Do we need that wall? I don’t know the answer but two people who always have ideas I respect feel it’s not necessary. I am praying, hard, that both the USA and our elected officials make the right decisions and that we return to a loving, caring one nation under God where all love one another right now. Part of what we need is to go back to our love of God and church services, Sunday school classes and of course, His beautiful book, the Holy Bible. 

  I know I’ve mentioned my great-grandfather who came to America from Ireland. Upon arriving he immediately did what it took to become a citizen and then began training horses for farmers in Maryland. Along came his future bride for a visit with relatives and he fell in love and eventually followed her back to her home in Jackson, Ga. He began a building career there, and won the bid to construct Jackson’s gymnasium, for under $1,000. He went on to build apartments, schools, and of course his own residence which we thought was huge at that time, when compared to the other homes around. Later his wife contracted polio and he hired a full time caregiver to take care of her through the day. I would ride over on my green Schwinn bike, play her some favorite songs on their upright piano before giving her an update on family and school news. Of course she was in a big machine that breathed for her and couldn’t feed herself. I still remember the table always being set with silver, china plus cloth napkins. As soon as the dishes were washed, the caregiver immediately made sure the table was ready for the next meal. My mother’s family all came from Germany and they too had gone through the steps to become American citizens. That’s just the way it was way back in the day. None of my German or Irish relatives committed any crimes, and they all worked hard, took care of family and lived off their own without getting any help from their new country. Welfare was not available back then, nor food stamps, or any other government assistance. I still remember when we used to sell food stamps at First National Bank and the ones receiving them had to pay a portion of the value. I remember one lady who always brought quarters and carefully counted them out to me, but of course I had to count them myself before sending her package out the drive-thru window.  She was always on foot too, but we knew that was her only transportation and the food stamps could only be sold from one teller. So she was allowed to stand in line behind the car I was currently assisting before she stepped up to the window.     I found it neat that when I was struggling myself, with three little boys on my banker salary, some of my fellow Methodists made sure we had sufficient food on the table. Years later, a mother who was in the same situation I’d gone through asked me if I knew that some of Mt. Bethel’s members were handing her their leftovers after another sumptuous covered dish meal. Told her that I had experienced that myself, and it was just her Methodist brothers and sisters caring for a family member. She smiled, gave me a hug and mentioned that it was fate that God had told her to ask me about her concerns. Of course as some fellow Americans were going through tough times with the government shut down, it’s neat that several churches were reaching out to them with food and cash. So, America can get through this, and we will. I will continue to pray about the wall.