Opinions & Ideas
PAGE 4 - HOGANSVILLE HOME NEWS - MARCH 22,'2001
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THE HOGANSVILLE HOME NEWS
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Millmd B. Gdm,
Mn HAI
PUBLLSHEADVEING DIRECTOR
JOHN KAX,L
ASSOC,TE PtmusmrroR
BRYAN
ASSOCTE FrroR
JAwrE
BUSINESS MANAGER
Phone (706) 846-3188. (706) 846-2206
P. O. Box 426
Hogansville, Georgia 3023O
the Lighter Side
t_he Weekly News
An Associated Press story last
and think for
moment. While R was a little
and made me grin at first,
about it... I real-
incident
, serious and
According to the story, in
there is a corner
near the courthouse
r serves breakfast,
and prospective jurors.
During court held on _esday,
13, Circuit Judge Patrick
Joslyn didn't have enough peo-
de to fill a jury. It appears as
the week
county's small
and many others who
scheduled to appear didn't
according to Joslyn.
The judge quickly made a
He sent a court officer out to
restaurant located diagonally
from the courthouse to
customers from the
that would volunteer
The Judge filled his jury with
by Customs inspectors because
of her toothpaste.
It seems the woman bad two
canvas bags filled with tubes of
toothpaste... 163 tubes to be exact.
When questioned about why
she had so many tubes of tooth-
paste, the woman'told officers
she was going to sell it at a flea
market.
Of course, the Customs agents
were suspicious of her story.
Wonder why?
Once the toothpaste was
opened the officers found the
tubes contained .... you guessed
it... cocaine. The cocaine was val-
ued at $350,000.
Talk about your plans going
down the tubes.
When asked about his action,
said this was nothing new
the courtroom. "In the old days
used to send the bailiffs to
local saloon to retrieve
the Judge said. He also
this was the FLrst time in 23
to do such a thing.
Well, you know in the old days
' burned witches at the stake.
day and time we don't do
I wonder, how many of those
vol-
to serve would never
to serve as a juror for
rplson.
Can you imagine six months
now in a prison cell some-
the conversation between
in the cell.
"I don't understand that jury
me. When I served on
,o ,.lt
Don't Brush This Off!
Also on "Rmsday of last week,
43-yem,-old woman was stopped
Miami International Airport
OnAMore Serious Note
The Columbus Ledger-
Enquirer reported Friday, March
16 a ton-year-old in Columbus had
been found to be in possession of
a handgun at one of the elemen-
tary schools.
Not good, however the
reporter that wrote the story or
either the police officer that filed
it was no rocket scientist. Read
the next three graphs and see ff
you agree?
"Pupils at Martin Luther King
Junior Elementary School, 350
30th Ave., told authorities the boy
was in the class racking the slide
of the .25 caliber weapon about
He then went into the class-
room's rest room and pulled the
gun out two times, racking the
slide and pulling the trigger,
police said.
It was not reported ff the gun
was loaded."
Of course tht gun wasn't
loaded. No shots wei fired when
he pulled the triggorL
\\;
k
We welcome your letters.
Please them m:
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P. O. Box 426 • Hogamvill Gcxagh 30230
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Tongue on the Rail: Rite of Pas
A boy in my class named
Bobby Hosmer ate a live earth-
worm on the playground one
day to impress the girls, and
became the first Southerner
ever to eat any bait, which would
eventually be known as "sushi."
Maybe I could eat a live
earthworm. I also thought bet-
ter of that, too.
Throwing up, which I most
certainly would do, was also a
sign of weakness.
What I finally decided to do
was to invite my friends over
to the Atlanta and West Point
Railroad tracks early one morn-
ing and prove my manhood by
sticking my tongue onto one of
the cold rails.
It was rumored that a boy
once stuck his tongue on a cold
rail and then couldn't get it off.
A few minutes later, the
Crescent, westbound for
Montgomery and New Orleans,
came by and ran over his tongue
and cut it slap off.
I had cringed every time I
thought of that story, which
everybody knew, but what bet-
ter way could I show my man-
hood than by risking my tongue
to a speeding passenger Wain?
I took a group of five over
to the tracks one cold Saturday
morning.
"I am going to stick my
tongue to one of these rails," I
announced, "because I am not
afraid I won't be able to get it
off and a train will come by and
cut it slap off."
I must admit, however, I
knew the westbound Crescent
wouidn't be highballing through
town -- the train didn't stop in
Moreland anymore -- until
much later in the day, and the
worst thing that could happen
to me was my friends would
have to pull me and my tongue
off the rail and all I might lose
was a tittle skin off the bottom.
So I got down on my hands
and knees and stuck my tongue
to one of the cold rails.
What I hadn't thought of,
however, was that the eastbound
Crescent on its way to Atlanta
was due a few seconds after I
put my tongue to the raft.
As my friends stood and
watched in complete awe, I
heard the blare of the front-end
diesel horn, as it rounded the
curve a half-mile down the roacL
What if my tongue really was
stuck to the rail?
The train was getting clos-
er now.
Fortunately, I was able to
determine my tongue wasn't
stuck, and I could, in fact, get it
out of the way of the wain. But
shouldn't I wait until the train
was almost upon me before I
pulled away from the tracks? I
would be a hero. I would be a
legend.
'%ewis waited till that train
was bearing right down on him
and his tongue, and at just the
last second, he pulled his tongue
off the raft and dived out of the
way!" It would be in the county
weekly newspaper. They might
even give me a parade. Grit
might even want a first-person
story.
"The train's comin! It's
gonna cut Lewis's tongue off!"
"They might even
give me a parade. Grit
might even want a
first-person story."
the girls screamed, and one
even started crying and invok-
ing the name of Jesus.
"Jesus Christ!" said my
friend Dudley Stamps. "This
ought to be somethin'!"
I waited until the Crescent
was approximately 100 yards
away and closing. Then I pulled
my tongue off the raft and
flipped myself backward away
from the tracks.
The Crescent's horn was
sounding a constant warning
signal. It roared by, and the engi-
neer shook his fist.
But I had proved my man-
hood. I was not a homo, and I
had witnesses to prove it.
There was much talk 1
my boldness at school,
mother found out about
gave me a whipping.
I also had a bad taste
mouth for about a
the fact railroad tracks
ly are quite filthy
substances as
them.
But the
well worth it.
I'd be dead if I had
I'd rather drink a
kerosene than swallow an,
worm an:lrne.
BY SPECIAL
WITH ms WIDOW,
ED COS BY THE LATEI
GRIZZARD, WHO GREW
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GEORGIA WRITER OF HIS
GRIZZARD BELONGED
BELONGED TO THIS
GEORGIA, OF WHICH
SOOFTEN
OF 1-85 PROM
HOGANSVIIJ IS NAMED
HONOR. THE LEWIS
MUSEUM WAS
MORELAND IN 1996, AND A1
ING AND EDITING LAB IS
DEDICATED TO HIS
HIS BELOVFJ)
SALE THROUGH BAD
PRODUCTIONS, P.O. BOX
ATLANTA, GA 31118-1266
BOOK AND MUSIC
NATIONWIDE.
Why 15 Minutes Is Not Long
She was a resident/patient
at Christi_an City Hospice wheh
I met her. She was dying and
knew it. I will never forget her.
It was one of the most enjoy-
able- I hesitate to use that word
- but it was indeed one of the
most enjoyable interviews I
have ever done. She was so real,
so at peace, so thankful for so
many things.
After our first visit she want-
ed to talk to me a second time.
She wanted to be sure I remem-
bered to tell the doctors "Fifteen
minutes is not long enough."
If there had been any anger
or blame, she had worked
through it and let it go by the
time we met. I know they say
that anger is just one stage and
tbat eventually acceptance and
peace comes. Once again "they"
don't always know what they are
talking about.
So, when one is lucky enough
to encounter tho rare individ-
uals who face life's toughest bat-
tles and do go out with a spirit
of consuming acceptance and
peace, you don't forget them.
Trust me, you can't forget
them. They become the shining
lights, the beacons in the dark
for the rest of us. We only hope
we can know their kind of calm
and joy and total peace in the
wake of pain, misery, grief
and/or impending death.
Now, let me tell you why she
told me to tell the doctors "fif-
teen minutes is not long enough."
She was in her late fifties.
She had a basketful of assorted
ailments. There was her high
blood pressure and diabetes and
the arthritic pain that bad to be
discussed. There were refills
for routine medications that had
to be written. There was limit-
ed time with the doctors.
Being military, there was
always a different doctor who
she had to see. No chance to have
a relationship with a physician.
'Tou need to have a relationship
with your physician," she said.
"You need to know him or her
and fley need to know you."
"But even if you do under-
stand one another, fifteen min-
utes still is not enough time
especially when the doctor is
interrupted repeatedly while he
is in the room with you. "And
that's another thing," she
stressed. "Just because they are
in the room does not mean they
are really there. Their mind can
be somewhere else. Sometimes
you can tell. Sometimes you
can't, but they are only human."
Such was her gentle and for-
giving spirit. "They are only
human..."
She talked of a relative who
died angry. Full of blame. Never
letting go of all the "Why me?"
questions. "Why not me?." she
asked.
I still can hear her voice.
After more than ten years I still
can hear her say, "Why not me?"
And I still can hear her say,
"Tell the doctors fifteen minutes
is not long enougl"
But there was more. She told
me to tell the
be you and )-toeep
own records: Keep copies
reports of blood tests
tic procedures
etc. And when we
doctor she said we
notes with us.
Now some
ate the note. Others
when they see you pull
Tough! The note is
your train of thought, too. i
keep both you and the
and keep yours.
together. Make notes as,
You will forget what is
you do not.
She carried a list.
indigestion was always
bottom of it and
was never enough time
to the bottom.
The gently lady of
speak today
talked about
About today
yes, that was another
still saw value in her
life. She had hope for the i
and joy for
How Do We Face the Ultimate Te
We all can go back to our
school days and remember we
had to take a test. Some tests
came regularlyevery week, and
some tests came by surprise and
some were well announced.
Even right now children all
across Georgia are going
through a week of testing. It
seems no matter how'far in
advance a test is announced,
there is probably a majority of
folks who wait until the last
minute to prepare. I remember
when the time came for me to
take my last final exam in col-
lege. I had prepared and the
anticipation was great, not just
for the exam, but the anticipa-
tion of extreme relief and over-
whelming joy at taking my last
exam. The exam was over, I
walked out the door and the
extreme relief and overwhelm-
ing joy I thought would be there
were nowhere to be found, only
a hollow feeling that seemed to
exist from my head to my toe.
I realized school was over and
it was time for real life and the
tests were just beginning.
AS LIFE goes on, there are
tests of many kinds. There are
tests of our faith, tests of our
strength, tests of our will and
tests of our heart. Although tests
are a part of life, there is also a
test that comes after death. This
is indeed the final examination.
I speak of the final exam of our
works, the test of the deeds done
while in our bodies here on
Earth. Scripture tells us there
will be two different times, two
different places and two differ-
ent groups in the final exam of
the works of men and women.
The two different times refer-
enced are after the rapture and
after the millennial reign of
Christ, the two different places
are the Judgment Seat of Christ
and the Great White Throne, and
the two different people are the
saved and the lost. 2 Corinthians
5:10 says, "For we must all
appear before the judgment
seat of Christ; that every one
may receive the things done in
his body, according to that he
hath done, whether it be good
or bad."
This verse along with sev-
eral verses in 1 Corinthians 3
tells us of the saved person's
test at The Judgment Seat of
Christ. Revelation 20:11-12 says,
"And I saw a great white throne,
and him that sat on it, from
whose face the earth and the
heaven fled away; and there was
found no place for them. And I
saw the dead, small and great,
stand before God; and the books
were opened; and another book
was opened, which is the book
of life: and the dead were judged
out of those things which were
written in the books, according
to their works." This refers to
the Great White Throne and the
judgment of the lost man's
works.
SOMETIMES when in
school we failed to prepare for
the tests that were to be admin-
istered. These ultimate final
exams of our works are being
prepared for everyday. There
are those who are preparing
with good works and sadly there
are those who are preparing
with bad works. Let it be
stood that these
ing do not determine a
place in Heaven or in
decision is made by the
ual before he ever
world. These times of
are to determine the
a believer's rewards in
(The Judgment Seat)
unbelievers
(The Great White
Good works for the
er are those works
name of for the glory
Jesus, any other motive €
pose fora
deemed a worthless
will not be rewarded.
way to understand an
er's situation is to
like Hitler and
the gospel message
will receive, in the
scripture, "the greater
tion." (Matthew 23:14,
12:40, Luke 20:47).
One day all our
ever5
every
the Lord Jesus
have pleaded with our
to make sure and
