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The Cherryville Eagle
OPINION
Wednesday, June 16, 2021
TODAY’S QUOTE:
Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting. –Ralph Waldo Emerson
Staying safe as you get back to “normal” I was on the phone the other day with one of my many cousins back up in Kentucky and she was in a bit of a dither! Seems she doesn’t know whether to be mad, glad, happy or sad as pertains to what she calls, “This here getting back up to snuff with the ‘conomy (that’s ‘economy’ in western Kentucky parlance)!”, especially when it comes to Americans shaking off their COVID blues and making an effort to get back to start trying to live normal lives again. I asked, “What seems to be the main problem? I mean, you told us you and your hubby and your kids have all gotten your vaccinations, right? So, what gives?” (BTW…they all have jobs that are in
By Michael Powell michael.cherryvilleeagle@gmail.com
that group allowing them to get vaccinated in the first ‘wave’ of vaccinations.) After a bit of ‘hemming’ and ‘hawing’ around, she finally said they actually couldn’t really remember enough of what their old ‘normal’ was like. They were almost terrified to actually
enjoy being able to, she said, go mask-free at some of the places they used to frequent, as well as enjoying the perks of things being more relaxed now that the nation’s COVID numbers are dropping. And, given that Kentucky’s governor – like our own governor – is a staunch Democrat, my cousin and her family are fearful that if he (said Kentucky governor) perceives that, like the famous Chicken Little of the old folk tale the “sky is falling” fame, more trouble of a COVID-kind is ‘a-brewing’, then things may once more be curtailed, if not outright shut down, thereby prohibiting (yet again) the rights of “all us good folk!” “Whew!”, I said.
On being joyful as well as sad dition and Most people ultimately experience joy his passing. and sadness It was indeed separately in very special their lives. But the way Larrecently my ry’s precious family expewife and rienced both daughter and simultaneously her family in Hope Mills, By Anne S. Haynes took such N.C. good care of Let me him and were always by explain by saying my his side throughout this sister-in-law, Violet resad journey. cently lost her youngest This experience was brother, Larry, to Lou definitely full of sorrow, Gehrig’s Disease. I met but let me tell you also Larry for the first time about the joy. years ago when my To begin with, Larry brother, David, and Viwas a Christian and is olet were married in her now in heaven with his parent’s home in Loris, S.C. Larry was just a boy Lord and Savior and many beloved family at that time and was members. It was amazyounger than me. ing to watch his family Violet’s family has all coming together to had an annual reunion remember him with such for years, and Tommy love. and I have been invited I have always adsince we got married. So, I have been honored mired Violet’s family to get to know her family for the way they have supported each other very well. Since there was no reunion last year through the years without regard for any due to COVID-19, we distance or circumhad not seen Larry in some time and were sad- stance that could come dened to hear of his con- between them. And this
“That’s quite a lot of jumping to conclusions on your part, isn’t it? I mean, as I said earlier, y’all have all been vaccinated, yeah? I guess I just don’t see what all the fuss and bother is about, really. All y’all really want to do is maybe go see a movie or go out and eat with your families, or maybe just visit, or go back to church, without having to wear out your horn honking an ‘amen’ every time the preacher gets particularly righteous, right? Or am I missing something here?” After a bit of a pregnant pause, she snorted into the phone, and said, “Well, yeah. It’s that. And then again, it’s not JUST that!” I replied in my usual
not-so-subtle way, “Say what!?” Come again?” Anyway, a moment aside here folks… We all have close family members like my darling cousin who, when you think you’re reasoning with them correctly and starting to make some sort of headway with helping them come to grips with a problem, things just have a way of ‘going south’ with the general conversation in a big way, and that almost at light speed, right? Well… THIS conversation was that case! Not a bloody thing I said was going to help assuage her worried mind or steer her clear of anything of what was, or wasn’t, real when it came to their family getting back to
some semblance of their brand of normalcy, let alone positioning them to boldly go where they haven’t gone since the early part of 2020 – namely, out to eat at sit-down restaurant, visiting with family and friends, or going to see a movie. So, at the end of our call, I told her we loved her and her family and to put everything in God’s able hands. I mean, after all, He’s been working on this ‘life’ thing for a long while now, right? Surely, He knows what He’s doing. Now, if we can just convince our fearless leaders (and my dear cousin) to follow His lead! Stay safe out there as you get back to normal, y’all!
Go to work and grow your financial security
was certainly true in regard to Larry and his heartbreaking diagnosis and incredible pain. Another amazing thing that happened here is the fact that Larry’s older brother, Roger, preached his funeral. Roger is a dedicated preacher who loves his church congregation and his family and did an amazing job at Larry’s funeral. I cannot say enough about this family of sisters and brothers who look after each other and accept others into their family. They have the “joy of Jesus” in their hearts, and I am so glad they do. They know the joy of being together as a family as they stick together in all of life’s blessings as well as challenging situations. May God continue to bless each one.
Working a job that pays you money is your best assurance for financial security. In Glenn Mollette Guest Editorial 2021 manufacturers, construction, transportation companies, any entity that sells products, drivers and almost all employers are begging for workers. Many Americans were assisted by the large unemployment payout of the pandemic. This was initially helpful. Many people such as restaurant workers and others had lost their jobs. The flush of cash from the government kept families fed and financially stable. There has been a downside to this now as manufacturing has slowed down so much that trucks and cars have often been delayed from service because of the stall in manufacturing parts. From October through March, I waited for a part out of New York for my Ford 150 truck. Finally, it was made and delivered but with this kind of parts production there have been some unhappy car owners Many people search for ‘get rich’ schemes. The best way to build wealth
and financial security is to work 40 to 45 hours a week. Take some of your money and buy food and provide for your family. Pay your utility bills, make your house payment, give some to our local church or charity, make your car payment and put as much of your income as possible into an IRA through your bank, a 401k or a 403b through where you work. Also buy safe, solid stocks that have a long track record of performing well. Money will grow over time if invested wisely. My church friend, Harold Rice, insisted on putting $6 a month into my Guidestone retirement fund when I was a 17-year-old pastor. He did this every month for about a year of so until I graduated from high school and left the church. I long forgot about that but started checking into it a couple of years back and discovered that little account has grown to over $53,000. My salary at the age of 17 was $60 per month. My Guidestone retirement investment was 10 percent of what I made, which was $6. Both financial figures sound funny and they were somewhat barely enough to buy my gas to the Liberty church in rural Johnson County. Over 35 years that little bit of money which might have
been $100 grew to over $53,000 and is a now a nice addition to my retirement portfolio. The bottom line to that story is that I was performing a service of work that I loved. I received a small amount of compensation and even miniature retirement pay. However, eventually it became something. Find the best job you can find and work that job. Work as many hours as are available. Negotiate the best pay you can negotiate. Take care of your family and look for every opportunity to save money for down the road. It starts with doing something. There is a job you can learn. So many are willing to train new employees today. Be willing, be open to learn and in a few months, it may amaze you how well you are doing and how much your money is growing. Go to work. Go somewhere to work. It’s better to go somewhere and find enjoyable work than to sit home in miserable idleness wishing you had pursued the ‘America Dream’. Wishing will not get it done for you. You have to GO to the opportunities. People all over America have done this during our entire existence and you can benefit your life this way as well.
June 14th was Flag Day – Always respect our Grand Old Flag by JOHN GRIMALDI Guest column It is said that the flag of the United States was designed by Betsy Ross, a seamstress who lived in Philadelphia during the American Revolution. But, according to PBS, “some historians believe it was designed by New Jersey Congressman Francis Hop-
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Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.” And so, it came to be that our Grand Old Flag became the official emblem of the U.S.– based on the Continental Army’s banner. It was carried into battle for the first time Sept. 11, 1777 in the Revolutionary War battle of Brandywine.
kinson and sewn by Philadelphia seamstress Betsy Ross.” Whether it was Betsy Ross or Congressman Hopkins who designed the original Stars and Stripes, the Continental Congress, on June 14, 1777, adopted a resolution declaring that “the flag of the United States be thirteen alternate stripes red and white...the
See FLAG DAY, Page 5
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