TIDBITS

BY RALPH SHEALY

CIRCLE OF LIFE

 

　　On July 23, 2001, I began one of the worst periods of my life.

　　On that day, I returned to work from my annual vacation to the beach.

　　That morning I gave my vacation gifts to Marty Keeler, Freda Glover, Jackie Kidd and our part-time workers, Jennifer Donlon, and my nephew Morgan Jones.

　　It was a typical Monday. We all went to lunch together. Most of us ordered the meal, while Jennifer ordered a corndog and fries, as she did every day.

　　At 5 p.m., we said our daily good-byes.

　　Nothing would ever be the same.

　　I wrote my column about my vacation when I got home. I was still smoking back then, and around 10 p.m. an ash dropped off my cigarette and burned a hole in the new shirt I bought at the beach. I thought that appropriately "topped off" a busy day, as I tried to catch up with a week’s worth of work.

　　Then, my phone rang at 3 a.m. It was the one voice I did not want to hear that time of the morning, Saluda County Coroner Keith Turner.

　　Keith said he wanted to ride out to see me in a few minutes. He said it did not have anything to do with my immediate family, but did have something to do with my work family.

　　I tried to get my thought processes together, and when Keith drove up, I went into the yard.

　　It was then Keith told me Jennifer, only 20-years-old, had died in a car accident just a few hundred yards from her home.

　　We all know it. Nothing in life prepares you for news like this.

　　I had responsibilities and people to tell that a girl we all dearly loved was gone ... just like that.

　　Sleep was over for me. I turned on my computer and wrote the story of Jennifer’s death. Then I wrote a front-page edition of my column, entitled "When The Phone Rings."

　　I made the decision to let my employees sleep until I felt it was time to begin calling. Oh, that was awful.

　　In a regular business, we could have closed our doors Tuesday in mourning, but we are not a regular business. We are a newspaper, and Tuesday is our paper printing day.

　　The Standard-Sentinel staff that worked Monday with six employees, came to work Tuesday with only five. We worked in sniffles and silence. We had to walk by Jennifer’s computer all morning.

　　I don’t know how we did it, but we got the paper printed. The paper contained the story of Jennifer’s death, as well as stories she set and photos she scanned.

　　Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do. God gives us strength.

　　I realized later, when I had time to reflect, that Jennifer died at about the same time I burned the hole in my shirt. I never wore that shirt again. It has been hanging in my closet ever since.

　　Jennifer was such a special young lady. She was an honor roll student and a three-sport letterman at Saluda High. She had so much promise.

　　It was a terrible year, made worse by the World Trade Center attack on September 11.

　　Since 2001, not a vacation has come that I have not thought of Jennifer.

　　This year was no exception, but my thoughts of Jennifer were happy, not sad, as the "star" of our trip to Cherry Grove was five-month-old Deacon Donlon.

　　That’s right. Same last name. My niece Mayson Jones, Morgan’s sister, married Jennifer’s brother Jason.

　　Deacon is Jennifer’s nephew and my great-nephew. Who would have ever thought?

　　At the beach Mayson showed me a Hard Rock Cafe T-shirt I gave Jennifer after another trip. Jennifer’s mother gave it to Mayson, and Mayson said she sleeps in the shirt on a regular basis.

　　I think Deacon favors Jennifer, and I hope he inherits her intelligence, kindness, athletic ability, and love of corndogs!

　　Before Jennifer’s death in July and 9-11, I went to New York in April 2001 with a Saluda group and we all went to see the amazing, "The Lion King," on Broadway.

　　As most of you know, the most famous song from that play and movie is "The Circle of Life."

　　I have witnessed the "Circle of Life" through Jennifer and Deacon.

　　We go on....

 

HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD

 

　　Wouldn’t you like to give Hollywood a general IQ test?

　　You would think Alec Baldwin would have taught the brilliant minds in LaLa land that if you are going to curse a family member out, don’t do it on the phone. It may get recorded and make you look like a complete fool.

　　You would think Mel Gibson would have already learned from Alec and from when his own tirade against a highway patrolman was recorded a few years ago.

　　How many "expletives" did Mel use recently in calls to his girlfriend? Of course, I’m sure these calls were recorded accidently.

　　These are the people who try to tell us how to vote, and I’m talking both sides of the aisle. Alec is liberal and Mel is conservative. We should really pay attention.

　　Of course, I can not complete this segment without mentioning Lindsay Lohan.

　　I knew she was sentenced to 90 days in jail, you know she was sentenced to 90 days in jail, and all God’s children knew she was sentenced to 90 days in jail.

　　But, according to one entertainment reporter, Lindsay went to her final appearance before the judge, thinking the judge was going to say, "April Fools!"

　　When the judge sent her to jail, Lindsay was "shocked," the reporter said.

　　I don’t think Lindsay has tried to tell us how to vote, though. She’s too busy partying.

 

MRS. MARJORIE

 

　　I was saddened by the death of Mrs. Marjorie Smith last week at the age of 93.

　　She was a tiny lady, with a big laugh and a big heart.

　　Until a few years ago, she was regularly seen driving around town in her big, immaculately kept Chevrolet, barely able to see over the steering wheel.

　　She learned to keep her car pristine from the years she and her husband, Charlton, owned Smith’s Shell Station on West Church Street, where the Chinese Restaurant is located today, across from Town Hall.

　　Anytime the doors of St. Paul United Methodist Church were opened, she was there, and she supported many community activities.

　　Saluda County will surely miss her.

 

RYAN RAMBLES

BY RYAN DeLOACHE METTS

WYSIWYG

　　Last week the Chapel’s youth group embarked on a journey to Berry College in Rome…Rome, Georgia, that is.　 Leaving early Sunday morning, we were ecstatic about spending a full-week at Worldview Academy.　

　　Just so you know, Worldview Academy is a leadership camp designed to help teens to not only understand the ideas in the world but to confront the ideas and begin to influence their world for Christ.　 Adamantly, the Worldview leaders encourage teenagers to imitate God in their lifestyles and to speak out for what is true, beautiful, and good according to God in order to change their culture.　 At Worldview, they do an excellent job teaching us to live our lives with purpose and helping us to realize that God wants to use ALL of us for His glory.

　　One lecture that really stood out to me personally was called "Servant Leadership." Leadership is simply influence. According to this definition, we are all leaders because we all influence others. In this lecture, we learned about the five pillars of leadership—also known as the main strengths of a leader: Meekness, integrity, vision, attitude, and empowerment.

　　The first characteristic of an excellent leader is meekness. Many people see meekness as weakness, but that is not the true definition. Meekness is controlled power.　 While power under control brings great blessing, power out of control brings destruction.　 When one is meek, he is allowing his power to be under control.

　　The second characteristic of an excellent leader is integrity. Integrity is the quality or condition of being whole or undivided.　 You are the same person at church as you are online…or on Facebook; you are the same person with your friends as you are with your family; and　you are the same person in your public life as you are in your private life. Basically, if you have integrity, you are the same person ALL the time, no matter who you are with or where you are.　 One acronym sums up integrity perfectly: WYSIWYG—What You See is What You Get.　 Dwight D. Eisenhower once said: "The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity.　 Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it’s on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office."　

　　The third characteristic of an excellent leader is vision. Vision is the ability to see God’s presence, power, and plan beyond the obstacles.　 Vision flows from intimacy—the more intimacy you have with God, the better vision you will have about the future.　

　　The fourth characteristic of an excellent leader is attitude. Attitude is the way we respond or react to situations around us.　 Undoubtedly, attitude is the single most powerful way you will influence those around you. Your attitude will infect others.　

　　Finally, the fifth characteristic of an excellent leader is empowerment. Empowerment is giving our leadership away to others. Many times we teenagers want to hang out with people several years older than us, but in reality we would have a greater impact on the lives of those younger than us.　 Because our younger friends look up to us, we should strive to be positive influences to them.　 In our society today, we all need godly role models.　

　　Our culture is in a great need of LEADERS.　 God is continuously looking for men and women who will lead His way. 　If we want to change the world, we must intentionally lead others in a Christ-like manner. Remember—leadership is influence.　 Whether we like it or not, we are all leaders, simply because we exert influence. The question is: What kind of influence are you going to be?