Georgia Magazine - March 2013 - (Page 5)

www.georgiamagazine.org (800) 544-4362, in Georgia; (770) 270-6500 The senior citizen discount 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 Gayle Hartman assIsTanT EDITOR Kevin Braun assIsTanT EDITOR Jim Jess EDITORIal InTERn Ally Boyd cOnTRIbuTIng WRITERs Marie S. Buis, Jackie Kennedy, Vyvyan Lynn, Mona Neeley, Vanessa Schill, Mary Kathryn Yearta cOnTRIbuTIng PhOTOgRaPhERs Ann Williams Bacon, Lesley Barbosa, Kristin Barlowe, Joe Bellacomo, Ruth Black, Melanie Byas, Sharon Calhoun, Danny Clinch, Elisabeth Coelfen, Chuck Cutler, Angie Dudley, Sloan Fountain, Tyler Gann, Matthew D. Godwin, Herb Kossover, Twiggs Lyndon, Olga Lyubkina, Charlie Miller, John Nash, Jenna Saxon, Sidney Smith, Bryan Stokes, Nick Walker, Gail Webb, Jennifer Whitaker, Michelle K. Williamson Laurel George, (404) 541-0628; Laine Kirby Wood, (770) 289-5700 aDvERTIsIng REPREsEnTaTIvEs naTIOnal aDvERTIsIng REPREsEnTaTIvE National Country Market, (800) 626-1181 DEsIgnERs Trudie Thibodeaux, Kerstin Weis subscRIPTIOns (770) 270-6500 2013 aDvIsORy bOaRD Juanita Austin, Kelly Bodner, David Cleveland, Jane F. Garvey, Kelly Hester, David Murphy, Julie Musselman, Jim O’Bryan, Hope Paulk, Wendy Sellers, Lewis Sheffield, Barbara Tapp, Jim Tucker, Donna Yost gEORgIa EMc OffIcERs: chaIRMan Alice Mallory, Coweta-Fayette EMC vIcE chaIRMan G. Anthony Norton, Snapping Shoals EMC sEc.-TREasuRER Randy Crenshaw, Irwin PREsIDEnT/cEO, gEMc A. Paul Wood EMC 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 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. March 2013 I delayed writing this piece as long as I could. If you read on, you’ll understand why. Do you remember the first time some wet-behind-the-ears young person offered you a senior citizen discount? It’s been awhile, but I remember the traumatic event like it was yesterday. I was standing at the counter of a fast-food store, and had just finished ordering a burger when the cashier asked, in a most perky voice, “Sir, would you like the senior citizen discount?” Immediately, I turned around to look for the elderly man she might be addressing. Good grief. A second later I realized she was talking to me, a mere 53-year-old! I was so befuddled I didn’t know how to answer. At first I was angry. How dare she say such a thing. Aren’t kids today taught to respect their elders? Wait, does she think I’m an “elder”? I gave her a cold, icy stare. “No, I’m not old enough, and uh, is my burger ready yet?” She handed over the burger. “Well, I decided to give you the senior discount anyway.” She had the nerve to wink. I went back to the car, already convinced the beard must have misled her. It happens to a lot of people with facial hair. Beards can make anyone appear older than they are. Then I realized, in my befuddlement, I must have left my keys at the counter. I went back inside. The young lady saw me coming and raised her hand into the air. “Can’t get far without these, can you?” She More online at www.georgiamagazine.org By Paul Wood President/CEO, Georgia Electric Membership Corporation jangled the keys for all to see. “Give me those keys.” I did an about-face and was out the door. I almost made it to the car when I heard the cashier call after me, “It’s OK, sir. My grandpa leaves his keys behind all the time.” The incident took place years ago, but the nightmare of that simple pit stop for a burger along the highway never left me. Now that I have officially reached the age when I might actually qualify for the so-called senior discount, I always decline to ask for it. I guess I’m afraid they will serve a bowl of stewed prunes on the side just because someone in the kitchen thinks I ought to have them. But all that may change. The other day, I started to pull the door open at a local coffee shop when a rather comely young lady, probably in her early 40s, hurried around me to hold the door open for me! I actually started rethinking the benefits of this senior citizen business. Then it happened. I went out for lunch yesterday with a friend quite a few years older. When the waiter brought the bill, the waiter looked directly at me. “You get the senior discount, don’t you?” I decided to remain calm. “No, I do not. But tell us about it. Perhaps we’ll take advantage of it in the future—the far distant future.” Looking for a great gift idea? Visit www.georgiamagazine.org or see page 9 to order “It’s My View,” a hardbound book featuring 100 of the magazine readers’ favorite columns from past years. 5 http://www.georgiamagazine.org http://www.georgiaemc.com http://www.georgiamagazine.org http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - March 2013

Georgia Magazine - March 2013
Contents
Viewpoint
Mailbox
Liberty Notes
Picture This?
Georgia News
Calendar of Events
Currents
Notes on a journey
From a one-red-light Southern town
Around Georgia
My Georgia
Georgia Gardens
Georgia Cooks
The 2013 Readers' Choice Awards
Snapshot

Georgia Magazine - March 2013