For want of a nail, the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe, the horse was lost. And you know the rest. That familiar proverb is my way of saying that for want of a word, a critical fact got botched. A couple of weeks ago, I was confirming the results of a public survey stating that UGA grads were smart and attractive. No surprise there. I also listed some of the other reasons to be proud of being a graduate of the oldest state-chartered university in the nation. That included two national football championships but didn’t include the word “recent.” My sharp-eyed Dawg friends spotted that immediately and also reminded me the number was three, including 1980. Actually, the number is four. We also claimed the title in 1942, but who’s counting?

***

I suspect you watched more of the Paris Olympics than I did. For me, it was a busman’s (or bus person’s?) holiday. Having been a part of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta, I know how that sausage was made. I did find the Opening Ceremonies over the top, including a beheaded Marie Antoinette and a disgusting portrayal of DaVinci’s “Last Supper” with drag queens. It is easy to mock Christianity. Try that with Islam and see what happens. The French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo mocked the prophet Mohammed in one of their issues a few years back and 12 people were killed in terrorist attacks as a result. ...

To know: Donald Trump is a womanizing convicted felon. Kamala Harris is a San Francisco liberal who, as California’s attorney general, released criminals from jail that robbed and killed innocent people. JD Vance may have grown in blue collar Ohio but he went to elitist Yale and says the country is being run by a “bunch of childless cat ladies.” Meanwhile, Tim Walz is guilty of “stolen valor,” i.e., shamelessly lying about his military service. Why am I telling you all this? Because you are about to hear it again and again and again. I just saw a report that the Harris and Trump campaigns and outside groups will spend $2.7 billion (that billion with a “b”) on ads between now and Election Day, Nov. 5, telling you what I just told you. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. ***

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. To Paris. That is what Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian did in the midst of a technology breakdown caused by a software glitch, courtesy of cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. Hospitals, banks, 911 systems and, yes, airlines were impacted. Particularly, Delta Air Lines. More than 7,000 flights were canceled because of the malfunction. With passengers sleeping on the floor at airports around the country and baggage headed to parts unknown, Bastian was flying — First Class, I presume — to the Paris Games, where Delta is sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Team. The U.S. Department of Transportation is opening an investigation into Delta’s handling of the crisis. I assume the CEO will hang around for that. ***

You just never know who you will hear from when you crank out these weekly dissertations. In my above-cited comments about UGA, I heard from a You-Know-Where Institute of Technology supporter who informed me that YKWIT has raised more money than UGA and informed me he had found that information on Google. He also suggested I mention this fact in my column. His name? George P. Burdell. If you aren’t familiar with Mr. Burdell, the same Google search shows he officially enrolled at YKWIT in 1927. He lettered in football from 1928 to 1930 and in basketball from 1956 to 1958 and was captain of the swimming and diving team in 1988. By my reckoning, George is roughly 117 years old. And he thought enough of me to write me. What a guy. 

***

Finally, I have been asked by a number of you to check on the status of the Twin Pines pending permit to drill in our Okefenokee Wildlife Reserve for titanium oxide, lest the world runs out of toothpaste whitener. I plan to do just that. I am sure Gov. Brian Kemp, State Sen. Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega, State Rep. Lynn Smith, R-Newnan and Cong. Buddy Carter are anxious to bring you and me up-to-date on the latest developments. Of course, I’m also sure that there really is a George P. Burdell.

You can reach Dick Yarbrough at dick@dickyarbrough.com or at P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta, Georgia 31139.