It’s funny how one simple tune can act like a time machine for the mind.
Back in the age that many of us long-timers still refer to as the best days to grow up, a legendary group known as The Platters originally recorded a song written by Buck Ram in 1944. The Platters then re-recorded it in 1958, and the song “Twilight Time” still brings back many sweet memories for me whenever I hear it.
“Heavenly shades of night are falling;
It’s Twilight Time.
Out of the mist your voice is calling;
‘Tis Twilight time.
When purple-colored curtains mark the end of day,
I’ll hear you, my dear,
at Twilight Time.”
For me, twilight has always been the most peaceful time of the day. It seems to be a time when a feeling of ease, peace and tranquility washes over me.
You know some things you hope for will happen as intended, and you have only a small control over your own space in this mad time, but at least you have some control. This coming week will be calm and peaceful or a grab-hold-of-your-butt, it’s gonna get bad, bad; so, be ready.
Twilight time is a good time to relax and reflect.
It is election time for plenty of local and state positions, as well as the most important executive position for us Americans. Vote your candidate of choice, just make sure you truly believe that your candidate selection will do what is best for everyone before you hit that button.
If everyone votes on real qualifications and no other reason, then we all should be just fine.
I always vote early; that way I can watch the craziness of all of the mostly slanted and bogus “opinion” polls that every Tom, Dick and Harry puts out on an hourly basis.
These polls are meant to slant, sway, confuse, panic and convince. For some, it does just that, but for most of us, they mean nothing…bubblegum for the mind, the fidget spinner for the ignorant intelligencia.
This year, being that I identify sometimes as a self-obsessed crotchety old man, I found myself having a very vexing time voting.
The nerve of these poll workers! They were annoying at best, hovering like damn helicopters while they forced me to turn my cell phone off! Heck, my grandson had to show me how to make the thing place a phone call without dialing 911 and these poll workers think I know how to turn it off?
Upon arrival, I wasn’t offered a bottle of water or even a dry, stale sandwich. I had to furnish the little lady Gestapo volunteer with a government-issued photo identification card with my information to make sure I was eligible to vote and at the correct voting precinct. As if I didn’t know where to go to vote.
Then, of course, came the mindless questions: Has my address changed? Do I need a ballot with a large font?
The absolute gall of these people!
If that wasn’t invasive enough, I then had to print my ballot, walk it over to the ballot box, insert the ballot, wait for it to be collected and then verify it was entered. The entire voting experience was six minutes of unjust treatment.
As the kids say, LOL!
Yes folks, a total of six minutes. That’s all the time it took to do my civic duty; and the staff were warm and friendly, doing everything but offering this old man wheelchair service.
When people follow the voter laws that are for everyone, voting is quick, simple and totally unintrusive.
A fun fact is that I have never been polled. Come to think of it, I’ve never been called for jury duty either.
I admit I am more of a “news junkie” than many people. I am a news nerd to the degree that I actually enjoy watching the senate and special committee hearings; then I watch certain national news networks for coverage of the event and think to myself I must have been watching something entirely different from what the reporters watched.
This goes back to an old saying: “If you don’t watch the news, you are uninformed. If you do watch then you’re misinformed.”
I truly miss the likes of Walter Cronkite who anchored the national evening news for decades; and, he reported the facts, whether good, bad or indifferent, it was still just the facts. It was up to the person watching to come to their own conclusions.
News presentations are certainly not what they once were in today’s society. The reporters all have agendas, and they no longer even make any attempt to hide their bias.
These days, some folks even rely on celebrities to tell them how to vote. Folks, that is just plain pitiful.
Writers for The Augusta Press don’t come out and directly endorse any candidate vying for a position. I refrain from endorsing anyone; however, from time to time, I will certainly make a couple of comments based purely on my own opinion that might give you a clue as to where I lean. But remember, I am a columnist who has just as many votes to cast as you.
The local race that caught my attention is that for the seats of the Richmond County Board of Education. I went to the candidate forum that was held at Broadway Baptist Church, where not all of the candidates attended for various reasons.
The race that captured my attention the most was District 5. That race is between A.K. Hasan, Monique Braswell and Christopher Mulliens
AK Hasan was not in attendance; but he has served on the school board before, so his past performance spanning the decades should speak for itself.
This will be the third time that Christopher Mulliens has run for the seat. Maybe, in the past, his message has not been received with the voters with the intent that it intended, as the past shows. Perhaps this time, he might get his message across.
Candidate Braswell has a very interesting take on changing the Zero Tolerance policy.
Many parents believe that if a student is attacked by another student, then the student should be allowed to defend themselves without them also getting into trouble. This sounds to me like a policy that does need some hard work and decisions made to change it to more suitable outcomes for kids that find themselves bullied.
It sounds to me like the Augusta hurricane clean-up is going according to plan. Of course, some citizens are making calls to their commissioner to have the debris picked up from their houses out of turn. Now is that really a fair thing to do? Be patient, Steve Cassell and his partner Abie Ladson have a method to the madness that will clean it all up in due time.
Newly elected to the sheriff’s position, Gino “Rock” Brantley, will not be getting the $5 million dollars he requested for salaries. Maybe if the previous administrator, Odie Donald, and the commissioners had not spent the Covid American Rescue funds on bonuses and raises that would have to be maintained with future budgets on non-essential workers, maybe, just maybe the $5 million for first responders could have been found.
Augusta should be very thankful that Tameka Allen is the new administrator and Garnett Johnson is the mayor; otherwise, the public would be facing a nightmare of a 2025 budget. It’s already a hard pill to swallow; I really wish the money could be found to offer our deputies more in salary, but at least we have competent minds laying the fiscal path forward.
A couple of seated commissioners think a tax hike would be handy right about now, but the cooks in the kitchen seem to be focused on creating a palatable, yet lean menu.
The National League of Cities is holding its annual convention this month, Nov. 13 through 16 in Tampa, Fla.
Even though Tampa was hit by the hurricanes, it was decided that the convention would still take place.
As a commissioner, I went to several different government association conventions. If done correctly, an elected official can learn many things to help the city and citizens that they serve. The secret is to actually attend the classes and seminars and not just to hobnob and be a social butterfly.
This brings up the question of if any of Augusta’s Commissioners are going to Tampa, being that Augusta is still considered a disaster zone and work still has to be done? Inquiring minds want to know.
Folks, as always, you just can’t make this stuff up.
