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Ronda Rich
Columnist
A sacrifice for
Womankind
“I’m just wonderin’,” gen
tly began Diva Pinky, “if
you’re doing yourself any
good.”
She was referring to a
new book that I am writing
on the art of flirtation and
how it might reveal too
many of my own feminine
ploys, thus sabotaging my
road of courtship. New York
publishing wizards had
pointed out that Southern
women are the best flirts
and since I couldn’t find one
word to argue against that
brilliant observation, I
signed on the dotted line.
Pinky has a point, though.
After all, I went through
that with the first book that
I wrote on the secrets of
Southern womanhood.
Those pages have haunted
me ever since because they
turned into something I
never meant for them to
become - an authoritative
guide that is used against
me.
“Now, is this what you
say to do on - let me see -
page 37?” asked one suitor
when I employed one of the
feminine tactics.
“Will you please stop
reading that book?” I asked
for the umpteenth time.
“No,” he replied in a teas
ing tone. “This is the first
time I have ever been able
to read a woman like a book.
I’m liking this.”
“Well, I’m not.”
“It’s your own fault,” he
replied without sympathy.
“You’re the author of your
own destiny.”
This time it’s different,
though. I’m writing about
flirtation as practiced by all
Southerners, especially our
women. We created and con
tinuously practice social
flirting, which is, quite sim
ply, the art of making others
feel good about themselves
and about you.
Hard-nosed feminists
shudder disdainfully at the
mere mention of the word
“flirting” and argue that
the use of such sets the
women’s movement back 20
years. Of course, this comes
from women who think that
there is nothing wrong with
wearing white shoes after
Labor Day. They also
believe that a woman
should always open her own
door. You have to be careful
of that kind of woman. She
is not doing our side any
good.
I argue that flirtation
elimination is professional
and personal suicide. I have
no doubt that those smart
women of the suffrage
movement who fought hard
and campaigned long for
our right to vote in the early
part of the 20th century,
used flirtation and feminin
ity along the way. Flirtation,
after all, is an ancient art
and in the early 1900 s,
women still proudly and
unabashedly practiced it.
But these other women,
who bristle at the thought
of flirting, what have they
gotten for us?
Have I missed something?
Did the Equal Rights
Amendment pass when I
wasn’t looking?
We have long been called
the weaker sex and, physi
cally, that is true more often
than not. Though, I have
seen a few hefty women
who could pick up their
scrawny husbands, hike
See RICH, page 3C
SUNDAY,
MARCH 13, 2005
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Linda Gillian, Dale Booth and Brenda Walker
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Kristy Gross, Julie DeGregoria with baby Joshua
'Sweet Taste'
draws a crowd
There were plenty of
sweet treats and plenty of
bargains to bid on at the
10th annual production of
“A Sweet Taste of Warner
Robins,” sponsored by the
Pilot Club of Warner
Robins.
The event, held at the
Warner Robins City Hall
on Saturday evening drew
a big crowd. Ticket hold
ers enjoyed tasting treats
from a number of local
restaurants and caterers,
and also bidding on a wide
variety of items, restau
rant meals and luxury
services, donated by local
businesses and shops.
Refreshments were pro
Dogwoods are Georgia’s aristocrats ol spring
By JIM MIDCAP
University of Georgia
Flowering dogwoods are
the aristocrats of the small,
flowering trees in Georgia.
They provides interest and
excitement in the spring,
summer, fall and winter.
The low-branching,
rounded tree is covered
with gorgeous spring
blooms. The white, red or
pink bracts open in April
and May before the leaves
do.
The bright, green leaves
line the horizontal branch
es in the summer and turn
a purplish red in the fall.
The bark on older stems
develops a characteristic,
deeply fissured, square pat
tern easily recognized at a
distance.
And the bright, red, fall
and winter berries feed the
landscape’s birds.
This native tree reaches
25 to 30 feet tall and grows
under the high shade of tall
trees. The flowering dog
wood is best adapted to par
Lifestyle
vided by Atlanta Bread
Company, Brusters Ice
Cream and Yogurt,
Captain D’s, Chick-Fil-A,
Food Lion, Fuddrucker’s,
Great American Cookie
Company, J & B Catering,
Kathryn’s Bakery, Kroger,
Kuntry Villa, Lane
Packing, McCall’s Tastes
to Remember, Picadilly
Cafeteria, Pizza Hut, Po’
Folks, Priester’s Pecans,
Ryan’s Steak House,
Steak-Out, Wayne Bedsole,
Wilson’s Bakery and mem
bers of the Pilot Club.
Proceeds will support
the Pilot Club’s service to
those with brain-related
disorders.
tial shade and does best
with afternoon shade.
However, many are grown
in full sun and look great.
The higher the light, the
more flowers dogwoods will
produce. The roots are nat
urally shallow and grow
best in moist, organic, well
drained soils. Dogwoods
suffer when subjected to
drought. Water them thor
oughly while they’re young.
Sun-planted dogwoods
can suffer from drought
when growing under heavy
competition from plants
such as turf grasses. These
trees do much better when
mulched and irrigated
deeply during establish
ment and droughts.
Mulching and removing
the grass beneath the dog
woods will keep the mowers
and string trimmers away
from the trunk. The bark
on young trees is easily
damaged by mowers, creat
ing wounds that allow dis
ease entry into the tree.
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Mary Lee Carter
Article photos
by Charlotte
Perkins
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Virginia Roberts and Louise Griscom.
When selecting a dog
wood to plant, always
choose named selections.
These have been chosen
because they have improved
features.
Most named selections
bloom at a young age. A
plant two to three feet tall
will be covered with flow
ers, while seedlings will sel
dom even have even a single
flower.
Selections usually have
large bracts that are bright
white, pink or red. They’re
usually insect- and disease
resistant. With seedling
dogwoods, you’re not sure
what will develop. Plants
often don’t flower for four
to six years after planting.
There are many selec
tions to choose from, and
new ones are appearing all
the time. It’s best to see the
plants in bloom before mak
ing your selection.
Some proven selections
are Barton and Cloud Nine
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Kathy Gidden and Margaret Duffey
X ’.4.
(white), Cherokee Brave
and Cherokee Chief (red),
rubra (pink) and Pygmaea
(a white-bracted dwarf).
Select a named cultivar to
plant this spring, and
reward yourself in future
springs.
Jim Midcap is a horticul
turist specializing in woody
ornamentals with the
University of Georgia
College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences.
SECTION
c
For Georgia
gardeners
This is the secon in a series
of spring vegetable and
flower gardening articles from
the University of Georgia
College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences. For
more specific information, if
needed, call the Houston
County Extension Offices at
(478) 987-2028 in Perry or
(478) 542-2020 in Warner
Robins.