Opinion

It was a scorching hot summer day in central south Georgia circa 1971. It was the day of the Democratic primary. There was no Republican primary in the county in question at the time. The county’s only beer store, run by the town which served as county seat, was closed until the polls closed at 7 p.m.

I was among a group of teenage boys who gathered in Mr. Crane’s yard. Crane was the county’s sole commissioner and ran things with an iron fist. I had been invited by my friend, Crane’s son, to help “give rides to the polls”. There was only one polling place, the county courthouse. [Full Story »] 

By Mike Ruffin

You are reading these words during the week that Christians call “Holy.” Friday is Good Friday, the day we remember Jesus’ death on the cross. Sunday is Easter Sunday, the day we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.

The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ are the foundations on which the Christian faith stands. Preachers have spoken and scholars have written innumerable words on the meaning of Jesus’ death and resurrection. I hesitate to speak for Christians, given the wide range of theological assumptions and opinions that exist among us, but I think I can safely say that we believe that Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection make all the difference.
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By Mike Ruffin

The Women’s Clubhouse in Barnesville is undergoing renovation. This is a good thing. But hearing about it brought up a bad memory for me.

It was the early 1970s. I had been taking piano lessons for a couple of years. Ted Lashley was my teacher. He was a fine pianist and an excellent teacher, even though he was young—he wasn’t out of high school yet. Ted was also a magician. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to work any magic on my piano-playing, mainly because of my practice technique, which can best be described as “not doing it.”
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One year ago this week, coronavirus hit home here when we learned two Gordon students had been exposed while working at an off-campus location.

On March 12, 2020, Georgia experienced its first coronavirus death and the University System of Georgia shut down all campuses for two weeks. They have still not returned to full operation, frustrating parents and students who have missed out on so much, not the least of which are live sports, concerts and in-person instruction.

On March 17, 2020, Lamar’s first case was confirmed and the cancellations began in earnest. Life as we knew it was upended. By the end of that month, was easier to list things that were open and continuing than list all those which were shut down. [Full Story »] 

By Mike Ruffin

From 1972–1975, Bobby Louis Barkley and I comprised a formidable ticket in the annual election of class officers at Lamar County High School. Bobby was elected class president and I was elected class vice-president in our freshman, sophomore, and junior years. Our streak was broken when I gave up my final year of high school eligibility to enroll early at Mercer University. I assume Bobby Louis was elected senior class president before he headed off to Georgia Tech. I don’t know who was elected vice-president.
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One of the early treasures I found on the internet was the original Dawgvent. Back in the early days of dial-up access, it was worth the long wait for it to load. Now at hairofthedawg.net, it remains a superb source of information on UGA sports and the world in general.

One of the stalwarts of those message boards was a guy called Tee. Dead now, Tee was legendary. His stock saying was, “Facebook is da debil.” He was way ahead of his time. Social media has played a giant role in the killing off of civility in this country. People will post things on social media they would never say to your face. [Full Story »] 

By Mike Ruffin

Valentine’s Day falls on February 14 again this year. It’s regular like that.

Ash Wednesday, on the other hand, moves around. It doesn’t mean to, but its date depends on the date of Easter, which can fall anywhere between March 22 and April 25. So Ash Wednesday, which occurs forty days before Easter (not counting Sundays) falls between February 4 and March 10.

Ash Wednesday is on Wednesday. February 17 this year.
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By Mike Ruffin

I had a stroke.

I know this for several reasons.

First, as I type this on January 28, I am just one day removed from sitting in a room in the stroke unit of Navicent Heath (which will always be the Medical Center of Central Georgia to me). Second, that’s what the MRI and other tests reveal. Third, it will take ten times longer than it should for me to type this column.

The good news from my perspective is that my mental faculties seem to be more or less intact. That means that I should be able to continue to write this column.

I know this pleases some of you.
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Like all the boys from my era, I grew up a baseball fan. In fact, we were fans of all sports. We played baseball in summer, football in the fall and basketball in the winter time.

We never saw soccer except on the fabulous ‘Wide World of Sports’ TV show on Saturday evenings. If futbol had been played in the South, we would have played it, too. I hate missing out on lacrosse by a half century. Running around and hitting each other with sticks would have been right up our ally.

But, in my early youth, baseball was the thing. My brothers and I hurled rubber balls against the side of the house until Mama and Daddy bought us a Pitchback net which we promptly destroyed. We lugged a bat, a ball and our gloves around the neighborhood until we found playmates and then it was on. [Full Story »] 

By Mike Ruffin

In these days following the January 6 attempted insurrection against the United States of America, lots of people have made claims such as “This is not who we are” and “We’re better than this.”

I’m afraid that we need to admit that the opposite of those statements is true. This is who we are. We aren’t better than this.

I wish that wasn’t the case. But the evidence is too overwhelming to ignore.

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By Walter Geiger

I rolled up my sleeve and got the first injection of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine Monday. The second booster shot is due in three weeks and I will get it as well.

Making the decision on whether or not to get vaccinated was not an easy one. I admit I was initially a COVID contrarian. I was absolutely opposed to shutting down the country and remain so. Joe Biden best think long and hard about instituting a second one. After nearly half the country voted against him, he has no mandate to begin with and will face extreme backlash should he attempt it.
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“The song of the ruthless” is a phrase found in chapter 25 of the book of Isaiah. The full sentence reads,

When the blast of the ruthless was
like a winter rainstorm,
the noise of aliens like heat in a dry
place,
you subdued the heat with the shade
of clouds;
the song of the ruthless was stilled (vv. 4b-5).

The prophet has in mind a mighty city that God has brought down because of its oppressive practices. The ruthless oppressors had been making a lot of noise and doing a lot of damage, but God silenced and stopped them. In so doing, God has given shelter to the poor and needy (v. 4).
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Chaotic, disastrous 2020 will fade into history Thursday night and not a minute too soon. It has been a long, hard year and I pray it will be the last of its kind for quite some time.

Good things have happened in 2020. Young people have married. Young couples have welcomed new children. Grandparents have welcomed new grandchildren. Students have graduated, though many of them only virtually, and extended their educational journeys or joined the workforce if they were lucky. Some people, some entities and some causes have reached new heights but they are largely the exception to the rule.

In 2020, we welcomed COVID-19 to the world. Thanks, China!
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By Mike Ruffin

I was visiting Mercer University sometime during the summer of 1975. The Admissions Office staff member with whom I was chatting said, “What do you plan to major in?” “Christianity,” I replied (that’s what they called a Religion major at Mercer back then. They call it a Religion major now). “Then there’s someone you need to meet,” he said. He made a quick phone call, then we headed over to Knight Hall.

I spent the next hour talking with—mainly listening to—Dr. Howard Giddens, who would become my mentor and, in every sense but the biological and legal ones, my father (which I very much needed him to be after the untimely demise of my father, the late great Champ Ruffin, in 1979). Dr. Giddens died in 2008 at age 97, just three days shy of the sixty-eighth anniversary of his marriage to Gladys Holder Giddens.
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