Recently, I was in Valdosta to bury my sister, Shirley Ann Willis. Her death was sudden, so there was much to be done, and in keeping with Murphy’s Law, which states that if anything can go wrong, it will, I drove into Valdosta on two tires that had nearly come apart.

The first person I spoke with was Brian Sayre, director of chaplain services at South Georgia Medical Center. I mentioned to him that my tires were “wobbly.” He quickly directed me to Ray Norton Tire and Auto Center, not far from where my sister had lived. 

When I missed an appointment, they quickly changed their schedule to accommodate my more erratic one. Thank you, Mr. Sayre, and thank you Norton Tire and Auto. You went above what would be expected, and I am grateful.

Many thanks to the director of Azalea Towers, who was continually there to assist me with a task that I found overwhelming. Thanks to Music Funeral Services, the whole staff. 

After the service, I had a chance to talk to the speaker from St. John’s and got a chance to discuss my sixth-grade teacher, Dr. Norman LaHood, a teacher who was loved by his students. 

What is important here, however, was not so much the walking down memory lane but the friendly, warm responses of those, everyone, I interacted with during this most difficult visit to the town where I once lived.

My son made the comment that Valdosta is a pretty town, and the people are friendly. This is true, and, for me, it eased the burden of taking care of my sister’s earthly possessions.

More than one pastor has urged his, or her flock, to be kind because everybody is going through a hard time. 

While I don’t know about everybody, I do know that people are fragile in difficult times, such as a profoundly sad loss, and just being kind goes a long way to ease the pain, sometimes of just ordinary days. 

 Thank God for you.

“You gave on the way a pleasant smile, And thought no more about it; It cheered a life that was sad the while, That might have been wrecked without it; And so for the smile and its fruitage fair You’ll reap a crown sometime — somewhere.” — Bartlett’s assigns this to anonymous.

Helen Elaine Willis, Rockford, Ala.