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opinion
Thursday, December 23, 2021 • Page4A
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Lordy, Lordy...
Christmas
Classic
Below is one of my all-time
favorite classics. It’s a letter
from a child to the editor of
New York’s Sun, and it re
minds me to always believe in
the magic and miracles that
happen each and every day,
but especially at Christmas.
Eight-year-old Virginia
O’Hanlon wrote a letter to the
editor of New York’s Sun, and
the quick response was printed
as an unsigned editorial Sept.
21, 1897. The work of veteran
newsman Francis Pharcellus
Church has become history’s
most reprinted newspaper ed
itorial, appearing in part or
whole in dozens of languages
in books, movies, and other
editorials.
DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years
old.
Some of my little friends
say there is no Santa Claus.
Papa says, “If you see it in
THE SUN, it’s so.”
Please tell me the truth; is
there a Santa Claus?
VIRGINIA O’HANLON
115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH
STREET
VIRGINIA, your little
friends are wrong. They have
been affected by the skepti
cism of a skeptical age. They
do not believe except they see.
They think that nothing can be
which is not comprehensible
by their little minds. All minds,
Virginia, whether they be
men’s or children’s, are little.
In this great universe of ours,
man is a mere insect, an ant, in
his intellect, as compared with
the boundless world about
him, as measured by the intel
ligence capable of grasping the
whole of truth and knowledge.
Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a
Santa Claus. He exists as cer
tainly as love and generosity
and devotion exist, and you
know that they abound and
give to your life its highest
beauty and joy. Alas! how
dreary would be the world if
there were no Santa Claus. It
would be as dreary as if there
were no VIRGINIAS. There
would be no childlike faith
then, no poetry, no romance to
make tolerable this existence.
We should have no enjoyment,
except in sense and sight. The
eternal light with which child
hood fills the world would be
extinguished.
Not believe in Santa Claus!
You might as well not believe
in fairies! You might get your
papa to hire men to watch in
all the chimneys on Christmas
Eve to catch Santa Claus, but
even if they did not see Santa
Claus coming down, what
would that prove? Nobody
sees Santa Claus, but that is no
sign that there is no Santa
Claus. The most real things in
the world are those that
neither children nor men can
see. Did you ever see fairies
dancing on the lawn? Of
course not, but that’s no proof
that they are not there. No
body can conceive or imagine
all the wonders there are un
seen and unseeable in the
world.
You may tear apart the
baby’s rattle and see what
makes the noise inside, but
there is a veil covering the un
seen world which not the
strongest man, nor even the
united strength of all the
strongest men that ever lived,
could tear apart. Only faith,
fancy, poetry, love, romance,
can push aside that curtain
and view and picture the su
pernal beauty and glory bey
ond. Is it all real? Ah,
VIRGINIA, in all this world
there is nothing else real and
abiding.
No Santa Claus! Thank
God! He lives, and he lives
forever. A thousand years from
now, Virginia, nay, ten times
ten thousand years from now,
he will continue to make glad
the heart of childhood.
Now and always, it’s been
our pleasure to be a part of our
amazing community and your
lives. We greatly appreciate
each and every one of you. May
the magic of Christmastime fill
your heart and homes with
gladness! Best Wishes and
Merry Christmas.
Alan
Landers
Christmas
Wishes
For unto us a Child is born, unto us a
Son is given; and the government will be
upon His shoulder. And His name will be
called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6
I wish you ALL a blessed... merry and
safe Christmas holiday.
nificant milestones, and plan for
the challenges ahead. Over the
last 10 years, we have grown to
gether. The population of our city
prominently as we press forward.
We started with five employees
10 years ago (three of them are
still with us) and now support
ioral analysis (ABA) services for
children diagnosed with autism.
The Georgia legislature approved
funding for the treatment of au-
That is how we greet each
other during the Christmas sea
son in Jamaica, Canada, Aus
tralia, New Zealand, and most of
the countries that make up the
British Commonwealth. In either
case, Christmas greetings to one
and all. Cheers all around.
In my opinion, my book
“Waine’s World” is a great gift for
friends young or old, near and
far. One subscriber wrote to the
Beacon, saying it’s the best book
he has ever read. That is high
praise indeed, but hopefully you
will find it inspiring as well.
Someone else observed that I am
always finding good things to say
about Thomaston, and I told her
that there is a lot of goodness
here.
And your contributions go en
tirely to a good cause. We are try
ing to address some of the
desperate dental needs of chil
dren. We need a dental van
B. Waine
Kong, Ph.D., JD
Waine’s World:
Happy
Christmas
staffed with a pediatric dentist
and hygienists, but while we need
$500,000, we have only raised
$20,000 so far, but I have so
much faith, I am already recruit
ing a pediatric dentist. Please
read the book and support this
wonderful project. Let’s get this
done!
Dr. Stephanie Kong and I will
be forever grateful to the Great
Architect of the Universe for
bringing us to Thomaston. We
are in love with this amazing
place and now plan to spend the
rest of our days here. Can you be
lieve that it has been 10 years
since we have been calling Thom
aston home? My wife’s name is
not Dr. Zoe as some parents in
sist. “Zoe” is Greek word meaning
“Gift from God.”
Anniversaries provide natural
occasions to take stock, reflect,
and marvel at how well we man
aged our affairs, sum up our sig-
has grown and prospered. Due to
the increased value of our real es
tate, our reserves grew exponen
tially. Our city is flush with cash
and I certainly support raises for
our law enforcement officers and
teachers. Our high school athletes
and scholars continue to impress.
If you want to know the health
and welfare of a place, find out
about the health of the children.
All around, we are a vibrant city
with engaged citizens and great
leadership. There is not a selfish
soul among our leaders.
Zoe Pediatrics has diligently
and lovingly provided superb
care for all the children we serve
to hopefully actualize their full
potential and justify the trust
their parents placed in us. We ex
panded to Barnesville and Co
lumbus and launched new efforts
to serve our community by inau
gurating Zoe After Hours, Zoe
ABA, Zoe Med-Tech, Health and
Wellness at Zoe Pediatrics, Kong
Real Estate Holdings, Zoe Man
agement Solutions and, of course,
Zoe Pediatrics Foundation, which
has been my focus since my “re
tirement.”
I am now 78 years old and
blessed. These entities will figure
150 families from our ballooning
payroll that include too percent
medical insurance coverage. We
saw 200 patients in our first
month in April 2012 and now
take care of over 10,000 children
per month in our four offices with
the services of 10 amazing pedia
tricians and 150 members of our
team. The first patient that
walked through our doors in her
mother’s arms was beautiful
Kamryn Williams. Her sisters
Carlee and Kynsleigh have grown
up with us and Kamryn is now 11
years old. We plan to do some
thing very special for her in April.
After much consternation re
garding the cost of lumber and
building materials, permits, frus
tration dealing with supply chain
and labor, we are becoming ex
cited anticipating the completion
of our new building in Barnes
ville. Our architect (Ray Under
wood) and builder/contractor
(Dangie Construction) have done
a great job. We will announce our
grand opening soon.
Along with moving our Bar
nesville pediatric office to the
new building, about half of the
12,000 square-foot building will
be dedicated to applied behav-
tistic children four years ago, but
most children who are entitled to
these services cannot access them
because there are not enough
providers. We have developed ef
fective strategies for treating chil
dren who are on the spectrum
and prepare them to return to
regular classrooms after a year or
so with us. Did you know that
Elon Musk is autistic?
Another important compo
nent of our new building will be
“Zoe Med-Tech.” There is a se
vere shortage of medical assis
tants in our service areas. Our
graduates have become a vital
mainstay in many local medical
offices, hospitals, and nursing
homes in Thomaston, Columbus,
and LaGrange. Med-tech gradu
ates can have a career in phlebot
omy and/or as a certified medical
assistant in 12 weeks. Eighty-five
percent of our graduates passed
their national certification exam.
Anyone with a high school di
ploma or GED may apply, but in
tegrity and a caring spirit is
required.
“May your home be filled with
joy, your heart with love, and
your life with purpose.” Merry
Christmas!
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