'Turn Around'

BY PAUL WOOD, PRESIDENT/CEO, GEORGIA ELECTRIC MEMBERSHIP CORP.

A small voice called out to me. Turning around, there was my 6-year-old granddaughter Mikaila running as fast as she could to grab my hand as I headed out for a short walk.

Mikaila is one of the joys of my life, but as I gave her hand a squeeze, I thought of that popular song of the '60s --

Turn around and you're two.
Turn around and you're four.
Turn around and you're
a young girl
Going out of the door.

She is growing up fast, and the world Mikaila enters will be nothing like the one in which I grew up. I'm a little sad she will never know that carefree world when we left doors unlocked, ignition keys in the car when we parked and even picked up strangers hitchhiking into town.

A quarter was all I needed to join my friends in a Western double feature at the old Cane Theatre. Natchitoches, La., where I grew up, was not very big. Everybody knew you. Just about anyone could put you "on report," so we were always on our best behavior -- well, almost always.

People took care of each other. My mother delivered home-cooked meals on many occasions to those who were ill, and frequently bought clothing for families less fortunate. Much like electric co-ops, neighbors helped each other through difficult periods and celebrated together every triumph of life.

While I often wish Mikaila could know those times, she is preparing for different times, and yes, even better times. Nurturing parents will see to that, as well as an aunt and uncle who adore her, and grandparents who think she is the most special little girl in the world.

She will have opportunities my friends and I back in Natchitoches never dreamed of. We didn't even have television. Sitting at her computer, she will have access to the entire body of recorded knowledge. What an exhilarating time it will be for her. She will travel easily to the four corners of the world and witness the cultural "flattening" of our globe. In short, everything that would have been extraordinary for me will be ordinary for her.

Knowledge, of course, is not everything. She must be of good character or her education is for naught. I'm not worried about that. Mikaila will have a well-grounded sense of integrity and a strong faith that will serve her well when the winds of adversity blow -- as we all know they will. Her upbringing will make her stronger still each time ill winds blow.

Turn around and you're grown.
Turn around and you're
a young wife
With babes of your own.

Yes, I'm a little sad to see her growing up so fast, but I look forward to 2008 and beyond. I'm excited for the opportunities she will have, thankful for the love that surrounds her today -- and mindful that when we go to the mall, I must never let her get more than 3 feet away from me.