GwinnettForum | Issue 15.64 | Nov. 20,, 2015
The Holiday Season always features Tours of Homes. This year there will be a holiday Tour of Home in Norcross, featuring several houses, among them the traditional Garner house on North Peachtree Street. For more details of this tour, see Upcoming below.
TODAY’S FOCUS: Suggests Combining Election Day and Veterans Day
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Two Competing Factors Come Into Play for Presidential Race
ANOTHER VIEW: Proven Ways the United States Can Reduce Abortions
FEEDBACK: Feels Writer Has Misunderstanding of the Constitution
UPCOMING: Norcross Tour of Homes; Writing Workshop in Athens; Others
NOTABLE: Two People Singled Out for Accomplishments
RECOMMENDED READ: Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Guy
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Where Did the Phrase, “You’ll Be Out on Your Ear” Come From?
TODAY’S QUOTE: That Few Milliseconds Between Pitch and Call
MYSTERY PHOTO: Ex-Gwinnettian Sends Photo That No One Can Identify
Move Election Day to Veterans Day, for honor and bigger turnout
(Editor’s Note: Tom Taft is the chief operating officer at Germantown Academy, which is located in suburban Philadelphia and is the oldest nonsectarian day school in the United States) –eeb
By Tom Taft, The Philadelphia Inquirer, via The Rome (Ga.)Tribune
NOV. 20, 2015 | One of the saddest statistics in America today is the low rate of voter turnout. In the 2012 presidential election, only 57.5 percent of eligible voters turned out. That number is sobering. Even worse is having to go back to 1896 to find a rate significantly higher (79 percent). The oft-repeated reason for the low rate is that potential voters don’t think their vote will matter.
By combining Veterans Day and Election Day into one national holiday we, as a nation, can provide eligible voters with a whole new reason to vote — to honor the veterans who have given so much to protect this right.
One vote may not change an election, but the individual act of voting can become a message sent to all veterans on Veterans Day that we know what they have done for us.
In 2014, Election Day did fall on Veterans Day. Now we need to make that permanent. A group of students has become interested in pursuing this effort, and you will be able to follow their work on www.VetDayVoteDay.org.
The most moving moment on a trip to Europe years ago was not seeing the Coliseum, the Eiffel Tower or a masterpiece in the Louvre; it was a visit in Italy to a cemetery dedicated solely to American soldiers. There were thousands of simple white tombstones with the names of our fallen soldiers. Walking among them it was impossible not to cry. So many young Americans whose lives lasted only 18, 19, or 20 years, and who died so far away from their homes.
At a World Economic Forum in 2003, Colin Powell was challenged about American “empire building.” His answer silenced the room: “Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.”
We entered World War I with Woodrow Wilson’s call to “make the world safe for democracy.” Americans responded, and many — too many — did not return. We must continue to honor their sacrifice by taking the one action that defines a democracy: voting.
There is nothing that connects a Tuesday in November — typically Election Day — to anything meaningful in our national culture. The date was set not by the Constitution, but by Congress in the 1880s.
In those days voting could be a two-day commitment for farmers who had to travel to the county seat — often a day’s journey by wagon. So elections had to be held after the harvest. And they couldn’t happen on the Sabbath. So allowing Monday for travel, voting could be done on Tuesday, with time left over to buy supplies and head back to the farm. It made sense then, but such thinking is irrelevant today.
If we make a change by linking Election Day and Veterans Day, your candidate still may not win. Your candidate may not even have a remote chance to win. But every vote would become a continuing statement saying that all of those lives marked by white tombstones were not lost in vain. All those veterans, who served in our armed forces and protected our nation, would be further honored and valued.
They fought for you. They served for you. Honor them. Vote. It is so simple and so obvious and so easy to achieve. We can do this.
One year away, looks like independent voters carry heavy sway
By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher
NOV. 20, 2015 | Here we are nearly a year away from the national election in November 2016. The year 2015 has been a boisterous pre-election year at least for the Republican candidates, while the quieter Democrats have honed their list of candidates to three people.
At one time the Republicans had 16 people vying for the spotlight, now 12 remain. That’s still a lot. And the polls show two people who have never been elected to political office, Dr. Ben Carson and Donald Trump, top the list for the GOP.
Somehow, it appears to us that neither of the two GOP candidates will be the eventual nominee, though, of course, you never know. Somehow, we think that the old-line Republican leaders within the party will make the final determination of who wins at the convention next year. And that the winner will come out strong, and put up a good fight for the office.
While on the Democratic side, we somehow are not convinced yet that Hillary Clinton will win the nomination, though she is showing more strength than ever before. Only time will tell who the nominees are for either party; no one seems to have it absolutely sewn up.
Two factors in this election cycle may determine who the next president will be. But these factors are not absolute.
First, an April release from the well-respected Pew Research Center, which concentrates on U.S. politics and policy, shows a deep divide in party affiliation in the nation. The totals who lean Democratic is 48 percent, while the number of people who lean Republican is 39 percent, a nine percent difference. Looking at that, it would mean that the Democrats enter the election primary with a definite advantage.
Now to complicate this element: currently there are 31 Republican governors, and only 18 Democrat governors, and one independent. (Bill Walker of Alaska is the independent). Adding to that, an election in Kentucky recently to take office in 2017 will make it 32 Republican governors, and 17 Democrats.
Isn’t that strange? While people lean Democratic nationally, according to Pew, when they go to the polls to vote for their state’s leading official, they elect Republicans. Yep, that complicates matters.
The second factor that also complicates the upcoming presidential election is that the share of people who consider themselves political independents continues to rise. These people may vote either way. Pew says in their 2015 poll that there are now 39 percent who consider themselves Independents, 32 percent who are Democrats and 23 percent who are Republicans.
Among people who claim a party affiliation, there is still that nine percent gap between Democrats and Republicans. So no matter who the Republicans or Democrats nominate, it may be the Independents who decide the election.
The two major parties will, therefore, do their best to attract these Independent voters. You may see all sorts of slants to the two party platforms to attract these Independents. Yet every time either of the two parties hedge their platform statements to lean one way or the other, they could be losing votes from the Independents. (You figure both party’s regulars will vote their leanings come what may.)
It sure makes the run-up to the election, at this point, mighty interesting.
There are proven ways how the U.S. can reduce abortions
By George Wilson
NOV. 20, 2015 | The recent Congressional “hearing” of Planned Parenthood was more interrogation than a listening tour. It was political grandstanding of the worst order. Only in the US do we have a “serious” political party who spends their time and taxpayer resources attempting to legislate about their citizen’s sex lives and keep (poor) women in reproductive chains.
One explanation is offered by John Dean in his book, Conservatives without Conscience. He calls them “Authoritarian Conservatives.” They want an authoritarian government regarding personal choices that will enforce conservative values. Never mind that the point of our cherished liberty is to be free from such things. Remember, history in the United States – the authoritarian government of Massachusetts executed a Rhode Island woman in the 1600s for her Quaker religion. We the people enrage these authoritarians by being independent thinkers. Sadly, these types of conservatives don’t realize how incredibly unpatriotic they really are.
There are countries, like the Netherlands, where abortions are almost non-existent. (There will always need to be some abortions for medical reasons). How does Holland accomplish this? They use comprehensive sex education for children, readily available; effective birth control; and a well-funded social safety net that gives parents the security of knowing any children they have will be provided for.
So, all these Republican Congressmen who are appalled by the practice of abortion that they are attacking and threatening the funding of an organization that provides health care for women, 97 percent of whose work isn’t abortion and who don’t use federal funds for the 3 percent of their work that is abortions. Would they support large amounts of funding for sex education, birth control and a social safety net? I doubt they would.
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Feels writer has misunderstanding of the Constitution
Editor, the Forum:
I read a recent George Wilson article with horror. This gentleman seems intelligent, but then he shocks you with his misunderstanding of the Constitution. He asks about the Senate “How is this representative?” It is the House portion of Congress that is representative, not the Senate. It has been in the Constitution for a long time and pretty clear at that. The reason the Senate has two Senators per state is to be fair. The fathers saw that it was necessary to do this to make it attractive for a little state to become part of the union. They did it pretty good I might say.
— Hugh D. Penn, Sandy Springs
Dear Hugh: Pardon us, but we thought the idea behind two senators per state was to give geography a say in it all, rather than just representation by population. -eeb
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Historic Norcross Tour of Homes coming on Dec. 5
The Historic Norcross Tour of Homes comes alive on Saturday, December 5. The homeowners of four decorated homes and a house at a new development, Adam’s Vineyard, have dressed trees, adorned banisters with fresh holly and attached the mistletoe in anticipation of visitors and guests. The activity begins at 10 a.m. and continues until 5 p.m. Then at 6 p.m., the Candlelight Tour allows volunteers and homeowners the chance to light the more than 2,000 luminaries.
The number of tickets is limited, so act early and purchase tickets online at https://freshtix.com/events/historic-norcross-holiday-tour-of-homes. Advance tickets are $21 through November 30 and $25 December 1 through 5.
The following downtown locations also will be selling tickets: Chalk It Up Norcross, Farmhouse 17, The Shops of Antique Traditions, Taste of Britain, Good Things, Anna Balkan or Purple Poppy Shoppe. Tickets may also be purchased the day of the Tour for $25 at Norcross City Hall, 65 Lawrenceville Street, which will be the “starting spot” for this year’s Tour.
Free shuttles will depart at 10 a.m. from City Hall and will run throughout the Tour to each location. Tickets must be exchanged for armbands at Norcross City Hall the day of the Tour. No tickets or armbands will be available at any of the homes. For more information, visit www.HistoricNorcrossHolidayTourofHomes.com.
GGC professors plan memoir writing workshop in Athens
What’s your story? Are you stuck in the muck of trying to write a memoir? Do you need to breathe some life into your family tree ? Would you like to make your writing dreams come true?
Linda Hughes (left) and Kathryn Gray-White
Georgia Gwinnett College professors, Linda Hughes and Kathryn Gray-White, sometimes referred to as the “Memoir Mavens,” will walk you through the steps to writing a memoir that brings your dead ancestors to life and, more importantly, brings your life to the page in a way that won’t bore your readers to death.
If you’re in the Gwinnett/Atlanta/North Georgia area, come join these two professors at their big kick-off party and writing workshop on December 5 at the University of Georgia. The how-to-write your memoir program will be followed by a presentation by Deeds Publishing of Athens, from Jan and Bob Babcock.
The publishers will offer a short presentation on getting published. The workshop is free and will take place at the new Richard Russell Special Collections Library, a showcase for Georgia’s writing history.
Deeds Publishing will add to the anticipation by pulling together a host of authors signing books for holiday giving.
Schedule for the Mudsill Memoirs Writing Workshops (For more information, go to http://www.mudsillmemoirs.com.)
- 12:30 p.m.: Registration;
- 1 p.m.: Memoir writing workshop;
- 2 p.m. Break and book signing by numerous authors with memoirs;
- 2:15 p.m.: Jan and Bob Babcock on how to get published
- 3 p.m. Informal book talk
Hughes is co-editor and writer for two collections of memoirs and has written three nonfiction books and four novels. Her 2014 novel Becoming Jessie Belle, an ancestry quest adventure story, won the Indie Book of the Day Award. Prior to becoming a college professor, she spent 20 years putting on workshops. She also has honors from the National Writers Digest, and the American Screenwriters Association.
Gray-White’s historical articles have appeared in books including Moonshine, Murder, and Mayhem and A North Georgia Journal of History. Archaeologist Jim D’Angelo said, “Kathryn is a dedicated teacher who goes the extra mile. He says “She is an inspiration!”
Aurora Theatre planning 20th annual Christmas Canteen
‘Tis the season for festive cheer and everyone’s favorite tuneful holiday treat, as Aurora Theatre’s Christmas Canteen 2015 ushers in the sounds of the season for its 20th anniversary, from November 19 until December 20. Aurora is home to Gwinnett County’s longest running theatrical holiday tradition, Christmas Canteen. It is a laugh-out-loud comedy with jubilant musical numbers!
Anthony Rodriguez, producing artistic director, says: “Christmas Canteen has been a vital part of our organization since its inception two decades ago. As we celebrate the anniversary of this magical show, we proudly continue this tradition for our patrons, who continue to share this wonderful holiday extravaganza with us!”
Directed by Rodriguez, the jolly variety show features writer Brandon O’Dell along with veteran actors Jen MacQueen, Travis Smith, Brian Walker, Diany Rodriguez and Lyndsay Ricketson Brown; choreography is by Jen MacQueen. The design team of Alan Yeong (costumes), Julie Allardice Ray (set), Daniel Pope (sound and projections), Ryan Bradburn (props) and Mary Parker (lights) ensures the production’s visual appeal, while musical direction is led by Ann-Carol Pence and the canteen band comprised of Mark Biering (percussion), Greg Armijo (bass) and Jim Stallings (guitar).
Members of Aurora’s 2016 Apprentice Company will also be featured on stage with T’Arica Crawford and Benjamin Sims, as well as in the band with Skyler Brown (guitar).
On Saturday, December 19, Aurora will offer an Autism and Sensory-Friendly Performance of Christmas Canteen 2015 at 2:30 p.m., designed for families with children on the autism spectrum or those with sensory issues. While the show will be performed as written, adjustments will be made to alleviate any overly loud sounds, jarring noise and intense lighting in order to provide a safe and enjoyable experience for audiences!
Adding to the yuletide joy is Aurora’s annual Festival of Trees, supporting the United States Marine Corps Toys for Tots drive and Gwinnett’s local food banks. More than 25 trees decorated by local businesses will illuminate the theatre for visitors to enjoy. All guests are encouraged to cast a vote for their favorite tree by placing a new, unwrapped toy and a non-perishable food item underneath it. All of the gifts will be donated to the United States Marine Corps Toys for Tots and the food items will go toward the Holtkamp Can Challenge to be delivered to local food banks.
Regular show times are Wednesday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. There will be no performances on November 25-26.
EHC offers annual Green Your Holiday Festival Nov. 23-24
Join the Environmental and Heritage Center (EHC) for its annual Green Your Holiday Festival as it gets ready for the yuletide season. Green Your Holiday will take place on Monday and Tuesday November 23-24. The event will run from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. each day.
Guests will make a wildlife inspired ornament, create upcycled/recycled holiday crafts, conduct “Holly Jolly Science” with lab experiments, take pictures with a scientific Santa cut-out, enjoy a tram ride on the EHC trails and much more. Visitors will also have an opportunity to take a festive exterior tour of the Chesser-Williams house and its new raised beds, as well as discover some Germanic Christmas traditions. They will also get to view Portraits in Gray: A Civil War Photography Exhibition featuring the collection of David Wynn Vaughan.
In conjunction with the event, the EHC’s Gift Shop and Brewed Café will hold a Holiday Open House and Arts and Crafts Market on November 23. The Open House will feature a number of local artists and artisan produced merchandise including jewelry, organic bath products, handmade needlework and much more. It’s the perfect place to find unique specialty items for that certain someone on your list. To take the chill off, Brewed Café will offer snacks and hot drinks for purchase as well.
Admission to the Green Your Holiday Festival is $8 per person. EHC members and children ages 2 and under are free. There is no charge for guests who only attend the Open House and Arts and Crafts Market. For more information visit www.gwinnettEHC.org.
Duluth, Lilburn announce times of annual tree-lightings
All good little boys and girls, as well as adults, will want to visit the Duluth Town Green on Saturday, December 5, for the annual Tree Lighting festivities, signifying the start of the upcoming holiday season. This 37th annual celebration of seasonal sights, scents, sounds, and Santa will occur from 5 until 8 p.m. in Downtown Duluth.
Before Santa’s arrival, music will fill the air. The Chattahoochee Elementary School Choir will sing holiday favorites and a performance by local vocalist, Emily Vance. Bands from both Freedom Church and 12 Stone Church are also scheduled to perform for the crowd.
The evening concludes with an entrance by the jolly man himself, SANTA! Riding the Duluth Express, Santa will be visiting the Festival Center Stage for photos and to hear what good boys and girls might want for Christmas. The Salvation Army will be represented for their annual holiday “Red Kettle” fund.
In Lilburn, the annual tree lighting will be on Tuesday, December 1, starting at 7 p.m. in front of City Hall. Be part of this annual tradition, as the City of Lilburn lights the tree on Main Street. Lilburn Middle School Chorus will perform at the event. The annual Christmas parade will be on Saturday, December 5 at 10 a.m.
Collins Hill librarian named to Pinnacle Leadership Program
Clark
The Georgia Public Library Service has selected Collins Hill library Branch Manager Leslie Clark as one of 22 participants in the 2016 class of PINNACLE, the agency’s comprehensive leadership program. Clark has served as the Collins Hill Branch Manager since joining Gwinnett County Public Library in 2010.
State Librarian Julie Walker says: “By providing carefully designed training on numerous important and library-specific topics, PINNACLE is instrumental in our effort to prepare many talented individuals to take the next step in their careers and become our future public library leaders.”
Sugar Hill’s Lanier High to be in 35th children’s parade
Lanier High School from Sugar Hill will appear in the 35th Annual Children’s Christmas Parade on Saturday December 5, stepping off on Peachtree Street at 16th Street in Midtown, Atlanta at 10:30 a.m. The parade will include floats, helium balloons, and marching bands in the largest Christmas parade in the southeast. Thousands of spectators will be lined up along the streets to watch Santa and the official beginning of the holiday season in Atlanta. For additional information on the parade or how to purchase VIP seating please visit choa.org/parade.
MADD cites Rice for legislation aimed at drunk drivers
Rice
Representative Tom Rice of Peachtree Corners has been cited by the national office of Mothers Against Drunk Driving for his help in advancing the campaign to eliminate drunk driving. He was deemed the “legislator of the year” for Georgia for his efforts. Rice was specifically instrumental introducing a bill which would require drivers who refuse a blood alcohol test to have an ignition interlock device installed on their automobiles. The bill is pending in the Judiciary Non-civil Committee of the Georgia House of Representatives.
Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude Book
By Ross Guy
This is a book of poetry that is a feast for the senses. The author explores events, character traits, feelings through images of life from gardens and outdoor scenes. It is a lush, evocative outpouring of celebration of life from its bright spaces to and through the journey towards death. The author also explores relationships from the lush beginnings to the tangles of misunderstanding through the unraveling of ways of thinking to new levels of community. Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude is an experience of entering the consciousness of this gifted author/poet. It is a rich feast for the imagination; a joyous dance for the heart and senses.
— Karen Harris, Stone Mountain
An invitation: what books, restaurants, movies or web sites have you enjoyed recently? Send us your recent selection, along with a short paragraph (100 words) as to why you liked this, plus what you plan to visit or read next. –eeb
Where did the phrase, “You’ll Be Out on Your Ear,” come from?
Have you ever heard the phrase out on your ear? If you do, it means that you are being kicked out of a place or situation. For example, your soccer coach might say, “You’ll be out on your ear if you don’t get to practice on time.”
Back in 1731 British naval captain Robert Jenkins would gladly have been out on his ear—except he didn’t have one! An angry Spanish privateer cut off Jenkins’s ear as punishment for English raids on Spanish ships.
Captain Jenkins paraded his severed ear before the British Parliament, and the English people were outraged. War between England and Spain erupted in 1739, and the young Georgia colony, caught between Spanish-ruled Florida to the south and the British colonies to the north, was right in the middle of the fight. For a time it looked like the Georgia colony would be lost.
But English settlers and Native American tribes came together to expel the Spanish, and in 1742, during the Battle of Bloody Marsh on St. Simons Island, General James Oglethorpe and his troops put the Spanish out on their ears for good. Never again did the Spanish invade Georgia, thanks to the War of Jenkins’ Ear.
- To access the Georgia Encyclopedia online, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
A beautiful afternoon outdoors playing croquet in this mystery
With the rains we’ve had in Gwinnett recently, we take you back in this picture to more beautiful times. This Mystery Photo shows of a beautiful day where people are playing croquet. See if you can figure out where this photo was taken. Note the green, the ocean, the houses, and the spectators. But where? Send your answers to elliott@brack.net and be sure to include the town where you live.
Donny Loeber of Norcross and his wife Tamara travel the world to put on shows of many company’s products. Recently he was in Spain, and sent in last edition’s Mystery Photo, the Pont du Diable Roman Aqueduct in Tarragona, Spain. And he stumped the entire readership with this photo.
The only person coming close was Diana Preston of Lilburn, who wrote: “It looks like the totally intact Roman Aqueduct in Segovia Spain. I spent a summer study there some years back, but always saw it from inside the walled city, never from whence it came in the hills.” She had the right country, but not the right aqueduct. Another reader thought it might be the Ponctcysyllte Aqueduct in Wales.
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