…if you haven’t taken the time to do so, you really, really owe it to yourself to take a long walk around Thomasville right now. In a word, it is beautiful.

I know we are all very proud of our roses here when they are in bloom, but right now is unquestionably the prettiest time of the year for our community. Almost every flower you can think of – with special emphasis on our azaleas – is just hitting its stride.

Yes, as an allergy sufferer, I know all too well about the mass of pollen associated with the blooms. But the visual feast they provide more than offsets the sneezes and watery eyes their byproducts cause for many of us.

And, to be perfectly honest, this is the perfect time of the year to spend as much time as you can outdoors. It won’t be very long before those 90+ degree temperatures combined with near 100% humidity will be in play, and there’s just no comfortable way to be outside enjoying things unless there is a swimming pool nearby.

Given the chaotic nature of everything going on in the world today, a good, long walk appreciating some of nature’s beauty while it is here to be enjoyed might just be a much needed and overdue elixir.

…serious question: does every single thing that happens these days have to be made into a political mess?

This past week, two astronauts who had pretty well been stuck in space for nearly a year were finally brought back home. You would think something like rescuing fellow human beings from outer space would be a universal gathering point of celebration and relief for everyone.

Sadly, you’d be thinking totally wrong.

For those just tuning in, astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were supposed to spend about a week on the International Space Station when they went up last June. But they remained on the ISS after the experimental Boeing capsule they took into orbit malfunctioned.

Too predictably, Donald Trump used the situation as an opportunity to dump on the Biden administration during an interview back on Fox News in February, essentially saying the duo were ‘left in space’ by the former president. Elon Musk, who was a part of the interview, added “…they were left up there for political reasons, which is not good.”

All of that devolved into a firestorm online when a former space station commander, Andreas Mogensen, called that claim “a lie.” Musk fired back, calling Mogenson an “idiot” and adding that he directly offered to return the astronauts, which was ignored by the Biden administration.

Then, former NASA officials disputed that stance, adding that crew program cost and safety were the dominant reasons for keeping the two veteran astronauts in space. Sending up an extra capsule, or returning a capsule early were apparently “ruled out pretty quickly” due to budgetary concerns combined with safety concerns.

And then, as if things were convoluted enough, because Musk’s ‘Space X’ was integral in the rescue, and since Musk is actively involved in Trump’s dismantling of many government funded agencies which has resulted in many federal employees losing their jobs, a sizable portion of Americans spoke publicly about the whole thing negatively.

So what is the truth? As with most issues that are framed to place blame entirely on one side and heap praise entirely on the other, it is more than likely somewhere between the two extremes.

For me, I’ll just take the words Wilmore offered online and be done with it: “All of us have the utmost respect for Mr. Musk and obviously respect and admiration for the President of the United States Donald Trump. We appreciate them, we appreciate all that they’ve done for us, and we’re thankful that they’re in the positions that they’re in.”

There. Now was that so hard to do?

Regardless, I’m sure the astronauts and their families are thrilled they’re back home – and really, that’s all that should matter.

…as the last nine weeks of the school year start, I again heartily encourage all of you who have children in our schools to take a little time to let the teachers who have made a positive difference for them know they are appreciated.

Over 30% of all teachers in Georgia have indicated that it’s unlikely they will stay in the profession for another five years. And that is coming from teachers currently in the profession, with a teacher shortage already in the mix to boot.

This past year I became a mentor for new teachers in the audio/video/technology/film area statewide in hopes that a voice of experience could help some of them feel more confident in their efforts to teach, and help ensure they won’t hoist the white flag and give up on the teaching profession altogether. For too many of them, they simply feel like the only time they ever get any feedback from students or parents is when something is wrong.

I can tell you from personal experience that hearing encouraging words from parents is one of the most valuable forms of positive reinforcement a teacher can get. Sometimes those words can be the difference between them feeling worthy and not.

Take a few minutes to say thanks to a teacher that deserves it. You’ll be glad you did, and it might mean the world to them.