Deprecated: Creation of dynamic property ET_Builder_Module_Comments::$et_pb_unique_comments_module_class is deprecated in /home/csmediatexas/murphymonitor/wp-content/themes/Divi/includes/builder/class-et-builder-element.php on line 1425
Collin Fall 2025

Opinion: Wake up and live

by | Jan 30, 2020 | Opinion

A person may be tired and weary of backing up and beginning anew after going into dead-end ways, but this is inevitable, unless a person gives up trying. The only way that you can live at all is by the habit of making new starts, adjusting to mistakes and changes.

Age has its fears, joys and compensations, to be sure, but age is not to be feared. Age is to be with wisdom, in the spirit of youth and in the love of building a better and more prosperous world.

People of today seem afraid to advance into the future and experiment upon the new ideas that science has discovered in the past four years. Most of these people are very dissatisfied with today’s world. They deplore or resent what seems to be a faltering, stupid or selfish leadership on the part of our own country or of another country’s strife, injustice, self-seeking by governments groups annoy and discourage an individual. This “brave new-free world” for which we somehow seem to forget seems more organized in the darkest day of battle.

Each morning one awakens to the shock of some new incident of tragedy or mishap. The facts – as the late Texas City disaster – are continuously increasing despite the new safety devises. (April 16, 1947 – S.S. Grandcamp exploded in the Texas City port killing 500-600 people.)

People must advance with the times. No longer can they find their old prewar world, and they seem afraid to advance and go forward through “darkness”. The situation is difficult to accept. The fact that a new world order does not spring back automatically out of the destruction of the old causes some undying hope of finding a solution to a present day problem.

Slowly, however, through classes of ideas and will, choices will have to be made. Creation is a tedious process requiring determination and infinite patience.

Those, like ourselves, who live in such a period as today, must achieve their own shock absorbers if they are to continue to be at all satisfactory. This is a job that each individual must do for himself. One must accept the challenge of the future. People of today should feel it a privilege to be alive.

Look ahead! Life can scarcely be lived on any level without a glance into the future. Looking ahead gives you more understanding and enables a person to steer more certainly toward a predetermined goal, so to speak. Don’t stalk blindly. Look ahead and see how to carry yourself where you want to go without too much damage to yourself and other people.

The individual today should “wise-up”; “move-up”, and “grow-up.”

 

For more stories like this, see the Jan. 30 issue or subscribe online.

 

By Wayne Spraggins • This column was written in 1947 while the author was an Auburn University student.

 

 

 

NTMWD 2025

0 Comments

Public Notice - Subscribe

Related News

True Grits

True Grits

Columnist John Moore loves grits. Real grits, that is. Photo John Moore Folks who aren’t from the South invariably aren’t familiar with grits. When they come for a visit, they often twist their eyebrows into a John Belushi-type look after they spot them on their...

read more
Double time

Double time

Columnist John Moore is on a mission to save old timepieces. He needs your help. Photo: John Moore My friend runs a precious metals shop, selling mostly gold and silver. I was there to discuss those very things when a pocket watch caught my eye. An Elgin. My buddy...

read more
A lot on the line

A lot on the line

Columnist John Moore keeps an old rotary phone around. Just in case. Photo by John Moore There are many once-common aspects of the telephone that are now gone. Keep in mind that those born in the 1990s likely have never heard a dial tone, dialed a phone, or talked to...

read more
Clutching the past

Clutching the past

Columnist John Moore learned to drive on a stick shift. He still uses a clutch to operate his tractor. Courtesy John Moore One of the necessities of my youth is now one of your best bets to prevent vehicle theft: a stick shift. I watch a lot of YouTube, and...

read more
Polished

Polished

Columnist John Moore still shines his own shoes. As long as he can find the polish to buy. Courtesy John Moore In some cultures, people wash the feet of guests who arrive at their home. At my parents’ house, I didn’t wash the feet of guests, but I did offer to shine...

read more
The chain gang

The chain gang

Columnist John Moore misses the old chain stores, one of which, Gibson’s, still exists in Kerrville, Texas. Courtesy John Moore Online shopping has turned us into couch potatoes who buy more than we ever used to. Adding items to an imaginary cart and clicking, “Buy...

read more
A free gift inside

A free gift inside

Columnist John Moore eats a lot of jelly, but not for the reason you might think. Courtesy John Moore My sister and I would make a beeline for the cereal aisle at the Piggly Wiggly while my mom did the shopping.  Decisions, decisions. Did we want to roll the dice...

read more
Jumping to conclusions

Jumping to conclusions

Columnist John Moore finds himself a little lost with new technology. Sometimes lost a lot. Courtesy John Moore Folks aren’t counting on each other like we were 50 years ago. And technology is the wedge that’s come between us. Our parents didn’t worry about us much...

read more
Gardens and Grandma

Gardens and Grandma

Columnist John Moore didn’t like gardens as a kid. That’s changed thanks to his grandmothers. Courtesy John Moore As a kid, I hated the vegetable garden. If you stood on our back porch, it was to your left. It took up the entire corner of our large yard. To me,...

read more
Public Notice - Subscribe