By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
When last we met, Athens was looking forward to the arrival of The Wall That Heals, the traveling version of the Vietnam Memorial Wall that is in Washington, D.C. The Wall travels to 30 cities per year, and Athens was number 29 for 2025. Mayor Ronnie went several times to the Wall when it was here, as did I. Sometimes it was at night when few people were there, sometimes during the day with several people, and hearing Thanh Boyer in the Nazaretian Center. One of the high points of the whole experience was seeing the splendid exhibit of watercolors and pencil sketches done by two ‘Nam vets by the name of David Wright and Chuck Creasy. The exhibit will be on display until Nov 30, and it is well worth seeing.
Mayor Ronnie took a good part of our time together talking about how grateful he was that the Wall came to Athens, and how grateful he was, especially to Athens State University, the AL Veterans Museum, and all the volunteers that were on duty 24 hours a day to make the experience what it was. “It really is the ‘Wall That Heals,’” he said. I agreed.
We moved on to the topic of the holidays, which are wonderful, complicated, and complex for a number of people. There is so much going on in Athens-Limestone County, with the kick-off of the Christmas Open House this weekend. There are the tree lightings, the Open House, the Merry Market, all the music, Thanksgiving dinners with family, and all of it can be a lot. We need to comfort those that have suffered loss, and this year there have been many. “More than anything, we need to share hearts,” said the mayor. I was able to tell him about the fact that the holidays are tough for me as well, my dad having passed two days after Thanksgiving, and my mom two days after Christmas. It is also a wonderful time, though, and Athens is a beautiful place to celebrate.
The mayor went on to talk further about Thanksgiving and Christmas. “It is about the joy of giving thanks, and the joy of giving,” he said. “We do need to humble ourselves, too,” Mayor Ronnie added. “I know that we talk about this a lot, but we’ve got to stay safe during the holidays, and remember that everything that is happening in Athens now goes to making quality of life here in Athens better,” he said.
The mayor was on a roll before it was time for him to roll, and kept going with the theme of celebrating well during the holidays. “We can’t get so busy during the holidays that we miss the point of the holidays. We need to slow down and celebrate,” said the mayor. “Prayerfully consider the things you do and attend this season,” said the mayor. “Amen,” I said. There was only one thing left to do, and that was to pray, so we did, and then, once again, well, it was time for Ronnie to…
By: Ali Elizabeth Turner
