I have never really considered myself a political activist.

Blogging from Bruce
March 1, 2009


I have never really considered myself a political activist. I have voted in every election that has rolled around since I first registered to vote in 1971. The first thing I did when I moved to a different town was go to the city hall or court house and register to vote. My right to vote in the democratic process has always been very important to me. As I have gotten older and more knowledgeable of the workings of city and state governments, I see how important it is to have accessibility to the people that are elected so that your voice can be heard. That said, I have decided to run for the post of Alderman in Ward 5 in Bruce.

Running for office is not about a popularity vote. The good Lord knows I have never been popular. Someone like me that has a mind of my own and is not afraid to say what is on my mind is never popular. If I see something that I believe needs to be addressed, I will study it, walk around and mull it over, try to look at all the angles, weigh the pros and cons and then state my case. I’ve been known to state my case quietly and I have been known to ambush someone to get my point across. I’m not afraid to take chances nor am I opposed to change. That is just me in a nutshell.

Now onto something else that I feel strongly about; Saturday was food pantry day. In spite of the bitter cold weather, the usually crowd was lined up in Bollinger’s parking lot waiting for me to cross their names off the list to get their voucher so they could go and pick up their boxes.

We give out a pretty decent box of food each month and its contents vary because we depend solely on donations and contributions from people like you and the Mississippi Food Network. But all boxes do not contain the same items which I think some folks don’t understand. We have no control over what food items are given to us. We just pick up the shipment and bring it back to Bruce and divide it up.

Some of our elderly recipients can’t make it to the pantry to pick up their boxes and they will call upon other people to come and pick up their box and take it to them. We have allowed this practice from the beginning because we know what a hardship it is for some. Alas, I may have to stop that practice tho. For the last couple of months, it was brought to my attention that one of these ‘good Samaritans’ was stopping in the parking lot of a local store and going through the boxes and keeping the ‘good stuff’ for themselves.

I didn’t want to believe that any of the people on our list would be so dishonest but I called one of the little ladies on my list and asked her if she had enjoyed her Christmas ham. She didn’t get one even tho I know that I personally put a ham in each box that was loaded into the car that was picking up her box. In January, a couple of our Pantry volunteers witnessed the rearranging of the boxes again in another location. This month, I personally followed the car and watched as they pulled over and got out to check out the contents of the boxes and then did a bit of picking and choosing.
I am greatly disappointed and enraged at the behavior of these people. They are supposedly helping out another person in need and they go through the boxes and take out what they want first and leave what is left for the person that trusted them to come and bring back a box of food. This is something that I will have to pray about long and hard before I say anything directly to the people in question.

When we started the Our Daily Bread Food Pantry nearly 9 years ago it was to fill a need that has proven to be sorely needed for the elderly that live on fixed incomes and as an emergency food source for those in need. We did it with the intentions of being the face of Christ to others and to do what he admonished us to do which is “That you continue to love one another in the way I have loved you, that you also love one another. This is how everyone shall know that you are my disciples, if you have that love toward one another." John 13:34-35

Saturday I found it very hard to love someone that I know is stealing from another person in need. I will find the proper time and place to be the Voice for those out there that need one. And if that makes me a political activist then I guess I am.