Columns

So it’s 2 a.m. in a Mississippi hospital room.

Hello, my name is Debra, and I am a sugarholic. I know I am because I googled it and the internet said I am. Here are the symptoms, and to be a sugarholic, you only need to be able to identify with one. Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA) addresses the symptoms of sugar addiction: craving sweets, inability to cope with feelings of hunger, frequent mood swings, forgoing healthy choices to eat sweet foods, and feeling like you can't live without sugar. Guess what? I have all of these symptoms.

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You ever have one of those moments where something small just sends you spinning? That was me last week — standing out in front of my little shop, staring at my ferns, and realizing my big red-and-white holiday peppermints were gone.

DEAR EDITORS: We’re writing to update you on Delta Interfaith’s work to bring fast, reliable fiber internet to every home in East Carroll Parish. Over the past five years, Delta Interfaith has led the effort to connect our parish.

One of my favorite Christian writers once said that the Earth is not our home, but it is our boat. I have always loved that image. It reminds us that while we live, work, and love here on Earth, we are on a journey toward our true home— Heaven. The good things of this world—our families, friendships, and even the beauty of nature—are not ends in themselves but gifts that help carry us closer to God. In that sense, life truly becomes our boat: the vessel that leads us home rejoicing.

A French author wrote: “We don’t see things as they are; we see them as we are.” In other words, our perception is our reality, which explains why people look at things differently. So that brings me to Halloween. Halloween originated from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, which marked the end of summer and the harvest season, and was a time when people believed the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead became thin. In other words, it was just a celebration of the previous year’s harvest. The Catholic Church over time created All Saints Day on November 1. The evening before that became known as All Hallows Eve, or Halloween.

As I wrote in my column last month, times are hard. (What’s going on?) People are struggling and mad and still trying to move through the everyday. We have to; the other options aren’t really options if we are to remain whole human beings in this world.

I have reached an age where my mind says, 'I can do that,' but my body says, 'Try it and you’ll be sorry.' That happens all the time. On my last birthday, I turned 69. “It’s only a number,” they said. Well, no. It’s definitely more than that. With age comes limitations. And unfortunately, so do the repercussions for how you have lived your life in the past. The only reason I am still here is because I lost a lot of weight. And if I hadn’t, I would probably have lost a limb by now and surely my eyesight. Wishes? A wish that I could go back in time and know what I know now. I would take better care of myself.

The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) approved policy changes last week that will reduce the number of high school state assessments. “This surgical approach reduces testing while maintaining the validity and rigor of these vital assessments,” said Louisiana State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley . “It shows we can listen to our educators, improve the system, and uphold high expectations.”