Anne Murray helped me out with this one when she sang, “We sure could use a little good news today”.

When someone wants to honor the memory of a loved one, that’s good news. When they light candles for them, that’s good news. When they sit in a circle and sing happy songs and reminisce about the ones they’ve lost, that’s good news.  When they plant a tree in their loved one’s memory, that’s really good news.

To have good news you have to have bad news.  Now for the bad news; Releasing balloons is bad.

Before you let another one go, think about the birds and the other animals you may be killing.

Human beings aren’t the only animals that have families.  All animals do. Even fish and they don’t want to lose their loved ones anymore than you do.

Also think about this, littering is illegal. Releasing balloons is not illegal, but it is littering.

Here’s some more bad news; Them balloons, as bad as you want them to, ain’t goin to heaven.  They are coming back down to land in the trees, the creeks and on other people’s property.  They are doing more harm than good.

Here’s another line from Anne, “Its gonna get worse you see, we need a change in policy.”

I think we need an altar call.  Who will be the first to come forward?  Will it be a bored member? A law maker? A law man? A pillar of the community?  Will it be China Grove, so Landis will know what to do?  What about the Humane Society?  Any preachers want to speak up? What about the bookstore gang that writes letters?  Are you ready to put pen to paper and get the ban started and the policy changed?

Once you realize that releasing balloons ain’t about your religion and that it is littering its as easy as reaching out to accept a trophy for something you didn’t do.  Then you can go around singing with Dierks Bentley, “What Was I Thinkin?”

If you still don’t get it, here goes a little story about a preacher and a lawn mower that might help.

This feller kept pullin on his lawn mower and a little boy walked up to him and said, “ What’s wrong mister? Wont that lawn mower crank?”  The man said, “Naw! I can’t get it to crank.” The little boy said, “When my lawn mower won’t crank an all like that, I cuss it.”  The man said, “Oh! I’m a preacher.  I don’t know how to cuss.”

The little boy said, “You keep pullin on that rope, It’ll come to you.”

If you still can’t comprehend that releasing balloons is littering- keep pulling on it, it’ll come to you.

For the benediction, I want to call on the great Hank Williams and use two lines from his classic song, “I saw the light, Now I have traded the wrong for the right, praise the Lord I saw the light.”

I’m “Wishin and Hopein” that “Someday Soon” we will all quit singing “Up Up and Away.”  And light candles, hold hands and plant trees and look up and say “I Saw the Light.”

Whitey Harwood lives in Rowan County.