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| Beth, Glenda, and Roger |
Roger and I became friends. After taking my classes, Roger, who lived in Robbinsville, began writing columns for the local newspaper there. I began publishing his columns on a page on my blog. www.glendacouncilbeall.com
Frequently, Roger, his wife Beth, and another friend, Kim, would invite me to lunch with them in Murphy. He invited me to come up to Robbinsville and spend a day with him and Beth. They are the nicest people, and I enjoyed them so very much.
Years passed. The pandemic happened, my health became a problem, and we didn't see each other as often. I had begun planning to move to Roswell, GA where I have family. At our last lunch together (see the photo above), Roger and Beth told me they were selling their beautiful home on the lake and moving up north to be near a daughter. It seemed we were all experiencing health issues.
In the following years, I had two surgeries, knee and shoulder, and when I heard from Roger again, it was to read about his long battle with surgery and a long, difficult recovery.
But he was still writing! He continued to send articles to the newspaper in Robbinsville, NC, and they were published.
Roger has always been complimentary of my classes, which he said started him writing.
This week, I was so impressed and proud when I opened a package and found a hardback book by Roger Carlton, signed to me. "You are my muse. Your Creative Non-Fiction I - III got me going."
We never know what will come of it when we touch someone's life. Maya Angelou told Oprah, "Your legacy is not a building with your name on it. Your legacy is how many lives you touched."
As an older person now, I don't touch as many lives as I once did with my teaching, my support for writers' endeavors, encouragement, and belief in them. But I am fulfilled when any of my students or my friends reach a goal or accomplish a dream they struggled for.
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Roger Carlton has touched many lives in his work as City Manager for several municipalities in the Miami area, and this book reveals his success in that role at Miami Beach. His reputation for dealing with the issues faced every day, and his ability to manage it all, led others in charge of their cities to seek his advice.
Congratulations, my friend, Roger Carlton.
