By By Tracy L. Brady
Record reporter
Finding a good topic for a column isn't always an easy task.
For instance, this week I had several ideas to share with readers. One being the June 4 primary.
I've always felt strongly that it is every citizen's obligation to follow local, state, and national politics enough to be able to make an informed decision come Election Day. If you don't, you have not only given up your rights to the noble privilege of voting, but also to the noble privilege of being able to complain about the system and the elected officials who represent it.
Speaking of politics, another topic I considered for my column was Sparkman government teacher and State Representative Sue Schmitz. I think a great injustice has been done Schmitz since the Madison County Board of Education suddenly decided to get up-to-date on just one of many laws needing to be addressed. However, this particular law only affected one county employee-Schmitz. Regardless of how much the board president and her only opponent in the ensuing State Representative District 6 race recused himself from the issue, I still find the situation quite curious.
Another curious event I wanted to share was the death of Mr. Tommy Franklin. He was my favorite customer when I worked with my family at the grocery store and gas station in New Market. Mr. Franklin was my favorite mainly because he was very quiet and friendly. He would gather the same three items every other day and wait patiently for the other customers to go through the checkout because he knew it was going to take him a little while to write his check. While he wrote, I would ask Mr. Franklin what he'd been up to lately. He would smile shyly and just say, "Working and sleeping, Young Lady. That's about it."
Mr. Franklin's death is curious to me because he was only 56 years old and had no medical problems that I had ever known of. After reading the obituary, I called my brother's gas station to see about sending flowers. The ladies working there didn't even know he had died. Mr. Franklin had apparently passed in and out of this life as quietly as he used to pass through the doors of my family's establishments. I called the florist myself and asked her to send something pretty. She suggested a peace lily. I thought that would suit Mr. Franklin just fine.
The final topic I considered was a concert I attended last week. Four bands straight from the "Glam-Rock" days of my youth sang cheesy songs to a multitude of fans for nearly five hours at the VBC. The best part was when Brett Michaels, lead singer of Poison, and Bobby Dahl, Poison guitarist, waved right at my three friends and me. In an instant, all of my sixth grade fantasies came true. (Hey, fantasies were fairly tame in the sixth grade).
With so many ideas and so little space, I'm still not sure what my column should be about this week. It won't be an easy task, but I'm sure I'll figure out something.