Rowan Youth Orchestra deserves encouragement

Congratulations to the boys and girls, members of the Rowan Youth Orchestra, who performed at the annual banquet of the Center for Faith & the Arts Saturday night. It was a stellar performance that earned a standing ovation.

About halfway through the program, a lady at the next table leaned over toward me and said, “This program is for parents and grandparents, not us.” Understanding this negative comment, I looked around the audience and saw lots of parents and grandparents. “Yes,” I thought, “parents and grandparents, and they are all here.”

The encouragement these kids got from us “parents and grandparents” will make them practice more and get better next week. One day, maybe some will get music scholarships, and some will pursue other careers but play in the symphony. Others will join church music groups.

If we did not have groups like this and the professionals who work with them, we wouldn’t have a symphony. And if we did not have a symphony, we wouldn’t have these groups.

Others may apply the regimen they learned in music to medical or engineering careers.

Congrats, kids. Keep up the good work. And congrats to all the folks who work with them.

— Jack Connery

Salisbury

A friend indeed

Two weeks ago, while I was traveling through Rockwell on a Sunday night, the hood on my truck flew up and cracked my windshield. I pulled into Quality Mart to see if they had anything to tie my hood down. They did not.

A Rockwell officer, Sgt. Gary Phillips, was in the parking lot. He gave me a bungee cord from his patrol car.

Thanks, Officer Phillips.

— Josh Baker

Salisbury