Life in White Springs: Lessons learned on the playground.

Published 7:00 am Friday, June 23, 2017

I am pretty much an optimist but sometimes I do get really discouraged by the way we treat each other. 

It reminds me of when I first started to encounter social challenges in elementary school.  

“Take it back!” You could hear it resonate across the playground, “Take it back or I’m gonna….” and if the threat was real and you knew you were going to suffer for some silly or stupid thing you really shouldn’t have said, you might mutter, “I take it back.”  

I think most of us have been on both sides of that discussion, the offended and the offender, and back then a simple agreement to “take it back” would resolve the situation and avoid a big fight over an often trivial issue. Ah, lessons learned on the playground, don’t you wish more of them carried over to adulthood? 

For some of us, they do. We were brought up not only to be firm in our convictions, but also to realize that our convictions were not the only ones, that other people have strong convictions and beliefs that differ from ours, and yet are still worthy of consideration and respect. 

On the playground some of us, sadly, learned to be bullies, while some of us, painfully but proudly, learned to stand up to bullies, and the rest of us either chose sides or ignored the situation. Even today as “adults” we still see these battles around us. Someone shouts accusations and we sometimes realize that in the heat of the moment we have chosen the wrong side or, perhaps worse, that we don’t even understand what the fight is all about. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just “take it back” and avoid being on the wrong side of an unreasonable, unfair and unjust fight? 

Perhaps it could happen, or perhaps I’m just a dreamer, dreaming of something that only happens on the playgrounds of my memories.  

 Accidents will happen and according to folklore, they often happen in “threes.” That certainly seemed to be the case in the last few weeks when Spring Street (U.S. Highway 41) in White Springs seemed to be trying to live up to its name, experiencing three accidental breaks in its water main, sending water cascading down our streets and sidewalks on three different occasions. On one of those occasions I suspected trouble when I saw water spilling in a torrent down my driveway when it wasn’t even raining! Quick action by Andrew Green and the contractor saved the day and perhaps my driveway too. The crew putting in our new street lights is having to work in some really close quarters and even though the pipes have been located prior do digging, extraordinary care is required to avoid accidents. Be careful and be safe! The only water we would really like to see gushing out of the ground is, alas, the spring we are named for. Perhaps someday, perhaps for my grandchildren, perhaps never.

Like all of you in White Springs, I was deeply saddened to see South Hamilton Elementary close its doors for the last time. The future of education in our county is going to be dependent on positive involvement from all of us. Be constructive and involved, and encourage and support those who work to improve our Hamilton County educational system and all those who volunteer to improve the lives and educations of our children.

So, as always, there is a lot going on in White Springs and the surrounding area. We would do well to appreciate and support those who strive to make this a better place to live for our citizens and future generations. Get out there and take advantage of the opportunities and while you’re doing so, be kind to yourself, your family, your neighbors, and to our thousands of visitors. I hope to see you out and about, enjoying the travel and culture that is available right in your back yard, finding adventures, taking positive actions, caring, and sharing an attitude of gratitude for all the good people and good things that are part of your life in White Springs. If you have news you want to share, I care and I’d love to hear from you.

Walter McKenzie

386-303-1394