Carol Stark: Essay winners all undaunted

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November 21, 2009

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Sat Nov 21, 2009, 08:44 AM CST

My sons both say Thanksgiving is their favorite holiday. No stress, just a lot of good food.

I might agree, if I wasn’t the one fixing the food. The payoff comes at the end of the meal, when the boys’ compliments are as sweet as the pecan pie.

Normally, I like to keep my holidays some distance from each other, meaning the Christmas tree doesn’t go up until the Thanksgiving leftovers are gone. But, the last few days I’ve been playing a Santa of sorts. We selected five winners in our Globe Thanksgiving essay contest — one more than we had originally planned just because they were all so good.

The theme centered around the recession, hard times and ways to stay thankful. Doesn’t sound very uplifting does it? You’d be surprised at how resilient we are in this area. I received essays from people whose lives have actually improved because they managed to make it through some pretty dark hours. Others, like Dawn Barnes, has been drawn even closer to her family. The Webb City woman’s essay is featured today on the opposite page. The line “I have my family, and they fill the void where money cannot” are words worth remembering.

Other winners are: Leah Lois Black, of Joplin; Melia Elliott, of Galena, Kan.; Jeanne Jones, of Joplin; and Nancy Spaeth, of Webb City. Their essays will appear daily through Thanksgiving.

The Globe has purchased $50 gift certificates from Wal-Mart, Price Cutter, Target, Aldi and Dillons. The idea behind the essay contest was to find a way to help local families put food on their table. Several entrants mentioned in separate notes that if they won they planned on giving their prize to a friend or neighbor who needed it more than them.

You’ll read an essay from a woman who is 90 and nearly blind. Yet, for the past 10 years, she has been playing the piano during lunch for local nursing home residents. When I called her to tell her she had won, she was thrilled. Because I figured she didn’t drive, I told her I would deliver her certificate. This spry 90-year-old told me to make sure I called ahead, she might be out doing her errands. Wow.

If, like Nancy Spaeth, of Webb City, you were a child of the Depression, then our current economic downturn may not seem like much of a hardship to you. Spaeth’s heart-rending essay will make you count your blessings.

Leah Lois Black, in her submission, considers if her glass is half full or if it’s running over with thanks. And Melia Elliott remembers her father’s courage in times of adversity, and how it helped her cope with a devastating house fire.

When you read the essays, you’ll see that each of these women have plenty of reasons to feel sorry for themselves — but not a single one does.

If, during this Thanksgiving season, you need something to push your gratitude button, read these essays.

And then, give thanks.

Carol Stark is editor of The Joplin Globe. Address correspondence to her, c/o The Joplin Globe, P.O. Box 7, Joplin, Mo. 64802 or e-mail cstark@joplinglobe.com.

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Carol Stark: Essay winners all undaunted

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