Your Opportunity
Each day that goes by since this virus has taken over our lives, news media, social media, we all want answers. What to do? What’s next? And the answers never come.
By now, we all should know that this is personal and not to lean or depend on someone telling us what to do.
You have the world at your fingertips to learn, educate yourself, but in the long run, if you want to know who to trust, look in the mirror. On the other hand….
As humans we are responsible to take care of those in need. Our local food bank has a great need, greater than ever before. Can you share what you have or can you donate money so they can purchase food? If you live in Turtle Cove, write a check and put it in an envelope addressed to the Jasper County Food Bank and drop it in the slot by the front door. Or you can leave food in the barrel out front.
If you live in Monticello or near the city, Ameris Bank is a drop off for checks. Or you can mail a check to Jasper County Food Bank, P.O. Box 254, Monticello, Ga 31064.
Remember when you were a senior in high school and the excitement of graduation and the prom and the anticipation of what to do for your future. This year for as far back as most of can remember, The Monticello News will not have photos of girls in fancy dresses, guys in tuxedos as they attend their prom.
There will be no pictures in the scrapbook of sons and daughters in their cap and gowns receiving a diploma on the stage. If you know a graduate, make sure they know that they are special even if it is a homemade sign on a mailbox or on a stick. They are old enough to remember, give them a good memory. There can never be enough kindness.
Students are missing their classmates and teachers and the stability of school. Home school works for some, but many need that extra help that teachers provide. Students sitting in front of a computer screen, trying to learn, parents attempting to help, we can’t let them fall through the cracks. Education is the key to having a career instead of just a job.
Call your neighbors, keep in touch, that is an easy way to show you care. Thank the people at the grocery store, the pharmacy, the other essential stores for being there for us. If you have a patient portal for your doctor, send an email thanking them for helping us.
If you are on social media or a neighborhood blog, send a positive message every day, instead of finding faults, find a good, even if it is some crazy dessert you made out of non-conventional items or a game for a family.
It is obvious that we should all learn from this experience. What are our weaknesses, what are our strengths, have we missed a lot of nature and seeing the world, what can we do to help. Each person has a talent.
In the end, we are responsible for our own selves, our fate, our destiny. Imagination goes a long way.
My parents lived through the Great Depression. From studying their lives and learning on the job so to speak, I found that they were not goal oriented, but were spur-of-the moment people. Why? Because tomorrow is never promised, you only have today, so make the most of it.
Marshall Mathers, III, aka Eminem, sang it right, “The moment, you own it, you better never let it go. You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow. This opportunity comes once in a lifetime. Would you capture it or let it slip?”