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“In ordinary life, we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich. It is very easy to overestimate the importance of our own achievements in comparison with what we owe others.”
~  Dietrich Bonhoeffer

 

I was alarmed by a “BOOM!…BOOM!…BOOM!” on a peaceful summer night, not far away from my windows opened to the evening mountain breeze. “It’s not even the 4th,” I grumbled, thinking about all the poor dogs cowering in town. 

 

Of course, the curmudgeon side of me wondered why don’t people learn to value peace a bit more than lights and big bangs. There are fireworks that are noiseless, a boon (not a BOOM!) to those of us with sensitive hearing! 

 

Speaking of hearing, as we get older (ahem) or perhaps ‘seasoned,’ we tend to lose hearing bit by bit. Supposedly, if you’re over 25, you can’t hear the whine of a hungry mosquito or certain other frequencies. This has me twisting my head like a long-range radar antenna as I hunt for sneaky skeeters before turning off the bedside lamp. I sure can hear a fly buzz, water drip-drip-dripping, a funny sound in the car engine, or someone else’s TV droning on and on. 

 

At this point in life, it’s a good thing to find gratitude in hearing birds sing, creeks flow, or summer rain drizzling on thirsty leaves, or for the first ripe tomato or sweet peach, or for young praying mantises the color of new spring. Happy July, Dear Reader. May we never take our freedoms or our democracy for granted. 

 

The Saluda Tailgate Market is Friday at the west city parking lot located off Main Street, 4:30 to 6 p.m. 

 

 

The 59th Annual Coon Dog Day will be held July 9, with activities scheduled from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., including live music, food, coon dog judging, and street dances. The parade starts at 11 a.m. The Saluda 5K is a project/fundraiser for Saluda Elementary School; it begins on Main Street at 8 a.m. and follows the traditional Coon Dog Day 5k route.

 

The Saluda Pop-Up Pantry is open Tuesday from 1 p.m to 6 p.m at Saluda Presbyterian Church, located at 54 Carolina Avenue (behind Saluda Library). Donations of paper goods are always welcome and needed. To volunteer at the Pantry, call Saluda Church of the Transfiguration at 828-749-9740. You can mail tax-deductible donations to Saluda Pop-Up Pantry, P.O. Box 428, Saluda, NC 28773 or donate online at www.saludapantrycom. 

 

Happy July Birthday to Debi Thomas, Rheta Foster, Nancy Weinhagen, Lisa Obermiller, Kathy Thompson, Bill Jameson, Emily Rose Ford, Jeremy Ford, Mike Cass,  Nathen Honeycutt, Melissa Justus, Hunter Justus, Alyssa Justus, Lin Savage, Doug Taylor, Amanda Anderson, Gail Slaughter, Diane Ballard, Amber Grant, and Marianne Blazar!

 

Feel free to contact me at bbardos@gmail.com, (828) 817-6765, P.O. Box 331, Saluda, NC 28773, on Facebook, or visit bonniebardos.com