Without a lot of fanfare, you did it again. I had my doubts, I’ll admit that now…..but I should have known.

For three years now Tony and Joy Staton at Valvoline Express Care have asked WLBG to assist them with a food drive. They’re good folks and they just want to do everything within their power to make sure that none of our folks are hungry.

On Friday, December 9th, we arrived at Valvoline Express Care to broadcast Good Morning UpCountry live from that location. We knew that last year the community responded and the Baptist Crisis Center received 1,200 food items. There were boxes of rice dinners, cans of beans, spaghetti noodles and spaghetti sauce. Somebody even sent some jelly bean. We also raised a little of $700 in cash.

This year I thought it’d be difficult to match that. It’s not that times are tougher than they were last year. It’s just that our tough economic times have stayed with us. There are some promising things on the horizon but many of us look around and wonder when we’ll have more than promises. For several years now we’ve been struggling a bit. I thought that struggle may have begun to wear on our people to the point that we’d have to scale back.

It was my privilege to be there all day along with Reverend Anthony Sims, Wyatt Mattison, Emil Finley, and Bryan Bentley. We had some equipment issues that challenged us but found a way to overcome them. We presented the problem to the community of WLBG’s listeners. The Crisis Center needed food to provided to hungry families.

At the end of the day, there were 1,276 separate food items. Testament to the big hearts of you, our listeners, and the people of this community. God bless you for stepping up.

Oh, and many of you tossed money into our collection jar. Thank you. We didn’t know how much was there until the end. When it was counted it totalled $1,070. Well ahead of what we did last year.

Sometimes I fell like I ask for too much. From time to time needs are presented to me. Some of those needs you never know about…..we find ways to solve the problem with resources that already exist. But often, I present the issue to you. And that’s really all I do. You do the rest.

People have been thanking me lately for helping a soldier in need, or raising money for Rev. Sims Thanksgiving Dinner or for this food drive for the Crisis Center. Sorry, I didn’t do it. All I did was tell you about it, then sit back and watch the magic happen.

Thank you………again. God bless you for being the kind of people who will share…..even in tough times when maybe you don’t have as much as you’d like……you will share what you do have. I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am to be associated in even a small way with such big hearted people.

 Pay attention. You may miss something important. President Obama’s re-election campaign has swung into high gear mobilizing thousands. Some of the campaigners have even been arrested. If you’re not paying attention, you just might miss it.

 

First, let’s review some of the prior statements of President Barack Hussein Obama. There have been the usual accusations of campaign promises that turned out to be just empty talk. He promised open, transparent was the word he used, government. He even went so far as to promise that everything associated with his new health care overhaul would be broadcast on C-Span.

 

Well, the CEO of C-Span reminded the President of that when their crews were shut out of virtually all meetings where the new health plan was being discussed. So, that was an empty promise. It sounded good but there was no way he was going to let the people hear those discussions. There was just too much there you might not have liked to hear. Better to bury it in 2,000 pages of a bill you would never read.

 

But one thing he said was that he wanted to fundamentally change America. People cheered. Some cheered without ever asking what was so wrong with the America we grew up in. Some cheered and never asked……….what kind of change? All they knew was that it was fundamental. Do you know what fundamental means?

 

Now that the campaign is under way in full strength there are some hints. Look at the protestors in the streets of New York and other major cities. Guess what they say their goal is? They say they want to fundamentally change America. Fancy that.

 

The President winks at them and says he’s proud of them. Nancy Pelosi says she’s in agreement with them. They’re the ‘real’ Americans we’re told.

 

Hmmmmmm……….one of them ‘used the bathroom’ through the open window of a police car. It was number two. There’s video of it if you’re so inclined. They’ve trashed New York. One Jewish man was assaulted by a few dozen of these real Americans and told he needs to take his ‘Jew boy ass’ to Israel and get out of this country.

 

Proud of them you say.

 

Hank Williams, Jr got in a lot of trouble last week for comparing President Obama to Hitler.

 

Where on Earth did he get an idea like that?

 

In just a few days from now we will celebrated the Hall of Heroes.  It’s a special celebration.  Special because up until this year it only happened in one county in South Carolina and special because it should have been happening all along.

 

You and I go through our day and we rub shoulders with heroes every day.  Men and women who have done extraordinary things.  Some of them quite literally secured your freedom and security.  They made the name ‘American’ respected acrossEuropeand the South Pacific.

 

But then they came home and went to work in the mill or back on the farm and the memories were just that, only memories.  Perhaps he charged a German machine gun that had his buddies pinned down.  Maybe he landed onOmahaBeachand somehow survived.  Maybe a photo ofMount Suribachistill makes him break into a cold sweat.

 

Each year inLaurensCountywe honor men and women who once gave up everything and walked away.  They left farms and families.  They left sweethearts, Mommas and Daddies, and old dawgs.  And they put on a uniform and went to war.

 

This year we will honor some who did that and who never came back.  They gave up every one of their tomorrows for your freedoms today.

 

On Saturday, September 10^th, I ask that you come and hear their stories.  I think you owe them that.

As a part of my duties at WLBG I cover some public meetings of government entities.  One of them I get to attend on a regular basis is Clinton City Council.  Now, those are fun.  The Mayor and all the council members, as well as Interim City Manager Frank Stovall and the rest of the city’s staff do a good job of making the business of doing the city’s business fun.  They know when to get serious but also how to have fun while tackling serious issues.  It’s actually fun.

 

But I wasn’t at Clinton City Council on Monday, August 22nd.  I covered a meeting of the School District 56 Board of Trustees.  Well, I covered it a while and, I must confess that I think I may have nodded off a time or two.

 

Why the difference?  Well……………let me preface this by saying that the men and women who serve on the school board in District 56 do so without pay.  They dedicate a huge amount of time to conduct the business of the district.  I imagine that a lot of people believe they’re paid for those services.  They are not.

 

Having said that, I’d like to say something to the folks on the school board……………LIGHTEN UP…………..PLEASE!!  You take yourselves WAY too seriously.  Dont’ be so defensive and stop with the semi-competition to see who can find the nit-pickiest item to point out.

 

The meeting in question lasted nearly 2 and 1/2 hours.  That’s 2 and 1/2 hours of long discussions of what ‘special’ means.  2 and 1/2 hours of fighting to maintain consciousness.

 

The one bright spot of this particular meeting?  They took a vote……….two votes actually……..that did not result in unanimous agreement.  Hats off the Ms. Elizabeth McKinney for stating her opposition to something.  I have often felt that one member or another really wanted to vote no on something but they weren’t sure that was allowed.  Ms. McKinney didn’t ask.  I actually found that refreshing.  I’m glad I was awake to see it.

 

Now, again, these folks serve without pay.  They come out to these meetings, do a lot of work and preparation behind the scenes and occasionally catch flak from parents……all on a volunteer basis.  So, I’m not just complaining.  I actually would like to see the mood lifted so the board members can actually have a little fun while doing the district’s business.  They could have a little fun and maybe I could stay awake.  And maybe………..just maybe……..meetings could be completed in less than 2 and 1/2 hours.

 

When the iPhone first came out I laughed at people who made complete fools of themselves.  Some of them actually slept on a sidewalk outside the store so they’d be sure to get one of the first units available.  What morons.

I was smugly amused at their antics.  There was no way I’d ever just flip completely out over something as simple as a telephone.  Okay, so it’s a cell phone.  Okay, so you can play games.  Big deal.

And then came last week.  With smart phones all around me……..even Emil has one……. I finally took the plunge.  No, I didn’t exactly get the latest and the greatest.  I got yesterday’s wonder toy……the Apple iPhone 3GS.

The thing was a bit difficult to get set up.  You have to hook it to a computer so in can do something called ‘sync’ with Apple’s site…….the one where they try to sell you all kinds of music.  It took a while but finally it was working and I made a call.

Nothing special about the call.  I dialed.  I talked.  I hung up.  Big deal.

And then I thought I’d look into these things called ‘Apps’…………..applications that you can get for the phone…..a lot of them free.  That’s when the light went off.

There are apps for just about everything you can imagine:  News, Weather, Business Tools, Music, Videos, File Storage.  You can write a letter and email it around the world with this thing.  You can get directions to a street address in New Mexico and this lady talks to you the whole way there and tells you where to turn……she’s such a nice lady.  It’s got a compass on it in case you get lost in the woods……oh, and it’s got a flashlight app too.

Email, Facebook, Weather Radar and the Al Gore’s ENTIRE internet……right here in the palm of my hand.  How oh  how did I ever live without this device.  Now I understand.  And the next time they’re gonna introduce a new version………….no way I’m sleeping on a sidewalk to get one.  I’m not THAT big of a fool.