Special to Wesson News Crystal Springs born Dexter Allen’s soulful vocals and passionate, driving guitar have earned him international renown. At 12 years old, he started playing bass guitar in The Christian Travelers, his parents gospel band, which played regionally and nationally.  After graduating from Cystal Spring High School and settling in Jackson, he started playing with local secular bands and artists and travelled with Bobby Rush from 2000-2006 for whom he was guitarist. From Seattle to Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festive, he wowed audiences, touring on his album, Dexter Allen:  Live from Ground Zero Blues Club. He sold out Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, where he jammed with guitarist Ana Popovic; played at the Chicago Blues Festival, record at Muscle Shoals Studio at the invitation of British musician and radio personality Robin Phillips and toured European festivals. His credits also include playing as a member of James Brown’s band in the Oscar-winning Get On Up, scoring films, a leading role in an indie western, Mississippi Music Awards Entertainer of the Year for singing, song writing, playing multiple instruments and producing in multiple genres; winning the JUS Blues Award presented by Bobby Rush, who calls Allen “a legend of tomorrow;” and serving on the Blues Foundation Board. “Music is music,” Allen says.  “I love music.  Most musicians don’t just play one genre, but one thing may be closer to their heart.  My thing happens to be blues, soul and gospel.  When young people tell me they don’t like the blues, it’s because they visualize the mainstream shows blues as an old guy sitting on a bucket.  But when they come to my show, they say: ‘Man, you rock!’  So, I structure my music, in a way, production wise, to catch today’s ear and keep the root of where it comes from.  I sing the blues of today, not yesterday.  My blues is 2020 blues.” As Allen garners credits far and wide, he also gives back with workshops in schools and for autistic youth.

Oh yeah, Brenna was furious! No doubt about that. Absolutely amazing how the very air around her sizzled, and at the same time, made everyone nearby feel like they had just stepped into a sub-Arctic meat freezer. The words blazing from her firepit-mouth could strip a rhino down to his thin underskin. Had it been able to speak, the desk that she pounded on with both fists would have pleaded to be burned for firewood to escape the abuse. What on earth was wrong with the woman? What disastrous disaster had just happened? Nobody knew the answer, they just knew they needed to escape…now. Coworkers melted into the woodwork to run from the hot lava. Computers and printers shut down, ducked their cowardly heads, and tried to act like they were just pebbles. Hearing the ruckus, the office supervisor stepped out of his office to investigate the problem – whatever it was. But within five quick seconds he retreated back into his sanctuary and double bolted the door. Didn’t know the problem, and didn’t care. Nothing was worth facing that screaming hyena who was by now heaving her office chair across the room to land on lamps and pictures that already lay in shards on the floor. Police officers were called, and firmly but politely gave her an escort to the local cooler to ice down a bit. Much later, a brave soul from the office dared to inquire what kicked off such a fire in the woman. Her answer? “Oh, uh, nuthin’ really. I’m just fed up with my kids not doin’ their chores at home, and that no good husband of mine spendin’ his paycheck every @#$^& week at a bar. Sumthin’ just exploded inside me when I heard those other girls in the office laughin’ about meetin’ men at some bar tonight.” Really?!  Dropping verbal bombs and throwing furniture was the best she could do about her bad home situation? Taking her anger out on clueless people in her office? Because her home life was a mess? Not smart. Not cool. Extremely self-destructive. Instead of aiming long pent-up anger directly at her lazy, rebellious teenagers and her bar-hopping Harry, she exploded in the office, raining hellfire and brimstone on everyone there. She destroyed her job, her coworker relationships and her professional reputation – all accomplished in three minutes of scatter-gunning her anger at the world. Folks, please. Don’t let yourself fall into Bombing Brenna’s trap. She held her resentment and hurt in for way too long, and unexpectedly let a group of giggling ladies light her fuse. Then unable to control herself, she scatter-gunned everyone there with verbal bombs. And followed that up with turning her own office into a jigsaw puzzle. If this reminds you of you, don’t impulsively destroy the good part of your world. Instead of making her mistake, go aim for the real target and fire away. Maybe you’ll actually see results - instead of consequences.

Special to Wesson News A passionate fisherman who had frequented the waters of Lake Lincoln for four decades to relax and relish rewards of his favorite sport died last month what he enjoyed doing most where he enjoyed doing it, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office reported. The body of Luther Vaughn, known to his fishing buddies as Flaky, was found during the morning hours on the waters of the lake where he came just about every day after he retired from logging.  Sheriff’s Department officers responding to the call quickly concluded there had been no foul play, and his death was attributable to a medical condition, probably a heart attack or stroke. Vaughn, who lived near the Co-Lin campus not far from Lake Lincoln, was on its waters, usually fishing off its bridge or piers from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. every day. The 65-year-old was up early and got to the lake when its surface waters were cool, and he could catch bass, but he said “I take the bream, catfish and crappie that populate the lake as well.” Flaky, who his fishing buddies nicknamed “Mr. Lake Lincoln,” fished at nearby waterways in Pike and Franklin Counties, but Lake Lincoln, which he watched being built, was his favorite place, and was there when it opened in 1984. For Flaky and his wife, catching and eating fish was a family affair.  Often his wife would accompany him to the lake to fish, but Flaky did all the preparation and cooking.

By Kara Kimbrough Describing the unique features and sights of charming Grapevine, Texas in a few hundred words is an impossible task. Visiting the city on the outskirts of Dallas was an enjoyable, eye-opening experience that left me wanting to return. I knew little about Grapevine before I arrived to spend a whirlwind 48 hours with writers and tourism officials from Travel Texas and Grapevine Convention and Visitors Bureau. Every stop on the tour yielded one memorable experience after another. It’s impossible to list them all, so I’ll share just a few of the many reasons Grapevine attracts 12 million visitors each year. Location, location, location – First, Grapevine is a mere 60-or-90-minute (depending on the plane) flight from Jackson, MS International Airport. And it gets even better upon landing at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport; Grapevine is less than 15 minutes away. After being picked up at DFW (more on transportation below), within 30 minutes I was seated at a table at Mac’s on Main, sipping an iced tea and awaiting lunch. Grapevine Main Station – The saying, “Everything old is new again” is an apt description of one of my favorite Grapevine buildings. The sprawling brick station located next to the railroad tracks was built to resemble a 19th Century steam railroad station. In fact, in a byone era, the old railroad tracks went right through the space on which the building is located. Today, within the station's stately brick walls is a spacious European-style food hall offering a variety of dining and beverage options and plenty of seating areas for people-watching. Twelve stories up, the Grapevine Observation Tower proved to be a breathtaking experience. Clear skies afforded 50-mile radius views in four directions of AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys; Dallas and Fort Worth and a birds-eye view of nearby DFW. Just below, the TEXRail, which transports travelers from the airport to Grapevine Main Station, was completing a run to the city. For $5, travelers can hop on the train at the airport, eliminating the need for an expensive Uber or car service. Gaylord Texan - Visiting one the nation’s largest resorts located on 150 acres next to Lake Grapevine has been on my bucket list for a while. Sadly, plans for our group to stay in some of the 1,814 guest rooms didn’t work out. However, a tour of the breathtaking 2-1/2-acre atrium during the nightly light show eased my disappointment. It’s hard to describe the experience of gazing up at the star-lit Texas sky through a massive glass skylight covering almost three acres of the resort's atrium. A replica of The Alamo; flowing river reminiscent of San Antonio's Riverwalk; hundreds of flowers and trees, including a life-size replica of a Live Oak, are interspersed throughout this breathtaking space. Visitors are welcome to visit the Gaylord to dine at one of resort's restaurants or simply enjoy the scenery. Grapevine Mills – In addition to numerous small boutiques, vintage and antique stores, Grapevine Mills is the largest shopping destination in North Texas. It’s filled with 180 stores, including national chains as well as SEA LIFE Aquarium, LEGOLAND; interactive museum Meow Wolf and an outdoor splash pad. Historic Main Street District - Grapevine has done an amazing job of transforming 18th and 19th century stores into modern buildings with elements of the past. All buildings along the picturesque Main Street are locally-owned, ranging from restaurants, boutiques, bakeries, wine bars and coffee shops. There’s even an old bank, now operating as a jewelry store, that was once robbed by a member of the infamous Bonnie and Clyde gang. Speaking of restaurants, over 200 eateries offering a variety of cuisines are located throughout the city. I’m still dreaming about lunch at Mister O1. Fresh burrata served with homemade focaccia bread, followed by made-from-scratch pizzas set a new standard for all pizzas to follow. That evening, dining at Teatro Bistro was the perfect ending to 48 hours in Grapevine. Owner and culinary director Carla Pellegrino has appeared on numerous TV shows, including Throwdown with Bobby Flay, which she won. After opening restaurants in New York City and Las Vegas, Pellegrino brought Teatro to Grapevine to rave reviews. Sampling Pellegrino's famous meatballs, delicious Rigatoni Bolognese and a few bites of the some of the best desserts I’ve ever tasted was one of the highlights of the trip. Somehow, small servings of mixed berries and homemade gelato; chocolate lave cake; New York style cheesecake and the lightest, most delectable tiramisu on the planet melded together beautifully, a testament to Pellegrino's superior skills in the kitchen. Last, Grapevine is billed as the “Christmas Capital of Texas” for good reason. Over 1,400 holiday events are scheduled during the 40 days before Christmas, including ice-skating; rides on the Grapeview Vintage Railroad; a gigantic lighted Christmas parade; Christmas markets, festivals, movies and much more. Every business along Main Street is adorned with lights and decorations, each one more elaborate than the other. Learn more about Christmas in Grapevine and other aspects of the city at: www.grapevinetexasusa.com. Grapevine is the perfect quick weekend getaway from Mississippi, or anywhere, really. In short, everything you could possibly want – memorable dining, shopping, accommodations, historical sights and more in a unique, charming setting -  can be found in Grapevine. Classic Italian Meatballs by Carla Serve 8/10 1 pound ground beef ½ pound ground veal ½ pound ground pork 2 large eggs 1 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese 2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley 1 ½ garlic clove, peeled and minced (optional) 1 ½ cup bread crumbs ¾ cup lukewarm water ½ cup regular olive oil - not extra virgin (Bertolli or Felipo Berio) Salt and ground black pepper to taste Corn oil enough to fry (do not use fry mix oil to fry it) Procedure: Combine beef, veal and pork in a large bowl. Add eggs, cheese, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Using your hands or a mixer with a paddle on low speed, blend the ingredients together. Then during mixing process, add the bread crumbs into the bowl and slowly add the lukewarm water and olive oil, mix it together until the mixture becomes homogeneous. Make a small (2 ounces) pad, place an 8 inches sauté pan over a medium hi flame for about 2 minutes, add a spoon of vegetable oil and sear the meat pad, both sides. Taste it to make sure meatball is moist and seasoned enough before rolling it. Shape the meat mixture into balls (about 5 ounces) and with your hands roll it well until the core feels bonded (to make sure it won’t lose its shape or open up at frying time) Place a large sauté (14 inches) pan over medium high flame and add the oil (corn, canola or vegetable oil, enough oil to immerse half of the meatballs). Once oil gets to 425 degrees, place in one layer of meatballs (do not deep fry or overlap them), make sure the oil just reaches half of meatballs; discard the excess if needed. When bottom half of the meatball is very brown and slightly crisp. turn it and cook the top half. Remove it from heat and let drain in a perforated pan or on paper towels. Lower cooked the meatballs into simmering Marinara sauce or Sunday gravy for about 10-15 minutes or until them reach 135-140 degrees inside. Serve it over pasta or on their own in marinara sauce. Recipe from Chef Carla Pellgrino Kara Kimbrough is a food and travel writer from Mississippi. Email her at kkprco@yahoo.com.

By Bob Arnold The COVID-19 pandemic, by and large, ended two to three years ago, but its repercussions continue to affect the way we live.  Our attitudes as workers have changed.  We stay at home more, have curbed our travel, go out less -- to eat or for entertainment -- or have changed our recreational habits.  The lingering economic effects have changed the way we consume goods and services.  Even our politics has been affected.   Countless things just aren’t the same. Around town, if massage therapy was part of your healthcare regimen, you may have noticed at least one therapist known for many years as the area’s go-to practitioner for deep tissue massage has been missing.  COVID-19 knocked Marti Stephens out of the box. Before it drove her from the healthcare scene, Stephens did seven to nine deep tissue massages per day throughout the area in a practice that took her to salons as far north as Jackson and Madison, but included locals as well.  “I was terrified of getting COVID-19, shut down my business and gave up my license, but despite my efforts, got it anyway,” she relates. Today, Stephens is on the rebound.  She has a lot of things on her platter, but she is thinking about how she can again start helping folk concerned about their health.  After the journey that got her there, she isn’t giving it up lightly. Stephens landed in Brookhaven with her parents in 1971 when she was four years old, lived in the area until she was 16 and returned permanently in 2002 as a single mother with three daughters to be with her mom and build a career as a massage therapist after living 17 years in Ohio and Florida.  Along the way, she also was a vocalist for Country and Top 40 bands and even thought, but not for long, about practicing cosmetology. Her mom and dad were country music singers, who worked for Buck Owens in Bakersfield, California, where she was born and named after her parents’ good friend Country music star Marty Robbins.  She never fully understood why her parents, who once performed at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and appeared regularly on Bakersfield television stations, pulled up stakes for Mississippi, where their career turned to gospel music and her father operated a recording studio.  Growing up with three brothers and one sister as the eldest child, Stephens sang gospel with her parents at churches, festivals and special events, recalls spending many hours at her dad’s recording studio, and aspired to be a research scientist with an avid interest in space and nature, discovering new worlds under a microscope and taking care of animals who needed her special love and care. Stephens attended the Brookhaven and Loyd Star schools and a Pentecostal Christian Academy into the twelfth grade, but received a high school Graduate Equivalency Diploma from Co-Lin after completing correspondence courses before resettling in Ohio.  Over seven years in Ohio, she married, had two daughters -- Amanda and Eden -- and studied cosmetology. In 1992, following a divorce and deciding she did not want to pursue a career as a hairdresser, Stephens changed venues to Orlando, Florida, at the urging of her sister, remarried, had her third daughter -- Holly, and started her career in massage therapy after studying advanced massage therapy and alternative medicine at the Florida College of Natural Health.  Her Orlando stop also included gigs as a singer with Country and Top 40 bands at night spots.  Before returning to Brookhaven after a divorce, she owned and operated the Serenety Oasis Spa at Daytona Beach after working for other spas. In her first few years after coming back to Brookhaven, family occupied most of her attention, with three teenage daughters, and a grandson whom she reared from birth.  Around 2010, however, her massage career took off with work at the Aqua at the Renaissance in Jackson and further studies in alternative complementary medicine.  Through online work and credit transfers from other schools, she earned a Masters Degree from Everglades University at Boca Raton, Florida. Before COVID-19, Stephens had become well known throughout the area for her work in deep tissue massage in which she incorporated reiki -- a healing touch technique in which energy is transferred to a person in physical or emotional pain through the palms of the practitioner’s hands. Today, in the midst of a life that now includes grandparenting the children of her daughters, she is overcoming physical ailments and is working to restore the health and fitness she needs for strength and stamina required for massage and other healing arts.  She is also studying sound healing.  “Although I can reacquire my license relatively easily, getting myself into physical condition to practice massage again is another matter,” she says.  “Massage is physically taxing, particularly when you aren’t at the right weight and have lost muscle mass.” Stephens is working on building her post-COVID-19 life and career in the country home on the eight acres abutting the Homo Chitto Forest in the Loyd Star area near McCall Creek where she has lived with her friend Craig Kimble for the past 15 years.  Her daughters are grown, and their four kids who ramble on the property are a big part of her life today.  Eden, 33, married to Don Bivens, is a freelance artist, handcrafts jewelry and manages her household and family at Meadville; and Holly, 29, married to Ben Felder, is a stay-at-home mom at McComb, and does photography.  Braden Beiser, 19, the grandson Stephens raised, works in the kitchen at Magnolia Blues. What are your hobbies? I enjoy swimming in a pool on our property, gardening and cooking.  For some reason, roses like me.  Roses of all kinds are thriving on our property.  I also grow vegetables, which I cook as a part of healthy meals with seafood, but no pork or beef.  I also have a passion for animals.  People dump unwanted animals on our property, and we keep them.  I have four dogs, including a hound and lab-boxer mix; two cats, and an array of creatures that are really my granddaughter’s pets -- a parakeet, hamster, gold and beta fish, bull frogs, three ducks, five chickens and a bearded dragon lizard. Are you a reader? I read about matrix energetics and energy work in healing, quantum physics and history. How about movies or theater? I follow historical documentaries and enjoy gangster and action movies.  My favorite actor is Al Pacino. I like movies like Dr. Strange and Ironman, and enjoy science fiction.  On television, I follow the old Law and Order SVU and Bonanza western series. What would you do with the winnings if you won the lottery? I’d start by hiring a financial advisor and then consider ways to help animals, and to be able to travel to learn about new cultures and strange and unusual places.  I want to visit pyramids and caverns.  Southern France and Sweeden are on the top of my travel list. How would you change the world? Prayer.  I’m not religious, but I am spiritual.  The 52-miles of shelving at the Vatican is a good place to begin getting needed inspiration.

By Douglas Carswell America faces an axis of aggression.  China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are not only actively undermining US interests.  They increasingly seem to be working together. How should America respond? According to a new report published by Mississippi Senator, Roger Wicker, America needs a new national defense strategy capable of responding to this “emerging axis of aggressors”. “21 st  Century Peace Through Strength: a generational investment in the US military” offers a serious analysis of US military capabilities and makes some important recommendations. Wicker calls for an immediate $55 billion increase in military spending in 2025, on top of the almost $900 billion existing budget.  The aim, he suggests, should be for the United States to spend around 5 percent of GDP on defense. To put that in context, America today spends 3.4 GDP percent on defense, and has not spent more than 5 percent since Ronald Reagan was in the White House.  Reagan famously won the Cold War, facing down the Soviet threat by beefing up American strength.  Wicker envisions a similar approach in “Peace through Strength”. What is really interesting about Wicker’s proposal is not the call for more money for the military, but his suggestion that there should be a “dramatic increase in competition in the defense industrial base”.  Senator Wicker is right.  Often, we think of applying free market principles to education or healthcare.  There is a very powerful argument for applying free market discipline to defense spending, too. With the national debt growing, it is vital that America gets the maximum bang for every defense buck.  Wicker puts forward ideas as to how to make this happen through far reaching “acquisition reform”. Allowing more market competition in the defense sector would help ensure that America avoided the sorry fate of my own native Britain. The UK spends about $70 billion a year on defense.  That might be less than a tenth of what America spends, but it still means that the UK has the sixth largest defense budget in the world, above Japan and roughly on a par with Russia. Unfortunately, Britain has not been effective at converting what she is able to spend on defense into military muscle.  Despite spending all that money, British aircraft carriers seldom seem to carry many aircraft.  Indeed, the expensive new carriers don’t always seem to be able to spend much time at sea.  The less said about British tanks the better. UK defense acquisition has been a series of costly disasters because the defense budget is often spent in the interests of various favored suppliers, rather than the military. I first became aware of quite how bad British defense acquisition was on a visit to Afghanistan as a Member of the British Parliament.  Troops in Helmand complained about a shortage of helicopters, yet I noticed rows of American Black Hawk helicopters on the runway back in Kandahar. Why, I wanted to know, didn’t we Brits just buy Black Hawks from the American company that made them?  I soon discovered that British defense acquisition is viewed by some as a giant job creation scheme.  Or else it is about filling the order books of well-connected companies, not giving the military what they need. America needs acquisition reform to avoid defense dollars being spent by various vested interests, rather than on the best interests of the US military. Some will say that America cannot afford to increase defense spending.  I worry that America cannot afford not to. Years of federal deficits mean than the US national debt is soaring.  There will be enormous pressures on federal spending.  All the more reason to ensure that the US gets maximum value for every defense dollar. Let’s hope Wicker’s reforms are acted upon whoever is in the White House. So often politics focuses on trivia. What Wicker has done is produce a serious study to address important geo political questions that the United States is going to have to deal with. Putting America first does not mean ignoring what is happening on the other side of the world. Merely wishing away anything outside the Western hemisphere does not make the United States more secure. It ultimately means that the world’s problems will show up at the US border. Putting America first means investing in defense. Wicker shows how we might do that. Douglas Carswell is the President and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy.

Special to Wesson News Making tax policy a priority for the 2025 legislative session, Mississippi House Speaker Jason White has named an 18-member committee to explore ways to reduce the state’s grocery and personal income taxes. “The House will continue its pursuit of bold initiatives and policies to improve our great state, focusing on the betterment of Mississippi and all of her citizens,” White said. The select tax committee will have two primary leaders: House Ways and Means Chairman Trey Lamar, a Republican from Senatobia, and House Appropriations B Chairman Scott Bounds, a Republican from Philadelphia. The committee is expected to hold hearings sometime in the fall or summer, but it’s unclear when exactly the group will meet to hear testimony from advocates and policy experts. White wants to see the state’s 7% grocery tax, the highest statewide tax of its kind in the nation, cut at least in half as soon as possible, and would like to completely eliminate the personal income tax, which provides just under one-third of the state’s general fund revenue, over time. While White says the state has the capacity to implement more tax cuts, he also wants to provide the state Department of Transportation (MDOT) with a new revenue stream to fund infrastructure now depending on an 18.4-cents-per-gallon fuel tax and to continue fully funding public K-12 education under the new school funding formula he championed earlier this year.  MDOT officials have argued for years that they need more money for new road and bridge projects and maintenance. If White, who holds enormous power in the 122-member House, shows that a tax cut measure is one of his top priorities for the 2025 session, it’s almost certain he can get his fellow Republicans, who make up a supermajority in the chamber, to fall in line on the issue.   But the larger question is whether he and House leadership can convince the Republican-majority Senate, led by Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, to agree to a tax cut plan along with Republican Gov. Tate Reeves, who has continued to advocate for eliminating the income tax. In addition to Lamar and Bounds, White’s new committee includes Jansen Owen, R-Poplarville; Karl Oliver, R-Winona; Shane Aguirre, R-Tupelo; Clay Deweese, R-Oxford; Angela Cockerham, I-Magnolia; Billy Adam Calvert, R-Meridian; Kevin Felsher, R-Biloxi; Randy Rushing, R-Decatur; Lee Yancey, R-Brandon; Hester McCray, D-Horn Lake; Dana McLean, R-Columbus; Ronnie Crudup, Jr., D-Jackson; Otis Anthony, D-Indianola; Lawrence Blackmon, D-Canton; Justin Keen, R-Byhalia; and Tracey Rosebud, D-Tutwiler

Special to Wesson News Co-Lin Medical Laboratory Technology (MLT) Program graduate Jordan Parker of Natchez has been named the ASCLS-MS Student of the Year. Parker was recognized at the annual conference of the Mississippi Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS-MS), a chapter of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science. “Jordan's journey through our program has been the definition of perseverance,” said MLT Program Instructor Shanna Clark. “She struggled to keep up with the demands of motherhood while balancing classes and finding the time to study daily.  I love looking back at how far she has come from her first semester in our program.” In addition to her recognition by the ASCLS-MS, Parker was also selected as the Outstanding Student for the Medical Laboratory Technology program. “As her instructors, we have seen Jordan succeed and we have seen her struggle,” said MLT Program Director Paula Yarborough. “Her ability to rise above her situation and achieve her goal while remaining humble and gracious is what really stood out to us. We are very proud of her success. She worked very hard to achieve it!”

By: Bob Garver “A Quiet Place: Day One” made a grave miscalculation with its advertising. Scenes were filmed with the intention of putting them in the trailers, but not the movie. This way, when people saw the movie, they wouldn’t be able to properly anticipate the surprises and story progression. To that end, the advertising succeeded, I was indeed thrown off while watching the movie. But here’s where they didn’t succeed: the scenes shot just for the trailers were terrible, with clumsy dialogue and careless pacing. I was so mad at Hollywood for continuing this series without the creative vision of director John Krasinski, especially when the movie looked like garbage without his input. I only saw this movie out of obligation for the column, and I wouldn’t be surprised if fans of the series stayed away entirely because of those awful trailers. But it turns out that not only is this movie better than the trailers, it’s better than the two installments that Krasinski directed. "Day One” casts aside the familiar Abbott family in favor of new protagonist Sam (Lupita Nyong’o). Sam is a cancer patient taking a trip from her hospice to Manhattan along with her nurse Reuben (Alex Wolff) and service cat Frodo. Sam only agrees to the trip on the condition that the group stop for pizza at her favorite place in Harlem. The sudden invasion of echolocating aliens means a delay in pizza. Honestly, Sam is only interested in self-preservation to the end that it means eventual pizza. Sam shelters in place for a bit with Reuben, who has a great scene where he stares down an alien like he’s staring down death itself. Also in the shelter is familiar character Henri (Djimon Hounsou) from “Part II” of the series, here forced to make an unthinkable decision. She moves on to helping some children in Central Park before finding a companion in anxious wreck Eric (Joseph Quinn). Can the two survive in alien-infested New York long enough to get a slice of pizza? If so, what happens after that? “Day One” has the most suspense yet for a “Quiet Place” movie. It was scary enough that characters had to keep quiet to save their lives on a family farm or in small town. But in New York, the noises are as big as the pizzas. Speaking of food, I wonder if the characters’ best bet for survival would be to let the aliens fill up on noisy people and then hope they’re too stuffed to give chase. Maybe that’s why the film’s biggest flaw is that the main characters get away with making as much noise as they do. The film does an excellent job of wringing scares out of not only the slightest sounds, but loud-looking images. Even with everybody promising to be quiet, a crowd of people is going to make noise eventually, that’s just how crowds are. So if the characters find themselves as part of a crowd, the clock is already ticking. And that’s with a reasonable amount of effort being made. Some people just aren’t cut out for quiet, and associating with those people in this environment could prove fatal. “A Quiet Place: Day One” had me afraid to breathe loudly in the theater, a testament to the film’s immersiveness. And yet, the suspenseful atmosphere is only the second-best thing about the movie. The real star here is, well, the star: Lupita Nyong’o. This movie doesn’t have returning players John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, or even recent Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy, and Nyong’o makes up for all of them. One way or another, Sam doesn’t have much time left on this Earth, but you’ll want to be there for every moment. It took until nearly the exact halfway point of the year, but I think we have our first serious contender for an acting Oscar. Not bad for a movie whose advertising had me thinking it would be one of the worst films of the year. Grade: B “A Quiet Place: Day One” is rated PG-13 for terror and violent content/bloody images. Its running time is 100 minutes. Contact Bob Garver at rrg251@nyu.edu.

Special to Wesson News Five Co-Lin Workforce Education Division students have completed the eleventh Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) not-credit training program at the college. Ta’Kyla Brothern, Malorie Carlisle, Evonnie Owens, Ineisha Pendleton and Chiquita Rancifer demonstrated outstanding dedication and skills proficiency in their successful program work. During the intensive six-month CCMA program, conducted at the Wesson Campus, participants acquired a comprehensive skill set, including medical terminology, pharmacology, anatomy and physiology, infection control, patient care coordination and medical law and ethics. Hands-on learning experiences, including computer lab studies and clinical rotations, further prepared them to excel in medical assisting roles. The next session of CCMA training is scheduled to commence on August 5, 2024. Applications are due July 22, 2024. For more information about the Certified Clinical Medical Assistant program and other workforce training opportunities offered by Copiah-Lincoln Community College, please visit www.colin.edu/ccma.

Ever been looked squarely in the eyes and bluntly told you are a bitter, angry person? Probably not. After all, who in their right mind wants to be within twelve feet of a bear and throw heavy stones at that huge, furious mass of muscle and bone? Nobody wants to face that. Facing that bear would be the equivalent of standing in the same room with you while telling you this truth; “You are hard to be around. You always find a way to be angry…always. It never seems to matter what the subject happens to be when we are talking, you are always upset.  Another thing. When anyone does something for you, it’s never quite enough. You are never satisfied. You are a bitter, resentful person, and everyone knows they take their emotional life in their own hands when they choose to be around you for very long at all. I love you, but I am so tired of your constant attitude that this world owes you something. In your painful and twisted thinking, you somehow hold every one of us accountable for your loss. And you will continue doing it until you get what you want, or until the day you die.” Of course you probably have never been told that. For two reasons. You are still loved by family and friends, in spite of your difficult personality. And no one who loves you wants to hurt you with such cruel, blatant words. And secondly, humans are basically a chicken-hearted race when it comes to poking an angry bear. But, Bitter Person, you need to hear some loving truths. And that truth is this; You do have to live this life. Unless you get so fed up and bitter that you decide to end it all. And because you have to live this life, you deserve to live it in peace. To have joy and forgiveness that will make all the difference in the years you have left. For your own sake, you need to face your loss, forgive God and anyone involved, and decide to embrace what you have left and enjoy it. Yes, you will probably always mourn what you don’t have anymore. That is understandable. But here’s the problem. Each and every day while you are walking forward, you have your head turned around backward as you gaze longingly at the past. Blind to your future. And that is causing you to stumble over every crevice and rock in your way, bringing even more pain. And the curves on that road you are on? There’s no way you can see ahead and prepare for maneuvering them successfully. Plus, you never get to see the beauty that is still ahead on your path. All of this is causing you to be bitter and angry. Hurting. Unlikeable. And lonely. Like the title of a song that was recorded years ago by a friend of mine, It's Time To Learn To Love Again. Please.

Special to Wesson News Teenagers and younger kids in Brookhaven Little Theatre (BLT) summer camps performed Mean Girls Jr. June 6 and go on stage June 27 and June 28 to perform Finding Nemo Kids. BLT Teen Camp is for students who completed grades 7-12 and BLT Kids Camp is for younger children who have completed grades 1 through 6. Mean Girls Jr. is a one-hour musical comedy and Finding Nemo Kids is a 45-minute show. The June 27 production is at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. and performances on June 28 are 11:30 a.m., 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.  The $12 tickets can be purchased online. Get more information from BLT’s free email newsletter.