Dear Editor,

I took my wife Helen to Van’s Barber Shop last week and as Van was cutting her hair, I was looking through the Hartselle Enquirer that was lying on the bench seat. I came to the Town Hall page and noticed that Annie Murphy had written you a letter. The reason Annie’s name caught my attention was that we pastored her church the last seven years of the forty-two years we pastored in the United Methodist Church. Annie is one of those kinds of people that every pastor wishes he had more of.

When we retired in June of 2012, we started attending Hartselle First Methodist. We like the 8:45 service and we have been friends with Robert Sparkman and Bobby Ray Halbrooks for over 25 years. We sat as far back as we could until a few weeks ago. I have always wondered what makes the back seats in a church service so popular. I’m still wondering. We moved up toward the front so I could hear better. Or as Bobby Ray put it, “I was getting closer to the fire.”

After reading Annie’s article, I noticed a familiar picture in the right hand corner of the town hall page. I took the paper to Helen and I asked her if that was the person that we have been sitting close to in church. Van said “that is Randy Garrison the president and editor of the Hartselle Enquirer.” Well that answered Helen’s question from a few weeks back. She said, “Who is that distinguished looking man we sat in front of?”

I told you Sunday that I was going to write you a letter. The reason is because I agree with you 110 % with what you said in your Iron Bowl Thoughts article. Down through the years people have wanted to know who I was for: Alabama or Auburn. I would usually say I pull for both our state schools until they play each other and then I pull for Alabama. What other state besides Alabama can say that for the last five years a team from our state has played for the national title. I know to a lot of people I may sound wishy washy. But consider this when our small motor home needed painting guess what color I had it painted? Of course, I went with Crimson Tide Red and White. We live in the Somerville area now. The week we moved in the lady across the street said, “We are glad to have you in the community, but that camper has got to go.” I knew she was only kidding.

So if you get behind a slow moving camper that says on the back “May the Tide ever rise, But rise or fall my Tide”

Please remember the camper is old and so are the people inside it.

David and Helen Weaver
Somerville