Happy Birthday wishes to James D. Gregory, Dec. 6, Drakes Branch; John Gee, Jr., Dec. 7, Farmville; Louise Thompson, Dec. 8, Keysville; Sarah Vaughan, Dec. 9, Saxe; Daisy Williams, Dec. 9, Drakes Branch; Christina Friend, Dec. 9, Keysville; Darnell Jackson, Dec. 9, Nathalie; Anthony White, Dec. 9, Charlotte Court House; Brian Craighead and Ryan Craighead, twins, Dec. 10, Saxe; Aliyah Marable, Dec. 10, Charlotte Court House; Sandra White, Dec. 10, Connecticut; Douglas Wilmouth, Dec. 10, Cullen; Rev. Tyrone Brown, Dec. 10, Saxe; Lamont Hart, Dec. 11, Oxford, North Carolina. I wish all of you many more happy birthdays. Happy birthday!

Anniversary wishes to Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Linsey, Dec. 7; 57 years of marriage, South Boston. I wish you many more happy years together with God’s blessings.

Get well wishes to all of the sick and shut-in. I hope you all are well soon, up and about. You are in our prayers for a quick recovery.

Sympathy to all of the families who lost a loved one recently. Our heartfelt prayers and good wishes go out to all of you in your time of need. You have our deepest sympathy.

Thought for the week: Sometimes you have to give up on people, not because you don’t care, but because they don’t.

HELPING

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands. One for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

Condemn none, if you can stretch out a helping hand, do so. If you cannot, fold your hands, bless your brothers, and let them go their own way. Helping someone is what life is all about.

News is due by noon Friday. Any news received after this time will not be included in this column. News can be submitted by calling (434) 568-0596.

Virginia Freeman is a community columnist for The Charlotte Gazette. She can be reached at vstars@pure.net.