I miss my grandpa.

By this time of year, the neighbors would have brought food from their farms by the truckloads. The canning would be done, and the cellars would be stocked for the winter. No money would change hands, just neighbors helping neighbors.

Grandpa knew what was going on in the world even though he had no TV or Internet. He didn't trust banks and kept his money on his hip, protected by Smith & Wesson. He wouldn't use Grandma's phone because he conducted all of his business face-to-face. He stood on his principles and always found a way to provide for his family.

He opened a produce stand on N.C. 67 just east of Booneville, on the family farm. Later, he lost the farm because he wouldn't charge sales tax on a man's food.

He was a Democrat who voted when he could find a Democrat worthy of his vote. He always said the hospital was a place to go to die. When he was 84, he slipped in the shower and broke his hip, caught pneumonia and died. He owed no one when he died, and his possessions barely put him in the ground. Now, at 62, I still miss my grandpa.

We can no longer keep the money we make in our back pockets, since 50 percent of it must go to someone else who needs it more. I have lost faith in our government ever standing for the principles on which this country was founded. Common sense seems to be a thing of the past.

Old-fashioned values and traditions are fading away. But during this holiday season, I will still say Merry Christmas. I hope you will too.

Merry Christmas!

George Boggs

Whispering Pines