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This week, most of America celebrated Labor Day by not working. Only government could create something with such an equal amount of good motives to go along with head-scratching hypocrisy. Life can be a pretty funny paradox sometimes, even when you’re working for a living.
Here’s what I’m really writing about this week, with musical subheads.
Smuggler’s blues: The last few years have not been kind to the things the Cherokee Scout uses to serve the community at large. Our work van was stolen two years ago, and when it was finally found two months later it looked like the perps had ripped out anything and everything that might be worth a nickel.
Roundabout the same time, we started having more thefts. We’re one of the few businesses that relies on the “honor system” – in that we trust people will only remove from the box the one copy of the newspaper that they paid for with four quarters – but it doesn’t really pan out like that in real life.
As more newspapers ended up missing from coin boxes – a friend spotted someone hawking copies of the Scout at a flea market one weekend, so if you see that sort of thing please know it’s not legit – more entire boxes were also stolen. Let’s just say the Scout has had more box thefts in the last few years than in the two decades before that combined, and we’ve had more theft than anywhere else in Community Newspapers Inc.
Why? That’s a tremendous amount of work for just a handful of quarters, as we make those boxes as heavy as we possibly can and empty them of coins midweek. Yet, a handful of quarters can still get someone illegal drugs, even in today’s economy. It’s depressing to know our hard work was traded for a quick high.
It’s also a violation of our constitutional rights under the First Amendment, so we could make a federal case out of it. If you have any information that leads to the arrest and conviction of someone who stole from the Scout, their face will be in the local newspaper every week for months to come – and you’ll never have to buy a copy again.
Everyday I write the book: From time to time, someone asks why certain stories didn’t contain more information, particularly about an opposing point of view. Just such a letter to the editor is included at left on this page, and I appreciate the writer for taking the time to share his thoughts, which were valid.
Over the last few years, the Scout has published many articles on efforts to rebuild the tracks and bring a train back to town. The purpose of this Rails to Trails article was simply to show there’s a group with another idea for how best to use the tracks’ right of way. That said, I’m sure we could have written and edited it better, because we can always write and edit better with better information.
Spirit in the sky: Missionaries Greg and Kilby Helms spoke at MountainView Church in Murphy on Sunday morning, and it’s difficult not to be inspired by such inspiring people. They have been serving in Uganda, which is where one of my daughters spent a semester of college, so I was especially interested.
It was fascinating to hear Greg share how excited the African people are to get things we take for granted today – like the Bible, a preferred coffee table decoration across the South. I have at least a dozen translations – plus an app on my phone with Scripture, and even the entire Word on tape – while some people are literally begging for a copy.
One thing that really struck me is how people in the villages they serve make time for the things they consider important. In many ways, Americans are slaves to the clock, constantly watching our watches until the two hands line up in a specific way that tells us it’s time to do something different. (I should know, since my career is built on deadlines.)
Meanwhile, in Uganda one man is riding his bicycle several miles each way across rocky terrain just to participate in a free Bible study. Pastors at far-away churches are joining him by taking a “taxi” – a minivan packed with about two dozen people – for eight- to 10-hour trips. And people will stop what they’re doing in the middle of the market to join in a conversation about God.
David Brown is publisher of the Cherokee Scout. You can reach him by phone, 837-5122; email, dbrown@cherokeescout.com; or on Twitter @daviddBstroh.