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Letters to the Editor

Rob Warren:
Dear Editor,

To lose a child in the prime of his life is a terrible tragedy. Rob Warren died a few days ago; he was 24. We attended his funeral with an overflow crowd at Christ Episcopal Church. Margaret cried; I saw a lot of ladies cry. I had a hard time restraining tears myself, because I have children and I knew how his family felt.

As a newcomer in Holly Springs, I did not know Rob too well. He was a good looking kid attending Marshall Academy; he probably was in his early years. He was mowing lawns in various places in the city. I saw him once in a while at the City Cafe with his father. He attended our church. We became a little better acquainted when he started taking care of our yard about two years ago. By then I was aware of the dreadful disease that afflicted him, cancer!

In spite of that, Rob was dependable, pleasant, friendly, polite and always did a good job. His work finished, he would sit on our front porch, drink a glass of water to cool off and we would talk for a short while. He never complained, never mentioned the bad break life had given him. He spoke of his work, his futures and his hopes.

Suzie, our little dog, who barks at most everybody passing in front of our yard, or at people who come to our house, never barked at Rob. Prissy, our little white cat, went to him to be petted. Suzie and Prissy are smart. They had figured in their little brains that Rob was a good guy, a friend, somebody special, somebody they could trust.

Despite repeated bouts with his sickness, Rob kept on mowing lawns. I was surprised and worried by his stamina, working in the hot summer heat, sometimes til late in the evening. Later on I saw him proudly wear his uniform, as a sheriff’s officer.

I thought and hoped that he was getting better. He died! Reading his obituary in The Commercial Appeal I was amazed at all the degrees, honors and awards he had gathered in spite of his plight. Rob accomplished more in his short life span than most of us do in all our lives.

Rob did not lose his fight with cancer. He won it. He showed us how to live, fight, work and hope valiantly. Stoically in spite of his adversity, he probably faced death every day of his young life.

Yes, I know that he is no longer with us, but he fought the good fight bravely til the end. I believe that he is gone, just because the good Lord needed a good, courageous young man to work for Him in his heaven, and He chose Rob.

To his family, his friends, Margaret and I extend our deepest feelings of sympathy and sorrow. We share your loss. We will miss Rob; Holly Springs will miss him. Our city, our country needs more young men like him. We will remember him in our actions and keep you in our prayers for a long, long time.

Norbert Barruel
Holly Springs

Thanks to the community:
Dear Editor,

To the community:

Thank you so much from Century 21 #1 Realty Group!

Thanks to all the participants who helped by baking a cake or by donating at the bake sale held at Century 21 #1 Realty Group.

We met our goal for The American Cancer Society Relay For Life project. Thanks so much!

Nancy, Lake, Marsha, Anthony, Sue, Sherry, Jamie, Bettye and Kathy

National language?:
Dear Editor:

The United States of America has a national motto. The United States of America has a national flower. The United States of America has a national march. We even have a National Freedom Day, a National Aviation Day, a National Maritime Day and even a National Forest Products Week.

However, one glaring omission is apparent.

The United States of America does not have a national language. Although we are a melting pot of cultures, our nation has a strong heritage of English-speaking origins.

Yet, even though the “melting pot” concept implies the creation of a homogenous whole, we are rapidly becoming a nation that cannot communicate with itself because of the language barrier.

The establishment of a national language, namely, English, will benefit our country in innumerable ways.

Primarily, giving our country a single, official language will foster a common identity among our citizens. Such a proclamation would weed out the wheat from the chaff among those coming to our country.

In other words, if a person desires to emigrate legally, learning the English language is a strong indicator that the person truly desires to become a part of our nation, throwing off previous loyalties to the home country.

Secondarily, our government can save a great deal of expense by not having to cater to the “rights” of non-English speaking people. Ballots would no longer have to be printed in every conceivable language. The same would apply to applications for government services.

Lest anyone claims I am a xenophobe or prejudiced in some way, I have studied and speak three foreign languages to varying degrees of proficiency.

I will use their language when I go to their country. They should pay me the same courtesy and use mine when they emigrate here.

It is very clear that our country needs a national language to preserve its identity. We should write or call Trent Lott, Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker and let them know that a constitutional amendment should be proposed to declare our national language as English.

Sincerely,
John C. Helmert Jr.

Schools and signposts:
Letter to the editor:

I want to begin this letter by stating how proud I am of the accomplishments of the Byhalia girls basketball team, the Byhalia baseball team and the Holly High boys basketball teams. Their accomplishments of making it to postseason play is exceptional.

I do now have ties to two schools since I spent so much of my life at BHS and now I have the privilege to be teaching at Holly High.

I also thank Coaches Pannell, Brown, McAlexander, and Coach Hayes for the dedication and time they spent with these teams.

The rest of my letter is a concern for the new signposts that have been donated and placed in selected areas of Byhalia.

Good money has been donated in memory of people who have been significant to the history of Byhalia to buy these posts and I hope that there are more donated. They add to our town and our history.

But it has been brought to my attention that people are taping signs for activities, yard sales and etc. to these beautiful signposts. Some are leaving the signs on till the tape leaves residue or pulls off the antique finish, defacing the posts.

I am asking that people be mindful of this and refrain from doing damage. I promise we have plenty of places that have not had improvements and signs can be placed without defacing public property.

I thank you for your cooperation in advance.

Sincerely,
Michael Hamblin
Byhalia Alderman and Holly High Teacher
Go Hawks, Go Indians

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