Something special from the Editor

We are officially in October! It seems like it was pretty warm this September, but hopefully that fall breeze will swing on by soon. I have always enjoyed a cool October breeze. I hope everyone had a safe September and had some time to get a good seat for a football game.

We have had some good things happening around us this past month, and I look forward to some good things happening around us for October, too. I always have enjoyed the fall and winter months. I don’t know if it is because of the weather itself, or if it is just the feeling we all get when we enter into our favorite times of the year.

This very month, 21 years ago, Cynthia Venuti and Vincent Paul Venuti III of Leland, Mississippi, brought me home to this amazing town. After my mom went through a painful week of labor, I finally made my way into this world. She said the doctor told her “he’s got a very strong set of lungs.” I think it’s safe to say he was right; Lord knows I love to talk. There are a handful of people that I know that were born in October, so, if you are one of them reading this, happy birthday to you.

Some of you may have noticed something new in this paper. We have a column titled “Strictly Personal.” After going through some older papers from the past and talking to several friends and loved ones, “Strictly Personal” was a section of the paper “back in the day” where people shared different things going on in their lives. I guess you could say it was the “Facebook” before Facebook, or the “MySpace” before MySpace. I thought bringing it back would be something interesting.

I want to keep the readers engaged, and I want people to still love going to pick up a paper and have something to touch in their hands while reading. So, please feel free to send in all of the fun things going on in your life. You can text them to me, or you can email them to me at [email protected]. In the subject line, just put “Strictly Personal,” and I will make sure to do my best to feature it.

We want to see the costumes! Anyone who wishes to share their or their child’s Halloween costume, send it in, we can feature it in “Strictly Personal.”

What’s your favorite Halloween movie? I think one of mine would have to be Halloween II (1981). I’ve always enjoyed a good spooky movie. For many of us, some of our favorite October memories were made when we were children. We remember deciding what we were going to dress up as for Halloween, walking from house to house with our friends and coming home with a bag full of candy. We knew which houses gave out the best candy and which ones seemed to always have their porch lights turned off.

Now, instead of being the child knocking on the door, some of us are the ones answering it. We watch as another generation of children runs up the sidewalk, excited to show off their costumes and collect as much candy as they possibly can. That is one of the things I love about a small town. We get to watch traditions pass from one generation to the next.

I also want to acknowledge all of our friends, family members and loved ones in agriculture. They have been putting in some very hard work these past few months. Hot days and long nights, but it is one of the things that keeps the Delta economy strong. Thank you to those who have tended to the crops in the ground this year. I know it has been a hot year, but sooner or later it will cool off, and you too will get some rest.

I hope you all enjoy this month’s issue of The Leland Progress. As always, I look forward to hearing from each of you on what you thought about it. Happy October, stay safe and have fun.