“I heard the news today, oh boy…” sang John Lennon a lifetime ago when the Beatles released “A Day In The Life.” I realize I am dating myself if I tell you that I spent part of the summer of 1967 trying to get a tan while Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band shot to the top of the charts. I listened on my Sony transistor radio, (which was quite cool in the techno department for its time,) and all I got for my time was a sun burn.
It’s over 45 years later, and in keeping with the theme of “get-to-or-got-to” as set forth by our Mayor on page… I became aware once again that I have a choice to make. The news as of Publication Day is that it looks like several individuals were involved in the most recent Boston Massacre, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad may have been arrested in Iran, our African American President wants God to bless the Planned Parenthood organization, (which routinely kills pre-born African Americans for a price), and the FDA wants to lower the age teenagers can get the “morning after pill” without parental consent to 15.
There is a lot about which one can be bummed. But if I may share with you what Athens Now columnist Will Anderson refers to as “pathological optimism,” I need to tell you about my “day in the life.”
It began at 7:15 am with the Boy Scout Breakfast held at Beasley Center. Frank Travis led the men’s choir, and we had church. The value of the Boy Scouts was once again demonstrated, and no one was outside objecting or filing suit against the BSA. Coach Bobby Wallace gave a marvelous speech, and Amanda Smith and her crew from Endless Catering served a delicious breakfast.
I worked a good chunk of the day in my “hidey hole” office, which is located on the second floor of the Craftsman Cottage on the corner of Market and Clinton. We had a crisis, which invariably occurs each “Pub Day,” and I had to do whatever it took to get a hold of some illustrations for the article on Ms. Ruth Truett. Somehow the photos had become lost in cyberspace, and I GOT to zip over to Athens Rehab and Senior Care Center to participate in a technological miracle that even 20 years ago would have been unthinkable: using a thumb drive to transfer the photos from one computer to my laptop, and the whole process took minutes. Back I zipped over the railroad tracks to Inez’s Soul Food For Real, where Salena Cain had made lunch for me with love. I GOT a hug from Ms. Salena, who sent me on my way.
I felt like a kid whose mom had carefully prepared my lunch, and you could taste the love in it. All day long I loved Athens, and Athens loved me, the entire experience being an ongoing series of gifts from my Daddy God, each being unwrapped incident by incident.
I ended up at Chick-fil-a and was told I am a blessing. I worked there til closing, stopped by Publix to get some milk, and once again was treated like kin. My day, though challenging, was marvelous, and I GET to thank God for the privilege of being an Athenian Alabamian American Ali who is indeed “living the dream” as the publisher of Athens Now. “I heard the news today, oh boy….” and it was good!
By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
