“REMEMBER HOW IMPORTANT YOU ARE TO EACH OTHER.”
Marcie Penner
I attended a family gathering. It was not anyone who is related to me. It is a member of our rural community who is fighting the fight of her life with the one thing we all hate, CANCER.
How important is getting together to support one of us that is facing a life-changing event? As a community it is everything. The function was a mountain oyster fry at Sharon. If you looked behind the church hall you would see people cooking and hauling the food inside. Inside you would see people working on keeping the line of food full and moving along. Was there an admission? Love, the free will jars stood at the start of the food line, everyone gave according to what they could afford.
The line was all the way down the hall and we arrived an hour after it had started. The standing in the line almost did me in with my bad legs and back. They let me bypass everyone to take a seat before I collapsed. No one minded because everyone there was family. At least on this day they were.
There were door prizes donated by area businesses and donations for silent auction and live auction. A local auctioneer conducted the proceedings. All of this for a local woman that everyone loves whether they know her or not. Throwing open hearts and pocketbooks are what we rural people do.
It was one of the largest crowds that I have seen locally for a long time. I did not get to stay for all the proceedings. I don’t hold up as long as I used to anymore. I am sure that the numbers are very impressive both the money raised and the number of people who came.
If you have never been to a mountain oyster fry you have missed out on one of our favorite things here in the hills. If you have never been a part of trying to help someone you know, or don’t know, get through a personal crisis, I feel sorry for you.
There were several members of the clergy there that night and I am sure they are in envy of the numbers that showed up. Yet they recognized the faces of everyone there even though they were not all of their congregations. The concern is a result of the message that these clergies speak of every Sabbath. This should give them some consolation that what they speak about all the time was put into practice ON this Saturday night.
But that is what we Rural people do.
