 Hunting Quail in Lowndes County With Christmas Day now behind us there won’t be much new on this blog before the end of the year. We’ll be sharing some from the archives and maybe pointing folks towards some Possum Drops or talking about peas & greens, you know, New Year stuff. But 2018 has been a big year. And it has been a good year for ABG. Readership has grown and we’ve tinkered with the podcast format. Expect to see more of that medium in 2019. 2018 started with a road trip. Cruising through small towns like Richland, Parrott, Dawson, Leesburg, Ashburn, and, of course, Inaha. The trip culminated with The South Georgia Cracker Quail Hunt in Lowndes County. We followed that up with a hopeful look at the future of our State Game Bird.  North Wilkesboro Speedway Waiting For A Chance We remembered the life of Governor Zell Miller, who passed away early in the year. His was a life of service, to Georgia and the United States. We added several book reviews, including works by James Calamine and Jan Croon. There were others as well. We also reviewed several movies and TV shows. While looking at Time’s “Southern Issue” we came across the story of the North Wilkesboro Speedway and other NASCAR “ghost tracks” and even interviewed racing legend Bobby Allison about these places.  Capitol Hill in Washington We reported from Washington, DC, Mount Vernon, and Manassas Battlefield. We drove through the beautiful Shenandoah Valley again.
We've rebutted outsiders in The New Yorker, and The New York Times. And you can bet there will be more of that in the new year. We will stand for the truth. So please come along with us. 2019 will be our best year yet.
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Sam Burnham, Curator @C_SamBurnham  The Journey of the Magi - James Tissot, 1894 Christmas Day is when we recognize the birth of Christ. And while many critics are quick to point out that Jesus would not have been born on December 25, we worship Christ and not the day. He is the focus and that we recognize the 25th as His day is the only thing that gives that particular day any significance over any other. It is no no big secret that this is my first Christmas with my oldest son away from home. He is in a very cold and windy Illinois learning the ways of a sailor. This has been a long term goal for him and a sacrifice he has freely made. With him so far from home and with only minimal communication, it is a sacrifice our family shares with him. And so on this Christmas, more than any before it, I am reminded of what Christmas truly is. “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” -John 1:14 Over the last 18+ years, God has taught me more about Himself through my children than by any other means. Through being a father, I have gained that εριγνωσις, that experiential knowledge of all those Scripture passages about The Father. Words on the page have walked along beside me and I now know them as trusted friends and not just memorized ideas. I have tasted, ever so slightly, of the pride and the pain of a father whose son has chosen to go far from home because he places the welfare of others before his own. I know the fear of a father whose son’s comfort, well-being, and very life now rest in the hands of a cruel world. I don't say this to equate myself with God, my son with The Son, boot camp with the Incarnation, or Naval Service with the Crucifixion or Resurrection. I say it to show how I came to the realization of the true meaning of Christmas. While we celebrate the birth, we know what must come: “And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried:” Christmas, for all its cheer and goodwill, is about the sacrifice of a son. It was that very sacrifice of the Son that created the redemptive forces that make the cheer and goodwill of Christmas possible. I’m not sure I would have completely grasped this until this year, this distance, this silence. But I have a much better understanding of it now. I hope you spend this holiday with those you lave. If you can't, I pray for your peace and comfort as I pray for my own. Sam Burnham, Curator @C_SamBurnham I shared some of the music that helps me to stir the Christmas spirit but there’s more. I thought I’d add a list of viewing - movies and television - that can help in the same way.  It’s A Wonderful Life - 1946 This movie is one of the mainstays of the season. I know it can seem like a cliche to include it but this movie is filled with the themes that we espouse at ABG. The small town of Bedford Falls, George Bailey and his locally-owned savings and loan, the relationships he and the business have with the locals, the ever present bigger bank breathing down his neck, and his earnest efforts to keep them from taking over his town. It's the power of relationships in a small town and how things can be set right The messages are timeless, Jimmy Stewart is a legend and this is some of his best acting. It’s a Christmas must-see.  A Charlie Brown Christmas - 1965 An animated classic but this one isn’t just child’s play. Charlie Brown is frustrated by the commercialized Christmas he sees surrounding him. So he sets out to find some real meaning in the holiday only to be harried and harassed at every turn by the flashy expectations the commercialized Christmas has given to his friends. I gotta say that Linus standing on stage and reciting from the Book of Luke is one of the finest moments in television history. So simple but so profound. “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”  A Christmas Story - 1983 For 24 hours each year, Turner Broadcasting puts this little jewel in the player and hits repeat. You can turn it on and then go on about your way. When you walk in the room you can stop and laugh a bit before you move on. It’s not nearly as profound as the previous two on the list, but this is the funniest Christmas movie ever made. It’s nostalgic and gives us a chance to recognize our own reality in the comical dysfunction of normal life. So many quotes from this movie have become common in our cultural jargon. “You’ll shoot your eye out!” “It’s a major award!” And even the maniacal adaptation of “Ho! Ho! Ho!” Used by the shopping mall Santa. When you hear one, you know where it’s from.  A Christmas Carol - 1984 Whichever version of this Charles Dickens classic you watch is totally up to you. I’m kinda partial to George C. Scott. Regardless of the version, this is a how-to guide to getting into the spirit at Christmastime. The crustiest curmudgeon to walk the Earth is transformed into a tender hearted benefactor in the course of one night. And if Scrooge can get in the spirit, surely you can. Again, these are a few and I'd love to hear your suggestions. Feel free to share them with us! |
Sam B.Historian, self-proclaimed gentleman, agrarian-at-heart, & curator extraordinaire 
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