Tag Archive | "10/26/10"

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Twenty Minutes, Three Beers, Zero HIV Antibodies

Posted on 26 October 2010 by Edgar Miles

“Hey, Brian! Want to go get tested for HIV with me?”

I asked in what must have been one of the strangest telephone conversation openers 23-year-old senior art major Brian McGrath had ever heard.

He let out an “uhh” that made it clear he was looking for a quick excuse to avoid an unfun time.

“Bring Ryan.”

I tossed back, referring to his roommate Ryan Davis, 31, with whom McGrath has established an art collection, known as Turd Town.

“It takes only 20 minutes, and I’ll buy you a beer.”

Half an hour later, we were at Club Argos with a Pabst Blue Ribbon beer sitting on the bar in front of each of us. We sat watching music videos as Tim Wilson, member of MCG’s Ryan White OutreachTeam, CSRA Safety Net, set up his booth in the corner.

According to its Web site, the outreach team “has been providing free, confidential HIV testing, education, counseling and treatment referrals throughout the Aiken-Augusta area” since 1996. Wilson’s been providing these outreach services since nearly the beginning.

He had brought along a cornucopia of condoms, dental dams, personal lubricants and information on halting the spread of HIV/AIDS, and he was ready to talk about them.

“These are wider overall,” Wilson said, pointing to a condom-filled canister that once held penny candy. “These have more room around the tip, and these are lubricants – both flavored and non-flavored.”

He offered flavored condoms, and a female condom as well, at no charge.

I introduced my slightly nervous friends to Wilson, around whom I’m totally comfortable as he’s been doing my HIV tests for years.

We decided that we’d take out tests together, and Wilson agreed.

“However you feel most comfortable is fine with me,” Wilson said.

He took information from each of us, but not the scary “they’re-going-to-put-me-on-a-listsomewhere” type of information that makes conspiracy theorists cringe. Instead, he charted basic d emo g r a p h i c information, facts none of us would have to be afraid of giving up, like age, race and zip code.

Wilson then quizzed us on the body fluids through which HIV can be transmitted.

“Blood,” replied Davis.

“Semen… Uhh… vaginal secretions,” McGrath said.

“Pre-cum!” Davis said, referring to preseminal fluids.

“And the last one?” asked Wilson. I waited to see if they would get the one I always used to miss.

“Breast milk,” he offered, letting us off the hook.

Wilson explained the procedure for the test, which on the participant’s part is about as easy and painless as it can be. Long gone are the days of giving up vials of blood and waiting an agonizing two to three weeks. This test takes 20 minutes and is as simple as brushing your gums with what appears to be a specialized pregnancy test.

But while it may look like its cousin at E.P.T., it actually tests for antibodies our bodies would make if HIV were present in our systems, and the speed at which it performs this detection has been part of the increasing success of CSRA Safety Net and programs like it all over the world.

“In programs where people have to wait weeks for results many of them never return to find out their status,” Wilson said. “So if they are HIV positive, they may continue to go without treatment and spread the virus without knowing.”

But Davis, McGrath and I were on the 20-minute fast track to the comfort that comes from knowing one’s HIV status. Wilson handed us each an electronic puck that would flash when our results were fully processed and sent us on our way for beer No. 2.

As we finished our cheap domestic brews our coasters lit up like E.T.’s spaceship, and we knew, walking back to the testing corner, that our lives would be changed, no matter the results. I bought us three more bottles to carry over, and after meeting with Wilson to find out that we all tested negative for the antibodies that would indicate HIV infection, those three beers clinked together in a celebratory toast.

“People are almost always so much more emotional when they find out they do not have HIV than when they find out they do,” Wilson said.

CSRA Safety Net tests approximately 800 people per year, but according to Wilson, they’re always looking to increase that number.

For free and confidential Rapid HIV testing, information and treatment referrals, please visit csrasafetynet.org. A calendar of events on the site lists testing dates and sites, including Pyramid Music on Broad Street and The Harrisburg Community Center on Crawford Avenue.

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Women’s Rugby Gets Tough with Augusta Furies

Posted on 26 October 2010 by Staff

The Augusta Furies is a local Women’s Rugby Football Club that was founded in 2000. The club plays in the Southeast region of the Rugby Union as designed by USA Rugby and competes in Division II. At one point, the Furies faded in existence, but have recently reformed and built their team with great players.

The whole team has great potential to improve and become an excellent rugby team. The Furies have strength, speed, fearlessness, athleticism; all have good attitudes about the team and life and are all dedicated to the team. Most of the current players on the team are new players that until a few weeks ago, didn’t know anything about the sport of rugby.

Stacia Roeth, head coach, has 10 years of playing background and two years of coaching experience. Roeth formerly played for the Detroit Women’s WRFC. According to Roeth, she teaches the players the fundamentals of the game and helps the players learn how to properly execute techniques that they will perform in the game.

“Rugby is a thinking game, it is physically straining, but the game requires constant decision making, and the better players know each other, the better they will play together,” Roeth said. “Each time we come together for practice, it is all about building on the skills that we have learned and adding opportunities in for players to make decisions. Every new player must know however, that what they learn in practice really does not make sense until they play their first game.”

The whole group has great potential to improve and become an excellent rugby team. The Furies have strength, speed, fearlessness and athleticism. According to Roeth, all the players have good attitudes about the team and life, and are all dedicated to the team. Most of the current players on the team are new players that didn’t know anything about the sport of rugby.

Every rugby team needs a good captain, and that roster spot is filled by Shannon Green. She also fills the slot as the “scrummie,” which is the position that links the forwards and the backs together on the pitch during the game. Green is a veteran “rugger” and great leader for the team. She is a New York native and a United States Air Force veteran. She is dedicated to the team and takes on the responsibility of keeping the team together. Between Roeth and Green, the Furies have a great backbone to move forward.

The sport was first developed in the early 1800s at Rugby School in England. The game is played by 15 players on each team, using an oval shaped ball. The ball can be kicked, carried or passed laterally, but never forward. The object of the game is to score goals by kicking the ball between the uprights of the opponent’s goal, which are worth three points, or by grounding the ball behind the opponent’s goal line, called tries, which are worth five points. Similar to football, a conversion play, which is a kick, is attempted after a scoring try. The conversion kick is worth two points.

Rugby is a mix of football and soccer. Football in the sense that the ball is carried or kicked, there is tackling yet there are no helmets or pads. Rugby is like soccer in the sense that there is no stoppage in play except for injuries. Rugby is most popular in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Rugby is also one of the fastestgrowing sports among women.

The Furies’ first game of the season is Nov. 6. For more information about joining the team or information on how to join, visit augustafuries.com

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New Season, High Ambitions and A New Beginning

Posted on 26 October 2010 by Staff

With a new season around the corner, the Lady Jaguars have big ambitions.

Last season was overshadowed by their performance and drama, but the Augusta State University women’s basketball team is planning to leave the past behind them.

This year, the team welcomed Nate Teymer as the new head coach. Formerly head coach of Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta, Ga., Teymer decided to come to Augusta State due to a combination of the athletic tradition and the challenge of trying to get the women’s basketball program back to being competitive.

“This first year is new to everybody,” Teymer said. “Even for the returners, this is my first year, so they didn’t have to deal with me. Everything I do is not the same as what they’re used to and with all these new players coming in, they kind of have to remember what they’ve learned, but then they got to adjust to my style as well. We’re trying to put a puzzle together. Everyone is a different piece, different shape, brings something different things to the table, but we all have to be on the same page to make that happen.

Teymer also has help from Nesha Smith and Deo Ngulela, who are the assistant coaches.

“We’re trying to blend talent, blend personalities and hopefully we’re all going for the same goal,” Teymer said. “I feel right now that we have 15 young ladies that are committed to getting the women’s basketball program turned around. That’s the first step is having people with that mentality, they want to change things.”

For the first time assistant coach, Smith said she believes that this year’s outcome will be good. She believes in hard work and is trying to make sure everyone is on the same page.

“To have a better outcome than the previous years, they (are working harder) right now,” Smith said. “I feel that we will have a successful season once we put everything together. We have a great group of girls who work hard everyday and a great coaching staff. Nate, he’s a great coach, so I know the outcome will be good.”

According to Smith, she hopes her previous experiences will help the team and maybe help her recruit some new players.

“It was either that or professional ball,” Smith said. “I played professional ball for a year in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, so it was between going back to playing basketball or either coaching, and I really want to coach. So after I got done playing basketball, I knew I wanted to coach so the opportunity presented itself, and I took it.”

Ngulela is returning for her second year as an assistant coach. She played for the Lady Jags from 2008-2009.

Waneta Carlisle, a sophomore business management major, has been playing basketball since she was five and said she believes that this year will be different.

“I see good things this season,” she said. “Last year it was a bit of a challenge being a freshman, my first year of playing college basketball and getting to know the college scenery itself. This year is like most of us, we were all pretty much new last year as far as being freshmen and having 11 transfers, but this year is different for a majority of us are back for our second year playing here, and chemistry is better. The coach expects a lot out of us and pulls a lot out of us as well.”

Chanelle King, a junior kinesiology major, who transferred to Augusta State from Walters State Community College in Tennessee, said that if the team can get everything together, they will have a better season than the pervious.

“I think they only won one game last year, 1 in 25,” King said. “Trying to get it up there in the double digits. No more losing. None.”

Blaire Egardo, a senior criminal justice major, said she is anxious about the upcoming season and ready to prove everyone wrong.

“I know everybody thinks that they are going to compare us to last year’s record, so I want to prove everyone wrong that we can win some games, just like the boys,” Egardo said.

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ASU Cross Country Canal Competition

Posted on 26 October 2010 by Staff

In the cool morning hours of Saturday, Oct. 23, the Augusta Canal made for a scenic site for Cross Country teams, both boys and girls, as they ran along the banks of the Savannah River competing against UNC Pembroke and Georgia College State and University.

The meet began at 9:30 a.m. with the start of the 5K women’s race, which would prove to be a delightful success for the Lady Jags with sophomore Holly Keeper setting a new school record, finishing first with a time of 18:20.9. Claudia Nunez-Lopez placed second in the event with a time of 18:46.7. The next Lady Jag to finish was Lyndsey Nichols who placed seventh with a time of 19:22.5 followed by Angela Woodward with a time of 19:41.3 giving the Women’s team four top-10 finishes.

After the exhilarating finish by the women’s team, the men’s team was ready to get off to a running start. By this time, the crisp, cold air had begun to warm up a bit, much like each of the male runners, who had been jogging laps during the female competition, in attempts to get their legs in the mood.

As the men’s 8K race commenced, they were focused on their pace, a required skill that Cross Country running definitely entails. A fast pace may get you to the front of the pack in the beginning, but as the kilometers pass by, the runners who have chosen an unrealistically fast pace begin to slow and fall back as their energy levels and body’s are spent and not rationed correctly like those who succeed in this sport of stamina.

The winner would be UNC Pembroke with their runners Pardon Ndhlovu and Zach Bayless placing first and second, followed by junior Clay Holton who placed third with a time of 25:46.0. The Jags would finish with three places in the top ten showings, after freshman Dustin Ross came in sixth with a time of 26:07.1 and freshman Robert Blackwelder came in tenth with a time of 26:36.1.

Saturday’s success shows Coach Adam Ward that his team is progressing and making improvements to running times. After six years of coaching Cross Country here at our school, Ward has established a successful program for the Jaguars; which is indicated by his player’s achievements as well as his own. Ward led the Jags to their debut appearance in the NCAA Championships in 2008, which was the first time that the Cross Country team had reached this high level of athletic achievement.

“We’ve won two meets on the women’s side, and we’ve won one on the men’s,” Ward said. “We’ve come up against some pretty stiff competition in Louisville and the Queens Invitational which was in Charlotte, N.C., both of those had D1 competition and a lot of solid D2 teams, not only in our conference but nationally.” Ward’s coaching style has obviously been working to improve and strengthen the Cross Country program that was originally founded 25 years ago in 1985. In order to build this program into what it is today, Ward and his runners work hard at improving speed and stamina, progressively getting better as they go on through their Cross Country careers.

Both the men’s and women’s Cross Country teams will be getting ready for the Peach Belt Conference Championships over the next couple of weeks, which will be Blanchard Woods Park in Evans, Ga.

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Volleyball Splits Four Matches in Weekend Tournament

Posted on 26 October 2010 by David Lee

Does wearing your lucky jersey make your favorite team win? Does screaming to the top of your lungs make the opposing teams’ players miss field goals or free throws? Congratulations, you are a fan.

Fan support is a big part of sports and for teams who win championships, their fans are always on the short list of people to thank. Our favorite athletes do it for the love of the game, and let’s face it, pro athletes aren’t shy when it comes to spending the outrageous cream cheese they get for playing a game.

I’ve never been to Las Vegas to bet on a sure thing, but I would push in all my chips on whether or not any game in any sport would be completely different if played without a crowd. As much as we need athletes to perform for and entertain us, they need us to watch.

Last season, the men’s Jaguar basketball team defeated every team that visited Christenberry Fieldhouse. Part of their success could be attributed to coaching, as well it should because we have one of the best–another part could be chalked to talent. The blue and white clad jaguar faithful also played a part in making sure all eighteen teams came to Christenberry and left with a loss.

Some sports fans, like junior sociology major Alexis Ward, have to support their favorite teams from afar.

“I was born a Pittsburgh Steelers fan,” she said. My mom and dad were Steelers fans so it’s in my blood.”

Being that the Atlanta Falcons are the ‘local’ professional football franchise in the area, every Falcon game is shown on network television. Fans of other football teams either have to hope for a double header on cable or get a satellite. So how does Alexis support her team?

“I go to the bar every Sunday to watch the Steelers play and always wear my t-shirt,” she said.

Athletes really need fans. Who else is going to chant “DEFENSE!” in unison on a critical fourth down and goal? Who else can they trust to make things nice and loud when the opponents need critical free throws? And who will encourage their team’s ace on the mound facing a full count in the bottom of the ninth while protecting a one-run lead?

The answer to all those questions lies amongst a trio of guys, who, despite the projected twentydegree game time forecast, have decided to go shirtless and paint letters on their bellies. It is probably not a stretch to say that since most athletes were, or still are fans of some player or team, that they feel the ups and downs of a season as well as the momentum and tide shifts during every game.

Fans fill arenas and stadiums across the nation and make the atmosphere for the home teams blissful-while visitors get the evil step-family treatment. To that end, they are as important to a game as the equipment that athletes use.

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“When I Grow Up, I Want to… Discover My Destiny?”

Posted on 26 October 2010 by Staff

OK, let’s think back for a moment and finish this sentence: “When I grow up I want to be….” Do you remember saying that phrase when you were younger? Do you remember the answers that you blurted out when the teacher asked you this in elementary school? Some would answer doctor, lawyer, police officer and the many other things that influenced us as children growing up.

“Well my mom is this and my dad is that, so I want to be just like they are,” but as we grew, and our eyes grew into adult vision, the world around us changed our dreams of what we wanted to be. Did this happen to you?

For me, that answer would have to be definitely, without a doubt, YES! On Oct. 11, a young man collapsed and died in the gym just shy of his 18th birthday. Did I know the young man? No, but I saw him around at times on the basketball court, only to find out that he has no more choices or mistakes in his life to make. And yes, he may have died of bodily complications, but did he ever imagine his fate when he was asked this question. I recall a great man telling me that the hardest thing in life is dying without ever knowing what God called you to do or be. Oops religion, did I go there? Just a quick minute for a destiny plea.

Sure, we would all be happy with having $200 million or being the next American Idol, but do we ever wonder what we were called to do. The greatest thing for me is not to be the most popular person or be the best in my field, but only to be the greatest at what God created me to do.

I can do everything else with excellence, but my greatest accomplishment will stem from what he has called me to do and we all have been called to do. Well, some would say, “What about the major actors, singers, basketball players and so on that are living large, that must be their destiny?” My answer to that is this; destiny is met when you can live your life being a blessing to others and in return, your life is blessed by others.

Sure some will think they have arrived when the Jaguar is sitting outside the driveway, or when every piece of jewelry looks like crystal clear, sharp, cut glass and the dog’s clothing is name brand, but is this living in vain? Or better yet, is our destiny in vain?

As another great person asked me, “Are we living just to exist?” I leave you with a Bible lesson, coming from Jeremiah 1:5.

“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”

So He truly knows, but are we answering our call?

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The Shake Weight Phenomenon

Posted on 26 October 2010 by AP

Advertisers have been using sex to sell products for a long time. Marketing campaigns have been pushing the envelope for years, but maybe we’re about to find the edge. At one time, advertisers would use subtle sexual references to sell goods or services, but as our culture became more accepting of it, innuendos have become down right obvious.

A true pioneer of these sexy marketing trends is Suzanne Somers, who became a pop-culture icon after demonstrating a fitness product, the Thigh Master, that goes between your legs. Those commercials have been airing for decades now, inspiring fantasies for multiple generations of pubescent adolescents. Somers sold millions of dollars worth of merchandise through her provocative television commercials, appearing onscreen in tight workout clothes, positioned in spread eagle, while clenching and releasing what appears to be a giant set of padded tongs. The Thigh Master’s marketing technique resulted in an extremely successful campaign, but it wasn’t because of the product they were selling; it was how they were selling it.

There does not have to be visual stimulation to arouse consumer interest either. Herbal Essences proved that with their commercials that sold shampoo with audio clips of women pleasurably moaning in the shower. Just like the Thigh Master campaign, it sold like hot cakes.

These commercials were intentionally sexually provocative, a method proven to move products, but a new commercial that has taken the market by storm, seems innocent enough, but the product itself alludes to sex, big time.

The Shake Weight is a fitness product that has recently emerged as a popculture novelty that leaves many viewers wondering if anyone would actually use it. These commercials innocently demonstrate the product and that alone is enough to turn heads. The product itself is the innuendo in this particular case, and I have personally witnessed men and women of all ages slyly smirk as the commercial airs.

Since sex sells, I’m sure the product will do well for itself until the masses of people who bought the product realize that they now have to work out in private to escape the creepy stares of perverts and teenagers. Other products sold through sexually suggestive commercials are not actually sexual in reality but the Shake Weight could be used in prostitute training.

The big dilemma that I predict will happen for the Shake Weight’s success has to do with buying as a gift. The nature of the product is so sexual I don’t know who you could buy it for and them not be offended. You could not give it to a coworker for the fear of a sexual harassment suit. You probably couldn’t give it to your girlfriend as a Christmas gift because her dad would try to kill you, and if a girl gave it to her boyfriend, he would probably interpret that as a breakup.

With more and more Shake Weights hitting the market, Consumer Reports should soon reveal how consumers will handle the controversies that the motion of this fitness product causes.

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Why Does Every Book Need To Be Made Into A Movie?

Posted on 26 October 2010 by Abigail Blankenship

The “Twilight” book series comes out and a movie theatre is packed full four hours before the premiere with one side screaming Edward and another Jacob.

It seems to me that most movies these days are based off books. Where are the original ideas? Where is the creativity that is present in Hitchcock’s films, or the “Star Wars” film series? Where did the excitement go of not knowing what will happen in a film until you see it? Not in all movies, but there does seem to be a trend of making all mildly successful books into a huge Hollywood, flashy special effects movie.

I am a very avid reader, so whenever I read a book, this whole scene unravels itself in my head of the entire book, and it is set there for life. For me, seeing someone completely change that image is hard for me. To put it in better words, I am one of those people that friends do not like to go to a bookturned- into-movie since I nitpick every scene and say, “that didn’t happen” or “why is that scene in there” and all they want to do is slap me and say “just enjoy the movie.”

I am not saying every book that is turned into a movie is bad. I adore the new “Pride and Prejudice” movie and consider it a beautifully made movie. Of course, when I read the book, since my brain was trying to slough through the complicated language, no image made a permanent base in my mind, so if the director did change anything in the movie, I did not notice it. The friend I saw the movie with was very grateful for that.

I also adore taking photographs and making them my own, especially black and white film. For me, there is a certain special aspect of film photography that digital cannot compete with, but I am digressing. I love that feeling I get when I am doing an art project though, whether it’s photography or not, and knowing it was my idea made with my own hands with materials that I bought. With books turned into movies, a director, of course, has control over which actors he chooses, the lighting and other aspects, but the scene, characters and story are already created in the novel. Where are the original ideas?

The only movie, in my opinion, that was extremely original recently, and I have not seen anything like it before was “Avatar” directed by James Cameron. The special effects, characters, even the language was so intricate and new to me. All those elements came from his mind, not the mind of an author.

I wonder how the author truly feels about another person making his or her novel come to life. In the interviews with them, they usually say they love it or some dribble pertaining to that for publicity. Some of them probably do not mind and even appreciate another recreating their work on the big screen. However, I also suspect that when an author creates a scene, character moment in their mind; that is the image that they have and want readers to have. At least, if I was an author, I would feel that way.

All I am saying is that sometimes maybe it is better just to leave it to the imagination.

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LOOK OUT For the Sleep-Deprived Zombies Invading Campus

Posted on 26 October 2010 by Jillian Hobday

You have heard it said before. You may have tried to heed the advice, but it may not have stuck with you long. In such a fast-paced world, it is difficult to slow down and take one day at a time, but that is what I am offering you here: just slow down.

By slow down, I do not just mean your pace of life. I do mean slow down and realize your surroundings, and be thankful for what you have. But I also mean slow down and take the time to notice others, be helpful when you can and just offer a smile to someone who looks like they need to see one.

One quick glance at “The Andy Griffith Show” will tell you all you need to know. The slow-paced, easygoing life is treasured in Mayberry. The citizens all know each other and they live in harmony. Of course, it is a television show, but much can be said for how life is depicted on the show. We should be striving for this.

We live in a place known for slow talk, high ideals and hospitality. If you are from the South, you might have older relatives who speak of “back in the day.” They may speak of better days, when people met on the street and waved, or people would ask about each other’s family. Neighbors were invited for supper and smiles were always easy to find. There seemed to be fewer stressfilled days and just a more peaceful frame of mind.

The South is known for these things, yet it seems apparent that you have to look harder for them as time goes by. More often found is the situation of people flying into parking spots in front of others, not propping a door open for someone and walking by someone who looks straight ahead without the slightest notion of making eye contact. Maybe my standards are too high, or maybe I am too friendly for my own good, but just doing the simple things like helping others seems to be a great way to impact both that person’s life and yours in a positive way.

The fast-paced world we live in demands rigorous schedules, and we find ourselves pressed for time during the day. We have to hurry to different tasks and run different errands, trying to be in several places at once. It can become overwhelming for some who cannot handle it, and doing it day after day can be tiring for all. Just finding the time to slow down can be difficult, but it can be done.

Simply being aware of your surroundings is a way to escape the daily grind. Count your blessings and realize what you are surrounded by, such as friends, family and the opportunities you have been presented with. It is an easy way to lose yourself for a few minutes and you might come away feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day.

I am not here to preach about the past. I know times change and things change with it, but they do not have to change in a negative, “me first” type of way. Take the time to consider how you can impact yourself and others in a positive way. You now know one way: just slow down.

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Here Is A Piece of Advice: Why Don’t You Just Slow Down

Posted on 26 October 2010 by David Lee

You have heard it said before. You may have tried to heed the advice, but it may not have stuck with you long. In such a fast-paced world, it is difficult to slow down and take one day at a time, but that is what I am offering you here: just slow down.

By slow down, I do not just mean your pace of life. I do mean slow down and realize your surroundings, and be thankful for what you have. But I also mean slow down and take the time to notice others, be helpful when you can and just offer a smile to someone who looks like they need to see one.

One quick glance at “The Andy Griffith Show” will tell you all you need to know. The slow-paced, easygoing life is treasured in Mayberry. The citizens all know each other and they live in harmony. Of course, it is a television show, but much can be said for how life is depicted on the show. We should be striving for this.

We live in a place known for slow talk, high ideals and hospitality. If you are from the South, you might have older relatives who speak of “back in the day.” They may speak of better days, when people met on the street and waved, or people would ask about each other’s family. Neighbors were invited for supper and smiles were always easy to find. There seemed to be fewer stressfilled days and just a more peaceful frame of mind.

The South is known for these things, yet it seems apparent that you have to look harder for them as time goes by. More often found is the situation of people flying into parking spots in front of others, not propping a door open for someone and walking by someone who looks straight ahead without the slightest notion of making eye contact. Maybe my standards are too high, or maybe I am too friendly for my own good, but just doing the simple things like helping others seems to be a great way to impact both that person’s life and yours in a positive way.

The fast-paced world we live in demands rigorous schedules, and we find ourselves pressed for time during the day. We have to hurry to different tasks and run different errands, trying to be in several places at once. It can become overwhelming for some who cannot handle it, and doing it day after day can be tiring for all. Just finding the time to slow down can be difficult, but it can be done.

Simply being aware of your surroundings is a way to escape the daily grind. Count your blessings and realize what you are surrounded by, such as friends, family and the opportunities you have been presented with. It is an easy way to lose yourself for a few minutes and you might come away feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day.

I am not here to preach about the past. I know times change and things change with it, but they do not have to change in a negative, “me first” type of way. Take the time to consider how you can impact yourself and others in a positive way. You now know one way: just slow down.

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