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R ECOLLECTIONS
Last week I got the belated and very sad news that a fellow I had become acquainted with in Fallston had passed away in January. Some of you’ns might rightly ask..where the heck is Fallston? Well, rewind the years back to 1998 and I asked that same question to the then-editor of the Kings Mtn. Herald newspaper Gary Dean Stewart. You see, I had just interviewed for a job as a reporter at that publication- my first newspaper job- and Gary had handed me a note pad and a film camera and told me to go to Fallston looking for a story. “But Mr. Stewart,” said I. “Where the heck is Fallston?” Gary drew a map on a piece of newsprint. I hit the road to the upper end of Cleveland County. I found Fallston and a fruit and vegetable stand at its crossroads. I asked the proprietor where I might find a story for the Kings Mtn. Herald. He pointed to the north. “Go down yonder and turn on a dirt road to the left about a mile from here,” he said. “There’s some folks making molasses in the woods.” I did as instructed and found the molasses makers. It was my very first news story and I recall it like it was yesterday. Fast forward to a couple of years ago. My pal Calvin McGuirt and I have vintage British motorcycles. He has a 1978 Triumph Bonneville and I have a 1972 Norton 850 Commando. We began the habit of a few times a year riding from my house to Lincolnton then hanging a left onto NC182 and taking it to Fallston. For those of you who don’t know, NC182 is a beautiful stretch of road that twists and turns and falls and rises through farmland. Traffic is light. The landscape is classic North Carolina countryside. Anyway we often stopped at a convenience store/gas station in the throbbing heart of Fallston for a snack and drink and fuel. We would sit on the bench out front and observe the hinterland volken as they pulled in for gas and cigs and beer and such. It was on that bench that we became acquainted with Jim Pruitt. Jim would tell us tales about working in the Boggs Cotton Gin just around the corner. Jim would tell us about the local moonshine lore. Jim would talk about when cotton was king in Cleveland County. We would always buy Jim
R EFLECTIONS
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I lost a friend in Fallston
Connect the Dots: It’s all about Him
Who is steering? By Dennis Siracusa
a snack and drink and listen to his stories with keen interest. Jim was a gas sta- Alan Hodge tion bench philoso- Banner-News Editor
Jim Pruitt “Press” pher. He offered his wisdom on any number of subjects. Most of them were not politically correct, but the way he expressed them was always rooted in common sense- a trait sorely lacking in many folks these days. The last ride Calvin and I made to Fallston was back in early November 2020. Jim was not on the bench. A store clerk said he was ill. We missed him sorely. Now that Jim is gone, I don’t think rides to Fallston will ever be the same. We may sit on the same bench- Calvin eating pork skins and drinking Gatorade and myself having a candy bar- but the sight and sound of our old friend and in some ways our mentor in the lessons of simple living- Jim- will be missing. Do you know someone like Jim? Maybe a bit rough around the edges but a heart of gold? Someone who knows a hundred stories and will tell them all- sometimes repeatedly. Folks like that are hard to find these days. They don’t live in mansions or drive expensive cars. To them a pack of cheese crackers and a drink are a feast. Treasure them if you do for they are golden.
Who doesn’t love and appreciate open doors of opportunity and help finding open doors, advice and assistance? What is it about human nature, however, that causes us to seek our own wisdom, seldom giving God a thought or asking Him for help; is it because a loving, self-existent, eternal God seems too fantastic or scary; or do we lean toward discarding what we can’t understand? I grew up thinking God was a distant observer because that’s what people surrounding me thought. Now I know the truth and it starts by looking two places; our surroundings and conscience. Regardless of whether we read God’s written word or not, God exists and we are, from our beginning, culpable for thanking Him and recognition as God. God explains this in the book of Romans when He clearly teaches; in our sin, we suppress His truth He has made inexcusably obvious to us. Romans 1:20-21 NLT says: 20 “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. 21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks.” That’s us! God says we are fools because we don’t seek our triune God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) and instead fashion idols from
Online falls prevention workshop for seniors set The North Carolina Cooperative Extension will offer another session of its popular online program for older adults that aims to reduce, or even prevent, fall risks at home. The “A Matter of Balance” workshop is a national program sponsored by Centralina Area Agency on Aging and consists of nine sessions that will be held on-
line Mondays and Wednesdays, August 2 through August 30, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. “This program makes such a difference in the lives of workshop participants,” said Linda Minges, a program instructor. “The fear of falling could actually lead to a fall because that fear limits activities, causes difficult
Thursday, July 22, 2021
emotions and leads to isolation, which can lead to poor balance and weakness.” There is no charge for the course, but participants must be a resident of one of the following North Carolina counties: Anson, Cabarrus, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Stanly, or Union. They must also be able to access Zoom
via the internet with a computer and video for each weekly session. To register or for more information, contact Linda J. Minges, with North Carolina Cooperative Extension, at linda_minges@ncsu.edu or 704-922-2127. The registration deadline is July19, and group size limited.
our obstinate, selfish ideas; gods from material things in the image of money, leisure, people, animals, birds, and recently I read about asparagus. We chase after dead, lifeless things instead of the only true God; or at least some of us do. Hillsong wrote a worship song that transcends foolish thinking in “So Will I (100 billion X); it starts out: “God of Creation, There at the start, Before the beginning of time With no point of reference, You spoke to the dark, And fleshed out the wonder of light.” Second, our God imbedded conscience starts us out all knowing right from wrong and here things get dangerous. If we ignore God, and reject right in favor of wrong, eventually we will become so steeped in sin we will grow to hate God, encourage others to hate Him too and then ask why a loving God would separate us from heaven for eternity. In sharp contrast, God
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lovingly w a n t s to steer our lives daily; o p e n doors for Dennis Siracusa us and lead us toward purpose. In “What A Beautiful Name” lyrics we see God’s plan and unmerited love: “You didn’t want Heaven without us, So Jesus, You brought heaven down. My sin was great, your love was greater.” Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth to show us how to live a God honoring life, how to live in this sin ravaged world and remain sinless and loving, and then He did the inexplicable…He sacrificed Himself on the cross and overcame death in atonement for the sins of those who, in faith, believe Him and embrace Him as creator and Lord. Let’s ask who is steering our life? Is God our steering wheel or are we?
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