Ridgeview News has been a little off the radar this week due to a severe case of bronchitis that shouldn’t have taken me by surprise, as it happens nearly every year around this time. But this year was worse than most. It happens because I, like most Americans, get overwhelmed and over taxed with running hither and yon and not taking care of my health. With that being said as somewhat of an apology for being an idiot, I wanted to write a Christmas message to the readers of Ridgeview.
When I was kid, Christmas’ were spent with 4 Friend cousins, 4 Butcher Cousins, 1 Bostic Cousin, 5 Ramsey Cousins, 3 Spencer Cousins, 3 Argabrite Cousins and the 5 of us Hardway kids and all the parents, aunt and uncles to boot. Most every Christmas. It was spent on the Elk River at Strange Creek, West Virginia with Grandmother Vada, who was likely about my age and would paddle her johnboat across the Elk, or walk the ice to lead us across to some of the most treasured moments of my life. No large gifts, just family, a small toy and tons of food and sweet treats. We walked up the tracks and into the woods where we cut down a tree of a pine variety and decorated it with glass bulbs and the bubbling candle lights that truly made the memory straight out of a holiday movie. Nobody’s lives were perfect. But for that weekend on the River it was pretty close as I recall. My grandmothers three bedroom, one hide-a-bed couch, two sofa house was filled with conversations, laughter, no electronics and very little sleep.
Looking back, the greatest gift of all was the inability to know what was going on outside the walls of that house. Other than when we could eavesdrop on the Dawson family, who lived up the tracks, and were on Mommaw Vada’s party line phone.
Last night at my Mother Violet’s, there were 12 Johnsons, 13 Burches, 9 Hardways, and 6 Smiths. We are not for the faint of heart. We’re loud. The children range in ages from 1 to 16. The vast majority of those people have electronics and exposure to the world. Literally. My how times have changed!
Access to information has changed drastically since the days on the Elk River. While I’m grateful for the opportunity to share local information with you, I also realize that the news isn’t always good. This morning I finally felt well enough to look up some local scuttlebutt and discovered that, although there were few, we did have an arrest or two. That information won’t be available until tomorrow when courts reopen. But the point is… it’s not good news for the family involved. Somebody loves the people in the story.
When I write the news, be it good or bad, I write it for the purpose of making sure you know what’s been going on in your community. I don’t write any of it without understanding that there are sometime unintentional victims, and the news getting out makes their live harder. On those occasions, believe me when I say, there is no joy. And I cover those people with prayer. That’s my responsibility as a Christian.
I also pray that I do better this year. Trooper Young will be happy to hear that (thanks to the hubs Christmas gift) I now have a digital scanner and hopefully won’t go on an active shooter scene again like an idiot.
I want to cover local events better, but for that I need the community’s help of letting me know the information of when those events are happening. Every event. Little and big. Let’s get the news out there so people know! Don’t assume I know, because I am not in every circle. And if I don’t respond, message me again, I don’t mind. Feel free to send family reunions and gathering that you’d like people to know about. It cost you nothing but a little time to send me the information.
Communication is key. It’s what’s missing from those days on the Elk River. When all we had to do was communicate with each other. When I write an article, there’s a comment section, use it! I love hearing what others think, whether or not we agree.
In closing, let me share this news with you.
Communication is key. And I’d be remiss as a Christian Publisher if I didn’t publish the Good News. Christmas came because the depravity of this world could not be fixed by mankind. For as long as life has been on earth, there has been bad news. But the Good News is, it won’t always be that way forever. There is a Heaven! When you look at the blessings of this life, even in the hard times, do you think that the love we have for one another and those in our life just happened? Created by some science event? No! It was created with purpose. And that purpose came from God who wants a perfect relationship with you. Our earthly relationships are fouled up by personality clashes, belief systems or the lack there of. But your relationship with God is as perfect as you allow it to be. Every thing that’s wrong in this world creates a penalty for someone. Crime costs. Lies cost. Hurting people costs. But God sent his Son, in the form of a little baby, who lived a human life so that He could understand our struggles, and because He did, went to the cross to pay for our sins so that we could have that perfect relationship with God. Believe that, and trust God to lead you the rest of the way, and you’re on the road to Heaven. Jesus plus nothing equals a soul saved from Hell. And just as there really is a Heaven, there really is a Hell. I promised you I’d give you the good news and the bad. And the bad news is, you can choose not to believe in the price Jesus paid. But for that unbelief, you’ll be forever separated from all those you love. Don’t believe me? Get a Bible and read it for yourself.
The greatest Christmas gift you could give yourself is the gift of eternal life through Christ. The greatest one you could give me, is letting me know you made that decision.
I pray you have the Best Christmas ever and that 2024 treats you kind.
Yours sincerely, Shari Johnson, Publisher
