From Helen . . .

Dear Readers of The Paper of Montgomery County, Just before the joy and light of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and beyond, we have the shortest days and longest nights of the year. Many dread those days. I’ve always relished them: the somber light, the crisp air, the skeletal trees and those pink fire sunsets guttering in the west—before suppertime. In 2021, the Darkest Days seem to be freighted for us all with the pandemic still very much here, with things costing more, and, on December 15, earthworms dying on the CHS tarmac (on that 60-degree day). These things are unsettling. Yet we humans persist. We communicate, we read and think and take care of each other. Thank you, for reading The Paper of Montgomery County. We’re so thankful for editor Tim Timmons and League of Women Voters of Montgomery County columnist Maria Weir for being such excellent journalists, giving us nourishing food for thought each week along with news. For us citizens, responsible journalism is a true gift of every season. Thank you, Friends, and do keep reading and thinking about issues and about how we craft the good life here in Montgomery County.

Helen Hudson