From the Desk of Tray Smith - October

I am going to start this month out on a very somber note. Let me first offer, from the entire staff at H&H Classic Parts, our most heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones involved in the Las Vegas shooting. My heart pours out to each and every one of you and our prayers are with you every day.

With that said, this is a time in our country where we need to put aside our political, social, and religious differences and come together as a nation. This nation was founded on hopes and dreams. Our nation is at a crossroads right now. We can start pointing fingers, call for more gun control, scream we don’t need more gun control, and blame the other side for what’s going wrong in our nation. Or we can put the protest signs down, join hands, and do what needs to be done. We need to continue to ask tough questions and don’t take things at face value because people can get it wrong and we need to question the media and the government. Not because that’s our right to, but because it is up to each and every one of us to make sure that they get it right.

Take a minute today, tonight, this minute. Just do it, hold your kids tight, and tell them you love them. Look into your spouse’s eyes and make sure they know you love them each and every day. Because we have been shown again that you never know when that last day will come.

I end this article with a small prayer. I pray that each of us uses this tragedy as a moment when we can put aside our differences and start to help each other. That we put aside our anger, our hate, our distrust for each other just because we have a different skin color, or we worship God in a different way, or that our spouse may be of the same sex. We are Americans, first and foremost, and we should all stand up for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That should always be first in our hearts, not hate or anger. Help your neighbor or just a stranger that is in need. Call that friend that you haven’t seen for a while and ask how they are doing. Don’t isolate yourself from other people just because they are different. This is what I hope for when I see the heroes of this tragedy, everyday people that held a hand of dying stranger, or man who just loaded people up and took them to a hospital. Or a loved one that said a prayer while he or she laid on top of someone to shield them from gun fire. Take a moment and remember the fallen, who gave their life for another. Say a prayer for a doctor, a nurse, or a paramedic who saved a life or was there when the last breath was breathed. Shake the hand of an officer who rushed in trying to protect the innocent.

This is what I hope and pray for, as I write this. Thank you all for taking the time to read this. Maybe this is not what I normally write about, but this I what felt this month and chose to. That’s all from the desk of Tray Smith.