If you were asked to paint this past September, what pastel would you pick for the month?
My choice would be blue.
Blue is my favorite color.
But there’s a flip side to beautiful blue, as in “I’m in a blue mood.”
Yeah, this past month made me that kind of blue.
Sept. 11, 2001
First, there was the 24th anniversary of 9/11. The senseless loss of innocent lives always makes me sad. More than that, the demonic deeds of terrorists didn’t stop on Sept. 11, 2001.
I join others in praying that this Pearl Harbor-type horror will never strike American soil again. And then there are those ugly reports of death and destruction in the Middle East.
I am an eternal optimist, but much of what’s in today’s news makes me blue, very blue.
Classmates dying
September was a sad month for Jesup High School’s Class of 1966. Every year, we lose more and more of our friends. But last month, four classmates died before mid-September.
My dear friend and mentor, the late Dr. Lanier Harrell, reminded me that “dying is a part of living.” But that doesn’t make it any easier. Now that they are gone, it’s our role to keep alive the memories of Winston Purcell, Grady Marr, Jean Hatton and Larry Brannen.
Our class elected Larry “Mr. JHS.” Now, he joins “Miss JHS,” Tricia Bennett Armstrong, in our reel of unforgettable memories.
Doc was right.
But that doesn’t make me any less blue.
Courthouse fire
Courthouses make a statement about a community. Wayne County’s governmental structure has been standing tall on Brunswick Street. since 1903. On Sept. 26, smoke billowed out of the historic bell tower.
Within minutes after the attic blaze erupted, my phone was lighting up. Friends were right. I wanted to know.
My emotions were twofold:
§ I prayed that no one was injured and that swift action could save the courthouse.
§ Of course, I was blue. There are so many personal courthouse stories in my mental archives. I was especially sad that there was absolutely nothing that I could do.
In Septembers of the future, I hope that Wayne County can look back and say, “We did the right thing about our courthouse.”
If we want an example of what’s possible, I suggest a case study on how Hancock County’s magnificent courthouse rose from the ashes of its 2014 fire. And for tips on what not to do, study what Hart County did after its 1967 fire. Its replacement courthouse looks as though Sputnik landed in Mayberry.
Bama, again?
In the global picture, college football is just a game.
But that’s nowhere near the truth if your blood runs “red and black,” as it does for Georgia Bulldog fans. (Or whatever colors signify your favorite team.)
If you had high hopes of Georgia’s beating Alabama’s Crimson Tide, you went to bed sad on Saturday night. Yes, there were flickers of a second-half comeback miracle. But the Saban Curse—even though Nick’s not calling the plays anymore—still haunts the Red and Black.
Three things haunt me: that fumble, that dropped TD pass and not kicking that field goal to tie the score.
But what do I know?
I only know that I am blue Bama beat the Dawgs, again.
Yeah, I am ready for something beyond September’s sadness.
Hello, October.
dnesmith@cninewspapers.com
