Will B. Singing An Ode to Olney
Well, maybe not an ode but you get the point.
Everywhere you go no matter how small or how big a town you live, you will find negative people. Olney has seen a fair amount of tragedy recently; which brings to mind, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8:
“To everything, there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.”
The present time is most assuredly a time to mourn. Saying that, I have to say I still love this little town and believe it is filled with lots of love and loving people. If you have trouble finding this, go to a Friday night Olney Cub game. You will see the town arm-in-arm laughing and cheering on our youth. You will see prayer and lively conversations about fishing, hunting or maybe and most likely how much rain you got. What you will see mostly is the love we have for one another as we unite to cheer on our beloved Cubs.
You just must visit our local Grocer, Stewarts. Pay close attention as you walk the aisles. You will find your town folk gladly shaking a hand or hugging a neck. You will see the love of a neighbor for another as they discuss the latest dog who is loose on their street or as they chat about the best time to plant tomatoes, or how so-and-so’s child sounded especially sweet singing in church.
Go to the local pool and I bet you will find it full of laughing children splashing around the pool while mothers sit under the shade, chatting about their child’s latest exploit.
The easy one, of course, is attending a church. Go to any church in Olney, and I can guarantee with certainty that you will see your neighbors’ and friends’ faces and hearts filled with joy and happiness as they fellowship.
Stop by our local coffee shop Hometown Coffee and Tea or the local diner, and I would be more than surprised if you didn’t see your fellow Olneyites in a loving conversation or telling a joke or two with joy and genuine love in their eyes.
Sure, you can find negativity if you look under rocks somewhere. Everyplace has it. I would ask you this next week to look for the positive in this town and not dwell on the negativity. I feel confident you will find more sunshine than rain.
This is Will B. saying smiles are free so pass them out liberally.