Whenever I come back from a trip, after I’ve sorted through the pounds of junk mail, I sit down with a cup of coffee or tea and catch up on the Tryon Daily Bulletins that have accumulated in my absence.

What I found on my most recent return led me to reflect on our wonderful life here in Polk County.

First, I read about one of our high school science teachers, Shannon Hayes, being chosen as an Educator of Excellence to study in Belize and bring her experiences there back to our students here.

I next read about a community of dedicated volunteers keeping a 20-year tradition of coffee and conversation going at the Tryon Coffehouse Co-op, a wonderful meeting place in our local community that has been kept alive through hard work and cooperation.

I learned that hundreds of people turned out, not for some empty-headed celebrity or some legend-in-their-own-mind politician, but rather for the opening of a new Tractor Supply in a building that might otherwise have been abandoned.

I also missed a rally, coordinated by my wonderful chiropractor, Dr. Joe Piccone, and his staff, to help stop an unnecessary and poorly-designed road project that some people who don’t live here and don’t know us think we need.

There was the wonderful news that our Thermal Belt Outreach Ministry, which gives so much to the needy in our area, has received a grant to serve more Polk County families lacking the resources to provide for themselves.

Last but not least, a grand opening of another craft beer tap room at Saluda Outfitters that adds yet another place to sit and relax and enjoy the beauty of our area.

That was just a taste of many uplifting stories of great things happening here. In the midst of a nasty national news media that seem only to care about scandal and gloom, I felt my spirits rise as I was reminded why my family and I live and work here, and what blessings we have.

Stuart R. Goldstein, Green Creek