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& EDITORIALS
Declare among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard;
publish, and conceal not. - Jeremiah 50:2
2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 winner: Editorial Page excellen
2019, 2018 winner: Best Headline Writing
2019 winner: Best Community Service
2019 winner: Best Layout and Design
2019 winner: Best Serious Column - Don Daniel
ON THE PORCH by Will Davis
To the class of 22
G raduation night was beautiful at Dan Pitts Stadium.
A gentle breeze wafted down the corridor between
the ancient 1940 s Hoosiers-style gym at the top of
the hill, and the historic City Cemetery down below
the other end of the stadium. The grass, as always, was perfect.
The stadium was full on both sides. There was excitement.
There was jubilation. But there was also sadness.
It’s been widely reported that three boys from the MP Class
of2022 died before their time. I knew all three of them. My son
had been their classmate.
Kamron Ward played soccer with my son at MCMS when
they won the area tide. He always had a smile on his face.
Dillon McCoy was a friend from church. When COVID shut
everything down in April 2020,1 took Dillon and my pastors
son, Jacob Moore, kayaking down the challenging Wise Creek
portion of the Ocmulgee River to give them (and me) some
thing to do. Being teenage boys, Jacob and Dillon stopped the
trip to swing from a rope into the cold waters of the river. I took
a rain check. Dillon left us two months later.
While they didn’t have sports or church together, my son
knew Caden Swancey from class and school.
When their names were announced during the roll call of
graduates on Friday, the entire class of2022 stood and clapped
in their memories. It was tasteful and sweet. Afterwards, the
valedictorian lit a candle in their memories.
But as the students in the class of2022 came forward, I was
struck how the loss of those three classmates were not the only
challenges faced by these young people.
I watched Kylie Seitz walk forward beaming ear to ear to re
ceive her diploma. Except for a slight limp, you wouldn’t know
she had battled cancer in her leg as a child. My gosh, I thought
to myself, that young lady has more courage in her left toe than
I have in my whole body.
When the name Dawson Niblett was called, he too smiled
largely. Dawson was a terrific basketball player, athlete and
outdoorsman. He still is many of those things. But he walked
forward with halted gait and a cane after suffering what doctors
are guessing was a spinal stroke over a year ago. My gosh that
young man is tough and courageous too, I thought.
I watched other teens approach as well whom I knew had
suffered through a parents’ divorce, or death, or wrestled with
countless other issues.
I became a Christian when I was at UGA. I was hungry to
grow in my faith sol went on a church retreat This is around
1996. I’ll never forget what the speaker said that weekend at
Clarks Hill Lake. He made a list of the things that Satan had
used at the time to attack our generation, Generation X. He
listed parental divorce, video games, health problems, por
nography, alcohol, drugs, depression, etc. It resonated with me
because I had wrestled with a few of those
demons myself. But he said he believed
that with great attacks came great victory.
I don’t remember his name, but he was a
passionate and prophetic speaker. He gave
me hope.
A recurring theme through the Bible is
that light comes after darkness. Victory
after defeat. Christ only rose from the
dead after he was cruelly killed on a cross.
\C\vv \\ \ Save for the rapture, Christians only go to
heaven after they die.
“The people who walk in darkness will
see a great light,” writes Isaiah. “Those who live in a dark land,
the light will shine on them.”
I don’t know what the future holds for the Class of2022. But I
know many of them have suffered far more than we expect for
a teenager. And I know the country in which they are growing
up seems sometimes darker than the nation we enjoyed as kids.
But contrary to modem thought, the Bible does not teach that
all suffering is bad. In fact it teaches that suffering can be a use
ful tool in God’s hands.
“We also glory in our sufferings,” wrote Paul, “because we
know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, char
acter; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame,
because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through
the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”
I hate suffering. I avoid it every chance I get. But we will all
face it eventually. And it’s good to remind ourselves it does bring
a worthwhile result. I suspect some members of the Class of
2022 are further down that worthwhile path than I am.
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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Publication No. USPS 997-840
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"1
DRAWING ON THE NEWS by AF Branco
I Americans for Limited
I Government
©2022Creators, com
REECE’S PIECES by Steve Reece
A gringo gets into trouble
A t the time I was pretty
much by myself, recently
divorced, living in Los
Angeles, building movie
sets during the day and playing my
guitar alone at night. There are many
things to do in L.A., but I wasn’t do
ing anything other than working.
Sometimes I needed a little help.
In California back in those days if
you needed a day laborer all you had
to do was go to any lumber yard and
take your pick from the crowd of
Mexican men always eager to work
standing at the edge of the parking
lot. Anytime I stopped to ask for
a man or two, eight or nine would
leap in the back of my pickup and
I would have to eliminate those I
didn’t need. It was pick and choose
back in the days when people
wanted to work.
Immigration laws weren’t as strict
in the 80s and employers weren’t
required to ask for proof of legal
status, and it’s possible, that I might
have inadvertently hired a couple
of undocumented immigrants. It
wasn’t as big a deal as it is now, and
rarely was anyone questioned on
their immigration status.
I had a big project, and I went to
load up my truck with all the labor
ers I could carry to work with the
carpentry crew. This time they didn’t
run and jump in my truck as they
usually did but stayed waiting in the
shade while one of the men saun
tered up and asked how many men
I needed. I told him all he had. He
dropped the tailgate, the men loaded
up and he jumped in front with me.
He said his name was Jesus but was
known as Chuy. The men in the
back were all related to him. Cous
ins, brothers, brothers-in-law. All
migrants from Guadalajara, Mexico.
Chuy was their spokesman because
he was the only one who spoke any
English at all. Which wasn’t much.
He said he came to the United States
through a cut barb wire fence and
then through the Rio Grande but
had since secured a visa. He was sure
proud of that.
Chuy and his crew were an excep
tional team and we got to be good
friends. It was Christmas and since
I had no one to spend the holi
days with, he invited me to spend
Christmas Eve with his family. After
that I became inspired to learn my
friend’s language, purchased the lo
cal Mexican newspaper, and started
looking up the words one by one in a
Spanish/English dictionary, writing
out the definitions ten times each. I
got to where I could communicate
some with my newfound friends and
became quite obsessed with their
culture. Their music was beautiful.
Their food was tasty. The senoritas
amazing.
One day Chuy suggested that I
go to Mexico to meet the rest of his
family. The idea was intriguing. I
was between projects with a pocket
full of money, so I decided to go for
it.
I found a cheap camper top that
fit my truck and outfitted it with
enough supplies for a month-long
trip of a lifetime and headed south. I
was ready with my old bulky Canon
camera that used 35mm film. The
Mexican border patrol agents acted
like they were happy to see me com
ing and excitedly waved me into
their country as I barely touched the
brakes.
It’s 1,850 miles from L.A. to
Guadalajara and I took my time,
meandering through the desert tak
ing what I considered to be amazing
photos of adobe ruins. When I ar
rived in Guadalajara, the traffic was
crazy and nearly every intersection
had a roundabout. After a couple
of days of that mess, I learned that
I could go anywhere in the city on
the bus for only a nickel, so I took
to using public transportation and
became pretty good at it.
The Mexican busses were always
crowded with people carrying pack
ages and whatnot. And at the stops,
there was always a horde and people
would push to pack themselves into
an already overcrowded bus. It was
part of the excitement of being in a
foreign land.
One day, while standing in the
middle of a crowd, the bus stopped
at the curb, and I was shoved from
behind into the back of a woman
wearing a homemade skirt with a
piece of elastic around her waist
holding it up. Somehow the catch on
my belt became entangled with the
woman’s skirt, and as she went up,
her skirt stayed down. All I could see
was white.
She immediately spun around
thinking I had pulled down her
skirt and while pounding me on the
head with her huge purse, she was
calling me words I never found in
my dictionary. To free her skirt from
my belt, I had to unlatch it which
caused her to think I was removing
my pants and the situation rapidly
intensified. Somehow, I escaped her
brutal blows and took the next bus,
making sure this time I stood at a
safe social distance.
Steve Reece is a writer for the Report
er and a known crime fighter. Email
him atstevereece@gmail.com.
CAROLYN S CORNER by Carolyn Martel
What do we want out of our short lives?
ave you noticed
there
are all
kinds
of surveys being
taken today? Get
on Facebook
or the internet
and someone is
curious to
know your
thoughts on
the Presi
dent’s perfor
mance, our economy, etc.
One inquiry that I came
across asked the question:
What do you want out of
life? People responded
with four basic
answers. So, what
did the survey
reveal? Ready?
It turns out that
people want food,
shelter, love and
fun. I don’t mean
to be rude
or crude
or burst
anyone’s
bubble, but
that could basically de
scribe a dog’s life couldn’t
it? Let’s see, I want food,
shelter, someone to love
me and I want to have
some fun. Can you throw
me the ball?
I REALIZE that this is
a materialistic generation.
Maybe that’s why a rela
tionship with God was not
mentioned in the survey. If
you were to take your own
personal survey right now,
would a relationship with
God be included on your
list? I agree that we all have
physical needs and wants,
but we also need to look at
our lives from an eternal
perspective as well. Jesus
said, “I came that they may
have life, and have it more
abundantly” John 10:10.
The abundant life Jesus
offers not only includes
eternal life, it also meets
the needs of our spirit,
soul, and body. Amen!
Carolyn Martel is the
retired advertising man
ager of the Reporter. Email
her at carolynmartell @
bellsouth.net.
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