By Jeff Miller
Staff writer
You’ve walked a mile or two from your home to the business district and back. You’ve eyed that bench in the shade. It would be nice just to sit down for a minute or two, but you’re hesitant, knowing that it belongs to someone else.
Well, feel free to sit a spell. That’s what it’s there for.
Dick White has taken the liberty to place a bench along the sidewalk of his Main Street house in an effort to give passersby a brief respite.
It started a number of years ago when he noticed walkers sitting in the low-hanging branch of his magnolia (cucumber tree; wishing tree). But after someone had fallen off – and didn’t get hurt – he decided to make a safer place for people to stop.
When he happened upon a bench at a yard sale, he bought it, made some refurbishments, and set it along the sidewalk next to his wishing tree. That was about five years ago.
“At least once a day there’s generally somebody here,”?he said. “I’ve had them here two or three different times a day. But you know, there’s always at least one couple sitting here.”
When he sees someone, he tries to be a friendly neighbor and say hello, happy to see someone making use of his community bench.
He understands that in this day and age, kids are taught to not talk to strangers. White wants to assure people that if they see him, he just wants to say hello.
“It’s terrible that we live in a world like that where the kids are afraid,”?he said.
He’s not about to come out and chase kids off his lawn, either.
By Jeff Miller
Staff writer
You’ve walked a mile or two from your home to the business district and back. You’ve eyed that bench in the shade. It would be nice just to sit down for a minute or two, but you’re hesitant, knowing that it belongs to someone else.
Well, feel free to sit a spell. That’s what it’s there for.
Dick White has taken the liberty to place a bench along the sidewalk of his Main Street house in an effort to give passersby a brief respite.
It started a number of years ago when he noticed walkers sitting in the low-hanging branch of his magnolia (cucumber tree; wishing tree). But after someone had fallen off – and didn’t get hurt – he decided to make a safer place for people to stop.
When he happened upon a bench at a yard sale, he bought it, made some refurbishments, and set it along the sidewalk next to his wishing tree. That was about five years ago.
“At least once a day there’s generally somebody here,”?he said. “I’ve had them here two or three different times a day. But you know, there’s always at least one couple sitting here.”
When he sees someone, he tries to be a friendly neighbor and say hello, happy to see someone making use of his community bench.
He understands that in this day and age, kids are taught to not talk to strangers. White wants to assure people that if they see him, he just wants to say hello.
“It’s terrible that we live in a world like that where the kids are afraid,”?he said.
He’s not about to come out and chase kids off his lawn, either.
