The Chatter Box
By Deborah Bennett

The family of Arthur Milton who was wounded in Iraq has asked me to relay the information that he is no longer in Germany, but back in the United States. So, please do not send anymore cards or letters to the address previously published. When his new address becomes available, I will get it to you.

******

The massacre of 32 students and wounding of dozens of others at Virginia Tech last week is the deadliest shooting rampage in our country's history. I listened with interest to news broadcasts and the remarks of journalists and witnesses as they tried to make sense of the murders. Then I decided that the incident was just plain "senseless." You cannot make sense out of something that irrational.

We are living in a society that bears little resemblance to that of our grandparents, and perhaps even our parents. The days of feeling safe in our homes, schools, churches, place of employment and on our streets have been lost forever. Our world is changing, and not for the better.

We must learn from the events of Columbine, the Amish school and Virginia Tech. If anything good is to come from such acts of senselessness, let it be that we find ways to prevent them from ever occurring again.

******

Happy birthday this week to: Watson Rocker, Chris Landing, Cheryl Adams, Evelyne Shackelford, Krissi Lane, Keith Lee, Raeanna Glisson, Kelsey Fleming, Cindy Bragg, Kay Green, Michael Pickett, Brenda Dudley and Deborah Bennett.

******

Celebrating wedding anniversaries this week are: Mr. and Mrs. Dwayne Herrington and Mr. and Mrs. Horace Weathersby III.

******

Military Active Duty List: SPC 4 Travis D. Motes, 1st Calvary Division, Camp Taji, Iraq; 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; 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/E-Division, 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.