Same old song still needs repeating

Published 2:47 am Thursday, May 25, 2006

By Staff
Each year there are more shining faces placed in rows.
Putting the over 700 senior pictures in our community yearbook, I couldn't help but ponder what the years will bring to these graduates of the Class of 2006.
Many have already chosen their college or university and are eagerly awaiting the day when they can finally get out of the house and from under their parents' watchful eyes.
I still remember packing the family car and trucking the few hours away to college. Finally no more dollies on my maple furniture and I could actually put up posters and decorate the walls whatever way I wanted.
There were snacks, books and a typewriter - no i-pods or computers. We used this white tape to make corrections, or needed to completely retype our term papers when we made a mistake.
Unlike many freshmen, my experience still had shades of adults hovering - the sisters (nuns) lived right across the street.
I was always amazed at how crazy many of the kids got that first year. A weekend spent drinking was the norm for many, followed by hours in the bathroom and classes missed on Monday morning.
One weekend I went with a friend and her boyfriend in his convertible for a ride.
They had a verbal fight in the vehicle and I made him stop the car to let me out. In his anger, his driving was much too fast and I feared for my life.
Instead he slowed down and promised to bring me back to the dorm in one piece. I believe the end would have been much different had I not spoke up.
Drinking and driving, the same old song. In the many years which have passed since my own graduation, I had attended wakes and funeral for people who were much too young to drive.
The lives shattered are never quite the same. No weddings and grandchildren in the future of those who died way too soon.
Along with example, parents need to talk to their children. The importance of careful driving and proper friends cannot be down played.
On another note, I have enjoyed reading a new book by a former Cass County resident, Antoinne “Tony” Evans.
Evans was nice enough to have his publisher, PublishAmerica of Baltimore, Md. send me a copy. The book is available at Amazon.com.
Evans has come a long way in his life and done something many of us only dream about - getting our very own book published.
Some of his stories are tales he heard as a boy, from his grandparents and from former slaves. Some just made me laugh out loud, while others made me angry or sad.
I have never been a big fan of poetry, except for a few very short ones I was forced to memorize in grade school. Reading his poems though, I made word pictures in my mind which I really found amusing.
Evans' life was hard and his suffering enabled him to relate to others who had suffered before him.
In his stories though I can sense he is a survivor.
My favorite story might turn a few people off but just the idea of it intrigued me. Two young boys come up with an idea of a business providing a meal for their master. The delicious “coon” brought the boys a few coins, as did the search for the master's lost cat. Maybe I just have a sick sense of humor.
While I am talking about books, I do hope all the students out there have learned what a wide world there is following school. Books allow us to enter that world from our chair.
Learning doesn't end with that diploma, instead it should be just the beginning of a wonderful life.
Each generation seems to have more opportunities than the one before. My own children have been able to travel the world easier than I ever could.
Sure jobs are scarce, gas prices are high, but America is still the land of opportunity. Many families in other countries save money for their children to just have a chance to visit or study here.
Good luck to all of our graduates and I hope to print your names again in the future for your important accomplishments.