By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
“I have been thinking a lot about joy and happiness,” said Mayor Ronnie as we started our time together. We have spoken many times about what a difference it makes when people go out of their way to live a life of joy, even when it’s difficult, and how infectious that commitment to joy can be; what a difference it can make. Over the weekend he had taken his grandson Quinton to Dave & Buster’s in Huntsville to see the release of a Christian rap song and video entitled, “Unidentified?”—written by a former student in the Mayor’s Youth Commission by the name of Devante Crook. The “human video” showed Devante as a protecting angel in the life of a young woman. “It was really good,” he chuckled.
We talked about how negatively powerful and actually addictive focusing on bad news can be, and the mayor said, “An Amazing City is full of happiness.” He also talked about our responsibility to spread it, good news, that is. The Mayor’s Youth Commission had spent some time at the Birdie Thornton Center, where there was music, singing, happiness, joy, and savant, if you will. There is a member of the Birdie Thornton community who, if you tell him your birth day and year, can instantly tell you what day of the week you entered this world. The kids were amazed by amazing people in our “Amazing City.” He said, “We left energized.” That is the power of joy and happiness, more so when it comes from an unexpected place.
We talked about the massive Courthouse tree which had fallen as a result of all the rain, and the “response of the responders” throughout the recent storms. It had been a thing of beauty in its own way, those guys out once again in the storms restoring power. We then moved to the chapter in The Amazing City that is called, “Zing.” Recording artist Sarah McLachlan has a saying at the beginning of the chapter which reads, “There’s beauty everywhere. There are amazing things happening everywhere, you just have to be able to open your eyes and witness it. Some days, that’s harder than others.”
Author Jim Hunt describes “Zing” as the thing for which a city is most famous, and it must always have an aspect of beauty to it. For Paris, it’s the Eiffel Tower; for Washington DC, most often it’s the Washington Monument. In Philadelphia it can be anything from the Liberty Bell to Constitution Hall, or the 72 steps up which people regularly run in order to re-create the triumphant run of Rocky Balboa. “Zing” can also be a thing, a place, or an event,” says Hunt. In Athens, we have beautiful sites, historic sites, and wonderful events. But truly, the Zing for Athens is its people, and the joy and happiness they spread. Our time had sped by, and what remained was to pray for this town that is indeed Ama-ZING. And then it was time for Ronnie to roll.
By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
