Christmas wasn’t the same without Aunt Sonya
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Jamie Patterson Managing EditorThis Christmas was a difficult one for me this year with the passing of my Aunt Sonya.
She died early Thursday morning, only a few days before Christmas Day.
The festivities carried on but with an empty seat and an empty feeling inside as my family struggled to pick up the pieces.
There were a few moments when I had to take a minute to myself, but I guess all you can do is move forward.
The past week has been filled with “she’s in a better place” or “at least she is no longer suffering.” I agree with all these statements, but I would be lying if I didn’t say I was being selfish by wanting her here instead.
My Aunt Sonya was a spitfire, there is no doubt about that. She had a quick wit and an even sharper tongue. It was her spunk that got her in trouble a lot of times. But no one can say that they didn’t know where she stood on things.
She appeared rough to many, and I can honestly say that she was a tough cookie. But she was my aunt, and I loved her dearly.
She was my aunt who would take my afternoon nap with me. She would tell me ghost stories with creepy sound effects.
She would let me dive into the kid swimming pool before supper even though my grandmother told me not to do it. In the end, we would both get in trouble.
She would let me stay up late and watch television with her when I was supposed to be in bed.
She would sing Elvis songs with me in the car on our way to the supermarket.
She would braid my hair or fix it up in some 1960s hairstyle. She would put green eye shadow on me and touch me up with pink lipstick.
She tossed me the keys to my uncle’s truck and told me to take off in a nearby pasture when I was learning how to drive. I would cry in her lap an hour later when she discovered I ran over my own dog in the process.
She and I would ride down dark gravel roads in the summer time. She would pretend the car broke down as she tried to scare me with some pretty original stories.
She wrecked her car on the day I was born. When a historic ice storm hit the Natchez area in 1982, she hit an expensive BMW trying to skid into the hospital where I was being delivered. She left the car in the middle of the road and wobbled up the icy emergency ramp to be with my mother.
She would rescue me when I needed help. And she defended me when no one else would.
She loved me like her own daughter.
And despite our disagreements over the years, I loved her very much.
I have spent the last few days calling my uncle on the telephone to check on him. Sometimes, I find myself wishing she would answer instead.
I am trying to get back in my regular groove of things, but it’s hard to do knowing that my Aunt Sonya isn’t around anymore.
All I can do is hold it in and force a patient smile.
Eventually, it will begin to come more naturally.
Dear Editor,
The decision by the present school board not to renew the teaching and coaching contract of Mr. Archie Carlyle was a planned and calculated act of politics. This kind of thing has been happening for years.
They didn’t follow policies or procedures in this matter. The state’s report on the district asked the board to stop interfering in this kind of situation, but it seems they didn’t get the memo.
My mother always put her 11 children first in making decisions for their futures. It is clear this board did not do that.
Mr. Carlyle’s only crime was putting his students first. I feel like Jesus, when he told the people at the well, “He who is without sin cast the first stone.”
I and the 800 people who have signed the petition calling for Carlyle’s return can find no fault in his dedication to our community. We are being laughed at across the state, and on Facebook and Twitter.
Our community is losing faith in our ability to work in a productive and successful district. The Yazoo Herald’s sports editor called it a “travesty.” I ask the question, where are all those Christian folks, his co-workers, his pastor and his fellow church members?
Where are the athletes, past and present, and most of all where are the parents? He has mothered and fathered when you were unable to make it to a game or on the road, giving your children heart-to-heart talks of motivation and encouragement both in the halls of our schools and on the streets of this community. Now he deserves your support in this critical matter.
This affects us all, black and white, because the future of our community is at stake. I am asking everyone to show as much concern about this matter as they do during election time.
Mr. Clifton Jones, I sat on the school board when you and your wife in a 3 to 2 vote were denied what you rightfully deserved. When you first ran for alderman you were the only politician I ever spent an entire day with, walking the streets because I believed in you. When I ran for mayor as an independent, I endorsed McArthur Straughter in the primary. Many people thought I was crazy, but I was exercising my rights.
Mr. Aubry Brent Jr., I followed you from Vicksburg to Belzoni and saw people commit perjury to defeat you. When citizens support a candidate, they want something in return. As a citizen with the 800 petitioners, we are calling in our wager. Just get the record of the board of that decision, which is public record. Check the timeline of the action, and you will be amazed. Next month you will appoint or reappoint a board member, but before you do we deserve answers.
If you find me wrong I will come back and sit before you and the school board and give a public apology. Everyone deserves their day in court, and Mr. Carlyle certainly does.
What you do or don’t do will determine the caliber of teachers and coaches willing to come into our community and work with our children.
Johnny Staples
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