The written word is a powerful thing.

I recently had the honor of attending and speaking at the Bracken County Extension Homemakers’ Annual Meeting. And I was even more honored to learn the theme for the meeting was named after this column. 

The folks there are avid readers of DTB, and I can’t tell you how happy that makes me.  It’s a blessing for me to share the many stories that have made their way into this column and knowing so many people enjoy it is icing on the cake.

As part of my remarks, I dug out a couple of older columns to read; ones they may not have remembered, and it was good to revisit those for myself. As I read through each one, I noticed how attentive the ladies were, listening closely to each word.

I enjoyed the stories all over again and certainly hope they did, as well. I have been fortunate that this column has many loyal readers all across the state, and I’m grateful for each one.

I never want to take for granted those who turn to page 30 each month to read my words and come along for the ride.

But I also wanted to be mindful of how powerful the written word can be. Not just my words but any words in a newspaper, a magazine, a letter, or online. And in this day and age, especially online.

Before we had the internet and everyone in cyberspace became experts in any chosen field (just kidding), books, magazines, and newspapers were our primary sources of information. To a degree, I think much of that is still true even though social media seems to be very popular. I read something the other day that noted that 67 percent of the U.S. population is on Facebook alone. Of course, we know that if it’s on the internet, it must be true…NOT!

Unfortunately, there are a lot of folks who hang on to every word they come across on the internet and are swayed, enlightened, or even angered when they read something that creates an emotion within them. Sometimes it only takes a few words to move a person in one direction or another.

We plant a seed with each column, each article, and often with each word that we write or post. And just like the farm families who look toward a good harvest from the seeds they have planted, all of us “authors” need to tend our word crops carefully to ensure the end results are truthful, helpful, informative, and, whenever possible, uplifting.

You never know who might be reading. I can only hope that my words are always as well received by all who read them, as the fine folks from Bracken County, as I continue my way, down the backroads.