We bring you good tidings

Here’s some nice things I ran across over the holidays. I hope they make you smile.

FIRST OF THE YEAR
Christopher and Crystal Childers got a nice present but it was a little late for Christmas. Their 9-lb. baby boy, David Matthew, who was supposed to have arrived a week or so earlier, showed up Jan. 2 instead, making him the first child born in Monroe, MI, in 2008. The father, Christoper, an ex-Marine, is a salesman for TruGreen-ChemLawn in Taylor, MI.

LOOK OUT FOR THE "MOW KIDS"
News 8 in Austin, TX, recently aired a segment about a new lawn care operation there named “Mow Kids.” Robert Fleming, 13, runs the business, aided by his 10-year-old twin brothers Sean and Travis. Robert takes care of the trimming while the twins do the mowing. The twins took some of their profits and bought a Nintendo Wii gaming system. Robert is saving for a car. The brothers netted $2,400 for their summer’s work, reported News 8.

HELPING HAND FOR A GREAT GUY
CBS 4 in Hollywood, FL, in a piece airing just before Christmas, told how the community came together to put a longtime landscaper back on his feet. While J.W. Smith, 58, was working on a client’s property in late November somebody stole his truck, trailer and tools. A longtime client alerted the television station’s Neighbors 4 Neighbors segment and the anonymous donations started pouring in, including a new mower and other grounds equipment. People also donated abouot $700 in cash. Smith was described in the report as being a humble, hard-working man that’s greatly admired. Who says landscapers don't get any respect.

LAWNS FOR THE LORD
A couple of day ago I read a report in a Florida newspaper (I think it was the St. Petersburg paper) about a man named Eric Wills, a letter carrier, who began helping folks on his route when he saw that they couldn’t take care of their properties. In addition to delivering mail to about 500 homes, he now drives his homemade trailer sporting a “Lawns for the Lord” sign on it to about 15 properties, which he mows in addition to doing other small chores for people who are either elderly or having other difficulties.

PRAISE THE LORD AND PASS THE TRIMMER
Finally, preacher Patrick McCary, when he isn't tending to the spiritual needs of his flock as pastor of the Church of Christ in Craig, CO, is tending to customers' lawns. The Craig Daily Press newspaper featured McCary in nice article recently. The pastor, it said, brought 12 years experience tending fine turf to his post when he came to Craig about a year ago. Praise be to those who keep us neat and green. . .and Amen. — Ron Hall


— Ron Hall