Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 6A
BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2016
I’m thankful
A thankful heart
For years, the late Furman Bisher wrote
a column at Thanksgiving, which became
one of the most popular columns to appear
in the pages of the Atlanta Jour
nal and Constitution. Furman
was a very talented writer who
could write sensitively and poi
gnantly.
We enjoyed a pleasant friend
ship for many years, highlighted
by annual trips to the British
Open championship. Furman
and I often played golf in the
mornings before heading to the
Press Centre to fulfill our respec
tive roles as Open correspon
dents. We also traveled about
Europe and shared many stories
about the games we covered and enjoyed.
For several years since Furman’s death.
I have thought about writing a Thanksgiv
ing column in his style. I wanted to wait
until the right time to try to follow in his
footsteps. I believe that it is okay now to
attempt to do that.
First of all, I’m thankful for Furman and
his remarkable memory. I’m thankful for
the columns he wrote. I’m thankful for
his writing skills, his appreciation for the
language and his ability to compose mem
orable and penetrating essays that made
you want more when you finished reading
his words, especially his Thanksgiving
column. Here’s to Furman.
I’m thankful for grandchildren—Alex,
Zoe, Sophie and Penny—and their health
and happiness. I’m thankful for their
giggles and bent for building forts and
lapsing into sentimental affection for one
another. Most of all, I’m thankful they
enjoy reading....thankful, too, for par
ents and teachers who encour
age reading. I’m thankful for
librarians-thankful that they
are not becoming extinct in this
technological world.
I’m thankful for the view from
my back porch, ivy and honey
suckle on the fence and the ever
present cardinal which reminds
me of those in St. Louis, which
reminds me of Stan Musial and
his accommodating way. I’m
thankful for the honeysuckle’s
fragrance, which leaves me
uplifted when I read the paper
and enjoy a cup of coffee out back. I’m
thankful that I can sit there in the fall
when the colors of autumn make me pine
for the lyrics of “Harvest Moon.”
I’m thankful for Jimmy Harris of Uni
coi Outfitters and fishing for a rainbow
on the Chattahoochee. I’m thankful
that God—when he made rivers—remem
bered to populate them with fish. I’m
thankful for Sydney Lanier, our one-time
poet laureate, and his poem, “Song of the
Chattahoochee.”
I’m thankful for small towns and com
munities and their humble and modest
way of life. Good Hope, Tarrytown,
Inman, Coolidge. Lizella, Sautee and Oli
ver.
I’m thankful for country ham at the
Mayflower Restaurant on Broad Street.
See Smith on Page 10A
loran
smith
Random Rants in Rhyme
Thanksgiving 2016
We should be thankful every day,
and should bow our heads and gratefully pray
to God who reigns in Heaven above
and express to Him our prayers and our love.
He knows that you have worked so hard to earn
your daily bread, but at each and every turn,
you are using gifts God gave to you,
some of which will last your whole life through.
The Scripture says that He knew you before
you were formed in your mother’s womb, and what’s more,
that you are fearfully and wonderfully made!
So don’t think of yourself as being under grade.
He made a DNA that only fits you.
He knows your name and, believe me, it is true
that He even knows the number of hairs on your head,
and even its color (mine used to be red).
He gave you your mind to choose the right or wrong.
He gave those muscles to you - you made them strong.
In his great love. He gave to you a will
to accept or reject Him - and He loves you still.
On this Thanksgiving, I am grateful that I
chose as a very young lad on Him to rely.
The blessings are many and never seem to cease.
The best one of them all is His promised peace.
He has blessed me with a family, great neighbors and friends;
with freedom in America, and I can depend
on Him for those times when trouble rears its head.
He will hold my hand and lead me until I’m dead.
Even then. He has promised a home for me
where I can dwell with Him through eternity.
That may sound a little far-fetched to you,
but He has made that promise, and His promises are true.
As thankful as I am, I could be more thankful yet
if I knew you’d opened up your heart and let
my Jesus be your Lord and Savior, too.
I could look forward then to eternity with you.
© 2016, cbs
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Lift up 3 child’s voice. A child's life.
Before the Halloween
candy had disappeared, the
shopping malls were putting
out Christmas decorations,
and small towns were hanging
their holiday lights, preparing
to usher in the season.
Christmas ads on TV seem
to come earlier each year, and
bell-ringers start standing out
side the stores in mid-No
vember.
It’s beginning to look a lot
like Christmas up in here.
And we still haven’t had Thanksgiv
ing!
At church on Sunday, the pastor
asked us to reflect back to this time
last year, and think about all that has
changed since then.
My family has endured some difficult
times since last Thanksgiving.
My dad was diagnosed with multiple
myeloma, after a catastrophic patholog
ical fracture in his spine rendered him
unable to move his legs.
After surgery to decompress the spi
nal cord and several weeks in rehab,
he was able to return home, where he
continues to recover.
During this time I lost a job that I
loved, and was unemployed for four
months.
Losing a job at my age, with a 40-year
career in healthcare, I felt my choices at
starting over were limited.
It was a very depressing time, facing
both my dad’s illness and the despera
tion of finding work.
Only in retrospect was I able to see
that losing my job could be a positive
thing.
I stayed busy, attending doctors’
appointments with Mom and Dad, vis
iting Dad in rehab, and helping out at
their house.
Also during this time I was able to
stay at the hospital with my aunt, when
my uncle was very seriously ill.
My cousin was packing up her house
for a move to Arizona, and I was able
to spend lots of time with her before
she left, and packed lots of boxes while
she worked.
An extra bonus was spending time
with the grandkids during the summer.
God’s timing is always per
fect.
I was hired at a great office,
and I’m very happy there.
My first day at the new job
was also the first day the kids
started back to school.
For my family, it’s Thanks
giving every day.
We rejoice at the progress
my dad has made. He is able
to walk short distances using
only a cane, and for longer
distances using a Rollator.
He has been driving for a month
or so, and even cut grass a time or
two. His cancer markers have trended
downward, and there have been no side
effects from the chemotherapy.
We are so thankful. My job is awe
some, and is better in so many ways
than the one I lost, and for that we are
thankful.
There’s a saying that goes like this:
“It’s not happy people who are thank
ful, it’s thankful people who are happy.”
I’m sure that there are many happy
people who are thankful, but I know
that being thankful goes a long way to
ensure happiness.
A very special man I know told me
today that he doesn’t celebrate holi
days. He lived most of his adult life
in prison, and he is just thankful to be
alive, and to be free. He lives each
moment as though it is his last, and is
thankful to God to be free from prison,
thankful for his clemency, and thankful
for having his very basic needs met.
As a former convicted murderer, armed
robber, ex-convict, cancer survivor with
a heart problem, his life would seem
abysmal to some.
But because of his past, he is thankful
for every day that he is allowed to live,
and to serve God and other people.
That, my friends, is a truly thankful
person. And he is a happy person.
My wish for you is a thankful heart,
not only for this week, but for each and
every day.
Cathy Watldns Bennett is a Barrow County
native anda graduate ofWinder-Barrow High
School. Send comments about this column to
bencath@aol.com.
cathy
watkins
bennett
Dr. Fields
Dr. Fields is an Orthopedic Surgeon, who received his
medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia.
He completed his residency at West Virginia University,
Morgantown, West Virginia. Dr. Fields did a fellowship
in Sports Medicine and Arthroscopic Surgery at the
Orthopedic Research of Virginia.
706-583-9000
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