Long ago, in faraway France, a young lady reminded herself whenever she was lonely, “The world is your ship, not your home.” What she meant, in this Owl’s opinion, is that we can never be too attached to things here. Oh now, that isn’t a sad or bad thing. We love our families, cherish our friends, and sigh when we reflect on our treasured mementoes. What we should remember, though, is that all these things will go away. What will remain are only the consequences of what we did here during our transit in the ship of our life. As Charlie Chaplin said, we need to see life as a great adventure.

That’s why it’s good to see the things we have as gifts to help others. With so doing, we make even more friends, more cherished moments. I flew all around the county this week, making stops here and there to be astounded by how many good ways Limestonians take care of one another. At Lincoln-Bridgeforth Park I chanced upon Women Empowering Women, a local group whose director, Janice Williams, collects and gives away food and clothes to those who need it. Simple, and effective. She and her dynamic family and helpers — especially one, a dynamic young man named Thomas — collate goods from places and people all around our county. They maintain a food pantry, a complete clothes collection, and an overabundance of goodwill to give away. Give away. All given away for free. If you’d like to donate something, (remember Thanksgiving is coming up), they’ll be happy to see those who are poor or suffering among us get it. This year they plan to give away 100 turkeys at Thanksgiving … or 101 if you can help. Call Janice at (256) 233-5995 to offer a donation of anything, or maybe drop by some canned goods Oct. 15 when they collect goods outside Walmart from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Why stop there? My adventurous ship of the air took me also to the Farmer’s Market. There I was pleasantly surprised to see our Athens-Limestone Public Library giving away books to little princesses, superheroes, and costumed tykes in general. What a great, caring idea. Lots of book donations to our library from those who want to share were here given freely to those who want to read, to develop their own ideas of the good to be found in this world. Bravo! And how about this? Frazier Christian/Methodist/Episcopal Church on Hine Street had a bread, eggs, and milk giveaway. In fact, they have such a kindly offering every weekend at their church parking lot. All you have to do is be there, and not only do you get these staples of life, but a reminder that here are friends who are doing something straight from their hearts, which are as big as Limestone County!

Just go out in your car (or, if you are another bird reading this, fly) and see what is out there. Find out what’s coming up in our county, and share what you have. That old glass bowl sitting, gathering dust in your cabinet, could be the pride and joy of someone who might remember you because of it. Or the tools you can’t use, or have replaced, might be just what your neighbor needs. Make a gift of these, and all the other stuff you haven’t looked at for years. Luckily, we Owls have permanent feathers, so we don’t have closets crammed to the gills with clothes we don’t wear, or “will wear when I lose 5, 10, 15 pounds.” Give it away! Give it to a community sale, or donate it to the Janices, the Goodwills, or the helpful, hopeful causes all around us. Your ship will be welcomed in any port, and your visit will be received with joy. Your payment, I know, will be a joy you could never imagine. Life is an adventure!