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Billy Powell
Columnist
Be ye kind to animals
I still have a poster my
son made at Vacation Bible
School over 40 year ago that
reads: “Be ye kind one to
another.” (Ephesians 4:32).
A corollary to that might be
“Be ye kind to animals.”
This past weekend, my
belief in animal kindness
was put to the test. I had
planned to travel to North
Georgia to spend the July
4th weekend with my chil
dren and grandchildren, but
a discovery in my garage
kept me at home. I found a
bird nest with five little
wrens that had recently
hatched.
Unbekownst to me, their
mother had built a nest on a
recessed shelf. Since she
must fly in and out of the
garage to bring her babies
worms, I couldn’t bring
myself to leave for several
days with the garage door
closed and let them die.
Earlier I was jogging on a
country road and encoun
tered an abandoned little
puppy about 3-4 months
old. He was running toward
every passing car and
almost got hit. When he
saw me approaching, he ran
toward me. I picked up the
cuddly pooch and wondered
what to do with him.
Carrying him home didn’t
seem advisable because we
have a German shepherd
that protects our 12-acre
premises like the secretary
of defense. The Shepherd
wants to eat everything that
comes into the yard except
Beverly and me, and I was
n’t sure how he would
respond to a puppy, so I
decided to try to give him
away.
Within minutes, I spied a
car coming down the road. I
held up the puppy and
motioned for them to stop.
“Wouldn’t want a dog would
you?” “I don’t have any
place to keep the dog,”
replied the young man. His
girlfriend took the dog and
let him lick water from a
bottle top.
I commented, “He is a
male, and looks like a black
lab....He may make you a
good dog.” The young man
looked over at his girlfriend
adoringly petting the dog,
and said, “I believe we’ll
take him.”
As they drove off, I
breathed a sigh of relief,
knowing the dog would
have a good home.
I close with the story of a
man who wanted to give his
deceased dog a funeral.
Antonio lived alone in the
Irish countryside with only
a pet dog for company.
One day the dog died, and
Antonio went to the parish
priest and asked, “Father,
me dog is dead. Could ya be
saying a mass for the poor
creature?” Father Patrick
replied, “I’m afraid not; we
cannot have services for an
animal in the church. But
there are some Baptists
down the lane, and there’s
no tellin’ what they believe.
Maybe they’ll do something
for the creature.”
Antonio said, “I’ll go right
away Father. Do ya think
$5,000 is enough to donate
to them for the service?”
Father Patrick exclaimed,
“Sweet Mary, Mother of
Jesus! Why didn't ya tell
me the dog was Catholic?”
FRIDAY,
JULY 8, 2005
Fun for kids at the library
The Perry Library hosted
a talent show for children
on Wednesday, with special
guests from Taiwan, who
brought their traditional
puppets as well as Chinese
yo-yos. The Taiwanese
children are part of an
exchange program at
Meadowdale Learning
Center.
The library was packed
with children and parents.
Library events coming up
in Houston County in the
week ahead are:
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Willy Chen, Ivan Chang and Eric Changchien demonstrate their skill with Chinese
yo-yo’s.
Freedom isn't free
Southside Baptist Church attracts thousands to Freedom Fest
By CHARLOTTE PERKINS
HHJ Lifestyle Editor
Southside Baptist
Church went all out to
thank members of the
armed services and local
law enforcement last
Thursday, offering fun for
kids with pony rides, inflat
able games and patriotic
face painting. Those in
attendance at the free
event enjoyed festival
foods, live music and fire
works.
The crowd that showed
up was estimated at over
6,000.
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Family & Faith
Pajama party
On Monday at 7 p.m.
“Fantasia 2000” will be
shown at the Nola Brantley
Library in Warner Rboins.
The movie is open to those
4 and up and children are
encouraged to bring pil
lows, blankets, teddy bears,
etc.-
Dr. Tom’s Semi-Silent
Theatre
On Wednesday, Dr. Tom’s
Semi-Silent Theatre will be
presented at all three
Houston County libraries.
Carl Runyan who coordi
nated the event was enthu
siastic about the response,
saying, “We’ll do it next
year and it will be even big
ger.”
The program included
recognition of military and
law enforcement person
nel, and an evening concert
that featured Shane and
Shane, Big Daddy Weave,
Jill Phillips, Kevin
Derryberry.
The grand finale was a
big fireworks show with
music provided by the
Southside Choir.
Dr. Tom’s show is a variety
of miming, clowning, jug
gling and other hilarious
antics! The show is open to
all ages. Dr. Tom will per
form in Perry at 10 a.m., at
Nola Brantley in Warner
Robins at 1 p.m. and in
Centerville at 3:00 p.m.
Book Fair
Nola Brantley Library in
Warner Robins will hold a
Scholastic Book Fair
Tuesday through Saturday.
Proceeds will benefit chil
dren’s library programs.
Sponsors helping to
make this event possible
included Chick-fil-A, At His
Feet Women’s Ministries,
Portal Dynamics, The
Tyonek Group, Bruster’s
Ice Cream, Robbins Gioia,
CB&T Bank, Meadowdale
Learning Centers, Williams
Landscape, Subway,
Jameson Inn, Holiday Inn,
Country Inn and Suites,
Sports Fanatic Plus,
DACO, Temps ‘R’ Us,
Mane Event, Allen’s Tree
Service, Warner Robins
Supply.
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This young boy, who was too shy to give his name, was
still proud to show off his traditional Taiwanese puppet.
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Kristen Meadows smiles after being applauded for her
clarinet performance at the talent show
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ABOVE: Ashley Godfrey
and Rachei Varcoe enjoy a
pony ride.
Photos by Anna
Shylova
LEFT: The crowd at the
Freedom Fest was esti
mated at over 6,000.