Opinions
The Tennessee tempo picks up
Early Wednesday, B. J. and I awoke to a faint pattering on our bedroom window. She rolled over and pulled the curtain. Rain was coming down hard. I shook some of the sleep off, pulled myself from the sack and wobbled out on the patio to get close up to the Tennessee rain. The landscape was beautiful even in the rain. A quick check of the local weather on my state-of-the-art Blackberry indicated that there would be rain most of the day. There would be no helicopter rides over the Smokies today.
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“Think about it, reach out”
Dear Editor,
Did you pray that others would be blessed? Did you visit or make a phone call to someone that is homebound? Did you feed or share your food with some hungry person? Did you consider someone who was less fortunate than you?
Did you lend a helping hand to someone in an act of love with a caring spirit? Did you give thanks to God for life, health, strength, and food on your table, shelter and clothing? [Full Story »]
Did you pray that others would be blessed? Did you visit or make a phone call to someone that is homebound? Did you feed or share your food with some hungry person? Did you consider someone who was less fortunate than you?
Did you lend a helping hand to someone in an act of love with a caring spirit? Did you give thanks to God for life, health, strength, and food on your table, shelter and clothing? [Full Story »]
I just couldn’t resist
The following appeared on my desk a few days back and definitely brought a smile to my face. I could not resist sharing with News-Banner readers.
- A little girl was talking to her teacher about whales. [Full Story »]
- A little girl was talking to her teacher about whales. [Full Story »]
Way to go, Pirates!
Sports fans in Appling County will be talking about the Lamar County football game for years to come. What a game! Not even present in the over-crowded stands, I was nonetheless glued to my radio, listening with bated breath to every play, especially during the four overtimes. When the announcer’s voice rose, so did my blood pressure.
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The modern world
I was coming out of Harvey’s the other day and had the misfortune to witness first hand just how dumb some people can be. I pulled out of the parking lot with a fresh load of cracklings and got behind this lady as we started toward the traffic light, which was red. She was using her cell phone and obviously had her mind somewhere except on her driving because she went right through the red light, oblivious to the oncoming traffic. Thank goodness the other drivers were paying attention and braked for this idiot. She continued down the street and I got close to her again just as she came to another intersection and, would you believe it, she ran another red light, just talking away. The good Lord must really like this woman because no one was coming and she just went right straight through the light as if she owned the road.
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Satilla REMC thanks law enforcement and members
Dear Jamie,
In the early morning hours of November 4, Satilla REMC members in the Zoar Road community experienced a lengthy power outage resulting from the vandalism of a major piece of electrical equipment providing power service to this area. At 4:30 a.m., the Satilla control center began to receive telephone calls in regards to the outage and immediately dispatched the repair crew on call to the area. After extensive inspection of the line in question, the Satilla crew members discovered that someone had opened fire with a high-powered rifle on one of the line regulators near the Zoar Road Methodist Church. As soon as possible other Satilla technicians and Appling County law enforcement were called to the site and the repair of the line and the investigation of the damage was undertaken. [Full Story »]
In the early morning hours of November 4, Satilla REMC members in the Zoar Road community experienced a lengthy power outage resulting from the vandalism of a major piece of electrical equipment providing power service to this area. At 4:30 a.m., the Satilla control center began to receive telephone calls in regards to the outage and immediately dispatched the repair crew on call to the area. After extensive inspection of the line in question, the Satilla crew members discovered that someone had opened fire with a high-powered rifle on one of the line regulators near the Zoar Road Methodist Church. As soon as possible other Satilla technicians and Appling County law enforcement were called to the site and the repair of the line and the investigation of the damage was undertaken. [Full Story »]
A time to give thanks
Did you know that in 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies? For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.
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Giving thanks
Today my front yard looks like an autumn landscape …. not on a postcard but on a sale paper for leaf blowers and rakes. I prefer to think of it as an advertisement for autumn, my favorite season. Yellow leaves still cling to the silver maple, but the red maple’s leaves are mostly on the ground. The already brown dogwood leaves are strewn about the yard. The ornamental pears are about half red and half green at this point, but I parked under one of them yesterday and returned this morning to find my car covered with bright leaves. Mostly though, big sycamore leaves coat the yard. Almost every brown leaf is bigger than my hand, and the wind has worked diligently to spread them all over the whole place.
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Fire hunting
When whitetail deer first appeared on the scene here in Coffee County in the late 70’s, none of us country boys had a clue how to hunt them. I mean an animal with eyesight like an eagle’s, a nose like a bloodhound and ears like radar ain’t exactly easy to sneak up on. We soon discovered, however, that they had one weakness that made them obtainable; whenever you shine a light in their eyes they stand still and stare at you thus making for an easy shot. This isn’t exactly sporting but after chasing them around in the woods and always getting skunked, a desperate man will often skew his principles of fair play to include any method that works.
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Thanksgiving makes us whole
Humankind has the most unique relationship to its Creator. It is stated in the Bible that we are created in the image of God. We are inbreathed with God’s breath of life, which makes us a “living soul” with a distinctive bond with our Maker. This exclusive rapport is the only one of its kind in all of God’s creation. Our inimitable affiliation with God allows a communion with Him that no other of His establishment enjoys.
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A different buck
By Hollis Crummey
As we reach the fall of the year and approach Thanksgiving, I am reminded of one popular fall social event enjoyed by the country folks of south Georgia. Cane grindings, as we called them, was the culmination of the sugarcane harvest. Not all farmers grew sugar cane. My folks never did in my lifetime. But various families over the county grew sugarcane and some purchased patches from neighbors who chose to sell a crop rather than cook it out into syrup. A cane harvest involved hard labor; the fodder must be stripped from the stalk, the stalks had to be cut down, and hauled up to the cane mill where they were ground into juice. Hence the term “cane grinding”. The juice then had to be transferred over to the boiler, which was under the boiler shelter. Then cooked at just the right temperature for just the right amount of time in order to turn it into the delicacy called “Cane Syrup”. The boiler was fired with wood, so keeping the juice at a desired temperature was an art in it’s self. Then the finished product was cooled down to a point that it could be bottled. Many times it was bottled in used bottles and used fruit jars that had been gathered up for this purpose. Of course they were cleaned and sterilized in a boiler of hot water. [Full Story »]
As we reach the fall of the year and approach Thanksgiving, I am reminded of one popular fall social event enjoyed by the country folks of south Georgia. Cane grindings, as we called them, was the culmination of the sugarcane harvest. Not all farmers grew sugar cane. My folks never did in my lifetime. But various families over the county grew sugarcane and some purchased patches from neighbors who chose to sell a crop rather than cook it out into syrup. A cane harvest involved hard labor; the fodder must be stripped from the stalk, the stalks had to be cut down, and hauled up to the cane mill where they were ground into juice. Hence the term “cane grinding”. The juice then had to be transferred over to the boiler, which was under the boiler shelter. Then cooked at just the right temperature for just the right amount of time in order to turn it into the delicacy called “Cane Syrup”. The boiler was fired with wood, so keeping the juice at a desired temperature was an art in it’s self. Then the finished product was cooled down to a point that it could be bottled. Many times it was bottled in used bottles and used fruit jars that had been gathered up for this purpose. Of course they were cleaned and sterilized in a boiler of hot water. [Full Story »]
Ho, ho, NO!
(Savannah Morning News editorial published November 12)
Most people probably agree that the venerable Christmas tree doesn’t need any help with its classic, holiday image.
But not if you happen to work for the Obama administration. [Full Story »]
Most people probably agree that the venerable Christmas tree doesn’t need any help with its classic, holiday image.
But not if you happen to work for the Obama administration. [Full Story »]
Dealing with life’s interruptions
Dear Editor,
As we travel this highway called life many things happen that may be considered interruptions. We grow up, have families, acquire careers perhaps, lose loved ones and in some cases our health may become compromised. But to God Be the Glory! That is what I want to talk about, when your health becomes compromised. [Full Story »]
As we travel this highway called life many things happen that may be considered interruptions. We grow up, have families, acquire careers perhaps, lose loved ones and in some cases our health may become compromised. But to God Be the Glory! That is what I want to talk about, when your health becomes compromised. [Full Story »]
What’s in a name?
Expectant parents usually spend a generous amount of time planning the proper name for the coming baby, and rightfully so. The wrong name can create all kinds of problems. We’re all familiar with the woes of boys named Sue and girls named Johnnie. If you’re looking for an unusual name, don’t choose James, John, Robert, or Michael. Those are the four most common male names in the USA, according to the names turned in to the census recently.
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Man’s Best Friend?
Several irate people, especially Sammy, have, over time, asked me to write about our local dog pound and how hard it is to adopt a pet from there. I stayed away from this subject until now that a tally sheet from the pound was delivered to me, which shows the grand total for the year 2010 of animals and their fates. The tally is as follows:
Adult dogs adopted—17; transferred—61; died in captivity—13; sent to the gas—1601; reclaimed by owners—125; escaped—0.
Puppies adopted—34; transferred—20; died in captivity—28; put to death—1802; reclaimed—19; escaped—1. I can assure you that cats and kittens fared no better. [Full Story »]
Adult dogs adopted—17; transferred—61; died in captivity—13; sent to the gas—1601; reclaimed by owners—125; escaped—0.
Puppies adopted—34; transferred—20; died in captivity—28; put to death—1802; reclaimed—19; escaped—1. I can assure you that cats and kittens fared no better. [Full Story »]
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