Columns

Dear Bill, I arose this morning (Saturday, November 9) feeling great and most of it was because of the week’s events and that now we will see a great and good man returned to the White House.Therefore, I felt constrained to write some of my feelings and this is the result.

Recently a man we know died in his nine_es, a_er serving in the military un_l he re_red and then had a long career as a police officer un_l re_rement again. Jimmy covered his beat not in a patrol car or on foot, but on the back of a horse.

Jim Priest is CEO of Goodwill Industries of Central Oklahoma and can be reached at jpriest@okgoodwill.org.New Year’s ResolveYears ago I taught a Sunday School class in December on the topic of setting goals for the new year.

Many people do. Many people find this particular holiday season to be full of heartache, or a nameless void. They can feel a myriad of unwelcome emotions that threaten to overwhelm and sink them into a black hole. Sadness, depression, loneliness, anxiety, or just the very fear of any of those.

Jim Priest is CEO of Goodwill Industries of Central Oklahoma and can be reached at jpriest@okgoodwill.org.A Merry Memorable ChristmasOne snowy Christmas Eve, our family decided, at the last minute, to drive to Texas to see my wife’s parents.

Recently a man we know died in his nineties, after serving in the military until he retired and then had a long career as a police officer until retirement again. Jimmy covered his beat not in a patrol car or on foot, but on the back of a horse.

Hope on a sinking shipThis is a “but for” story that could have resulted in me never being born, never knowing my Dad, never writing this post… Dad was in the Army in WWII and was sent to Camp Miles Standish outside Boston in the Fall of 1942.

“Peanuts” is my all-time favorite comic strip. When our kids were growing up, almost every December we would watch “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” With that in mind, when I read the following, I not only was in total agreement, but it also sent me on a great trip down “memory lane.

I am convinced of a truth after living all these years on this earth. Simply and baldly stated, there are some people who have bathed themselves in misery for years. And they truly do not want anyone to hand them a big thick towel to dry off.

Jim Priest is CEO of Goodwill Industries of Central Oklahoma and can be reached at jpriest@okgoodwill.org.