All newspaper editors want to know what their readers like. If you would like to read this feature in your local newspaper, please do not hesitate to share your enthusiasm with your local newspaper editor.
Interested in using Jackie's column in your publication? Click here to contact Jackie.
Previous Guest Columns:
Telemarketing Woes, by Amy Eason
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Guest Column
Hot off the press!
Jackie
K. Cooper was born in South Carolina and now lives in Georgia. He is the
married father of two sons and the proud grandparent of a boy and a girl.
He is familiar to people living in the middle Georgia area as the
"entertainment man" since his entertainment reviews run in newspapers and
are shown on television there. His short stories have also been used as
commentary on Georgia Public Radio.
Cooper has lived an
exceptionally interesting life and portions of it were contained in his
first book
Jackie's column appears weekly at Macon Area Online as well as on his website. Visit and tell Jackie hello!
We've All Been Shot
There are phrases and ideas that you hear and they make an impression and
stick in your mind. Then there are other things that glide off your brain
cells and are forever lost. I never know what is going to stick and what
isn't.
I was reading a new novel by one of my favorite authors, Jaclyn Weldon
White, and in it she used the phrase "old stories and sweet dreams." I loved
what images those words conjured up in my mind. It took me back to my
childhood when my mother would tell me old stories about her childhood, and
I would fall asleep leaning against her and have the sweetest dreams. "Old
stories and sweet dreams," what a beautiful phrase.
Another phrase I heard this week was "We've all been shot." Now that sounds
like an alarming thing to hear so let me quickly explain the circumstances.
It happened in church. My preacher, Jenny Jackson-Adams, had started her
sermon and I was listening but I was also letting my mind wander a bit.
Still it came back to full attention mode when she mentioned she had watched
the movie "Black Hawk Down."
I too had seen that movie and hadn't been that impressed. It was good but
not great. Plus all the soldiers in the film looked alike and I had
difficulty telling one actor from the other. It had not made an impression.
But it had on Jenny for she described a scene in the movie, which really had
an impact on her. In this scene a colonel, played by Tom Sizemore, was
trying to get a convoy of trucks out of the battle zone. The trucks had been
under siege by the enemy and there had been terrible wounds and deaths that
had occurred. The colonel went to the lead truck where the driver had been
killed and pulled the body out. Then he turned to a Sergeant and told him to
drive the truck out of there.
The sergeant responded that he had been shot to which the colonel replied,
"We've all been shot! Now drive the truck."
The preacher said that is what life is all about. She said every one of us
has been "shot" in some way but we need to get on with it and drive the
truck. And that is so true. I know I have used whiny excuses in the past as
a reason not to do something or to excuse why I didn't succeed in some area.
What I needed was for somebody to say "Baloney! We've all been shot. Now
drive the truck."
Sometimes out of the blue a life lesson will come your way. It may be in a
comment by a friend or a sermon by your preacher. Just pray when it arrives
that you are ready to receive it.
Remember that all of life is not "old stories and sweet dreams." Some of the
journey through life is tough. But also remember that all of us have been
shot in some way, at some time. We need to get over these unfortunate
instances and go on and drive the truck!
Copyright © 2004 Jackie K. Cooper
Column | Your 2 Cents | Who is Bex? | News Shorts | R & R | Subscribe!
