A poem: ‘Miracle of Christmas’
It would soon be Christmas Eve
When Santa would make his flight
Visiting children around the world
All done in just one night.
Magic made the reindeer fly
With Rudolph in the lead
Magic refilled Santa’s bag with toys
While traveling at great speed.
Each year Santa’s list grows longer
Children let their request be known
All ages and size write letters
From toddlers to those near grown.
Santa being a good-size man
Adds weight the reindeers must pull
But the elves and Santa work magic
Keeping Santa’s gift bag full.
The charted flight is matched up
To each stop Santa Claus will make
Figured down to the second
How much time this should take.
Knowing some leave Santa treats out
Extra minutes are allowed
The reindeer speed will make the time up
As they fly above the clouds.
They must keep a watch for planes
There’s always several in the sky
Pilots watch out for Santa, too,
Amazed how fast the reindeer fly.
At crack of dawn the night is over
Santa’s journey is at an end
A few days of rest is surely needed
Then preparation for next year will begin.
Gerri Sneed
Murphy
Did Avett hit a nerve?
Wally Avett hit a nerve and a hornet’s nest at the same time. He did provoke a response from many directions. A good journalist is supposed to provoke one to think, respond and get involved. You may not like his delivery, but he also has a good point. Why are 800,000 Americans dead?
I too, am saddened and perplexed as to why more people do not get vaccinated. This insidious Covid-19 crisis imposed on us needs to be defeated on a worldwide scale, not just locally. We have the ability to stop it.
It hurts even more when I know of three close friends deciding not to get the shot who passed away. One was quite arrogant about the vaccine effectiveness, while the other two were thinking it wouldn’t happen to them. Perhaps if it hits close to you where you lose a family member, then you will consider making an educated decision.
I could sense the anger and frustration that Avett had for the resistance to medical professionals who know a lot more than local letter writers about the Covid. It is a shame that some will not listen to medical professionals who have dedicated their lives to help others in infectious disease prevention.
Please follow the latest information from the U.S. Center for Disease Control & Prevention, a nonpartisan agency, as the best go to folks in the know. I would follow that up with the National Institute of Health, then keep going to the consensus of national experts and local doctors who follow the data closer than all of us. I trust them more since they have spent years helping us stay well.
We are constantly learning more about this dreaded disease, and we can overcome it with knowledge, common sense and truly caring for one another.
Mike Lalone, Murphy
Scorn from building sale
On Dec. 6, American Legion Post 96 held its monthly meeting. At that meeting, a vote was held pertaining to the forced sale of the Murphy Veterans Building. This building was initially gifted free of charge by a local family to the veterans of Cherokee County in gratitude for their sacrifice and service to our country.
The property at 63 Drew Taylor Road in Peachtree was deeded in thirds, to the local chapters of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans and American Legion.
Unfortunately, the wording of the deed transfer was not worded in such a way as to protect one organization from the actions of another.
Local membership in the VFW dwindled to the point that they chose to enter into a covert agreement with the DAV to allow the DAV to purchase their third of the property. This left the DAV owning two-thirds of the property, with the Legion owning its original one third.
Neither national nor the American Legion Department of North Carolina have any investment in or control over the Veterans Building. The building was given to the three organizations at the local level, not
state or national. During its occupancy, Legion Post 96 that carried most of the weight of building maintenance, upkeep, grounds care, appliance, i.e., HVAC refrigerator, ceiling lights and fan. Post 96 has been paying the insurance, water and electric. This has not always been easy, but we have gotten through with fundraisers and donations.
For undeclared reasons, DAV officials at the state level demanded the local DAV commander sign over their rights to the Veterans Building to the state DAV offices, at which point North Carolina DAV initiated court proceedings to force the Legion to sell its one third, thus depriving its members, (every one of them is an American Veteran) of the use of the building that had been given to them.
I do not assume to know nor understand the reason that drove the North Carolina DAV to abandon its oath to defend the rights and welfare of our veterans, but if is a desire for financial gain, I suggest that they do what other not-for-profit organizations do: organize a fundraiser.
No matter how this turns out, till my dying day I, as a proud American veteran, will have nothing but disgust and scorn for the leadership of the N.C. Disabled American Veterans organization.
Oh, the results of the vote – 17-0 for not allowing the building to be sold.
Rich LeCount, Murphy
Grateful for paint and rug
I respectfully want to thank Hughes Electric and Carpet Mart for donating the paint and area rug for our new therapy room at Hiwassee Dam School. The children and staff have really enjoyed it.
With much gratitude,
Laurie Jones, Andrews
The writer is an occupational therapist.
A Christian nation here
In 1892, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled: “We are a Christian people.”
This ruling 130 years ago has never been challenged. Justice David Brewer wrote: “This is a Christian nation.” He argued that no federal law should ever be interpreted to harm the great missions and gospel of the church.
The Supreme Court reaffirmed that ruling in 1932, saying, “We are a Christian people.”
Brewer went on to write a book in 1905 called United States: A Christian Nation.
This is a passage from his book: “I insist that Christianity has been so wrought into the history of this republic, so indentified with its growth and prosperity, has been so dear to the hearts of the great body of our citizens, that it ought not be spoken of contemptuously or treated with ridicule.”
David Bock, Murphy
On the great tree feud here
I set out a walnut tree in my front yard when I bought my property – it was about 2 feet high when I set it out in the fall of 1979. Now it is about 50 feet high and 2 feet around the tree.
Every time I go into the front yard, that tree starts throwing walnuts at me. It makes me so mad. I go into the house and get my pistol and I shoot that tree.
This is a warning – do not set walnut tree in your yard. I have been in a feud with this tree for about 10 years. It keeps throwing walnuts at me, and I keep shooting holes in it.
I don’t know who will win this war, the tree or me.
Ben H. Ashe, Murphy
P.S. I made a deal with the squirrels that I wouldn’t charge them for the walnuts. That tree has thrown all the walnuts down, and in the fall he starts throwing leaves covering my yard. So I guess the tree is winning the feud. I hope this letter puts a smile on your face – a smile is 100 times better than a frown. Merry Christmas to everyone.
Omicron & arguments
Good news about the Omicron variant?
Some are theorizing Omicron is good news ... It spreads so rapidly and easily, and rarely kills. It may steadily provide us with little bits of herd immunity, for free; which would allow us to quit arguing with each other.
Harry Holdorf, Brasstown
Big thanks for Biden
Thanks to President Joe Biden’s aggressive approach to dealing with the pandemic, the United States continues to fare better than nearly any other nation on Earth. We’d be in a better position if not for the anti-vaxxers, as 87 percent of hospitalizations are unvaccinated.
Local doctors have been vaccinated and implored us to do the same. When it comes to health care, and probably most other things, they are smarter than you or I. Listen to them.
Thanks to Biden’s economic policy, which focused on getting money into the hands of ordinary Americans rather than granting huge tax cuts to billionaires, we’ve seen an extraordinary recovery from the pandemic – a 7.8 percent annual growth rate in the Gross Domestic Product after factoring in inflation. The S&P 500, the truest reflection of the health of our largest businesses, jumped 21.7 percent from January to December.
His massive infrastructure plan that just became law finally puts us on the road to leaving future generations a healthy planet. The Build Back Better plan, if passed, would help the entire country even more.
Less visible but no less impactful have been the thousands of talented, highly qualified appointees he has made to regulatory agencies, the judiciary and ambassadorships. These are areas that took a terrible toll under the previous administration’s good ol’ boy policy of placing political cronies in sensitive positions for which they were unqualified.
When you consider the act Biden had to follow and the challenges he has faced, his accomplishments in his first year in office are nothing short of miraculous. Even if he is unable to overcome Republican intransigence, stonewalling and the democracy-destroying effects of gerrymandering, he will leave behind a lasting legacy of integrity that has made most of us proud again.
Thanks, Joe!
Glenn J. Kolp, Andrews