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20 Smoky Mountain News

Opinion Elton John and the value of forever friends

Many moons ago, when I attended a seventh-grade sleepover, I met a new girl in town. Her name was Lana. She was from Natchez, Mississippi, and had wild curly blonde hair, a vibrant personality and was a huge New Orleans Saints fan.

During the party, we started talking music. This was the era of New Kids on the Block and Color Me Badd. After a while, Lana chimed in to say she was a fan of Elton John. The other girls furrowed their brows, but my eyes widened and a smile spread across my face. I, too, was a fan of Elton John. In fact, we found out that night that our favorite album was “Elton John’s Greatest Hits 1976-1986.”

The summer before our freshman year in high school, we recorded a rendition of “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” on VHS tape, Lana singing the part of Elton and me singing the part of Kiki Dee. This became a pretty hilarious and infamous video among our group of friends. Somehow, after all these years, I still have it in my possession. The footage never fails to make me laugh. I love watching our young, naive personalities singing our hearts out and being silly in my teenage bedroom.

Lana and I roomed together three of our four years at N.C. State University and attended two Elton John concerts during those years. College held a lot of change and metamorphoses for both of us, but two things remained constant — Elton’s music and our friendship.

In 2006 when my parents’ house burned to the ground during a freak electrical fire, I lost all of my middle school, high school and college photo albums. The following year, Lana gave me a box full of new albums where she had copied every photo she could find from our many years together. This was one of the most special gifts I’ve ever received. In 2008-2009, she and I both had our first child, and through those exhausting first years of motherhood we routinely stayed on the phone or got together in person, both working through various post-partum struggles. Those little babies are now nearing 14 years old, the same age we were when we sang our duet on video tape. In 2016 after my mom passed away from cancer, the sound of Lana’s voice on the phone allowed me to freely break down. When you grow up with the same group of kids, all of the mothers and fathers become a collective unit of parents. My mom’s passing was a blow to her heart as well.

Sometime last year, she called and told me that Elton had announced a farewell tour for 2022. Granted, he had a previous farewell tour in 2019, but it sounded like this was the real deal. As soon as tickets went on sale, we bought four tickets for the Charlotte show, one for the two of us and one for each of our significant others.

When Elton walked out on stage at the concert, it felt like we were watching a living legend. His voice and persona are so iconic that few compare. Despite his personal troubles and the world changing and evolving around him, Elton has stayed true to his music and his fans. He’s truly a Rocket Man.

As I grow wiser, I realize more and more that “family” doesn’t have to be those who share the same genetic makeup. I’ve learned that friends sometimes know you better and appreciate the relationship more than those with the same bloodline. Lana is such a friend to me, and I hope I’m that kind of friend to her.

The universe always has our back, so if it wasn’t Elton John that brought Lana and I together, it would have been something else. I cannot imagine my life trajectory without her.

As Elton sings in his 1971 song, “Friends:”

Susanna Shetley Columnist

“Making friends for the world to see Let the people know you got what you need With a friend at hand you will see the light If your friends are there, then everything’s alright.”

(Susanna Shetley is a writer, editor and digital media specialist with The Smoky Mountain News, Smoky Mountain Living, and Mountain South Media. susanna.b@smokymountainnews.com.)

Reaction to accident is disheartening

To the Editor:

It makes me sick to think people would applaud Helping Hands not getting funding from Waynesville after such horrible circumstances occurred.

Nicole Kott is an imperfect human just like the rest of us. She made a mistake, a mistake that has changed her life forever. This mistake should not negate all the amazing work she and Helping Hands have done in this community. This organization stepped in when it was most needed and has been incredibly responsible with the funds it’s been tasked with administering thus far.

Nicole is a caring and giving person that has done so much of this work on her own and without pay and all while she was being harassed and threatened by certain community members. She’s put so much pressure on herself to do everything in her power to help those who have been deemed unworthy of help by others, it’s no wonder she was struggling internally. And now in her time of need and support, it’s devastating to see how she’s being judged. No one is going to be able to make her feel any worse about this situation than she is making herself feel.

Our inability to feel empathy for other human beings will surely be our downfall. My hope is that someone can step into the director role at Helping Hands so that it can continue to provide valuable services in the community and that funding can be restored. I think that’s what Nicole would want. I wish her nothing but love and healing as she continues to recover from this tragic incident.

Jessi Stone Waynesville

LETTERS

Swain ‘Rally’ was a huge success

To the Editor:

The Swain County “Rally for Health, Hope and Recovery” was a huge success. The event included about 30 providers of care who shared information concerning a wide variety of available help that is not readily accessible for most people. In addition, free items such as baby diapers and a hotdog lunch were provided.

As an example, Swain County Congregations4Children and our literacy initiative, Growing Our Future Through Reading, gave gently used books to all the children and spoke with their parents/caregivers about the importance of reading to children. We emphasized the evidence that children who are proficient readers at the end of third grade are less likely to abuse alcohol, take drugs or be incarcerated.

We, as all the other groups, are offering hope at a time when it is sorely needed and vitally important. We appreciate Hope Springs and all its volunteers who made this rally happen!

Loose canines are a cyclist’s nightmare

To the Editor:

I became a cyclist in June 2020, and it has changed my life for the better. I got healthier, I made new friends, and strengthened existing relationships around my new hobby. I ride

about 3-4 times a week, usually around the back roads around Cullowhee. Anyone who knows about road cycling in Jackson County knows that Caney Fork is the “crown jewel” of the many roads to ride here; it is a designated bike route with signs that notify the very few cars one encounters to be aware of bikes, and that cyclists have the right to use the entire lane. As far as auto traffic goes, it is one of the safest roads around.

In the past year I have been riding Caney Fork about 6 to 8 times a month. After my first few rides all the way to the top where the pavement ends, I learned when you get up high enough, dogs become a hazard. Due to that, I usually turn back not long after passing John’s Creek, about half of the way up. Friday, September 23, was a beautiful day. I started up Caney Fork and decided to go near the top, short of the dogs that I usually encounter a half mile before the top. My caution notwithstanding, that day I was ambushed (there really is no other word for it) and chased by dogs a total of four times, including within a mile of N.C. 107 where Caney Fork starts. Each time, the offending dog pursued me for some distance, forcing me to put much effort into evading them. Not only is the threat of getting