Close to Nowhere - Linda Jones


Thursday, November 22, 2012
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Close to Nowhere
By Linda Jones

Giving thanks

Ugandan drummers

At this holiday time of year, it’s pretty common to hear of great “acts of kindness.” Not usually from Walmart though...

Traci Cheslak, manager of our local Walmart, has gone above and beyond with a group of children from a Uganda, Africa, orphanage. Cheslak heard of Ugandan Thunder, a choir of children from Uganda, traveling through the United States and the South. The group, with their sponsors and guardians, was appearing at Trinity Baptist Church in Southaven that evening and Cheslak, a member of the church, arranged for the group to stop on their way at our Walmart for a performance.

The children were so charming. Their choir, accompanied with drum-beat by some of the boys in the choir, was enthusiastic, delightful and talented. There is a picture elsewhere in the paper this week of the group.

But the real heart of the story, for me, was the “rest of the story.”

Cheslak heard that the children were cold, as the temperatures throughout the South have dropped. They are used to the hot, hot heat of Uganda and the 40 degree nights were hard on the kids! Cheslak asked for sizes and, as a gift from our local Walmart employees, shipped them coats.

After the performance, the store employees fed the kids pizza. They were all having a wonderful time and one of the adults traveling with the group mentioned to Cheslak that the kids just loved chicken. They were only able to have chicken a couple times a year and it is a huge favorite.

Cheslak immediately went to the deli department of the store and cleaned out the chicken! She had such a smile on her face telling me about how those kids enjoyed that fried chicken. “They were sucking the bones!” she said.

Cheslak hopes that when the group passes this way again, she can entice them into a return appearance. (She assured me, she will put the date in the paper so the rest of our area will have the opportunity to enjoy the group also.)

The children were a treat! And the lengths a Walmart manager went to, to insure that the children were as happy as possible, warmed my heart this Thanksgiving.

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