Reader's Submission

Flashback to Winter 2022 by John Wilson

John Wilson of Pinch Ridge submitted this picture taken one snowy evening on Jan 6, 2022. John said, “I walked out on my porch at Pinch Ridge and saw this beautiful blue snow. I’ve never seen anything so unique! By the way, these colors were just as you see in the picture that evening.”

THE ELK’S JOURNAL

"WE"

Written by B. R. Butcher, 1995 Submitted by Orpha Anderson

I GRIEVE for my brothers and sisters who are judged by the shade of their skin, for all the unwanted children and the women abused by their men; for the downtrodden, lonely and weary with the traumatized look of defeat, anguished and drained by their struggle, seeking only to fairly compete.

I ACHE for the acts of wrongdoing by the many who do others wrong, for injustice endured by the helpless at the hands of the merciless strong; for the father whose honest endeavor rewards him with minimum pay, for the unfulfilled needs of his children and the hunger that won’t go away.

I PRAY for the plight of the nations which are torn by the terror of war, where fear is a constant companion and sorrow adorns every door; where death and destruction run rampant and atrocities flourish and thrive, where the test of each day is to suffer and to pass is to merely survive.

I DREAM of a great resurrection where men would unite hand-in-hand, where hearts overflow with compassion and love is the law of the land; where color of skin has no meaning and all are perceived as the same, where we stand side by side and acknowledge we are one, and MAN is our name.