When I was in fourth grade in Mrs. Cohn's class, at Brushy Creek Elementary in Taylors, our class was selected to participate in a commercial for WYFF, News Channel 4. I haven't lived in Greenville since 1994, when I graduated from Eastside High School. I left for college, joined the military, married a soldier and the rest is history, but back then anyway, WYFF was known as "Your Friend Four." I remember the 6:00 news with Carl Clark and Carol Anderson and the weather with Mike Seidel. To this day, I even remember every word to that song we sang for that commercial:
The spirit of America is alive in my hometown.
The spirit lives in Greenville and is shared for miles around.
We all feel the spirit in this land that we adore.
That's the spirit of "Your Friend Four!"
That's the spirit, reaching out across our land.
That's the spirit, when you lend a helping hand.
That's the spirit reaching out to give to you more!
That's the spirit of Your Friend Four!
For the past few years, as the time draws close for my husband to trade his service uniform in for civilian attire, foremost in our minds has been our short list of retirement destinations. That naïve 9 year old little girl singing on TV with the rest of Mrs. Cohn's class sometimes hums that catchy little jingle and dreams of returning to that place I always remembered as my friendly hometown, full of the spirit of America.
You've become a disappointment, Greenville, at least as far as I can tell from keeping in close contact with local family and friends; from continuing to take a subscription to the Greenville News; and of course, from following you on social media. What happened to you, Greenville? When did you decide to call good evil and evil good? WHY, Greenville, is it more important to keep up appearances than to root out things like prostitution, drugs, illegal gambling, and the sex trafficking of children? What in the world is wrong with you, Greenville? How do you oust men like Will Lewis and Keith Grounsell with the results that they have given you, while singing the praises of a man like Donald Trump? You excuse Trump's repeated gaffes, temper tantrums, name calling, and constant capitulation because you SEEM to believe, in his case, that the end justifies the means. But then...THEN you turn right around and run Chief Grounsell out of Simpsonville because why? He hurt someone's feelings? He dared to be that courtier who had the nerve to raise his voice in righteous emotion in the hallowed city council throne room?
I'm not done with you, Greenville. I don't get it. I want to know what the heck happened to my city? Stay tuned, because there's plenty to discuss:
-Savannah Nabors and her opportunistic sister, Lauren Jackson, who both appear to my trained eye to be exploiting profoundly vulnerable individuals, beginning with Joel Jackson and culminating with traumatized and special-needs children whose parents these "ladies" have managed to dupe into believing that Mrs. Nabors has years of specialized expertise in this field.
-Interim Sheriff Brown's choice of second-in-command, Mr. Smith; a man with ties to the Clintons and the Obama administration; a native Greenvillian (or is it Greenvillain?) who was ousted from the Secret Service under VERY questionable circumstances. (But you want to get rid of Will Lewis for some words that you didn't like and tryst between consenting adults?! I'm sure you have your rationale, but damned if I can see it.)
-and on and on and on, as more corruption comes to be revealed.
I will also be talking about the next sheriff's election and the concept of cognitive dissonance, with is really just a ten-dollar work for hypocrisy. Maybe Bill Love can write a song about it to keep you entertained and distracted so you miss seeing who really deserves your contempt and who absolutely doesn't deserve your vote. Enjoy the bread and circus, Romans, but remember, you won't find the knowledge and discernment you so desperately lack in that arena. The information you need is available to any of you, but only if you know where to look.
