Georgia Magazine - May 2010 - (Page 5)

GEMC ® M A G A Z I N E www.georgiamagazine.org (800) 544-4362, in Georgia; (770) 270-6950 GEORGIA Magazine, the largest-circulation monthly magazine in the state, is published by Georgia Electric Membership Corp. (GEMC), the trade association for Georgia’s 42 consumer-owned electric utilities. On average, more than 500,000 members welcome the magazine into their homes each month. Georgia’s not-for-profit electric cooperatives provide reliable, safe and affordable electric service to more than 73 percent of the state’s land area serving 4.5 million residents. For more information, visit www.georgiaemc.com. EDITOR Ann Orowski, CCC MANAGING EDITOR Jennifer Hewett, CCC ASSOCIATE EDITOR Victoria Scharf DeCastro PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Steve Jacobs ASSISTANT EDITOR Kevin Braun ASSISTANT EDITOR Jim Jess CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Scott Couey, Stephanie Green, Carole Hawkins, Wendy Hersh, Jackie Kennedy, Kelly Trapnell, Bill Verner, Andrew Widener, Laine Kirby Wood, Morgan Zenner CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Slow down. Right now! BY PAUL WOOD President/CEO, Georgia Electric Membership Corporation L Carole Hawkins, Parker C. Smith, Mary Therese ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Laurel George, (404) 541-0628; Laine Kirby Wood, (770) 289-5700 NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE National Country Market, (800) 626-1181 DESIGNERS Trudie Thibodeaux, Kerstin Weis Mary Wellman, (770) 270-6981 SUBSCRIPTIONS 2010 ADVISORY BOARD Christy Chewning, Jeffrey Ferguson, Tony Griffin, Stacey Fields, Johnnie B. Hall, Pamela Keene, Doyle Medders, Jeff Pierce, Donnie Prince, Steve Rawl, Brandon Reese, Romeo Reyes, Tony Sinclair, Jere Thorne GEORGIA EMC OFFICERS CHAIRMAN Neal Talton, Flint Energies VICE CHAIRMAN Alice Mallory, Coweta-Fayette EMC SEC.-TREASURER Randy Crenshaw, Irwin EMC PRESIDENT/CEO, GEMC A. Paul Wood georgia Magazine (USPS-473120, ISSN 10615822) is published monthly by Georgia Electric Membership Corp., P.O. Box 1707, 2100 East Exchange Place, Tucker, GA 30085. Periodicals postage paid at Thomaston, GA, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to GEORGIA Magazine, P.O. Box 1707, Tucker, GA 30085. Printed in Georgia by Quad/Graphics. Acceptance of advertising by GEORGIA Magazine does not imply endorsement by the publisher or Georgia’s electric membership corporations of the product or services advertised. GEORGIA Magazine’s LIABILITY FOR ERRORS IN, OR OMISSIONS OF, ADVERTISEMENTS, WHETHER IN CONTRACT OR IN TORT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO DAMAGES TO THE ADVERTISER’S BUSINESS, SHALL IN NO EVENT EXCEED THE AMOUNT OF CHARGES FOR THE ADVERTISEMENT THAT WAS OMITTED OR IN WHICH THE ERROR OCCURRED. ately, I have been looking for ways to slow down life’s lightning pace. Sometimes, I feel like a dog chasing a car that is always just out of reach. Regardless of your age or vocation, it is likely you are reading this column a little out of breath from your own daily schedule. To tell the truth, most of us would like to slow down, back off, put aside and shut out—at least, for a little while—those activities that stress us the most, but that we explain away with, “I am just trying to stay ahead of the curve.” Gotta read that e-mail, check that Blackberry, answer that phone, send another text message, doublecheck the stock market, return those calls, and don’t forget to Tweet. Some people believe, as the modern quotation goes, “Life’s journey is not to arrive at the grave safely, but to skid in sideways, totally worn out.” I don’t know who wrote that one, but I’d like to say to him, “Have you considered that by speeding to your grave, you might be getting there a little early?” Why does everything have to be done right now? Ansel Adams did not have a digital camera to show him an image as soon as the shutter closed. No, he would sit for hours— all day, if necessary—and wait for the light on the landscape to be just right before he would choose to capture the image. As a result, his photographs will never be “deleted,” nor would anyone want to. Adams took his time. Speed was not part of his vocabulary. www.georgiamagazine.org General Electric reports some of the refrigerators it sold during the Great Depression are still working today. GE felt it was more important to make something to last than make something fast. Today, we’re lucky if we can get eight years out of a new refrigerator by any manufacturer. Since when was “built-in obsolescence” considered progress? One reason the Chinese are making such giant economic gains is they abhor short-term thinking. They prefer the long view. Americans are obsessed with short-term success in their investments. When you can measure economic activity minute by minute, the temptation is great to sacrifice long-term investment for short-term results. The patience to take a longer view would not hurt individuals or, for that matter, our nation. The Europeans can’t understand why Americans are always “plugged in,” always working. They appreciate the value of time off. We don’t seem willing to stop long enough to even consider such a concept anymore. And that’s not a good thing for America’s national health. And, by the way, what would that dog do with the car if he caught it? The next time you see an outof-breath young man get on an elevator with a cell phone in one ear and an iPod in the other, ask him, “What are you going to do with that gold ring once you get your fingers around it?” 5 May 2010 http://www.georgiamagazine.org http://www.georgiaemc.com http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - May 2010

Georgia Magazine - May 2010
Table of Contents
Viewpoint
Mailbox
Picture This?
Georgia News
Calendar
Currents
Special Energy Report
A Glass Act
Go Green from Top to Bottom
Around Georgia
My Georgia
Georgia Gardens
Georgia Cooks
Recipes from Mom
Georgia Cooks Contest
Cookbook of the Month
Snapshot

Georgia Magazine - May 2010