March 3, 2012 Save a life.

Dear readers at the outset I want to address something that could save your life or the life of someone you care about. The February 23, 2012 edition of the New York Times had a front page story on a report from the New England Journal of Medicine.The study is what some medical researchers say is the best evidence yet that colonoscopy the most unpleasant of cancer screening tests saves lives. The fact is colorectal tumors are a major cause of cancer deaths in the United States and is one of the few cancers that can be prevented with the test. This year more than 51,000 deaths are expected from it and 143.000 new cases will be diagnosed. The increased use of screenings are a reason for the decline in deaths but the death toll could be even reduced further is people took the time for the test. The most unpleasant part of the test is the day before when you are given a substance that internally cleanses you and I do mean cleanses. The proctologist I have in Cobb County told me that a way we can prevent a lot of problems is to cut back on red meat and a great increase in fiber in the diet. He told me that Africans have the lowest rate of that form of cancer because they eat the most green leafy and fiber rich foods. The procedure is painless with zero problems after. I am writing this and making an appointment at the same time. I have a lot to live for. I bet you do too. As Larry the Cable Guy says "get er done!" I am looking forward to a week out of the class room with Spring break going on this next week. I always warn my students who are jetting off to Cancun or some other sunny destination, to be careful and not do anything that you wouldn't want a future employer to see. Pictures from wet t-shirt contests and chug-a-lug competitions that get posted to social sites like Facebook are there for a potential employer to see forever. Many people are denied employment because of what might be thought of as harmless activities. Spring break is when I get caught up on some reading outside of text books. I am going to enjoy a few days of just hanging out with Bama the wonder cat. A week or so back I was rolling the green trash dumpster to the end of the driveway when his honor Pete Bridges dropped by just saying hello. I think that Mayor Bridges has to be one of America's best hands city leaders ever. He is always looking out for our town. We are blessed to have his compassionate leadership guiding our town. There is good news on the employment front for Georgia. Caterpiller is moving their Japanese operation to Clarke County. 1,400 people will be hired for the Athens plant. I like good news like that don't you? Earth moving equipment like Caterpiller has always facinated me, it always has. What is it guys that if there is a bull dozer or a Bobcat shifting dirt around, we will stand around and watch it? Is is just a man thing? Another man thing is when somebody is working on the engine of a car, guys gather around and watch. You never see women do that do you? I went to Gumbeaux in Douglasville recently. I love cajun and creole food. The gumbo there was so fresh, it moved. Have you ever tried boudin? It is a kind of rice based spicy sausage that they make down in Louisiana that is fantastic on the grill. The only place in Haralson County I've been able to buy it is Walmart. Haralson County is mighty lucky to have Dorothea Graham as our county agent. I've known Dorothea and her family for the better part of 20 years. Two of her newphews and one of her nieces are my daughters' first cousins. It is too complicated to explain. Can you all remember Don Heath, Ann Scoggins, and John Callaway when they served our county with the Cooperative Extension Service? My grandmother called Mr. Heath one time asking about root rot on her tomato plants. I am seriously pondering buying two baby goats to help me get a grip on the impending invasion of kudzu creeping up my back yard on the Freeman Street side. Do any of you have an alternative suggestion? Do you remember the ABC Television program The FBI? Baby boomers that remember the first director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation might find the Clint Eastwood movie released last year, J. Edgar interesting. The film stars Leonardo DeCaprio as the bulldog faced G Man as a power mad egomaniac bent on controlling those in positions of power. FDR, JFK, and LBJ left J. Edgar Hoover alone because of his access to private dosiers on the men occupying the Oval Office. Baby boomers might find it worth a rent from Netflix. Last Sunday's 84th Oscar presentations got more comments on what the women were wearing or NOT wearing, than about the films. If I ever hit the Powerball for a zillion dollars I want to buy the old Grand Theater building and restore it to its glory days when Mr. Moon ran it. I remember the place smelling like pine oil and fresh popped popcorn. Don't ask why. I just remember that smell. Do you recall seeing Elvis movies and all the Roger Corman horror and science fiction classics there? I saw my first real live celebrity there when I was in elementary school when Officer Don of WSB-TV's Popeye Club came to town on a snowy Saturday morning to entertain us at the Grand Theater. I talk to Don Kenneday from time to time and he has fond memories of Orville the dragon and all whose great games like Ooo We Gooey and Musical Chairs and his sponsors like Bosco, Colonial cream filled cupcakes and Bonamo's Turkish taffy that sold at Howard Bowman's grocery store on Head Avenue for a nickle. Remember 5 cent Coca-Colas and a honey bun for a dime? Remember penny candy? Many of us do recall those sweet times along with the memory of gasoline being 29 cents a gallon. Ah, the good old days.