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Viewpoints The reason Now it came about in those days that an order went out from Cae sar Augustus that there was to be a numbering of all the world. This was the first numbering, which was made when Quirinius was ruler of Syria. " And all men went to be numbered, everyone to his town. And Joseph went up from Galilee, out of the town of Nazareth, into Judaea, to Bethlehem, the town of David, because he was of the house and family of David, To be put on the list with Mary, his future wife, who was about to become a mother. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she had her first son; and folding him in linen, she put him to rest in the place where the cattle had their food, because there was no room for them in the house. And in the same country there were keepers of sheep in the fields, watching over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord came to them, and the glory of the Lord was shining round about them: and fear came on them. And the angel said. Have no fear; for truly, I give you good news of great joy which will be for all the people: For on this day, in the town of David, a Saviour has come to birth, who is Christ the Lord. And this is the sign to you: you will see a young child folded in linen, in the place where the cattle have their food. And suddenly there was with the angel a great band of spirits from heaven, giving praise to God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on the earth peace among men with whom he is well pleased. And when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the keepers of the sheep said to one another. Let us go now to Bethlehem, and see this thing which has come about, which the Lord has made clear to us. And they came quickly, and saw Mary and Joseph, and the child in the place where the cattle had their food. When they saw it, they gave them an account of the things which had been said to them about the child. Luke 2:1-17 Leaving notes Well, this is my last column for the Houston Home Journal at least for a while. I am moving to Lawrenceville. After ten years in prac tically perfect Perry. I have my concerns about moving away. I will be leaving so much — my precious daughter and the little apple of my Torey Jolley 'ML Home Jf. , Journal 1 Staff eye, Dylan, (though I will be seeing them both at least every other week), as well as my friends and my job . 1 can tell you that I never thought I would ever call anywhere but Wichita Falls, I'exas home. However, I now know that while 1 have some of my roots in Texas, I also have a large chunk of them firmly rooted in Perry as well. Transplant ing hurts-and just when a Super Wal-mart arrives, Kmart remodels, and they begin to build a Sonny’s. How unjust. I’ll miss the ease of driving here and there. The traffic where I’ll live is so con gested. I’ll miss being here for the parades, the fair, the pageants. I’ll miss the beauti ful blossoms on the trees along Sam Nunn Boulevard come spring. However. 1 am not going to moan and groan. The year 2000 is right around the corner. New year, new home, new adven tures are all on the horizon. Opportunity only knocks once and I believe in answering. I'm looking forward to finding my way around the area and meeting new friends. I’ll be searching for a new job and, with any luck, the new one will be close to being as wonderful as the one I am leaving. I’m not going to say good-bye, just see you around. After all. I plan to visit often. (EDITOR'S NOTE: We the members of the Home Journal staff, and the greater Perry community, are richer for having been here as Torey Jolley passed our way. We look forward to her return and soon.) Houston Home Journal P.O. Drawer M • 807 Carroll St. Perry. Ga. 31069 email homejrn@hom.net (912) 987-1823 (voice) (912) 988-1181 (fax) Bob Tribble President Jj Johnson... Editor and General Manager Ellen T Green Advertising Director Phi! Clark Sports Joan Dorsett Lifestyles LaNorris Fleming News Alllne Kent Sports Many contribute to success of Perry High Band Editor: During the past year many Perry and neighboring area businesses, clubs, individuals, and schools have kindly donated money, equipment, food, and supplies to the Perry High School Band. These donations have enabled the band to pur chase uniforms and instru ments, and to travel to band competitions, successfully run our concession stand during football season and support a variety of activities that make the band a positive experience for so many students at Perry Tf/£ P£A*/t/T GAU£#V AfettßV Chwstmas I —,-| to you, roof 99 rayloonsfMtom.net Ridiri around, lookin' at the lights We had a great time last Thursday night checking out all the holiday lights. As many of you know, the Home Journal sponsored a Holi day Decoration competition this year as part of the Christmas at the Crossroads festivities. This was a first for us, but it sure won’t be the last. In the first place, we got a good response, with 25 out standing submissions. And. in the second place, we had fun. Six of us went together in a van provided by Wayne Morris and his generous staff, and we each ranked the houses we saw on a scale of 1 to 10. Then we went out to dinner together and added up the scores for each home. We saw some impressive dis plays of lights along the way not just those who were in the competition, but many more. It seems that when one homeown er puts a lot of effort into deco ration, many others on the same street will get into the same spir it. While the winners were all A merry joyous and blessed Christmas to all We do not really know the date of the birth of Jesus, but the Church was celebrating the Nativity of Christ on Dec. 25 by 336 A.D. The date was probably chosen to oppose the pagan hol iday celebrating the birth of the Sun God. By the sixth century, Chris tians had supplanted the Epiphany (Jan. 6) as the more important winter feast of the Church. Some of the customs of St. Nicholas Day, Dec. 6, such as gift-giving, were merged into Christmas celebrations over the centuries, and indeed we have St. Nicholas as Santa Claus today. Pauline Lewis Lifestyles Rob Mead News and Circulation Charlotte Perkins.. News and Composition Andy Stuckey Classified Susan R. Thomas Bookkeeping Our Policies Unsigned editorials appearing in larger type on tills page under the label Our Views reflect the position of the Houston Home Journal. Signed columns and letters on this page (and elsewhere in this newspaper) reflect the opinions of the writers and not necessarily those of this newspaper Signed letters to the editor are wel - Wed., Dec. 22. 1909 Page 4A Letters to the jSy Editor p -°- 4? Drawer M Perry, Be. High School. We wish, at this time, to say THANK YOU to: Able Staffing, All Secure. Allen Young Homes, ALLTEL. Antiques Shed, Charlotte I Perkins three in the “bright lights" cate gory, there were also many that were very traditional, and some that were downright elegant. If you haven’t taken a ride around Perry and South Hous ton County to see the lights and decorations, now’s the time. Sometimes you’ll see an awe some effort with thousands of lights. Sometimes you'll see beautiful old-fashioned wreaths and greenery, or dazzling Christ mas trees in picture windows. All of it’s just proof of the cre ativity and happy spirit of this community. I’m looking forward to the contest in 2000. • •• Coinings and Goings - We all John ■pjP^| — Buchanan | | Rector, St. Jj Christopher’s f U P at the Cross* WOl j roads. Perry The Puritans, early Baptists, Presbyterians. Methodists and others who had separated from the Church of England were not given to feasting and other cele brations and were opposed to Christmas observations. corned. Please limit letters to 300 words and Include addresses and a telephone number for verification purposes. Letters are not published without verification. Let ters should be sent to P.O. Drawer M. Perry, Ga.. 31069 or brought to the news paper office at 807 Carroll St.. Perry. Our liability for an error will not exceed the cost of space occupied by the error. We cannot be responsible for the return of pictures or submitted materials unless a stamped, return address envelope is included. Our Goal The Houston Home Journal is pub Houston Home Journal Ralph Baker, Balvaunuca Club. Bank of Perry, Beltlsta Club, CB&T Bank. Chick-ffl-A. Ctvl tans Club. Com South. Cross roads Bank, Domino’s Pizza, Edward Jones Co., Exchange Club of Perry, Also Food Bank of Macon, 41 Grocery, Frito-Lay, Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agri center, Harvey’s, Hamby Chevro let, High Energy Systems of Eastman, Houston County Board of Education, Kings Chapel Elementary School, K mart, Kroger, Longhorn Butcher Shop, Mellco, Rick Nables of hate to see Torey Jolley move, since she has been such a hard working and dedicated reporter, and a good columnist, too. At the same time, we had the good fortune to find Lanorris Fleming to replace Torey. Lanor ris is a Perry girl from birth, so many of you may already know her. She’s got a great back ground for the job, and she was working hard on a story 10 min utes after she arrived on Mon day morning. • •• Feeding the volunteers - Something Joan Dorsett does evety year is organize lunch for the hard-working volunteers at the P.A.L. distribution center. This year, she got great help from Craig Oplinger at Wendy’s; Mike Hughes at Pizza Hut; Tim Linderman at Arby’s and John and Evelyn Lamberth at the 41 Grocery. Thanks to all of them, and thanks also to Joan, who said I shouldn’t mention her name. (Joan should know better than to tell me something like that!). Christmas as we know it today owes much to 19th centu ry England. Queen Victoria's husband, Albert of Saxe Coburg, imported some German customs (such as the Christmas tree) and the novelist Charles Dickens greatly influenced the English Victorian Christmas. We in the United States happi ly imported the Victorian Christ mas. Clement Clarke Moore, a priest of the Episcopal Church, contributed his bit in 1823 with the poem. “A Visit from St. Nicholas." commonly called by its first line. "Twas the Night Before Christmas." Of course, given to excess as lished proudly for the citizens of Houston and adjoining counties by Houston Publi cations Inc., Peny. Ga. Our goal is to pro duce quality, profitable, community-orient ed newspapers that you. our readers, are proud of We will reach this goal through hard work, teamwork, loyalty and a strong dedication toward printing the truth. Member of Georgia Press Association and National Newspaper Association. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof: or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or of the right of the people peaceably to assemble. Nabisco, Northrop Grumman, Perry Business Women’s Club, Perry Kiwanis Club, Perry High School, Perry Middle School, Pizza Hut, Rehoboth Baptist Church, Rotary Club of Perry. Sorosis Club, Tahseria Club. Tolleson Lumber Co., Tyson Food of Vienna, Utility Services, Larry Walker. Wal-mart. Wendy's, Weyerhaeuser, Williamson U-Haul, and Zaxby’s. Joe Hutcheson Band Director Perry High School Pride of the Crossroads Band Bob Tribble 5? Home Journal I ft President: Ml R \ Poetic inspiration Drinking from my Saucer I’ve never made a fortune And it’s probably too late now But 1 don’t worry about that much I’m happy anyhow. And as I go along life's way I’m reaping better than I sow. I’m drinking from saucer 'Cause my cup has overflowed. Haven’t got a lot of riches And sometimes the going's tough But I’ve got loving ones around me And that makes me rich enough. I thank God for his blessings And the mercies He’s bestowed I’m drinking from my saucer ‘Cause my cup has overflowed. Oh. remember times when things went wrong. Did my faith wear somewhat thin, But all at once the dark clouds broke. And sun peeped through again. So Lord, help me not to gripe about the tough rows I've hoed. I'm drinking from my saucer ’Cause my cup has overflowed. If God gives me strength and courage When the way grows steep and tough I'll not ask for other blessings I’m already blessed enough. And may I never be too busy To help others bear their loads. Then I’ll keep drinking from my saucer ’Cause my cup has overflowed. The above poem was passed on to me recently from a friend. I don’t know who wrote it. but it is very fit ting for this special time ol the year. Yes, my cup has overflowed and I bet yours has, too! Now let’s look around us this Christmas Season and share our blessings by helping “others bear their loads.” Have a very Merry Christmas! we Americans are, we have com mercialized the season out of all reason and the birth of Jesus of Nazareth has been buried in elves, bells, trees, toys and all the rest. 1 believe it is senseless to oppose all this. It is better to rejoice that never has a birthday been so celebrated, and the fact many of the celebrants have no notion of the reason behind the hoopla does not alter the fact it is His birth behind and under it all. The Star is His, it is the life that He gives which is symbol ized in the trees and greenery. It See BUCHANAN. Page 2A and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Your right to read this newspaper is protected by the First Amendment to the united States Constitu tion. The Houston Home Journal (ÜBPS 000471) is published weekly for $21.40 per year (including sales tax) by Houston PubUcutiona Inc., 807 Carroll St., Perry, Qa., 31089. Periodicals Class Postage paid at Perry. Ga. POSTMASTER : Send •ddnM changes to the Houston Home Journal, RO. Drawer M, Perry, Ga. 31000. ISON: 1075-1874.