Angels in America
There really are Angels in America. I want to share an experience I had [Monday] morning.
I had biked to the post office annex in Pawleys Island with two letters to mail and discovered they didn’t have stamps. When I reached into my pocket for my wallet, it wasn’t there. A wonderful lady next to me insisted on buying the stamps for me and expressed her concern about my wallet.
As I left the store, she offered to drive me home to make sure I had actually taken the wallet. I was going to retrace my steps on the bike, but she thought we had a better chance of finding it if we drove off immediately.
Sure enough, she spotted it on the side of the road not far from my street. Apparently, it had fallen out of my pocket as I biked along the road.
This is not the first time that I have lost something and someone came to my assistance. We hear such negativity about the world and how people are uncaring, but I have been fortunate enough in the few instances where I lost something that someone was there for me.
Thank you, Sonia. And I don’t recall her last name, but she lives in Willbrook Plantation, so if you know her, please call her and tell her what a wonderful person she is.
Joyce Goodchild
Pawleys Island
Need a traffic light
My name is Jennifer Rozak. I live in the Murrells Inlet area of Georgetown County, and my children attend Waccamaw Intermediate and Waccamaw Middle School. I would like to request a red light at the intersection of Sandy Island Road and Highway 17.
While traveling to pick up my children at school, I have learned that this is a busy intersection to make a left turn. Highway 17 is busy, and travelers are usually traveling at speeds of 55 miles per hour or more.
Also, this intersection is the only route to travel north on Highway 17. I have attempted to leave the school and make a left turn at Willbrook Boulevard. Only issue, we can only turn right onto Willbrook Boulevard from Wildcat way and make a U-turn to travel to the red light. There are numerous signs on Willbrook Blvd. that restrict U-turns so this is not a proper option. Most people opt to turn left onto Highway 17 at Sandy Island road for this reason.
A red light would ensure safety for our children and parents traveling to Waccamaw Middle and Waccamaw Intermediate School. I feel it is of the utmost importance that we keep our children safe while traveling to these schools regardless of cost.
Also, I am concerned that buses are traveling this same route. Again, a red light at the intersection of Sandy Island Road and Highway 17 would make traveling easier for the buses, too.
Thank you so much for your attention to this matter.
Jennifer Rozak
Murrells Inlet
Strange bedfellows??
I'm always somewhat surprised by the letters that appear simultaneously on the editorial page. Last Friday was no exception with Reuben Goude and Art Blenk vying for the angriest contributor of the month award.
Their comments are remarkably similar in tone, much like those of a crusty old married couple who can barely stand one another. Except for Goude's vitriol, I find myself in odd agreement with much of his letter, especially the part about withdrawing our military from all its outposts and minding our own business for a change, come what may. Normalizing relations with Cuba is long overdue, and leaves our country last in line again. Pride is a dangerous indulgence.
Mr. Blenk reminds me of that saying about “meaning what you say, and saying what you mean.” In his case, what he really means is more than likely unprintable in this newspaper. His disappointment is palpable, like so many others in the sour grapes party. He is the poster child representing exactly why the GOP failed to carry the day, and why it should be symbolized not by the venerable elephant, but by the extinct brontosaurus. See you in 2016 Art!
Tom Hill
Georgetown
“I'll be Home for Christmas” …
For years, I, and as many of you reading this, have heard or sung many songs during the Christmas holidays. “Silent Night, Away in a Manger, I'll Be Home for Christmas” just to name a few. These songs, as beautiful as they are, took on a new life and new meaning after I took a new job in 2011. Now, the same beautiful words haunt me this time of year …
Last year, I became the new director of Saint Frances Animal Center in Georgetown, our local animal shelter. This past December was my first holiday season with the Center and we did what all businesses do during that time of year; we decorated a very meager tree, streamed the hallways with garland and played Christmas music over the sound system. Yet, this new job was very different during the holidays… “I wanted to take my work home with me!” And by 'work' I mean the many, many furry faces that I had to leave all alone on Christmas Eve.
I turned off the lights, unplugged the tree and locked the front door behind me. As I pulled out of the drive of Saint Frances on December 24, 2011, my heart was very heavy thinking about the little furry ones I was leaving behind on this 'silent night'. As I began to leave, I turned on my car radio to try and bring my spirits up. “Big mistake!” Song after song came over the radio. “Have yourself a merry little Christmas”, “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack frost nipping at your nose … and the worst song I could have heard, “I'll be home for Christmas”.
While this song seeped into my psyche as I was pulling away, I saw our sweet 10-year-old 'office' dog named Princess standing in the doorway, nose pressed to the glass, watching me as I drove away. “Did she know it’s Christmastime, at all?” I wondered. It upset me so to think that Princess would not be home for Christmas, nor would any of her 200+ unadopted roommates who remained at SFAC. Heartbroken, I drove away.
This memory and the holiday songs that I heard that night will always haunt me. That night was Princess's last Christmas Eve. She never made it 'home for Christmas'. Princess died in February of this year in our shelter … not in a home.
Many shelter dogs and cats live their entire lives in a cell. No mom. No dad. No special treats or toys. No fluffy bed. The staff, volunteers and I do our best to make every animal at Saint Frances feel loved and wanted, but as always, we need your help. During this holiday season and throughout the year, please remember the ones who are still looking for a place to call 'home'.
Millions of homeless animals will spend this holiday season without sparkling lights, holiday treats and most disturbingly … without a family. If you have an empty space at the foot of your bed or a blanket that needs to be curled up upon, please consider fostering or adopting a dog or cat from Saint Frances Animal Center. “Wouldn't it be great if they all were home for Christmas?”
If you would like to help in our fight against abandonment, overpopulation, cruelty and neglect of the innocent, homeless cats and dogs in Georgetown County, please call us at 1.843.546.0780, write to us at wgoudesfac@gmail.com, send a gift to 125 Ridge Street, Georgetown SC 29440 and/or give a cat or dog a loving home, please visit our website www.sfanimals.org .
Please support Saint Frances Animal Center this holiday season as well as in 2013.
Please adopt, don’t shop.
Wendy M. Goude
Saint Frances Animal Center
Georgetown