oh, Rodney!” I exclaimed.
“They’re gonna kill her.”
Calmly, he shook his head. “They
just letting her know that they’re in
charge.
Last year, we added a new, six-
month-old baby Jerusalem donkey to
the barn. Her name is Belle Watley,
named after the woman who loved
Rhett Butler but knew he would nev
er love her, and she is so adorable that
she looks like a Walt Disney character.
Her eyes are huge with long, lashes
that curl up and a mane so short that it
stands straight up like a ruffle of fab ¬
ric. Everything about her says that she
should be starring at Disneyland.
She is so tiny, about three feet tall
(Sweet Tea is about three and a half
feet) that I held my breath when we
put her in the pasture. After how the
big horses had acted with Sweet Tea, I
was certain they would kill the littlest
one. They looked up from the grass
they were munching and went right on
with eating.
A few days after Belle Watley joined
us, Tink came in from feeding and
plopped down in a chair.
“I tell you, man, that Belle Watley is
something. She knocks the big hors
es out of the way to get their feed and
they let her!”
No humility there.
A couple of months ago, overnight,
Tink’s big horse, Charlie, went blind
overnight. It’s unbelievable but it hap
pens. We took him to University of
Georgia to see if they could help but
they confirmed Dr. Pam’s diagnosis:
He was completely blind and would
never regain his sight.
Since Charlie returned, the other big
horse helps him but it is the Jerusalem
donkeys who stand by each side of
Charlie and help to guide him to the
barn or to water.
There is plenty of humility there.
Ronda Rich is the best-selling au
thor of the Stella Bankwell series. Vis
it www.rondarich.com to sign up for
her free newsletter.
Kid art
Hello, neighbors. I had thoughts to share about Mars
being on the move lately. Jupiter and Venus, too. They
kept the night sky lively over the last several months,
heading through various constellations, sitting for a night
here or there in conjunction with the Moon. Venus’ speedy
trek brought back its status as the Morning Star in the last
week or so. Recent early-morning outings even featured
glimpses of the coming Summer Triangle, Vega, Altair,
and Deneb, along with excitement for warm summer sky-
gazing. Lots and lots happening in the night sky.
I thought of carrying on about roses, too. I spotted the
first buds at my house’s front corner a couple of weeks
ago, though as of me writing this week’s column there are
no blooms. A Spring Break jogging session at the high
school took me—very intentionally—by all the rose bush
locations I could think of there. Frequent stops. Mother
Nature sure is doing her level best to catch our eyes right
now.
Instead, a chance sit-down on a quick visit to Ila Ele
mentary over Spring Break took a lengthy turn as I spent
time sifting through recently-acquired kid art. I made men
tion of the topic in a column from fall 2024, though I spent
little time exploring the subject. My kid art situation is not
unique—walk into any teacher’s classroom and you are
bound to find who-knows-what-all on who-knows-how-
many papers hung near Teacher’s desk. I received several
over the last month, and I gave only the briefest pauses to
admire them because other duties clamored loudly for my
attention at the time.
Sitting at my desk, the school completely empty, time
was on my side for a change. I gazed slowly and studied
each piece. Randomness: bananas playing tennis; Ray-
quaza, Ash, Pikachu; at least 20 Post-It squares—Rhett’s
space series; Bigfoot chasing kids; a horse wearing sun
glasses; and on and on and on. All are keepers, some are
(or will be) laminated and posted on a wall, a door, a bul ¬
letin board. As I perused, I wondered, “Did these come
out as intended?” There were hardly any erasure marks,
the sign of a sparked, determined mind at work, set to
wards a goal. I admire the confidence.
Then, I thought about
perspectives. In one
sense, the literal perspec
tive: portrait, landscape,
three-quarter profile, ei
ther chosen or copied. In
another sense, the individ
ual perspective: subjects of
importance, real or imag
ined, set to reality now,
captured. A tub of Legos
sitting beside the desk re
minded me of a play-day
I let the children enjoy on
the last day before Spring
Break. I thought back to
their wild creations and
By Travis
Moak
furious, frenzied building efforts. “Look, I added a third
motor to my car—it’s on top of the second one.” “This one
is a rocket helicopter, see?” Actual quotes. I left the art
work on my desk and ended up in Target later that morn
ing. My inner child always demands that I visit the Lego
aisle, and I spied Lego’s version of Robert Indiana’s clas
sic “LOVE” sculpture on a shelf. Kid art turned grown,
reigned-in in some ways, yet still foll of the same creative
spark.
To close, a short thought: if you see it, encourage it.
Their efforts, as fantastical as they may be, are honest and
hopefol and genuine and definitely worth a huge smile.
My hope is that you are a patron of their arts. Thank you
for making my life better, creators.
Mindfolly yours, Travis.
What’s happening in the garden
By Joe Costyn
I had a short discussion with myself
and decided that I am going to go by
the calendar, instead of the weather re
port, as far as planting times. It looks
like we are having an early spring, so
even if they say you can plant corn
when the leaves on an oak tree are the
size of a squirrel’s ear, I am going to
wait until at least April 10, which is
pretty close to our last frost date.
One thing I just finished doing is
fertilizing all my perennials and se
lected shrubs. It is not scientific, but
I put some 5 -10-15 [or 6-12-12] in a
bucket and walk around the yard. Day-
lilies, lilies, hydrangeas, roses, azaleas
and others get a scant to large hand
ful depending on the size of the plant.
When in doubt, use less. As my wife
Diane says, “You can always go back
and put on more.” Even though daffo
dils are almost finished, they are busy
right now making next years flowers,
so feeding now will pay off richly next
spring. Ever since I have been doing
this, I have noticed the yard looks so
much better and more colorful, spring
and all summer.
I learned an annoying fact lately,
that made me happy after all, because
it saved me money. Do not buy fertil
izer such as 10-10-10 at the big box
stores. They think, I suppose, that we
aren’t going to notice that last year’s
50 pound bag is this year’s 40 pound
bag along with a price increase! You
can buy the same type of fertilizer
right here in our local area for a lower
price and 10 pounds more. While I am
blathering on about prices and over
charging, why is everybody selling
only Bonnies vegetable plants? Why
is the price $4.98 everywhere? Any
way, I am just not going to pay $4.98
for one small tomato plant. If you start
your own tomatoes from seed, you
can choose the kinds of tomatoes you
want, have them fresh from your own
garden, and they will cost you less
than 5 cents a piece. Today at a big
box, I saw a small pot with only one
cucumber seedling, just coming up,
for a whopping $4.98. Madison Coun
ty Hardware (Stricklands) has vegeta
ble plants that are not from Bonnies at
better prices.
I have learned that I need to pay
close attention to the names of the va
rieties of seeds I buy for my garden.
The seed racks, especially in the big
box stores, are from companies not
from the south, and often have variet
ies that are inferior or just not suited
for our gardening climate. I usually
buy lots of my seeds from seed cat
alogs where I find superior varieties
and types I know grow well here. One
example is Zephyr summer squash. It
is a very attractive yellow and green
and is very productive. It has a superi
or taste and texture. It eventually gets
fungus diseases like all the others, but
holds on longer. You should try it.
Joe Costyn is a lifelong gardener
with a horticulture degree from the
University of Georgia and 25 years of
experience in the horticulture indus
try.
L3
y
(.1
the
Submitted photo
Costyn’s squash and other produce are
pictured.
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more
perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility,
provide for the common defense, promote the general Wel
fare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our
Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the
United States of America.
I spent the early years of
my life paying close atten
tion to what the older men in
my family said to each other
and formed my values around
what I determined their beliefs
to be. Many times, they would
talk about “what the Constitu
tion said!” It was not as prev
alent as what you hear today
but it was there.
Does anybody know who
wrote the Constitution? Ac
tually, no one person did but
James Madison was the prima
ry author of the draft that was
eventually ratified. It is a big
document and very few people
know what it says. Also, it is
the most important document that governs everything in our
lives; yet almost nobody today can say they have read it.
It is important to know that it was not just written one day
and then accepted. It had to be edited and was significant
ly modified many times before it was finalized. This process
took place eleven years after we declared independence from
England in the years from 1787 until 1790, when Rhode
Island finally agreed to the final document. Ask a hundred
people on the street and see who knows this. Since it is the
world’s longest standing written charter of government, we
should perhaps know a little more about it than we do.
Now we get to how this was decided upon. Have you ever
heard about the Federalist Papers? They were eighty-five es
says that were written and published throughout the thirteen
fledgling states that were the original colonies of the Ameri
cas. This is how “the people” were informed about the draft
ing of the Constitution and had input to that process through
Constitutional Committee Delegates from each state.
These essays argue for “a more perfect union,” which
would assure the protection of life, liberty and property out
lined in the fifth amendment. However, there is no other more
important theme of the Federalist Papers that the authors’ the
ories on the nature of man and the dangers lying therein.
Our founding fathers were explicit about “human nature.”
The concerns regarding corruption are specifically addressed
as a fact. This view is an essential part of virtually every ma
jor doctrine in all of these writings. They directly address the
potential dangers from foreign nations as well as rivalries and
even possible war among states or groups of states. All gov
ernments inevitability form factions that can become strong.
A Constitution is a means of curbing the effects of these fac
tions.
The papers address the avoidance of the causes of wars,
the structure and shortcomings of previous confederatons, the
separation of powers and the role of legislative bodies. Many
of the papers advocate the importance of a “Bill of Rights.”
There is much said about the character of man and this is
emphasized in the papers to sell the idea of the Constitution.
Without the examination of human motives and historical
patterns of behavior, a constitution has little validity.
The concept of human nature, as defended in the Federalist
Papers, seems pessimistic. The founders knew that men are
not to be trusted with power because they are selfish, passion
ate, full of whims, capricious, and full of prejudices. Men are
often not fully rational, calm, or dispassionate. The nature of
man is a constant and has had these characteristics throughout
recorded history. It has not changed and history has proven
that it is not going to change any time soon. So, what to do?
Our founders knew that, without protections, momentary
passions and immediate interest would have more control
over human conduct than considerations of policy, unity, or
justice. This was the general theme that the authors used to
convince the people to accept this new and novel governmen
tal concept.
In the papers, the populous was warned that anyone who
would expect leaders with too much power to behave other
wise did not understand human nature. It would be unwise to
assume that men would behave with promise or with exemp
tion from the imperfections, weaknesses, and evils that are
common in all societies.
These statements are advocating the benefits to the people
of those times, which was sometimes called an unmixed re
public. That is, one that depends completely on choices made
by the people and contains no element of monarchy, hered
itary aristocracy (kings), military dictatorship or theocracy.
Our government, with its Legislative, Executive and Judi
ciary separation of powers, is the best there is. Don’t let any
body ever tell you any different. Based on election results, we
may not particularly like our leaders. Election results prove
that approximately half of the population is always unhappy
with whoever is in office. Not to worry. That is always tem
porary and really not all that important. Our current Constitu
tional Republic, as it is designed, will survive and continue to
thrive. I just hope that everybody understands how important
it is to keep it that way.
By Charlie
Snelling
The Madison County Journal
Danielsville, Madison County Georgia 30633
Merged with The Danielsville Monitor and The Comer News, January 2006
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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
THE MADISON COUNTY JOURNAL
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Jefferson, Ga. 30549
The Official Legal Organ of Madison County, Georgia-Periodicals postage paid at
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