Monday, April 30, 2007

1976 MAY FIRST WEEK




(Notice, this photo was made exactly 31 years this week, not a part of our 30-year-old series.)
This is my favorite picture of Clayton Stephens. He was in his element, doing what he loved to do - appreciating the people of Treutlen County. With him are Cecil Phillips (center) and A.M. Sellers. The scene is the old store at Zaidee.

Tomorrow's Sign:
HAPPY 16TH BIRTHDAY GARRETT WILCHER. MAY 1ST. WE LOVE YOU. DADDY, MAMA, & BRYSON.

RULES OF THE SOUTH
4. We all started hunting and fishing when we were seven years old. Yeah, we saw Bambi. We got over it.

NOTES ABOUT GEORGIA
4. If it grows, it sticks; if it crawls, it bites.

BIBLE STORIES
DID NOAH FISH?
A Sunday school teacher asked, "Johnny, do you think Noah did a lot of fishing when he was on the Ark?" "No," replied Johnny. "How could he, with just two worms?"

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
Why do croutons come in airtight packages? Aren't th ey just stale
bread to begin with?

THOUGHTS TO PONDER
I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes.

Saturday, April 28, 2007



1977 APRIL 4TH WEEK
Close but safe.Guess who?

Today's Sign:
COMING SOON. SIGNMAN PRODUCE AND SHRUBS PLUS FLOWERS.


RULES OF THE SOUTH
3. The red dirt -- it's called clay. Red clay. If you like the color, don't wash your car for a couple weeks -- it'll be permanent.

NOTES ABOUT GEORGIA
3. There are 10,000 types of spiders. All 10,000 live in GEORGIA plus a couple no one's seen before.

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?

THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEKEND:
Wouldn't it be nice if whenever we messed up our life we could simply press 'Ctr Alt Delete' and start all over?

BIBLE STORIES
GOOD SAMARITAN
A Sunday school teacher was telling her class the story of the Good Samaritan, in which a man was beaten, robbed and left for dead. She described the situation in vivid detail so her students would catch the drama. Then, she asked the class, "If you saw a person lying on the roadside, all wounded and bleeding, what would you do?" A thoughtful little girl broke the silence, "I think I'd throw up."

Friday, April 27, 2007

1977 APRIL THIRD WEEK



Miss Mistake contestants included Johnny Pace, Jeff Heuett, Joel Webb, James Williams, Alan Smith, Joe Hilton, Al Ricks, Mitchell Manning, Tony Bush, Joohn Ellington, Ted Brown, Mike Morgan, Mark Seat, Tracy Willis, Steven Wells.


TODAY'S SIGNS

CITIZEN OF THE DAY. MULLET EATING CHAMPION. K PEEBLES. APRIL 27, 2007.

BARBARO: A NATION'S HORSE. ON NBC 5 PM SUNDAY. 2006 KY DERBY WINNER.

RULES OF THE SOUTH
2. It's called a "gravel road." No matter how slow you drive, you're going to get dust on your Navigator. Drive it or get out of the way.

NOTES ABOUT GEORGIA
2. There are 5,000 types of snakes and 4,998 live in GEORGIA.

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
Ever wonder about those people who spend $2.00 apiece on those little bottles of Evian water? Try spelling Evian backwards: NAIVE

BIBLE STORIES
LOT'S WIFE
The Sunday school teacher was describing how Lot's wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt, when little Jason interrupted, "My Mummy looked back once while she was driving," he announced triumphantly, "and she turned into a telephone pole!"

Thursday, April 26, 2007

The Sign Man is Real, So is the Sign



Recent signs from the Sign Man:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TREVOR BYRD ON APRIL 19.

HAPPY 11TH BIRTHDAY KALI MORRIS. 04-20-07. LOVE MOM, DAD & TRENT.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RILEY BEASLEY FROM MOMMY AND DADDY.

HAPPY 50TH ANNIVERSARY BOBBY AND SHELBY MASON. FROM KIDS AND GRANDKIDS.

SOPERTON POSSUM SLEEPING UNDER NEW CANOPY AT CROW-MART.

CITIZEN OF THE DAY. HARDWORKING GENE BOWERS. APRIL 26, 2007

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Some things that I don't understand:

How does the killing of people (ours and theirs) half way around the world make us safer in America.

Does anybody really believe that our country is safer than it was seven years ago?

If we are so safe, how did all the killing occur at Virginia Tech?

When it comes to war, what are the definitions of losing or winning?

Really, how do we know when a war is won or lost?

If our goal was to capture Bin Laden, why did we give up the chase?

When COC stood on the aircraft carrier with the sign "Mission Accomplished," why didn't we bring the troops home?

Saddam Hussein is dead. His rule is over. If that was our goal, why are we still in Iraq?

Tell us, Mr. President, what are your goals in this war? If you won't set any time lines, would you please tell us the details of victory so we will recognize it when it comes?

Are we in a long-lasting Vietnam with no satisfactory conclusion in sight?

When will we learn from history?


NOW ON A LIGHTER SIDE:

RULES OF THE SOUTH

Rule #1. That farm boy you see at the gas station did MORE work before breakfast than you do all week at the gym.


NOTES ABOUT GEORGIA

Note 1. Possums sleep in the middle of the road with their feet in the air.

YOU KNOW YOU'RE FROM GEORGIA IF:

1. You measure distance in minutes.


I'll bet you that everybody reading this blog, has already received the entire list of this good ol' southern stuff, but ain't it great!

Do you know that if I'd get a comment or two from time to time, I might try to post more than once a week.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

1977 APRIL SECOND WEEK


It was time for the fifth Miss Treutlen County Forestry pageant, the annual event having started in 1973. The contestants posed on the front lawn of the High School. Left to right are: Tammie, Kim, Mary Jean, Tina, Beth, Angie, Lea, Suzanne, Frances, Terry, Barbara, Julie. Not pictured: Brenda.

STORY OF ELIJAH

The Sunday school teacher was carefully explaining the story of Elijah,
the Prophet and the false prophets of Baal. She explained how Elijah
built the altar, put wood upon it, cut the steer in pieces and laid it
upon the altar. And then Elijah commanded the people of God to fill
four barrels of water and pour it over the altar. He had them do this
four times - "Now," said the teacher, "can anyone in the class tell me
why the Lord would have Elijah pour water over the steer on the altar?"
A little girl in the back of the room started waving her hand, "I know,
I know!" she said, "to make the gravy!"

A friend e-mailed some cute Bible stories, and I plan to use them occasionally followed by my own commentary.

Gravy: What comes instantly to mind is the lack of gravy on menu of Piedmont Hospital. During my lifetime I've paid dearly for two one-month, expensive, vacations to the Piedmont resort. It costs like a resort, but it wasn't a whole lot of fun either time.
First was for a triple bypass followed by my first dialysis. If I think about it, there were a few other important events, such as the Saturday morning that apparently a lone doctor pulled out the big plastic cather out of my neck and replaced with a new one. He used his finger to plug the open vessel for a while before finishing the operation. No anesthesia. Possibly other people were in shouting distance, but I wondered that if he passed out, how long would it take to bleed to death.

There were eventful times during my second vacation when I got a kidney transplant. My doctors were very disappointed that I didn't properly rebound. They even considered the possibility of depression. A couple months later I was back in Piedmont, and they found I had stones and they removed my gall bladder. (That's what had been delaying my recovery. I recommend everybody have their gallbladders removed if there's the least chance it's causing a problem.)

All that said, back to the gravy. If Piedmont had served liberal amounts of gravy on the food I'd have been better quicker. They must have a thousand recipes for boneless, skinless chicken breast, all of which taste like dry pasteboard. Chicken breast has little flavor; it's dry as a bone; and about all you can do with it is to chop it up, boil it, add dumplings and lots of canned because chicken breast will not produce tasteful broth. They didn't have gravy on the beef or pork either. It's likely I will spend my final days at Piedmont, and I want to state right now, that they try gravy with me before they pull the plug.

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Signs of the Times

TUESDAY IS APRIL 6, 2007. GOOD FRIDAY. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMES E. BUSH.

TES TEACHER OF THE YEAR ANGIE PROCTOR.CONGRATULATIONS.

CONGRATULATIONS JIMMY-REGINA STEPTOE ON YOUR WEDDING DAY. APRIL 7, 2007.

BLOUNT-MCLENDON EXCHANGED VOWS APRIL 1957. HAPPY 50TH ANNIVERSARY KATHERINE & GEORGE L.

APRIL 8, 2007. HAPPY EASTER AND ENJOY THE MASTERS.

WATCH OUT FOR THE KIDS. THEY ARE ON SPRING BREAK.

LOCAL AUTHOR CYNTHIA REESE'S NOVEL "THE BABY WAIT" IS IN WAL-MARTS NATIONWIDE.

BENEFIT CHICKEN DINNER FOR BILLY FREEMAN. SAT APR 14 11-2. NORRISTOWN BAPTIST CHURCH.

BANK OF SOPERTON EMPLOYEES: THIS SIGN IS FOR YOU.

USE YOUR CROW CARD AT CROW-MART AND SAVE ON FISH BAIT.

MULLET AND ICE CREAM WILL BE SERVED. 15 SHOPPING DAYS TIL CROW'S BIRTHDAY BASH.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

What's Happening

I'm taking a two-day vacation, time to breathe. No trips, no extra fun, just a chance to breathe.
Congressman Barrow is spending his week off from capital to visit the veterans in his district. I understand about 80 people showed up at his meeting in Lyons tonight. I sent a letter, as I had other things to do. John had five veteran meetings this week, and that's quite a way to use a vacation.
A friend forwarded the following piece and I thought the readers of this blog might enjoy it.
By the way, You may notice that this blog has few comments. That's not problem. I looked after a weekly newspaper for almost three decades, and we had about a half dozen letters to the editor during that time. Read on!

>>CELL PHONE vs. BIBLE
>
> I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our
>cellphone?
>
> What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
>
> What if we flipped through it several time a day?
>
> What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
>
> What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
>
> What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
>
> What if we gave it to Kids as gifts?
>
> What if we used it when we traveled?
>
> What if we used it in case of emergency?
>
> This is something to make you go....hmm...where is my Bible?
>
> Oh, and one more thing. ...
>
> Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry
> about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the
>bill.
>
> Makes you stop and think "where are my priorities?
>
> And no dropped calls!
>

Sunday, April 8, 2007

1977 APRIL FIRST WEEK



The American Cancer Society local committee gathered with Mayor Frank Radford for the proclamation of Cancer Control Month.

Saturday, April 7, 2007

Vietnam 02 Posted

I've placed some more Vietnam photos at my Picasa space (Link: All of My Blog Photos). They are in the Vietnam 02 album, and the slides were processed July 1968. I gave away some of my slides, and threw away some that were technically bad. I believe that these with the tent damage were after the monsoon (tropical storm) hit. More disastrous looking were those I made the morning after Ho Chi Minh's birthday (May 19). The VC celebrated by firing mortars into our camp, and by luck one hit the ammo dump. My company had been in the process of relocating to the next hill. We had finished regular duties, ate supper, loaded on five-trucks and rode to our site right next to the perimeter fence. Each of us had our M-16 with one clip of ammo. All other firearms and ammunition were at the old area, adjoining the airstrip which was being widened. We had been filling sandbags, but had no cover above us and no bunkers. My camera was back in my old tent. All though the night the explosions continued scattering howitzer shells and other debris all over the entire camp. Most spectacular were the three explosions of huge fuel tanks. The fireballs were like those of a nuclear explosion. The shock waves knocked down any raised body. Most of the time we were hugging the ground, hoping that the next debris wouldn't fall on us, and that the VC would not try to cross our puny barbwire fence. I took plenty of photos after I retrieved my camera in the early morning. When I got them back from processing I passed them around for other troops to see, and one of the radio repairmen mailed them home to his mom in Venezuela. We never knew how he happened to be fighting an American war. We also had a Chinese-American troop in our company.

Occasionally we received cigarettes and candy, which some of the photos show. The black guy helping sort out the goodies was our buddy Pritchard from Tampa, FL. He would say "I'm from the cigar city of the sunshine state." I wonder where he is now.

Thursday, April 5, 2007

Our Congressman John Barrow

Every day I'm appreciating our Congressman John Barrow even more than when I voted for him last fall.

John Barrow is a man of principle, not of party. Although some of the so-called pork in the Iraq bill would have benefitted Georgia greatly and would have increased benefits for veterans, he joined Jim Marshall in voting "no" while most democrats were voting "yes".

John wrote and introduced a bill during the last Congress to raise the mileage allowance for disabled veterans, but the matter was ignored. That Congress was willing to raise the rate to 48.5 cents for themselves and federal employees almost two years ago, but they ignored the need of the veterans.

A couple of weeks ago he introduced his legislation again, and the 110th Congress passed it. Now it's time for the Senate and the President to affirm this needed benefit for disabled veterans.

Read the news release below and click Link: Our Congressman John Barrow to go to his website:

House Passes Barrow Amendment to Increase Veterans Mileage Benefits
March 28, 2007

Washington, DC – The U.S. House of Representatives today passed an amendment by 12th District Georgia Congressman John Barrow (D-Savannah) that will fully reimburse disabled veterans for the cost of their medical travel expense for the first time in 30 years.

The amendment, which was added to the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act of 2007 (H.R. 1538), provides that America’s disabled veterans will be reimbursed for the cost of their travel to and from VA facilities at the same rates that federal employees receive for their business travel. In addition, the amendment will repeal a $6 round-trip deductible that applies to veterans who have to travel for their health care but not to civil servants.

The mileage reimbursement rate for federal employees is adjusted for inflation and goes up as the price of gas increases. That rate was just increased by 4¢ per mile on January 22 of this year. However, the last time the veterans’ reimbursement rate was adjusted was in 1977, and it hasn't been increased since then.

“For the last 30 years, disabled veterans in this country have been shortchanged,” Barrow said. “The mileage reimbursement rate for disabled vets hasn’t changed since 1977, even though the law specifically says that VA has a responsibility to update it.”

“When you ignore a benefit as much as this, and for as long as this, it’s the equivalent of repeal by neglect,” Barrow continued. “My amendment says, ‘No more having to remember veterans when it comes time to raise the mileage rates, and no more forgetting veterans every time the mileage rate gets raised for everyone else.’”

Since most VA clinics in Georgia provide only primary care and mental health services, many of the state’s disabled veterans are forced to travel hundreds of miles to either Atlanta or Augusta to receive specialty treatments for injury-related care. Under current federal law, eligible disabled veterans are reimbursed at only 11¢ per mile – less than one fourth of the 48.5¢ per mile reimbursement that federal employees presently receive for their travel.

Barrow introduced the Disabled Veterans Fairness Act in the both 109th Congress (H.R. 4025) and the 110th Congress (H.R. 1472) to fix this problem. All of the changes that Barrow called for in his legislation were incorporated into today’s amendment.

The Wounded Warrior Assistance Act of 2007 now goes to the Senate for its consideration. If the mileage reimbursement measure is incorporated in the final version of the bill, and then signed by the President, then the mileage reimbursement rate would be scheduled to increase within 90 days after the date of enactment.