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DAILY COMMERCIAL
Friday, March 9, 2012
‘Lives of great men all remind us’
hen I was a
little girl we
studied the
great American poets in
grade school. “Lives of
great men all remind us
not to take our lives in
vain,” is a quote from one
of those poets and even
WikIpedia, the on-line
encyclopedia doesn’t recognize it. Do you?
Poetry can affect you
and help you be a better
person. My favorite poem
of all time was written by a
black man, one of our
own, James Weldon
Johnson. He was born in
Jacksonville in 1871 and
was educated at Atlanta
University and Columbia
University. Poetry was one
of his many accomplish-
W
ments. In 1927 he published a book of poetry
called “God’s Trombones.”
It consists of seven sermons in verse done after
the manner of the old
plantation sermons. “The
Creation” is one of those
poems. It is so beautiful it
can make you cry. Isn’t
that what poetry is meant
to do? Poetry can give you
insight into minds and
hearts. The simple language of this poem is what
makes it so beautiful. We
didn’t study it in school
but we should have.
This column started out
to be about parenting and
indeed it still is. We are
neglectful parents if we
don’t point our children to
some of the great literature
Nina Gilfert
FROM THE PORCH STEPS
that is available to them. I
know it is hard to get kids
to read what is required of
them in school much less
get them to read the classics in their spare time. My
boys never stood still long
enough. After they got big
enough to slide down off
my knee and run away, I
couldn’t get them to read
much. My daughters did
enjoy reading some if I tied
them to a chair.
A friend said to me
“Doesn’t it scare you that
our newspapers are going
the way of the dinosaur
and young people don’t
read books anymore.”
It is scary. Books are so
much more than a tool for
education and entertainment. They are also our
connection to the past
and to all the great
philosophers and great
men and women.
Sometimes even a quote
that stands alone (and you
can’t remember where it is
from ) causes you to take
your life more seriously
and realize that you can
make a difference.
Children today are so
precocious but in ways we
don’t always understand.
Sometimes I feel we are
losing the old values. Our
ideas of lifelong marriages
and two parent households
where children are cherished and cared for by parents in the old traditional
ways are all but forgotten.
Change can be good but
there has to be something
to take the place of the old
ways that is at least as
good. Single parenting is
not one of those things. I
admire women who accept
the challenge and work
hard to be the best parents
they can be, but no matter
how roles change children
still need a man in the
house.
Children also need to
learn about the past. There
are a lot of lessons in
studying the past. One of
the lessons is that one person can make a difference
when motivated.
Teach your children to
believe in something. Don’t
depend on the public
school system to educate
them for life. The best
chools can’t take the place
of parental guidance. If you
don’t feel confident in that
respect, read. Read histories and philosophies and
poetry. Learn about your
family history and pass it
on to your children. Tell
them about their ancestors
who came to this country
without much but the
clothes on their backs. I
was proud to learn that my
ancestor, William Stitt,
came to America in about
1750 from Ireland with a
wife and child. He was only
18. He served in the
Revolutionary War.
Someone from the Stitt
family served in every war
the United States has
fought since then. Knowing
where you came from can
help you understand who
you are and what you can
become.
Most of us never reach
our full potential but parents can help their children
take pride in their past and
recognize what the future
can hold for them if they
are willing to work for it.
The future of our country is
in their hands. They need
to understand the reason
for its existence. They need
to know both the good and
the bad in her past.
Most important of all,
take them to church. Give
them the opportunity to
acquire a faith. It has to be
their faith not yours. It has
to be something they can
live with and believe.
Parenting is not just diapers and night time vigils
or getting them to school
on time. Help them acquire
a philosophy to live by.
Nina Gilfert can be reached at [email protected].
WILDWOOD | MLK DAY BANQUET
Program honoring civil rights leader also recognizes bus drivers
Special to the Daily Commercial
The community of Royal
hosted what was one of the
largest MLK Day Banquets
ever in January at the Royal
Community Center. The
event, hosting ongoing celebrations in honor of Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr.,
included the presentation
of Service Awards by ERIC
SUBER from Sumter County
Schools recognizing a number of bus drivers in the
community that transport
children to and from school.
Drivers honored were:
IDA ANDERSON, GLORIA
BROOKS, JOANNE BROOKS,
JOHN L. BROOKS, LEE TAFT
BROOKS, LORENZA BROOKS,
ANNETTE BROWN, CHESTER
BROWN, IVORY GREEN, ARVIS
HARRISON,
ANNETTE
JACKSON, LILLIE JACKSON,
JOEANNE JOHNSON, WYNONA
JOHNSON, EARLINE KIRKLAND,
DIANE NOLAN, GRACIE OWENS,
WALLACE RICHARSON, MS. L.
SPLIT, SUSIE STEELE, AMY
TURKS, BARBARA WILLIAMS,
DORTHINE WILLIAMS and
NATHANIEL WILLIAMS.
The banquet also includ-
COURTESY PHOTO
Alfreda Sanchez, mistress of ceremonies; Eric Suber, with the
Sumter District Schools and Susie Steele, bus driver at the Royal
MLK Banquet in Wildwood.
ed singing, food, readings
of poet Maya Angelou by
evangelist MINNIE KEILER
and praise dancing by
VANITY ANGEL KELLY.
ALFREDA SANCHEZ served
as mistress of ceremony
and ERIC SUBER, with the
Sumter District School,
also was in the program.