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Show Opinion jPag-- e November 23 2001 The Summit County Bee Page A2 Toll Mo About It Out Of ThE Blue by Leon Slmlster I liui's here they came from 1. ili.il tlav I1) horrendously a Jisaslcr unparcllcd during any span ol' peace. As horrihle as it u as - and is - il has resulted in an 1 1 crc-jini- j! enormous of American togetherness and deep, deep gratitude lor the blessings each tine of us American citizens can he thankful for. Yes, ils Thanksgiving lime, and we all seem to lellecl oil what blessings we have had throughout the past veai. and thioughtHil our entire lives for that niattei. liut this year, there is a greater aura of patriotism, units . deep gratitude prevalent all over America than we have witnessed for a limp, long time. Thai. loo. seems to be part of what came Out Of The Hlue." We all seem to be more aware and truly aprcciu(ive of our everyday blessings and especially, now, do we look at our everyday hemes. I'm talking about our law enforcement folks, our firemen. d doctors, nurses, medical personnel, and our superbly equipped clinics and hospitals (and all the personnel who wink therein). And don't forget the countless. unselfish, innumerable ordinary-fol- k volunteers. Yes. we even scent to appreciate more our incomparable form ol government; a voice "... by the people, for the people and of the people," as Abe Lincoln once said about our governmental structure. And. you know, maybe a lot of folks haven't thought lint much about anotltcr privilege wc have that is probably more important than many of the others. That would be freedom of speech, which allows each of us to sound off about almost anything we have on our minds (within certain limits, of course), without the fear of imprisonment. harsh treatment - death - even, in some nations of this earth. There are a lot of other "givens" to be thankful for. loo; things that wc take, virtually every day. for granted. Right up there at the lop of this list would, of course, he our deepest of feelings for family, friends and loved ones. And another big lump forms in our throat as wc think of all of the brave men and women serving in our armed forces (two of my grandsons are there), whose lives are virtually at risk every day as they perform their duties. Many of us overlook and think little of our amazing reservoir of ordinary resources. I'm thinking of our sometimes unappreciated simple things like the food, clothing and shelter we need every day of our lives. (ienerally speaking, most of us Americans arc fairly prosperous. tm. Especially is this factual when, we consider, for example, the pitiful existence brought lorcctully to mind by TV coverage of how the Afghan of religion? Yeah, that's a people live, biggee. Mow many religions are currently represented in America'. Il is my opinion, and I would venture to say. all of them have the freedom to practice (and are so doing) right here in this great country. For a total of all the different derivations of religion listed in the current World Almanac, I count 174 of em! Tell me any other country in the world can say they allow a told f reedom of worship, as we do? I doubt it. So we should be very grateful (and I think most of us are) for the myriads of blessings we Americans share on a daily basis. And before we get stale, perhaps even become tired of reiterating and reflecting number of blessings, we upon our impossihlc-to-coushould take time out to consider the very most important one of all - our American values. The greatest of all these values may even be our respect for each other. First of all he thankful that you respect yourself, then you can apply the same amount of respect to each and every other person in this, our nation. Reflect also upon our security as citizens. We're protected, no doubt about it. Sure, there are crimes committed every day in this country, and there are brutalities aplenty occurring also, but not on the grand scale that seems to he common in many other countries. I. along with most others, am grateful that American people are a generous people. We do not hesitate to help others in need. That's always been our credo. We're usually the first nation on earth to send help to other countries in trouble. Sure, it's expensive for us, and sure. maybeThey never reciprocate if we need help. But. that's just the way we Americans are, and I hope we'll always be. By and large, we're a praying group, too. I doubt if there arc many folks out there who do not realize that this land was set apart by a higher power to be what it has become. It had to be settled, inhabited by Godfearing people, properly organized and made govem-mcntalsound - by Devine Influence so that there would be at least one place made ready (at that time) on a planet that could render aid, and even become a haven for those suffering at (sometimes fleeing from) other earthly locations. Maybe, even, because He Who Knows All. also never forgets that all of us are children of His, even though mankind seems to. ly The Wav it Goes Some Arent As Lucky BY LAURIE WYNN Bee Managing Editor Thought for the day: Great occasions do not make heroes or cowards; they simply unveil them to the eyes of men. Silently and imperceptibly, as we wake or sleep, we grow strong or weak; and at last some crisis shows what we have become." - Brooke Foss Westcott. The events of recent history have given me an opportunity to take stock in my life and lately I have been dunking about all the things in my Ufe to be thankful for. There are, of course, die obvious things...My husband. Two beautiful healthy children. A comfortable home. Parents and family who are nearby. A job that I love. My health. I figure myself to be fortunate. Each day we are bombarded with stories and images of children. The youth of New York and Washington who lost their parents on September 11; children in foe middle east who have no homes to return to due to war; children who have been abused, neglected or sexually assaulted. Having gone through many Locally, we are fortunate to have foe WasatdiSummit Counties medical miracles with family . Children's Justice Center (WSCJC) so that when abuse of a child occurs, members and friends myself victim foe has to endure ore interview to get foe help they need. the only like his through years, I, family The staff of Wave Publishing became staunch supporters of the would have to add the modern WSCJC approximately two years ago when a member of our staff had a technology of helping with health d family member killed due to child abuse homicide. We saw problems to my list of things I am how difficult the system of interviewing child abuse victims is. It is not thankful for. Life threatening probuncommon for an abuse victim to have to relive their abuse during foe lems that years ago would have ten or more interviews needed to get through foe system. There had to been non treatable are being looked be a better way. The WSCJC is the answer and needs our help! with at excitement as patients find Wore Publishing is sponsoring a holiday event called Cottages for the their life expectancy expanded. Granted not all cases are cured as, Children. This gingerbread house display and silent auction will take place cm Saturday, December 1, from 11 am until 8 pm at CM Swiss we would like to have them isn't really up to us, but isn't it Square in Midway, 210 East Main Street Area children, businesses and professional bakers and chefs have wonderful that so many times we do see positive results! agreed to build and donate a gingnbread house to be auctioned off. To date, more than 50 creations have been donated. These wonderful peoMy thankful journal this week would have to include getting an ple are donating their time and talents to a worthy cause at this hectic time of year. However, to make this event a success, we need people to see to and opportunity many places attend the event and bid on foe gingerbread houses. take part in many opportunities This is where we need your help! which I wouldn't have if not for All houses will be auctioned off to the public by silent auction with I to to my job. get go meetings in all proceeds going to our WSCJC If you are the lucky high bidder and various places, talk with people I find intriguing and would not have get to take one erf the creations home, your donation to the WSCJC is met if not for writing, and find out what is really important in my life People attending Cottages for the Children can look forward to local entertainment, a Kid's Komer, and drawings for prizes. At foe holiday and through listening following Kid's Komer, children can decorate their own gingerbread cookie and stories-muc- h of which never find make a candy cane reindeer ornament to take home while their parthemselves being being expressed ents place their bids on their choice of gingerbread house. through print. Admission to this went is free, however donations to foe WSCJC It is for the good, positive stowill gladly be accepted. ries I reach and have found our We all have so much to be thankful for at this time of year. I filled with many treacommunity invite you to plan on attending this wonderful event and starting sures in the guise of people doing your holiday season off right things they don't want others to know about. There really are a lot Happy Turkey Day. See you on December 1st. Pam s PIace What a fast paced world we live in. and each week the deadline period for articles seems to come upon me before I am even hair through. But. when there is a holiday in the week, that time frame is beyond belief. So. I must express thanks to those who helped me out in the "Thanksgiving Thoughts" column for their help on short notice. They arc the best. I know it wasn't easy, but I guess we all have things wc arc thankful for all the time and that makes it a little easier. The big turkey day is this week and I came across a story that I did not know before, which someone sent to me and although I must admit there arc lots of things I don't know, this was interesting to me. The story tells the legend of the five kernels of com. With the Pilgrims experiencing a cold time that first Thanksgiving, there was little food to be had as well. Some days they only had five kernels of corn. When spring arrived the group planted the remaining com. The sun and rain helped the seeds grow and there was an abundant harvest the next fall. Each Thanksgiving after that, five seeds of corn would he placed at each setting to remind everyone of their first seed would blessings; remind them of the beauty of the Autumn season. 2- - To remind them of their love for one another. third would remind them to think of their families love. 4- - A reminder of friends, especially their freeIndian brothers and dom. I believe these sentiments would serve us well this year con sidering the state of affairs thmuglKHii our nation. As we gath- er with our families during the holiday season maybe we could somehow implement the five little seeds or some other item to teach our young ones to think about their blessings and to be thankful for them. I must admit I don't watch television as much as I used to. But. the other day an advertisement came on the screen and showed a young mother taking ketchup packets from containers, taking them home and adding them to water to feed her children. When the mother tries to get one child to taste some of the broth, he tells her he doesn't like it. That hits me hard every time I see it. Life deals out some pretty heavy stuff some limes but when children are involved the impact seems to be doubled. I heard on the news that New York and California are both experiencing a rise in homeless persons. I wonder if Utah will be next on the docket with so many people losing their jobs due to company shut downs. Guess we really do need to be more charitable and help one another more. I know I feel much better when I can help someone out. hut I lack in that department as I tell myself I am busy and will do it later. Writing for the paper has given me many opportunities to see" stories unfold from the inside out. This week as I touched in a very small way on a young boys life as he received a gift from the Make A Wish foundation, it made me feel proud to view his family and friends from the background as the love they felt for one another was so obvious. This handsome young man has gone through a lot in a very short time, yet his smile could light up aroom. There was no need for words to be spoken by him. for his character made it very clear he was grateful for what he had. first-han- be-th- at of great people in our midst-ange- ls among us, who go ahead in their daily lives drinking only of others with very little concern about themselves. They are truly my idols and heroes. I hope that during this Thanksgiving season we take time to show gratitude for and to those who help us each day. Our postal workers, firemen, police officers, EMS volunteers, our neighbors, friends and family. I extend my best wishes for a Happy Holiday Season to one and all. See Ya Next Tune. 336-550- 1 The Summit County Bee Coalville, UT 84017 or the Kamas Office, P.O. Box 225, 84036, no later than Karnasj, UT Monday noon to be considered for that week's issue of the paper coming out on Friday. The letters must be hand signed with full address and telephone number of the person writing foe letter. No letter will be published under an assumed name. Name may be withheld on request at the discretion of the managing editor or publisher of The Summit County Bee. They must not contain libelous or slandering material. Writers are limited to one letter in two weeks. Please by to hold the length of Letters to the Editor to approximately 300 words. The editor's of the Summit County Bee reserve the right to edit anchor condense Letters to the Editor Preference will be given to short, typewritten (double spaced) letters permitting the use of the writer's name. AH letters subject to condensation if they are too long for the space available. No politics endorsement letters will be published as Letters To The Editor. The views expressed in guest editorials or Letters To The Editor do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editors or publisher or express the viewpoint of this newspaper. Dick Buys Sue Buy In Summit County, Senior Gtiaen Discount, S1J in county; $27 by Wave rabUshlna Inc., I6S Saudi, 100 Wat, Hebet City, UT 84032. Periodical! IWia Paid at Coalville, UTM017. POSTMASTER: Send addro change to 7?ie SurwrtU County Bee, TO. Bos 7. Coalville, UT 84017. PaulMcFee Laurie Wynn Leon Simmer The entire paper contents of this newsis CopyrightC 2001 The Summit County Bee andor Wave Publidring, Nancy Davie Inc. Att rights reserved. MoneOyde DaveQodhey ElanQaidnar The 525-64- Summit County Bee (UPSP to pubiuhad eerUy far S 16 pa year No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written consent of the Managing Editor or Pubnsner. 4 I wel- comes Letters To The Editor on any subject They must adhere to the following guidelines: They must be received to the Coalville Office, P.O. Box 7, he Summit Counti Karan Davie Got a News Tip? Call us today! Letters To The Editor Policy 9 |