Archives October 2024

by Emma Embellischer

The world is changing at a fast pace, and if you don’t keep up, you can easily get left behind. The Internet/Social Media Age has changed many things for the better. And, some things have changed for the worse. I could write a book about that, and we could discuss it for days. One thing that has significantly changed in the Internet/Social Media Age is communication. Communication is now instant. There are also so many new communication channels: social media, instant messaging, text messages, email, and more.

Unfortunately, many senior citizens and adults have gotten left behind in this instant communication world. Most senior adults have adopted email and text messaging, and more and more have started using social media (mostly Facebook). Now, social media platforms/apps like Tiktok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, X, and more are the preferred communication channels for most young people these days.

Not only are they using these new communication channels or applications, their method of communicating has changed. These youngsters may be communicating in 3 different apps with 3 different people at one time, so they want to make things as quick and easy as possible. So, words or phrases have been shortened or abbreviated. For example: Thank you= TY, You’re Welcome= YW, I Don’t Know= IDK, and many more. This has caused many adults to be left behind in this modern world of communication.

Valley Technical Institute (Valley Tech) is a community college in Valley City, and they do a great job of serving the citizens of The Valley. Valley Tech sociology and psychology instructor, Benji Rush, recognized this communication issue among older adults and teens and 20 somethings. Rush said, “I approached our dean about creating a communication course to educate adults about communicating in the modern world. They were on board, so I started working on the curriculum. I’ve worked on it for about 3 months, and we’re going live with the course next week. The name of the course is “Communicating in the Modern World.” The course will educate adults on using social media, learning abbreviated words and phrases, and learning current slang words and phrases, and it will last 6 weeks. Right now, we have 11 people signed up, and the average age of the students is 65. I’m really excited about it.”

I was able to catch up with a couple of the students, and they were excited about the course. Billy Bean, a retired truck driver and grandpa, said, “Look, I just got a smart phone 6 months ago; I had a flip phone forever. I have been overwhelmed with all this technology. I got on Facebook about a month ago. My kids and grandkids text me, and I don’t know what half the crap they text me means. So, I decided to take this course to learn more.”

Karen Krasczinsky, a retired secretary and grandma, is also taking the course. She said, “I’ve embraced texting and social media. I’m on Facebook, and I recently got on Tiktok. I think I’m a pretty cool and hip grandma, but I need to learn more. I listen to my grandkids talking to each other and their friends, and it’s almost like they’re talking in a different language. I wanna learn more about the current slang of youngsters, and using and mastering hashtags.”

Rush has a couple parents under 40 in the class, so it’s not just senior citizens and grandparents that are struggling with modern communication. Rush also expects this course to be offered more in the future. If you’re struggling with communicating in this crazy world, consider taking Rush’s class at Valley Tech.

by Mack Speed

Hello Valleyans! We had a great night at the Valley Motor Speedway Saturday. Again, we had a big crowd, and I saw car tags from all over the place. Evidently, word is getting out about the great environment at the SRVMRL.

Parking was good this week; we had no major issues with parking. However, we did have a couple fender benders. One Lexus SUV owner from Madison Co. had a barely visible scratch after the fender bender, and they called the police to file a report for their insurance. Of course, everybody turned into rubberneckers when the cops showed up. It was ridiculous to be honest, and the police officer thought it was ridiculous too.

The atmosphere was great Saturday night. We had a ton of tailgaters. Some of the MSU and Ole Miss fans were even tailgating together. After Ole Miss’s recent loss, I guess they can now feel MSU fans’ pain. They even invited USM fans to join with them too. I think I may have heard some of them singing Kum Ba Yah. Maybe this is a sign that people are coming together. Maybe the Democrats and Republicans can come together. Peace in the Middle East is a probably a stretch, but who knows. I’ll take this as a good sign, but I’m probably off base. Oh yeah, Coach O was back again this week! You gotta love Coach O! He greeted me. I heard “Hey Mack! gajgoadjfj oajfdoajoadjoa agjoajoajo.”

The sportsbook was buzzing. People were placing bets on the races like crazy. I think Rusty’s handicapping is getting better after watching a few races and getting to the know the drivers. I mentioned an issue with our last race, and I think I’ve figured out what happened. My investigation resulted in Jimmie Stewart being suspended from Saturday night’s race.

Jimmie’s brother placed a big bet on Tony Johnson the last race, and Jimmie seemed to not be concerned about winning. Jimmie came clean to me on this; he was honest about it. Jimmie’s brother won hundreds of dollars by betting on Tony in the last race, and he placed the bet for Jimmie. Jimmie wanted new rims for his mower, so he got his brother to place the bet. I told Jimmie that his fans will have to wait until the next race to see those nice new rims because he ain’t racing Saturday night. I also told him that I’d ban him from the Track if he did this again.

Now, to the races. My boy, Dale Earnhardt Speed, finally lost a race. Juan Pablo Lagano barely beat him. Dale was devastated, and I did my best to console him. I told him to remember this feeling and how bad it hurts, and I told him it’s all about bouncing back. It’s all about how you respond. When you get knocked down, you gotta get back up off the mat and fight. We’ll see how he responds, but I think it’s good for him. Everyone needs to face some adversity; everything in life is not going to be easy all the time.

To the adult race. With Jimmie Stewart being out, that opened up things quite a bit. We had a heck of race between Jeff Petty and Tony Johnson. They were going at it all night, but Petty won in the end. It was probably the best race we’ve had at the Track. They were bumpin and grindin the last 2 laps, and it was great racing. Those two were having words after the race, and I thought it might get physical. But, nothing ended up happening. It will be interesting when Jimmie Stewart returns next week with his new rims.

Well, we only have one race left in the season, and that’s hard to believe. It should be a lot of fun. We’ll see you at the Valley Motor Speedway in a couple weeks.

by “Stretch” DeTrooth

Strong River Valley (SRV) Records has been doing work lately. They are a brand new record label located here in The Valley. Bubba Swompz was the first artist they signed, and he is doing big things with his album “Valley Born & Bred.” Now, SRV Records has signed their second artist- Lily of the Valley. Her single “Dad Bod Pride” was released on all the major platforms last Friday, and her debut album “Wife/Mom Life” will be released tomorrow! I was able to catch up with Lily this week, and I’ve included some of our Q&A session below.

Q. Your actual name is Lily Williams. Where did Lily of the Valley come from?

A. Well, that’s a fairly new nickname for me. I have lived in The Valley my whole life, but I’ve always just been Lily. I started doing a few gigs here and there in and around The Valley a few years ago. I had a couple guys start calling me Lily of The Valley one night, and it just kind of stuck. They probably had no idea that the lily of the valley is actually a poisonous plant. That’s pretty funny. Now, that’s what all my fans call me. I like it. But, to my husband, family, and friends, I’ll still just Lily.

Q. How long have you been singing?

A. Oh, I’ve been singing since I was a little girl. I’ve loved singing as long as I can remember. I grew up singing in church and pageants. As I got older, I also sang in the school choir and show choir. In college, I’d go out with my friends, and I’d always end up singing karaoke. After getting married and starting a family, I would just sing in church occasionally, but 4-5 years ago I started singing in local restaurants and parties when I could. My family and friends started pushing me to do an album about a year ago, so I’ve been working on it for about a year. I’m so happy to share it to the world.

Q. What artists have influenced your musical style?

A. I love me some country music, so most of the artists that I’ve looked up to are country singers. I grew up when country music was actually country music. Shania Twain is probably my favorite artist of all time. I also love some Reba and Wynonna Judd. I like Gretchen Wilson too. Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood are a couple younger artists that I really like. I also like Aaron Tippin, Collin Raye, and Johnny Cash.

Q. What is your debut album “Wife/Mom Life” about?

A. I’m a wife and mom to 3 wonderful kids, and our life is crazy like most families these days. I wanted my album to be relatable to other moms, wives, husbands, and dads. The album is about the everyday struggles and things us busy moms and wives have to deal with, and I tried to put a fun twist on it. I think I’ve put together a good album with some good, fun songs. It’s for all you moms and wives out there!

Q. What is next for you Lily?

A. Nothing is going to change on the mom/wife front. I’ll still be taking care of my family and animals, and living this crazy wife/mom life. I won’t be going on tour anytime soon. My family takes precedent over everything else, and that will always be the case for me. We’ll see what happens with the album. Hopefully, people will like it; I’ve put a lot of time and effort into it. Y’all check it out on Spotify, AppleMusic, YouTubeMusic, and more!