THE THIRD ANNUAL Duluth High School Wildcat Walk/5K Fun Run will be off and running on Saturday, May 4. It will start at 3737 Brock Road and run from 7:45 a.m. until noon. This run raises funds for the Duluth High School athletic program. More details are here.
TODAY’S FOCUS: The Pomposity of Some Author’s Word Usage Baffles the Mind
EEB PERSPECTIVE: Could Political History in Gwinnett Repeat in a Different Way in 2020?
ANOTHER VIEW: Measles Making a Comeback in USA: Get Shots for Children
SPOTLIGHT: Mingledorff’s
FEEDBACK: Paying Attention to the Color of a Patron’s Hair at a Restaurant
UPCOMING: Info Session To Be May 20 on New Turning Directions in Snellville
NOTABLE: Lilburn CID Elects Comonte and Freeman As New Board Members
RECOMMENDED: Movie: A Little Chaos
GEORGIA TIDBIT: Georgian Who Was First Lady Is Buried in Rome Cemetery
MYSTERY PHOTO: Wooden Covered Bridge Seeks Your Answer as to Location
LAGNIAPPE: Isakson, Perdue and Woodall Welcome Gwinnett Group to D.C.
CALENDAR: Jack Reacher in Song Coming to Red Clay Theatre
The pomposity of author’s word usage baffles the mind
By Raleigh Perry
BUFORD, Ga. — I am a “wordaholic.” I read constantly and never gloss over words with which I am unfamiliar. Very seldom do I read novels. My basic reading is generally academic monographs on subjects in which I have an interest. The majority of my books are from Great Britain and for some reason the vocabulary in British books is a bit more taxing than the vocabulary in American books.
Perry
With familiarity in four languages besides English and tangential knowledge in a few others, I seldom use a dictionary. Usually, what I do is to attempt to “crack” the word with my language ability. It is only when I am unable to figure out a meaning that I go to one of my dictionaries.
I have a serious problem with books written and published in the United States when the author attempts to baffle the reader with words that they might not understand. I think that smells of pomposity.
Not long ago my wife was reading a book by a well-known American author. In it, she ran across the word “avoirdupois” and she was not familiar with it, so she asked me. You may not know the word right off, but it is a something that you use every day when you go to the supermarket to buy groceries. Avoirdupois is best known as a system of weights, 16 ounces to a pound. So even though you do not know the word, you use the concept every day.
This author’s use of the word in this case was a bit strange, however. The main subject in the book, the author himself, is loading a boat to travel from a small island to the mainland. He basically said that he was not sure he ‘….could get his avoirdupois boat in the water.” That is where the concept of pomposity comes in.
Readers might know what it means when buying green beans, but they do not know this usage. Basically, in this usage, you have to go back to the actual meaning of the word which is French and literally means “having weight.” He was essentially talking about a heavy boat, but the way he put it, showing us his intelligence, made absolutely no sense.
Regardless of the level of an author’s vocabulary, if he or she is writing for a general audience like this author was, it is rather highly pompous to use words that your audience does not recognize immediately. In most cases, they will simply gloss over it and not look it up. If you are in the writing business, you should write for your audience.
If my memory from my Journalism courses I took many years ago about the language level in newspapers that I learned is still current, there are three different grade levels in which newspapers are written. The sports pages are written on a 5-6 grade level, the articles in the other aspect of the paper in the 8-10 grade level, and the editorials and Op-Ed articles are on the 12th grade level. The different sections are written for their readers.
Novelists should remember this when practicing their craft, or else they risk the possibility of selling fewer books.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Could political history in Gwinnett repeat in a different way in 2020?
By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
MAY 7, 2019 — Is the Gwinnett political year shaping up similar to what happened in 1984? Could history repeat itself….in a slightly different way?
Those of you not living here then may not realize how pivotal 1984 was for political parties in Gwinnett. Up until that time, there were a few Republican office holders in Gwinnett. Louise Radloff was the first, having been elected as a Republican in 1973. (She’s still serving, but got elected as a Democrat in the recent election.) The only other Republicans serving in 1982-83 were Tom Phillips and Bill Goodwin.
In the 1984 election, there were 17 contested races between the two parties. Only one candidate did not have an opponent. That was probate Judge Alton Tucker, a Democrat.
When the votes were counted, there was an extraordinary outcome: all 17 Republicans won election, to the surprise certainly of the Democrats, and more so for the Republicans.
Since that time, Gwinnett has been thoroughly dominated by the Grand Old Party. Though a few Democrats over the years have been elected, it’s been unusual to spot an elected Democrat in Gwinnett in recent years.
The tide began to turn in 2016 toward the Democrats for local offices, as 23 Democrats were elected out of 33 races. However, in the presidential election in 2016, Gwinnett went for Hillary Clinton. Just last year, in the 2018 Gwinnett voting, more Democrats were elected, and local voters picked challenger Stacey Abrams, the Democrat, as their choice over the winner, Gov. Brian Kemp.
That’s causing many to feel that Gwinnett is well on the way toward electing far more Democrats in the 2020 election. Some maintain that with the increased diversity in Gwinnett, and with more and more voters registered to vote, the election could see a virtual Democratic sweep.
So, what’s happening these days? More Gwinnettians, especially Democrats, are thinking that if they ever want to run, this might be the year to toss their hats into the races. Surprisingly, that even includes some Republicans who might face a tougher task than a GOP candidate in recent years. Even some Republicans with no prior government experience, thinking that the Democratic trend is not all that serious, are themselves considering making a bid for office.
And would you also be surprised to find this: a few people who have previously been elected as Republicans are considering again seeking office, but this time in the Democratic race, not the Republican side. These people may be considered as survivors if they indeed run as Democrats, yet still win.
There’s another considerable impact that the 2020 race should make for local Democratic candidates. With Gwinnett not voting for President Trump in 2016, it’s unlikely that the county will find itself in Trump Country when the votes are counted in 2020. And since presidential elections always have greater turnouts than in the governor’s race, the higher number of Democratic voters might be another consideration for politically-bit Democrats to think 2020 might be the right time to test the waters.
We would hope that both local political parties would concentrate on fielding worthy candidates. That might mean at some point actually discouraging what would appear to be lousy candidates. And yes, we’ll say that some of the people who have voiced interest in running for office, from their previous experience or lack of experience, do not appear to be worthy of approval.
Stay tuned: 2020 might be a near throwback to 1984. Only this time, could 2020 be a Democratic sweep?
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Measles making a comeback in USA: Get shots for children
(Editor’s note: Dr. Essie Samuel is an Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice at PCOM Georgia in Suwanee, and a board certified pharmacotherapy specialist practicing as an Antimicrobial Stewardship pharmacist at Wellstar North Fulton Hospital in Roswell. Dr. Samuel received her doctorate of pharmacy from the University of Houston and her PGY-1 Pharmacy Practice Residency training from Baylor Scott and White Health in Dallas, Tex. She has worked as a clinical pharmacist at various institutions prior to joining PCOM Georgia as a faculty member.)—eeb_
By Dr. Essie Samuel
SUWANEE, Ga. — Measles (rubeola) is an acute respiratory viral illness that starts with a runny nose, fever, cough, redness in eyes and sore throat. It is highly contagious and can spread through coughing and sneezing by an infected person.
Samuel
Complications of the disease include pneumonia, encephalitis and even death. Before the measles vaccine became available in the 1960s, an estimated three to four million people, mostly children under the age of 15, were infected each year with measles. Of these, an estimated 400-500 people died, 48,000 people were hospitalized and 1,000 people developed encephalitis each year.
Due to the widespread use of the measles vaccine and the implementation of a second dose of MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine in all children, measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000. However, measles is still common in many parts of the world. Outbreaks of measles still occur every year in the United States, stemming from international travel.
The average number of measles cases per year has been increasing since 2000, with 37 cases in 2004 to 372 cases in 2018. Currently, the United States has documented more than 760 cases, which is higher than the annual number of cases observed since it was declared eradicated in the United States. Outbreaks have been reported in New York, New Jersey, California, Michigan, Georgia and Maryland. Most of these outbreaks have been in communities where groups of people are unvaccinated.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that children get two doses of the MMR vaccine: with the first one between 12 and 15 months and the second dose between four and six years of age. In addition, infants between the age of six years and 11 months should receive a dose of measles vaccine prior to international travel.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Mingledorff’s
The public spiritedness of our sponsors allows us to bring GwinnettForum.com to you at no cost to readers. Today’s featured sponsor is Mingledorff’s, an air conditioning distributor of the Carrier Air Conditioning Company. Mingledorff’s corporate office is located at 6675 Jones Mill Court in Norcross Ga. and is proud to be a sponsor of the Gwinnett Forum. With 37 locations in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi and South Carolina, Mingledorff’s is the convenient local source with a complete line for the quality heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration parts and supplies you need to service and install HVAC/R equipment. Product lines include Carrier, Bryant, Payne, Totaline and Bard.
- For all of your HVAC needs, and information on the products Mingledorff’s sells, visit www.mingledorffs.com and www.carrier.com.
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Paying attention to the color of a patron’s hair in a restaurant
Editor, the Forum:
My husband wanted to go to our favorite Chinese restaurant, so we went and were seated in a high-back booth.
I did not notice who our booth-mates behind me were; however, I did overhear a discussion between the female patron and the waitress, with the gist of it being that there was a hair in the shrimp/fried rice platter, so “let’s get a replacement.”
About 1/3 of the large plate had been eaten. The waitress made grand apologies, began walking away, then stopped and said, ‘Ma’am, this is your hair; no one here has blonde hair. The patrons apparently accepted the food back to their table. Later, I saw the boothmates as they were leaving and, indeed, she had long blonde hair.
— Name Withheld
Send us your thoughts: We encourage you to send us your letters and thoughts on issues raised in GwinnettForum. Please limit comments to 300 words. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length. Send feedback and letters to: elliott@brack.net
Info session to be May 20 on new turning directions in Snellville
The Georgia Department of Transportation will host an educational public information open house concerning the U.S. Highway 78 and Georgia Highway124 intersection on May 20. The event is open to the public and will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. at the First Baptist Church Snellville, 2400 Main St East.
The event is entitled “Educational Public Information Open House: Maneuvering Through the New Displaced Left Turns.”
This project is currently under construction with the first phase opening in spring 2019 and full completion by the end of 2019. It will reconfigure the intersection by adding a two-legged displaced left turn (DLT) with dual left-turn lanes offset from the through lanes on the east and west legs of U.S. Highway 78.
A dedicated right-turn lane is being provided for southbound to Georgia Highway 124 (toward Lithonia) for vehicles heading west on U.S. Highway 78 (toward Stone Mountain).
There are also improvements to Henry Clower Boulevard that will allow the road to serve as a bypass for vehicles traveling northbound on Georgia Highway 124 (toward Lawrenceville) and eastbound and westbound on U.S. Highway 78 (toward Loganville and Stone Mountain, respectively). Vehicles must use Henry Clower Boulevard to access eastbound or westbound Highway 78 from northbound Highway 124.
Lilburn CID elects Comonte and Freeman as new board members
The Lilburn Community Improvement District (CID) has elected two new board members, re-elected two board members and approved expansion of the district to include more than $10 million of additional commercial property. The body is a self-taxing organization that uses the additional property taxes to enhance economic development by accelerating infrastructure and security improvements to the Lilburn area.
Newly elected board members include Joe Comonte, general manager of Plaza Las Americas and David Freeman, real estate broker and commercial property owner within the CID. Comonte has offered the Plaza Las Americas venue to support the Indian Trail small area study during Lilburn’s National Night Out as well as the CID informational meetings regarding the Gwinnett Transit Referendum special vote in March 2019. In addition, Freeman’s knowledge of the Atlanta/Lilburn commercial real estate market as well as his private investments within the district, will make him an invaluable asset to the CID board.
John Souter, the founder and CEO of Comet National Shipping, was re-elected as the secretary and treasurer for CID. Souter founded Comet National when he was 23, and the service-oriented transportation company was named Entrepreneur Magazine’s 26th “Fastest Growing Small Business in America” in 1995.
Also re-elected as CID’s vice chairman was Ed O’Connor, senior director of Lavista Associates, Inc. O’Connor has been involved in Atlanta commercial real estate since 1996 and has extensive experience with tenant representation, suburban project leasing and anchor shopping developments.
The approval for the CID expansion includes properties on Indian Trail and Azalea Road, and is awaiting final approval from the City of Lilburn and Gwinnett County.
Moody’s gives Snellville’s bond for Cobblestone Project as Aa2 rating
Moody’s Investors Service has assigned a Aa2 rating to Snellville’s proposed $4 million Taxable Revenue Bonds for the Cobblestone Project as part of the city’s Towne Center project.
In connection with the Snellville Downtown Development Authority’s issuance of revenue bonds for the purchase of the Cobblestone Office Park, located at Oak Road and Clower Street, the city was obliged to seek an updated bond rating from Moody’s Investors Service. The Moody’s review resulted in a strong financial rating of Aa2.
The Aa2 issuer rating reflects the city’s moderately-sized, but growing, tax base, very strong reserve and cash positions and manageable long-term liabilities, according to a Moody’s press release. The general obligation limited tax revenue bonds are rated on parity with the issuer rating because of the city’s full faith and credit pledge to repay the bond’s debt service.
Factors that could lead to an upgrade in the near future are a tax base expansion and strengthened wealth levels.
The Towne Center project will transform a block of Snellville’s downtown into a livable and walkable downtown district. A governmental agreement with Gwinnett County has been approved to build a new library, relocating the Elizabeth Williams branch to the Towne Center. The city is also planning to build a city market on the Towne Center site.
Movie: A Little Chaos
From Karen Burnette Garner, Dacula: This stars Kate Winslet, Mathias Schoenaerts, and Alan Rickman. King Louis the Fourteenth of France (Rickman) has made the decision to move to Versailles after years of construction. He wants perfection, and his court and servants comply. His chief landscape gardener, de Notre (Schoenaerts) is charged with the creation of the extensive garden complex. Who to hire? Enter Madame Sabine de Barra (Winslet), a woman gardener whose design work has an original, asymmetrical style that is new and different for the time. She is also haunted by a traumatic event in her life, but finds herself embraced by the ladies of the court, who have suffered much the same. Her redemption is the beautiful outdoor ballroom she creates, and the love she finds along the way. A wonderful period piece, beautifully photographed, it is the story of a strong creative woman who endures and finds happiness.
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. Send to: elliott@brack.net
Georgian who was First Lady is buried in Rome cemetery
(Continued from previous edition)
Ellen Axson and Woodrow Wilson’s’ first home together was in Bryn Mawr, Pa., where he served on Bryn Mawr College’s inaugural faculty. In 1888 they moved to Middletown, Conn., where he became a faculty member at Wesleyan University. In 1890 he was named professor of jurisprudence at his alma mater, Princeton University, and the couple moved to Princeton, N.J.
Wilson
Although she never lived in Georgia again, Wilson several times visited friends and relatives there. She gave birth to two daughters—Margaret in 1886 and Jessie in 1887—in Gainesville at her aunt’s home. Her third daughter, Eleanor, was born in Middletown, Conn. in 1889. Wilson devoted most of her time to being a dutiful wife and nurturing mother, putting aside her artistic ambitions for many years. The Wilson household was often filled with relatives, including her brother, Eddie, who came to live with them in Bryn Mawr, as did her husband’s sister and nephews in Princeton. Woodrow Wilson became the president of Princeton University in 1902.
Gradually, as the family finances improved and her children grew older, Wilson resumed her painting. She turned wholly to her art in 1905, when her brother Eddie, his wife, and their baby drowned in a Georgia river, leaving her severely depressed. She spent some of her summers at the art colony in Old Lyme, Conn., and escaped New Jersey’s summer heat by vacationing in New Hampshire.
She was a reluctant politician’s wife, but after her husband became the governor of New Jersey in 1911, she carried out her role with grace and dignity.
Woodrow Wilson won the 1912 presidential election, and in March 1913 the family moved into the White House in Washington, D.C. As First Lady, Wilson became concerned by the abysmal conditions of the alleys and back streets of Washington, and she campaigned for the passage of a bill to clean up the streets. The effort is credited as an early attempt at urban renewal. She also planned the famous rose garden, which remains a popular part of the White House grounds today.
While First Lady, Wilson helped to plan the weddings of her two younger daughters. Both ceremonies took place at the White House. Jessie Woodrow Wilson married Francis Bowes Sayre in 1913, and Eleanor Randolph Wilson married William Gibbs McAdoo in 1914. The eldest daughter, Margaret Woodrow Wilson, never married and pursued a career as a vocalist.
By 1914 Wilson was gravely ill. After several months of decline due to Bright’s disease, she died in the White House on August 6, 1914. Her dying wish was that the Washington clean-up bill be enacted, and Congress quickly obliged. A special train returned her remains to Rome for the funeral at First Presbyterian Church on August 11. She was buried in Myrtle Hill Cemetery beside her parents.
Woodrow Wilson married Edith Bolling Galt in December 1915.
Ellen Axson Wilson was inducted into Georgia Women of Achievement in 2000. In 2008 the Rome Area Heritage Foundation donated a portrait of Wilson to the library at the University of Georgia in Athens.
- To view the Georgia Encyclopedia online, go to http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org
Wooden covered bridge seeks your answer as to location
Besides lighthouses, we are also suckers for covered bridges. How about this handsome structure? We see not a clue as to where it is located, so get out your snooping tools, and tell us where this is located. Of course, send your answers to elliott@brack.net, including your hometown.
The recent Mystery Photo gave some readers trouble. The beautifully-framed photo came from Donna Carpenter of Dallas, N.C., through Susan McBrayer of Sugar Hill. Send more, Donna!
First in with the most recent Mystery Photo was Jim Savadelis, Duluth: “Today’s picture is the lighthouse at Ocracoke Island. Some facts about the Ocracoke Lighthouse:
- HEIGHT: 77 feet 5 inches;
- STAIRS: 86;
- LIGHT PATTERN: Fixed Light BEAM;
- RANGE: 14 Miles.
- OWNERSHIP: transferred from U.S. Coast Guard to the National Park Service in 1999.”
Molly Titus, Peachtree Corners was also right: “Guessing Ocracoke Island on the Outer Banks, N.C.”
And George Graf of Palmyra, Va. told us: “The island and town of Ocracoke, N.C. is a quiet, sleepy place. The Ocracoke Lighthouse is the oldest remaining structure on the island. The lighthouse and keeper’s house were built in 1823 for the relatively paltry cost of $12,000.The Ocracoke Lighthouse is the second-oldest continually operating lighthouse in the U.S., behind only the Sandy Hook Light in New Jersey.”
Allan Peel of San Antonio, Fla. give us detail on the lighthouse: “The Ocracoke Lighthouse is distinctive on the Outer Banks for its small size, and is notable in the state of North Carolina for its age. In addition, it is the only lighthouse on the Outer Banks to measure under 100-feet tall, and to be a stark white in color.
“Completed in 1823, the lighthouse stands only 75 feet tall with a 25-foot diameter at its base, and narrowing to 12-feet at the top. The walls are solid brick – five feet thick at the bottom tapering to two feet at the top. The Ocracoke Lighthouse was significantly shorter than all other lighthouses along the Outer Banks, which had to be seen from the treacherous and relatively shallow offshore graveyard of the Atlantic waters. In contrast, the Ocracoke Lighthouse’s purpose was to provide guidance to mariners traveling through the adjacent Ocracoke Inlet and Pamlico Sound, and so the range of light did not have to be very far.
“The present light (which is fixed and does not flash or rotate) is equal to 8,000 candlepower and casts a stationary beam that, on a clear day, can be seen from roughly 15 miles away. The stark white lighthouse itself is visible throughout the four-square mile Ocracoke Village. The Ocracoke Lighthouse is white due to its unique exterior coat of paint applied during its construction. The coating is comprised of lime, salt, ground rice, whiting, and clear glue, which was mixed with boiling water before it was applied to the brick exterior. As a result of this unique formula, it is the only white lighthouse on the Outer Banks.”
Isakson, Perdue and Woodall welcome Gwinnett group to D.C.
U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson (top, right) and David Perdue and U.S. Representative Rob Woodall last week welcomed the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce to Washington, D.C., for its annual legislative fly-in to its discuss priorities with Georgia’s Congressional delegation. More than 30 local elected officials and community, chamber and business leaders attended the Gwinnett Chamber’s Washington, D.C., fly-in. Priorities that were discussed included economic development, water, energy and environment, health care, transportation, education and workforce, and arts, tourism and entertainment – all of which contribute to a strong business environment promoting investment, innovation and job creation. “Under Dan Kaufman’s leadership, the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce has done incredible work promoting small businesses, bolstering our local entrepreneurs, and making Georgia’s 7th Congressional District the best place to pursue the American Dream,” says Woodall. “It was an honor to host the Gwinnett Chamber for its annual trip, and I look forward to partnering with the Georgia congressional delegation to continue promoting policies that support quality jobs in Gwinnett County and further reduce unemployment in the region.”
Food Truck Tuesdays will start in downtown Lilburn on May 7 and continue every Tuesday in May. For June through October,the food truck will be in Lilburn the second Tuesday of the month. Time: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Author visit: Steve Raichlen is a James Beard award-winning author of cookbooks and host of a PBS show on cooking. He will be at the Norcross Cultural Arts and Community Center on Friday, May 10, at 7 p.m. to share his handbook on mastering brisket. It’s free to the public. A silent auction and refreshments will be provided by the friends of the library. For more information, call 770 968 5154.
Jack Reacher in Song: After a decades-long friendship born of unlikely coincidence and mutual fandom, bestselling author Lee Child, and Jen and Scott Smith, (Naked Blue) explored their favorite character, Jack Reacher, in a new medium. The result is a full-length album, Just the Clothes on My Back. Join us for a book talk and musical performance followed by a book signing. Presented by Eddie Owen Presents and Gwinnett County Public Library, Lee Child and Naked Blue will appear on stage live at the Red Clay Music Foundry, 3116 Main Street, Duluth on May 11 at 8 p.m. To purchase tickets, call 678-892-6373 or visit eddieowenpresents.com.
Fort Daniel Open House will be Saturday, May 11 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Fort Daniel site, 2505 Braselton Highway (Georgia 124) in Hog Mountain. Explore how archaeology reveals the ways people lived on the frontier during the World of 1812. There will be tours, an archaeological dig and a lab. For information, go to www.thefortdanielfoundation.org.
Bird Diversity and the use of RFIT Technology to learn more about birds will be the topics at the meeting of the Southern Wings Bird Club on May 13 at the Gwinnett Justice and Administrative Center at 7 p.m. Speaking will be Maribel Fernandez of the Georgia Gwinnett college faculty. Call Hank Ohme (770 845 3631) for more details.
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