Church service Sunday morning was a little more exciting. The men were waiting for service to begin and discussing the upcoming rain events or prospects for rain. Out of nowhere this terrific boom was heard. We all laughed and talked about big thunder. About 10 minutes into the service, Mondo jumped up and left the church. Moments later the fire truck left for parts unknown. A short prayer was sent up for whoever was experiencing trouble.
A few hours later, we learned that the boom was lightening striking the rental house owned by Frank Pearce and rented by our new superintendent, James Womack. Apparently, the lightening hit the house and set it on fire. So, if you have a few moments to spare, please send up a prayer to Mr. Womack and his family.
There will be a community meeting to say hello to Mr. Womack and his family. There will be a light dinner for attendees and door prizes as well. Mr. Womack has big plans for our little school and would like to see how the community feels about those plans. All community members are invited; you need not have children in school.
We only have a few more weeks before we are back in class. I want to remind my fifth-grade students that they have work due for me before school starts.
There is so much front-page news about teaching social studies this year. Someone has posted that the reason parents are not happy with some of the materials being taught has been caused by virtual schooling. Parents have watched as teachers presented their materials on Zoom meetings.
I have said it before: I teach American history from a slightly different prospective. I show the kids the British side of the fight for independence. I compare it to Canadian history. I don’t change it; I add dimension to it.
The same thing with the Civil War. The material I receive rightly states that two major causes for the war was the desire for the slave trade to continue and the rights of individual states to be autonomous. I believe both of those are worthy facts. I can see, as an outsider, that rich people, plantation owners etc., pushed for slavery to continue. Compromises worked for a while, but not for long.
The average Southerner didn’t fight for slavery. I can’t see a young man watching a brutal battle ever wanting to go back and watch more people die for something that wasn’t part of his life. On the other hand, if he felt strongly that the federal government had no business interfering in the business of individual states, he might continue to fight.
Money and power are usually the basis for wars; other issues just come along for the carnage. This country fought a just cause for freedom in 1776. The Declaration of Independence clearly states the reasons “for the separation.” We must always remember our history and learn from it. It is foolish to destroy or erase the past. We all know the result of ignoring history’s lessons.
I was able to visit with my brother on Skype today. He was visiting my next eldest sister. Bev will take him to visit my other sister, Dee, and her husband, Dave. He has finally received his Covid shot and is being allowed out to visit family. He is not well, and on face value, he looks about 15 years older than I do. It makes me angry at times when I think that if he passed away tomorrow, I would not be able to go to his funeral. It was good to see and talk with them. Perhaps Canada will be open by Christmas.
We had a laugh about the weather because Canada is experiencing much hotter weather than usual, and of course, we are experiencing cooler than usual weather here in the South. I know the hot is coming, but I am going to enjoy every bit of this beautiful summer weather we are having. I wish I had been nice enough to tell my family I would take the heat back and let them have their cooler weather, but I wasn’t. They still love me.
I read the Letter to the Editor in last week’s paper. Since I had never read the articles the writer was discussing, I went and read the column. I can see why he might be thinking Anne's opinions were a little one-sided. I can also see where her musings might generate more letters to the editor.
During your prayer time, please pray for our country, our government and the return to honest debate and governing in our legislatures.
Pray for those in the community fighting cancer. We have several who are facing life threatening sicknesses.
Please add our police officers around the country. These attacks on our protectors need to stop. I don’t presume all brunettes are smart and blondes are dumb. I don’t think men with brown eyes are bad and those with blue are good. Common sense says there are good and bad people that come in all colors, all professions, and all religions. You handle the bad and reward the good. Anarchy hurts everyone; we need law and order in our country.
Most of all pray for our precious troops and their families.
Praise God for the rain.