Bennettsville: Time for a Change

The downtown area in my hometown of Bennettsville S.C. is very prevalent and is the center of activity in the area.
I left the small town back in 1996 and I haven't lived there since. I only come back to visit my parents.

Here's why. You see Bennettsville is a small place that's hindered in my opinion by traditionalist. The traditionalist want the town to remain a town where farming is the top industry.

Unfortunately, there are many in the town that get left behind because of this mentality. There aren't a lot of resources and opportunities for youth and many of them suffer for this later on in life.

Consider this, there is no movie theater close by, nor is there a skating rink or any place that the family can go for entertainment. People have to travel out of town for a lot of their recreational needs, and dollars that could be put back into the community go into nearby towns like Florence or Laurinburg.

The lack of things to do doesn't make Bennettsville very attractive to young professionals. That's why you see so many people, leave the area.

Here's what needs to be done. City officials need to get away from the old mindset of doing things and need to make more concessions to bring new businesses in.

A couple of upscale restaurants, coupled with a huge retail store would do a lot to boost the town's economy and also capture some of those lost dollars that are going into other municipalities with greater resources. This will then begin to shape the way young professionals view the area.

The next thing the town can do is develop the "Bypass" area a bit better. Let me explain. For anyone that has ever been to Bennettsville, particularly this area, then they would know that it often gets a great deal of traffic. Mostly you have people that stop into the McDonald's for breakfast while they're on their way to Myrtle Beach.

The problem is, there aren't really that many other businesses that can capture those tourists dollars and bring in new revenue to the town. If that area was developed - say with more restaurants and perhaps a retail store of some sort - maybe even a strip mall - there would be a tremendous difference in the town. That area could become a local hub.

But I digress. These are all dreams, ideas that I have had for years, and they aren't uncommon. Many are asking for growth in Bennettsville. Many are asking for change. It's up to the leadership to answer the call and make this change happen.

Rants of a sleep deprived Dad

My wife and I aren't getting much sleep here lately. That's because our little baby girl Grace has the uncanny ability to wake up at 2 a.m. and cry until errr let's say around 5 a.m.

Nothing seems to soothe her. Rubbing doesn't work; cuddling her in my arms and walking back and forth for about 30 minutes straight doesn't work; even reading our favorite book, One Fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish doesn't seem to quite get it.

No little grace cries and then magically, as if someone has told her that its time to go to bed, she stops mid-cry and is out like a light. That's when my wife and I swoop in to get as much sleep as possible.

But we're working on that issue and several others. See in this new age of parenting, when the Internet is available and all kinds of other great advice, you can just Google what your baby is doing and self diagnose the infant yourself.

It's just that awesome. If your baby is crying for no reason at all, it's probably because she has some weird fungal bacteria growing in her nose. The best solution is to take her immediately to her pediatrician.

Is your baby not pooping? Google it and you will see the remedy for that is to put the small infant in a little tub and just jostle her legs around a bit and let the mud slide begin.

All these famous ideas and cures provided to you by moms who are just as sleep deprived as you are and make about as much sense. And they're available to you at anytime.

Here's what I think should happen. Internet service for new parents should be terminated until the child reaches 22 months. The parent should also take sleep deprivation classes about six months prior to the pregnancy. Oh and those books that give you insight on raising an infant - they should be gathered up tossed in a huge bon fire - cause guess what they don't work. I followed the instructions on how to get Grace to burp in five pats to a tee... and it still takes 10 minutes.

My son

This is the post I've been dreading, but desperately needed to write. And I have to admit, who would want to ever discuss the death of their child.

But I need to do this, as hard as it might be, I need to talk about my little boy. Nearly a year ago my little boy was born prematurely - at 30 weeks - and for a three week period my wife and I got to see an extraordinary little child.

Our son was our first child, a tiny little 2lb. boy that defied the odds and taught my family just what strength was. He was cared for in a neonatal intensive care unit, (NICU) by a fantastic team of nurses and doctors. He passed late May, succumbing to Necrotizing enterocolitus, a devastating disease that literally destroys the intestines of premature children.

There are no words that can describe the loss of my son. Everyday and every night I think about him. A lot of our friends and our family look at us and they really don't understand what we're going through.

But then, how could they? How could they ever imagine not seeing their child take their first steps; speak their first words; learn how to ride a bike; or even come home for the first time.

My dad often tells me, "Son you'll never get over it, but you will get through it."
I wonder if I will feel like that in time. Even with the birth of a new child, my wife and I still reflect on our little boy. Our family, circle broken before it even truly begins.

But there is comfort in faith. One day I will see my brave little boy again in heaven. I will get to see him as God meant him to be, without the tubes; without the restraints; without any limitations.

Until then, I will miss you son, and I love you with all my heart.

The Old Neighborhood

So, a few weeks ago my parents were telling me about a police sting called Operation Shady Rest. It was pretty much a drug raid that ended up with the arrest of several people that grew up in my old neighborhood.

What is more interesting is that the operation, is named after my old neighborhood. So when my parents told me about this story, I immediately asked the question, when did it get so bad?

But looking back on my youth, I guess I would have to say that it was always that bad. One of my most vivid memories of growing up in Shady Rest, is seeing one of my male family members brutally beat a female in his front yard.

There was a crowd around him, cheering him on, and if it wasn't for a police officer passing by, the situation could have been a whole lot worse.

Another memory is when I was around 14 and one of the kids I grew up with took exception to another kid running off at the mouth. He promptly pulled out a gun and threatened to kill him right in front of me. I guess you could say that was when I really realized that things were really serious.

Now when I go to my old neighborhood, the chatter is, who got locked up this time. Or moreso, who killed who? I guess this is the reality of it all. The old neighborhood indeed.