The Chatter Box
By Deborah Bennett
days and upon opening the lid discovered an assortment of different colored crayons all "living" side-by-side in the same box. Each crayon had certain similar characteristics - long, straight, thick, waxy- but at the same time each was very much different when it came to color. Each crayon, I realized, had a role to play in coloring a picture. Each was a necessary component in the color scheme, complimenting one another.

As I looked at those crayons, I could not help but wish that the world we live in today could be like that box of crayons - everyone living peacefully side-by-side despite their color, race or beliefs - each complimenting the other.

Unfortunately, conflicts abound on the world, national, local and even family levels. It seems that we are always at odds with one another, seeking to satisfy our selfish desires rather than working for the good of all.

If, however, we would look at others through the eyes of love, and see them as God sees them, we would be less likely to become engaged in conflicts. Love has a way of "coloring" our differences so that they are no longer recognizable or of importance.

Just like the box of crayons, we are all necessary components in the patchwork called humanity, each complimenting the other. Let's not forget that love is the thread that binds that patchwork together.

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Happy birthday this week to: Cynthia M. Logue, Tommy Myers, Wanda Rhodes, Fab Black, Justin McBride, Jessica Haley Godbee, Gilda Rackley, Anna Renee Godbee, Betty Jean Burke, Gail H. Schwonke, Lovie Joe Roberts and Chris Clifton.

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Military Active Duty List: Capt. Donald Slade Burke, Travis Air Force Base, Fairfield, Calif.; SPC Grade E4 Arthur Lamont Milton Jr., HHC 1-36 Infantry Support, Friedberg, Germany; Staff Sgt. Gilbert C. Sheppard III, 48th Brigade, 118th Field Artillery, Ft. Stewart; Petty Officer 2nd Class Jamie A. Yager, U.S. Navy, Maryland; Petty Chief Officer Andy D. Crosby, U.S. Navy, Elroy Destroyer, Norfolk, Va.; Stephanie Crosby, R.N., U.S. Navy, Lafayette Destroyer; LCPL Dwain "Cade" Lee, 1st Marine Division Combat Service Support Group II Security Element, ArRamadi, Iraq; Jimmy Cooper, U.S. Army National Guard, 878th Engineering Battalion-Augusta, Persian Gulf ; 1st Lt. J.R. Taylor, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Iraq; SPC. Daniel Stuart, 18th MEDCOM, 121 General Hospital, Seoul, Korea; SFC Floyd Bolton Jr., 7th Battalion, 159th Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, Ft. Campbell, Kentucky; SFC Maria Bolton, 61st Medical Detachment, 21st Combat Support Hospital, 4th Medical Brigade, Ft. Campbell, Kentucky; Capt. Andrew P. Thomas, U.S. Marines, 2nd Marine Division, F.A.S.T. Company, Yorktown, VA; Sgt. 1st Class Steven Yager, 362nd Sig. Company, Korea; MM3 Jeffrey Sweat, U.S. Navy, USS Kauffman, MM3 59/EDivision, A-Gang, Norfolk, Va.; Cpl. Larry Lamont Clark, U.S. Marine Corp, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. Bagdad, Iraq; Khan Young, U.S. Navy, U.S.S. Kitty Hawk, Persian Gulf; Robert Milton Jr., E-3, U.S. Army, Ft. Stewart, Hinesville, Ga., Mission Kuwait; SFC Ronnie Perryman, E-7, Georgia Army National Guard, Battery A, 118th Field Artillery Regiment, 48th Brigade Combat Team; Arnold R. Mosley, 2nd Lt., U.S. Air Force, Randolph AFB, Texas; and Debra A. Mosley, Tech. Sgt., U.S. Air Force, Randolph AFB, Texas.