Close to Nowhere

Mea culpa...

They say confession is good for the soul. It may be, but it’s hard on the ego.

I used a poem last week in my column – a really beautiful sentiment – that was supposedly written in the late 1800s. I didn’t check. I normally do. In fact, Snopes, a website that checks things like this for you, is bookmarked on my Google page. But, I was caught up in the idea of it and just went with it. Did not check. My fault entirely.

Sue Watson got a note about it from a reader. Barry forwarded it on to me. But, I already knew. Son Kris, who puts The South Reporter online, told me early Wednesday morning of last week that I had screwed up.

As Paul Harvey used to say “Here’s the rest of the story...

(Some of y’all will have to look him up.)

https://womenyoushouldknow.net/fact-people-stayed-home-viral-poem-kitty-omeara-2020/

Fact vs. Fiction: “And The People Stayed Home” Viral Poem By Kitty O’Meara (2020),

Not Kathleen O’Mara (1869)

Reader Jane Heineke wrote – “This poem was run in this (last) week’s South Reporter. The author cited is not correct. Thought you might be interested in the website. The poem is beautiful. It just should be credited to the correct author and century.”

Jane is right. The poem is beautiful. My only excuse for not checking is that I wanted it to be true.

I have another confession as well. I went to Dollar General in Abbeville last week. With my lungs I am self-quarantined and paranoid about it. I pray almost daily not to ever have to need to be in ICU again.

I went into the store anyway! I went in to find toilet paper.

My youngest granddaughter Remy and her husband Mitch, who live in Oxford, have been wonderful about going to the store for me. Oldest granddaughter Mere and her hubbie Tim are self-isolating because of the two babies. Daughter Dana is a nurse and won’t even come in my house. She leaves things on the shelf outside for me.

Anyhow, I went to the store. It was amazing. The entire back section of the store, where normally there is a solid wall of paper towels and toilet paper, was completely empty. I’ve seen the pictures on Facebook and the news, but it was the first time I’d actually seen it. I almost cried from sadness.

I wanted the poem to be true. I want the earth to heal itself.

I copied this from the above website about the poem:

“Truth is… this is not a case of history repeating itself in the most profound way. The poem was written last month – in March 2020 – by a woman named Kitty O’Meara, a former teacher and chaplain from Wisconsin, in trying to process the worsening news surrounding the catastrophic spread of the coronavirus. Nevertheless, its sentiment and message are just as profound as if it had serendipitously reemerged from more than a century ago.”