I always liked to read county histories from which I gleaned a lot of personal, family life. One story I remember: when Colonel Andrew Lewis (from which Lewisburg derived its name) was surveying what became known as the Greenbrier Valley (so called for the numerous briar patches encountered) he and his men found only two white men in all that wilderness, living amid the Indian tribes and wildlife. They were living apart because of a dispute over religion! Can you imagine such obstinacy? You would have thought they would have compromised their religious differences for the sake of safety and companionship. One was living in a cabin, the other in a hollow tree. One returned to "civilization" with Lewis, the other remained behind and was killed by the Indians.

In a way this story is a microcosm of life in general. We all inhabit the same planet. Through urbanization (living together) we developed a tolerably advanced civilization. Yet we squabble incessantly, over both major and minor differences. Perhaps we overestimate individuality? We create laws in order to modify our behavior, yet laws are continually broken. And laws too narrowly enforced restrict our freedom and becomes oppressive. Isn't it possible for us to associate and enjoy the harmony of life in unison? Remember, in music harmony is individual voices singing in ordered unison. Can't we make life a song...an Ode to Joy?