Features

Exotic glass balls had a way of escaping from large fishing nets that some Japanese fishermen used in the Pacific Ocean to keep their nets afloat. In time, these now-free objects would drift to the shores of isolated Wake Island, located about 2,300 miles west of Honolulu. They were of all sizes, greenish in color and usually opaque. I have seen them as small as 3 inches in diameter all the way up to over a foot.  Sometimes I’d find them washed up onto the shore still enclosed in a piece of netting.

Two years ago Sonja Hines-Hall, a tutor with the Gadsden County Literacy Volunteers of America, met an 82-year-old man who told her he wanted to learn to write his name. His motivation was the shame he felt when he signed his name with an X. He told he her wanted to sign his driver's license.

Last month the man got his wish. Hines-Hall took him to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get a new license. This time, she said, he wrote his name.

Monica Michelle Phillips and Daemari Vakarr Wade will be married Aug. 7 in a private ceremony.

The bride-elect is the daughter of the late Richard and Bessie Phillips.

The groom-elect is the son of the late Mary Francis Wade.

A reception will follow Aug. 8 at 6 p.m. at the Simon Scott Center in Quincy.

Mr. and Mrs. Washington Menton will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary Aug. 1 by renewing their vows. The ceremony will be held at 3 p.m.at St. Hebron AME Church in Quincy.

The Lord does provide. In the past week or so I have experienced the Lord’s help and assistance in several ways. He has been beside me, as He has so many times in the past, and I am humbly grateful.

As my beloved readers may know, my wife Judy and I have been very busy with the business of settling her mother’s affairs and doing our best to prepare her Wacissa home and 10 acres for occupancy. Her mother has been in a nursing home since last September due to the rapid onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

Helping someone in need can be as easy as slinging a hammer – just ask any of the youth from Thomas Memorial Baptist Church or First Presbyterian Church in Quincy.

The two youth groups, along with a group from First United Methodist Church in Niceville, worked last week on projects in Gretna and Havana. The groups, a total of about 70, all stayed together at Centenary Camp in Gadsden County, and were divided into work teams of about 10-12 students, plus some adults, each day.

Ola Bryant of Tallahassee, along with Gale Johnson of Havana and Don Q. Parker Sr. of Midway, are pleased to announce the engagement and forthcoming marriage of their children, LaTonya Altovese Bryant and Avereston Disraeli Parker Sr.

The bride-elect is a 1991 graduate of Havana Northside High School, and the groom-elect is a 1988 graduate of the school.

The wedding is planned for July 18 at 5 p.m.

How many times in the past few days, weeks or even months, has your day been made brighter because someone took the time to greet you or flash a warm smile first thing in the morning?

I know that most of you work or are going to school and really are not in a position or location for such an even to occur or may not even have a chance to greet family members in a loving manner.

Last week on my way to Twin Ponds Road, which is usually around 6 a.m., one of my female neighbors bid me a good morning.  She shared that she enjoyed reading my column.

Alfronia Louie-Wilson and Tommy Williams, and Vickie Smith, all of Quincy, are pleased to announce the engagement and forthcoming marriage of their children, Toshia L. Williams and Darfonza R. Smith.

The bride-elect is a 1992 graduate of James A. Shanks and is currently enrolled at Strayer University, where she is studying business administration. She is employed as a supervisor at Version in Tampa. She is the granddaughter of the late L.G. and Nora Bouie of Quincy.