Some traditions need to end

Traditions are a big part of who we are in Itawamba County, but the practice of painting our high school graduation year all over signs, buildings and other property throughout the county NEEDS to STOP!

Real traditions are positive forces in our lives. The smell of smoked turkey, cranberry sauce and fresh baked pies on Thanksgiving are only topped in my memories by thoughts of listening to my Grandfather "holding court" delivering tales of days past and you would swear you were there.

The Veterans Day tradition of recognizing the sacrifices made to keep this country free should be something we all embrace. And especially in the South, the tradition of Sunday lunch after church with family and friends is a time to fellowship with like minded Christians and build bonds that last a lifetime.

For those more fortunate, the tradition of passing down family land from one generation to the next gives a sense of place, not just where you're from but a reminder of those who walked before you.

These are all great traditions and there are many more that your family, sports team or friends practice that make us who we are.

Vandalizing public and private property, however, is not a tradition. If you're a high school student, I hope you read this, because this paragraph is for you.

It's great to be proud of where you come from, your school and even the class you graduated with, but there has to be a better way to show this pride. Graffiti is something that you expect to see in larger cities, not on the beautiful tree-lined roads and streets that we all call home.

What you are doing makes our home ugly and I hope you will stop. Get together and figure out a better way to show your pride. What if instead of painting graffiti all over our county, each class took on a community service project as a way to leave their mark?

Wouldn't that be a better legacy, one that you could share with your kids some day? I promise you, as a parent, I don't think the story of you painting "Class of 2009" on someone's building at 1 a.m. is something you will really want to pass down to your kids.

We live in a great community and it's the responsibility of everyone to make sure it stays that way. After all, leaving our home a little better than how we found it, for future generations, may be one of the best traditions ever.

Tim Weston