Newspaper Page Text
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Wanda Walker:
Everyday Hero
The Reporter continues its new series highlighting those
men and women doing thankless, ordinary jobs to keep our
businesses and our community going. When so many seem
not to be willing to work, we salute Monroe Countians like
Wanda Walker who keep our community strong.
By Steve Reece
stevereece's'gmail.com
A restaurant server does more walking than any other
profession, averaging around 22,778 steps per day rush
ing back and forth taking care of hungry guests (some
grouchy and rude), wiping tables, stocking condiments,
and solving some
times complicated
issues with the
kitchen. All this and
more for just $2.13
an hour plus tips.
It takes a special
person for this type
of job. Someone as
special as Wanda
Walker, a server
for Shoney’s at 323
Harold G. Clarke Parkway.
Wanda came to Monroe County in 1999 from Hamp
ton, Va„ and has been working at the restaurant for the
last 21 years. She works from Wednesday thru Sunday
starting at 6:45 a.m. and many days she works overtime
because a coworker didn’t make it in, or the business is
packed with customers.
Wanda loves her work and after two decades says the
best thing about her job is how good the company is and
when she has been sick, they were always good about let
ting her come back. She added that the franchise owner,
Theo Withered, is a good boss and has done a lot for the
store.
She said business at Shoney’s is better now than just after
the shutdown, but it still has its slow days. People didn’t
want to use the buffet after the restaurant first reopened
but the health inspector said it was fine and now people
are happy the buffet is available.
Wanda has four children ranging in age from 27-47 with
two of them graduating from Mary Persons. The other
two graduated in Virginia. She hopes to retire one day but
for now, she must take care of herself, and Shoney’s has no
retirement plan.
She loves art, studied at the Thomas Nelson Community
College, and was a starving artist back in the 70s. She said
one of the main things that keep her going to work every
day is that she likes to spend money. Her advice for young
people just starting out: “You’ll feel better about yourself if
you work.”
Wanda said the worst thing about her profession is
the walking and has no idea how many miles she walks
every day. She’s an everyday hero, just doing her j ob and
depending on tips.
is published every week by The Monroe County Reporter Inc.
Will Davis, President • Robert M. Williams Jr., Vice President
Cheryl S. Williams, Secretary-T reasurer
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ATHLETES,
For Your own
SAFETY DotYT
SAY ANYTHING
BAD ABOUT
CHINA/ THEY
ARE RUTHLESS
REECES PIECES by Steve Reece
Town went ape over uncle’s monkey
B ack in the early 1940s, there
was once what some called a
zoo just outside a little town
in North Georgia. It wasn’t
much of a zoo. The only animals they
had were a bunch of monkeys packed
in a few cages and a pair of possums
that didn’t get much notice.. Even
so, people would come from all over
the county to be entertained by crazy
monkey antics and pet the possoms
on the head.
I have relatives that come from that
mountainous region and a great-
great-uncle of mine, Uncle Rudy Lee-
roy Reece, now long gone, pulled off
one of the most heinous crimes ever
committed in that part of the country
and got away with it. He was
well-known as a prankster and
would do anything for a laugh
like standing on the down
town comer after a rainstorm
and fishing from a puddle
in the street, pulling out a
dead fish he had prehooked
every time a car would pass.
I’ve also been told he once
switched the outhouse and
the well structures behind the local
Baptist church and a man fell into
the well after a lengthy wait for the
sermon to finish, but that’s a little too
much to believe.
According to an old legend passed
down to me through my family, one
night after the town was sound asleep,
Rudy snuck into the zoo, picked out
a monkey he especially liked, easily
broke a padlock, and soon had an
excited furry passenger sitting next to
him in his rusty pickup. Rudy calmed
the monkey down with bananas and
apples he had ready just for that pur
pose. The curious monkey took great
interest in the contents of the glove-
box which included a bottle of moon
shine whiskey that they both enjoyed
on the bumpy ride out of town to
Rudy’s farm. The ape didn’t appreciate
the taste of alcohol at first, but Rudy
showed him how it was done, and the
monkey was a fast learner.
Once at the farm, the now drunk
and sleepy monkey was secured in a
pen where Rudy proceeded to shave
him completely bald with a set
of sheep shears. The monkey
later fell asleep in Rudy’s arms
after he passed out in the hay.
It’s hard to imagine what a
shaved monkey might look
like cuddling with an old
mountain man but once you
have that image in your head,
it isn’t easy to remove.
There were so many mon
keys in his charge that the zookeeper
didn’t notice at first that one was
missing when he arrived the next
morning. It wasn’t until he found the
broken padlock lying in the dirt that
he did a headcount and discovered
one missing. He immediately drove to
the sheriff’s office to report the stolen
animal and the sheriff assigned his
only deputy to the case.
While the deputy was performing
his investigation, Rudy and his mon
key were busy having a breakfast of
bananas and apples and fast becoming
good friends. Rudy thought the ape
was the funniest thing he ever saw in
his life and told him so. The monkey
thought the same of him and they
shared a few laughs. After a fresh slug
of moonshine, Rudy loaded his new
buddy back into his truck and headed
to town, bursting out laughing every
time he looked over at his seatmate
and driving off into the ditch a couple
of times.
It was still early for the town and
the streets around the courthouse
were pretty much deserted when
Rudy eased into a parking space and
quietly removed the monkey from
his truck. He then sat him on a low
hanging branch of an old oak tree and
gave him an apple which the monkey
threw back at him and took off for
higher branches. Rudy laughed at him
and went to the cafe across the street
where he could watch the ape while
he had a cup of coffee and a peach
fried pie.
It didn’t take long for folks to start
opening stores and shops and walking
around here and there which drew the
attention of the hairless monkey who
was familiar with people and liked
them because they always threw pea
nuts into his cage. He made a couple
of fancy swings out of the tree and
bounced to the sidewalk beside a pair
of elderly ladies who started scream
ing at the sight of what they thought
was an alien from space.
A couple of years earlier the whole
town had heard the Orson Welles’
radio broadcast of “The War of the
Worlds” when a lot of people pan
icked thinking the earth was being
invaded by extraterrestrials, so the
ladies naturally thought that an inva
sion was happening right before their
eyes. So did everyone else within
screaming distance. Meanwhile, Rudy
was thoroughly enjoying the bedlam
watching from the cafe window.
It was soon discovered the alien
was the missing monkey and it was
captured by the deputy and returned
to its cage. But that night Rudy
returned to the zoo and rekidnapped
him. This time they say he took him
to Atlanta where he had even more
fun. But that’s a little too much for me
to believe.
Steve Reece is a writer for the Report
er and a known crime fighter. Email
him at stevereece@gmail.com.
CAROLYN S CORNER by Carolyn Martel
In suffering, remember best is yet to come
T oday, as I was reading my
Bible, I kept coming back
and rereading James 1:2.
James wrote,”My brethren,
count it all joy when you fall into
various trials, knowing that
the testing of your faith
produces patience.” Hmm.
I’ve never found a trial or a
test to be joyful. Have you?
Yet, James wrote, “... count
it all joy’ In my mind, joy
and trials simply do not go
together. To gain a
better understanding
of what James was
saying, I decided to
research the words
“count it all joy” in the original
Greek. “Count it” in the Greek con
veys the idea of looking forward.
JESUS WAS able to endure the
cross by looking forward to the joy
awaiting Him. We read in Hebrews
12:2, “Looking unto Jesus,
the author and finisher of
our faith, who for the joy
that was set before Him
endured the cross, despising
the shame, and has sat down
at the right hand of the
throne of God.”
JAMES IS not teach
ing us to deny the
reality of the pain and
suffering that accom
pany the trials we endure. Rather,
he is encouraging us to look beyond
our immediate circumstances to the
joy that awaits those who place their
faith and confident trust in Jesus
Christ. So keeping looking forward!
And keep moving forward with
Jesus and the joy of the Lord will be
your strength! The better we know
God’s word and His eternal plan for
our lives, we will come to view our
trials differently. The testing of your
faith is designed to produce endur
ance, staying power and spiritual
maturity. God’s ultimate goal is to
conform us into the image of His
Son, Jesus Christ. God the Father
wants to bring us home one day,
looking like, sounding like and act
ing like Jesus!
Carolyn Martel is the retired advertis
ing manager of the Reporter. Email her at
carolynmartell @bellsouth. net.