Newspaper Page Text
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The and true a tells
ApklUIV even oik* okl that
ha.** tadcd from Hack aiui while
to soft gray can a tell a Mors.
did' long ami true Hut one certainly
It was made somewhere in the
late and showed three ehil
divn. ragamuffins really, who did
not have the happiness that most
children show in photos today.
Two little girls, with chopped off,
blunt hair, were aimed in simple,
wtinkled dim white dresses
made from flour sacks and then
duty feet were bare as they uihxI
on the dusty, rocky ground Hie
little boy. blonde and round
laced, was dressed in hand me¬
llow ns, britches several inches
above hiN ankles and laced up,
haltered Hyvs with one of tlx*
laces missing. They looked to be
two si/es too big for him.
There was a sadness in then
laces, a scowl that seemed to say,
“Life is grim and hard.’’
FROM 1C
Ministry
w as then that God --poke
directly to him.
“I got out of prison and
then God called me tight
back in," Tom said.
He added that he knew
his calling w as to embrace
these men he could so
identify with.
"They have been kicked
up for years and have been
told w hat to do ev ery singk*
day. year alter year They
need lx-Ip re-entering society
if they are going to be a pn>
Juctive member of society."
Tom began his after-care
ministry in onk*r to ensure
that these men would have
a jot* and a place to live,
tlx* two things needed to
deter someone from etxlmg
up back in prison.
Tom said 350 inmates
are released in Georgia
each week w ith nothing
nww than a $25 debit card.
Nearly all of these men
have no financial support,
food or clothing.
Add to that bleak
description a lack of family
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I FORSYTI I ( OUNTY NEWS | iorsythn rwi com 5 SUNDAY, MAY 2?, 2012
m.
RONDARICH
Columnist
And I suppose it was The
ktud ot grim and hard that few
can imagine It was, after all,
the beginning of The Great
Depression and it was the
Appalachian Mountains, which
had never know n anything but
depression, both great jjnd
small folks there were so poor
that n was hard to believe they
could be any poorci, but in
time, they were. The time came
w hen they fought to scrounge
up enough quarters to pay the
taxes on the farm or find
enough turnip greens or Polk
Salcl to feed their bellies. •
m* story in my daddy's eyes
and friends, little job train¬
ing and education and tlx*
end result dix*s not look
promising.
At this point m our meet¬
ing. Ham grew really emo¬
tional.
"Re-entry is going to
happen in your neighbor
hixxl they can either he
robbing your house, or
going to your chufch
w hrch would you ratfx*r
have?”
Tom ’s church. Freedom
Tabernacle, supports his
ministry, and Tom is
always open to support
from other local residents
and churches.
I was moved by Tom’s
message. As a society, we
ail need to pray for tlx* suc¬
cess of his ministry and
others like it.
Please spread the word
about this organization and
consider making a dona¬
tion. You can find out more
online at w w w setfreeafter
oue.org.
Adlen Robinson is author of
“Home Matters The Guide to
Organizing Your Life and
Home" E-mail her at con
tact@adlenrobmson com
told tar mon* than I cared to
know His eyes were both angry
ami fearful. Ins lrown loo
severe for a child so young 1
know more than the photo tells,
I know ol the beatings he look
and how he was forced to kill
his dog. his only friend,
because his father in a drunken
stupot had commanded him to
do so.
"I knew il l didn’t,” he said
softly years later, his green eyes
moistening. “That he’d beat
me,” That was years before he
left the drink behind and became
a good man Back then, he cud¬
dled up toa pint of moonshine
to forget how he could barely
keep hik family alive.
At 13. Daddy ran away, living in
bams for a whik' until his Unde
Oscar and Aunt I airy opened then
front door ant! welcomed him.
They finished raising him, tlie only
true raising that he got
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ISH
Northside Hospital
Forsyth
i
He overcame that childhood.
Somewhat But he carried
scars that his children could
neither see nor understand. 1
suppose he just prayed his way
out of those memories or, at
least, prayed as best he could.
Some wrongs, those that can
ncvci Ik,* righted, stain the soul
of a man
liven when lie was grown and
his father had reached down
deep to find the good man that
he could lx* by giving up drink¬
ing and becoming solid and
dependable, those childhood
memories surely haunted
Daddy, But he held no grudge.
He forgave and became close to
his father.
A while back after Sunday
dinner, 1 walked out of my sis¬
ter’s house to see three boys fly¬
ing by on various si/ed motor¬
cycles They rink* through the
pastures, jumped hills and diteh-
cs. laughing happily as they did.
In the back yard, four little girls
squealed joyously as they
jumped in and out of the pool. It
was pure merriment.
“These children are going to
look back on their childhood
with such happiness." 1 said to
Rodney about his grandchildren.
He shrugged. “It’s no happier
than our childhoods were,” he
said. “They just have more toys
than we did. But 1 was happy”
I was, too. And, I’m ashamed
to say. that until I saw that photo
of a little boy who seemed to
carry the weight ol the world on
his tiny shoulders. I had taken it
for granted.
Not anymore.
Ronda Rich is the best-selling
author of What Southern Women
Know (That Every Woman Should).
Visit www.rondarich.com to sign
up for her free weekly newsletter.