The News Courier encourages letters to the editor. Submissions should be no more than 400 words and should include a name, address and telephone number for verification. Submissions that do not meet requirements are subject to editing. Send letters by noon on Thursdays to P.O. Box 670, Athens, Ala., 35613, or e-mail to kelly@athensnews-courier.com.





Life outlook changed

Dear Editor:

This past Saturday needing a much-earned quiet break from holidays and football games I slipped away to a local coffee house with a good book and an hour to myself. Little did I know how much that hour would touch my heart and profoundly change my outlook on life.

As I was bundled in my coat, hat and gloves, sipping my tea and reading, mere inches from me was a man dressed in thin sweats, an undershirt, tennis shoes and no socks. Shivering and trying not to be obvious he quietly stood in a corner trying to get warm. I was amazed! This after all is Athens … and this was obviously a homeless person — here in Athens right next to me.

I sat and quietly watched the people around me come to the same uneasy conclusion. Eventually a young police officer came in and told him to move on.

Wake up Athens. We do have homeless people in our midst. This is no longer just a big city problem. Times they are a-changing — and fast. Although I am not from around here, I consider Athens the home of my heart. It is always much easier to think of things such as homelessness as a problem in other places — we need to look closer.

I worked a night job for a while recently and trust me when I tell you these problems are alive and well in Athens. Bleachers, hospital waiting rooms, pickup truck beds (perhaps the one parked in your driveway) are off the ground sleeping areas. These are not just drifters or druggies. Some are children. Some are veterans. They could be my brother or your daughter. But for the grace of God it could be us.

Yes, Athens, they walk among us and I for one will never sit by quietly and not reach out again. I will be walking among you, reaching out, trying to help whether it be a warm coat, a hot meal or a warm spiritual touch. I will walk with my eyes open.

Wake up Athens!



Sincerely,

Shannon Sims

Athens





Why run for eggs?

Dear Editor:

Why is that when we see white stuff falling from the sky our minds automatically race back to our agrarian days and we go into a panic to round up the proverbial herd?

An employee at the local Publix store said they have never had a day like yesterday as there was a massive run on milk, bread and eggs. That begs another question. Why eggs? I can understand milk and even bread as both of these items could be used in the event we were stranded in our homes with no power, to sustain the average person till the quarter inch of snow were to melt. However, the eggs?! Do we have a huge population of raw egg protein consumers who feel the need to lock themselves inside and do power squats if the grass has a white tint to it?

Or maybe we in the South are under the assumption that eating large quantities of raw eggs will enable us to brave the white out and bring down the big game so that we can sustain our starving families through the winter. Come on people. It is time to remove yourself from the herd and begin to use our God-given logic.

When is the last time any "Valley" weatherman has accurately predicted a big snowstorm? In fact I am under the firm belief that a weatherman is the absolute best job possible to hold.

Think about it. It’s the only job where its holder can be wrong 100 percent of the time in any given week and still come to work the following Monday. To cut the weatherman a little slack, he does get the temperature in the ballpark (remember the 5 degree guarantee). However, our Southern weathermen just have a super hard time predicting snow.

Also when is the last time a snowstorm has knocked out power? Maybe an ice storm but are we so far removed from cold weather and entrenched in our globally-warmed climate — which is proved by the recent sub 20 temps we've had, thanks for the heads up, Gore, — that we have forgotten that snow and ice are not the same thing. What's more, how exactly will 1 inch of snow keep me locked inside? It’s not even enough snow to cover my grass. For crying out loud, my 4-year-old daughter wanted to play in it.

If the temps and conditions have really turned our little Southern world into a frosty arctic tundra then don't you think it would be too much for a 4-year-old?

Lastly, I must return to why the eggs? It still doesn't make sense to me that in the face of impending power outages, impassible roads and frozen water supplies that the people as a whole would need raw eggs.

Maybe it is to egg the houses of the inaccurate panic-inducing weathermen.



Sincerely,

Stuart Wilson

Athens