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Mad Jack Hanks: Taking time for the family

I’m sure beyond a reasonable doubt, gentle readers, that all of you had a mother and a father.

Some of those family relationships are memorable. Some are valued and treasured. Some are not.

I remember driving by an ex-employee’s house one summer day only to see him carried on a stretcher with face covered headed to the funeral home. His daughter finally confessed his sexual abuse after so many years, and he shot himself instead of face his peers. Those situations, thank God, are not commonplace, but they do happen more than we would want.



Today there are so many blended families it’s sometimes hard for all involved to adjust to one another and feel like the family that they wanted is what they have. On the other hand, there are those blended families that fit like a glove and work well for everyone.

“Today there are so many blended families, it’s sometimes hard for all involved to adjust to one another and feel like the family that they wanted is what they have.”

At the time I’m writing this, the second presidential debate is only hours away. I look at these two folks and sometimes wonder what their family lives must be like. I wouldn’t want to be in either one, regardless of the financial benefits. Would you?



One family stuck together as a unit, but mom and dad have such despicable reputations it makes one pause to wonder how and why they still hold each other up. On the other hand, we have a man who uses such reckless phrases. He has been married more than once, has a blended family and his and her children on the surface seem to admire their dad and sing his praises.

I am so sad, my friends, that our — my — country, has offered these two up as candidates for the highest office in the land and leader of the free world.

I observe the families of all the critters that I have come in contact with in my 76 years and it’s comforting to see how they work together and how protective they are of one another. A good mother cow will eat you alive if she even suspects you may bring harm to her baby. That is the norm for most, if not all, animals that I have been around. Male lions in Africa and boar grizzlies in our country sometimes kill and eat their young. They want no future competition.

There always seems to be that story on the news about the boyfriend babysitting his girlfriend’s baby that winds up abusing the child, resulting in death. Many times the mother will come to the defense of her worthless male counterpart. Those stories break my heart.

I have witnessed in public either mom or dad jerking their child around and screaming at them and those little ones seem to have no place for a soft landing or a place to hide to avoid more abuse. You hear about some child chained, fed dog food, sleeping in his or her own body waste and being beaten almost daily. There must be a special place in hell for those who abuse their gifts from God.

For me, the love I have for my children and grandchildren is without bounds or borders. Little Miss Martha was the same way. Did we have issues in our marriage? Of course we did. Almost everyone does, but when you love your family and all it’s members, you find the solution around your problems and hold on dearly to what you have and the responsibilities we have to keep it all together.

Families are so important in today’s world, when everyone is looking into little devices, sending messages and not taking the time for one-on-one, face-to-face conversations.

Just take a moment and consider where we are headed and what the end result might be. Walk over to the fence and watch that ol’ momma cow or your household pet and be humble enough to take a little advice from them.

Love you guys! Stay tuned, check yer cinch on occasion and be the very best person you can possibly be every day. I’ll c. y’all, all y’all. ❖


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