Author Archives: Joyce Godwin

About Joyce Godwin

Everyone who comes to our house enters through the back door. We love it that way. So this blog is about seeing things through our back door. Our two children, Trey and Jamie, moved away from home long ago and started their own families. Now we have seven grandchildren. We have four more who live close by whom we've adopted and who add joy to our lives daily. Billy Wayne sells real estate while I serve a daily newspaper as news editor.

Sunday worship at the Boot Camp

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Sunday morning had a different start for the Godwins than usual. Instead of attending our home church, we were out the door and on the road by 7:30 a.m. to join the young cadets at the Grayson County Juvenile Boot Camp.


Billy Wayne and I were among a small group of adult volunteers granted admission to participate in a church and worship service with 50 or more young men.


Our group of volunteers was organized through the Air Chapel Academy, a non-profit agency in Grayson Couny that, among other things, appeals to local ministries and churches to help with the religious services every Sunday and Wednesday at the boot camp. 


Sunday it was Pastor Sammy Garcia of Iglesia Bautista Camino Real Church in Denison who spoke to the boys while music was provided by Paul Garland of Sherman.


We were there to help serve those young men, but we were the ones who were blessed. One of the highlights of the morning was a loosely organized choir of cadets who came to the front of the room and stood behind Paul as he led the group in a song called “Peace Speaker.” Some of the boys played percussion instruments while others simply used their voices. The result was spine tingling.


The song talks about experiencing storms in life. “But even in the storm, I can feel the calm, and here’s the reason why,” sang this group of about 15 young men. “I know the Peace Speaker, I know Him by name…


“There’s never been another man with the power of this friend; by simply saying ‘peace, be still’ He can calm the strongest wind…


“And that’s why I never worry when storm clouds come my way… I know the Peace Speaker…”


As I watched these youngsters sing loud and strong and thought about the lyrics, I considered this special group. Each one is there because of storm clouds in their own lives. They are there because of legal problems of many levels and the boot camp program is their last chance to turn around.

In a small prayer group, some of the young men shared feelings of being homesick, one asked for prayer to help him stay focused on the goal to make the achievements necessary to get out and go home. Another shared concerns about his family.


It was a special time for us and we’re looking forward to going back.

Sledding down memory lane

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Recent photos on Facebook, a popular Internet social network, of several Van Alstyne families sledding on our snow-covered hill, brought back fond memories of when I was little and living in Toledo, Ohio.


My dad, like the three Van Alstyne dads in the picture, took my sister and me, and often as many of our friends who wanted to go, to area hills when the snow was right. We had a long 4-person sled that you could steer. My dad would get us situated on that sled and then give us a rousing push to help us get the most out of our run (because it was a long walk back to the top). There were usually others sledding on the hills so a certain amount of etiquette was needed. Of course, since we were only about 8 or 10, sometimes the other sledders suffered because we weren’t really good about knowing or practicing the necessary etiquette.


I still have a picture in my head of an older teen-age boy who did all he could to get out of our way. We could steer our sled — just weren’t very good at it. The picture I have is that young man resting on his toboggan in front of us and as we went through the place were he had been, he was suddenly in the air above us to avoid us running him over.


My dad took us ice skating during those times, as well, and taught us how to skate. He didn’t ice skate but somehow, he was able to teach us. I always marveled at that. Lake Erie was at the end of our street, so we often walked down the street to go ice skating. Sometimes, the winters were so bad, we could simply put our skates on sitting on the front step of our house and then ice skate down the sidewalks to the lake. It also was pretty common for a neighbor or two to flood their vacant lots so everyone in the neighborhood could go ice skating. It was a Norman-Rockwell-style event, minus the music. 


I remember that we went to school no matter how much snow fell. We didn’t learn about snow days until we moved to Gainesville, Texas. I was 12, and that was a long time ago.


We may all get another shot at playing in the snow this year because snow is predicted for Tuesday. I hope to see all those Van Alstyne youngsters having fun on our hill again. I may join in this time.

Have you ever had a song stuck in your head?

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I attended a church service last week and one of the songs we sang was “Marching to Zion.”


Well, the tune stuck in my head. I was humming it, singing it and hearing it in my head constantly. So much so that by the end of the week, I was ready to catch a new song.

I shared that with the music minister at my church, Ron Ethredge, who assured me there would be a snappy line up of music that Sunday so I might catch on to a different tune. He was true to his word, and when I left church, I was humming a new song. This was great.


On my way home from church, I admired some of the beautiful yard decorations on display in the front yards of homes around Van Alstyne. In one of those I saw a penguin. I think it caught my eye because, the night before, I watched the movie “March of the Penquins” — and, by the way, loved it. If you haven’t seen that movie, you should. The photography is stunning and the story engaging. It gave me a new concept of parental dedication and sacrifice for the sake of offspring.


The story is about thousands of Emperor Penquins in Antarctica that walk 70 miles over ice to their breeding ground every year. One particular detail caught my attention and made me wonder how scientists can believe in the theory of evolution. The penquin father is the only parent present when the chick hatches. He has had no food in months and there is no food available near the breeding ground. The mother has not yet returned from her walk back to the ocean to be able to feed and store up food for the chick before wallking a third time over ice to the breeding grounds. The chick needs to be fed but sometimes the mothers don’t return for a couple of days after the hatching.


The creator in all His wisdom provided for the new chick to be able to get life-sustaining food while waiting for the mother’s return. There is a small compartment in the back of the father’s throat that holds just enough nourishment for the chick to have one feeding that sustains him until the mother returns. I marvel at the details our creator has built into all our lives.


But, back to my original story. After seeing the penguin yard art, the movie title went through my mind.


Once I heard the word “march,” the whole morning of reprogramming my brain for a new song was gone, gone, gone. In an instant, I was again singing “Marching to Zion, beautiful, beautiful Zion. I’m marching onward to Zion…”


I’m delighted to think about seeing the “beautiful city of God,” but I REALLY need a new song. I’m taking a different route home from church this Sunday.

A Local Hero

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I took this picture in 2007 and it’s one of my all-time favorites. Airman Bill Long stands in salute as a mournful “Taps” sounds from a single trumpet at the graveside services for Long’s brother, local hero Spc. Braden Joseph Long Sunday afternoon at Cedarlawn Memorial Park in Sherman.

Spc. Long was killed in battle in Iraq Aug. 4, 2007. In the background is an honor-guard detail from the Sherman Police Department for this local hero, also standing in salute and further back is part of the line of Patriot Guard surrounding the grave site holding U.S. flags. Members or the Sherman Fire Department were also present to honor Sherman’s fallen warrior and local hero.


The story of Spc. Braden Joseph Long, by Joyce Godwin/Herald Democrat:

A 2005 graduate of Sherman High School, he is remembered for his infectious smile, love of cars, love for his family and the intense desire to serve his country. 


Spc. Long died of injuries sustained when his Humvee came under grenade attack in Baghdad Aug. 4, just three days shy of his 20th birthday. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.


During his short military career, Spc. Long earned the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Combat Action Badge, Iraqi Campaign Medal and Global War on Terrorism Medal. He served as a gunner.


Chaplain Ken Sorenson told mourners at Faith Church of Sherman that one of the outstanding features of Spc. Long was his smile. His father added in a later telephone interview that his son’s smile was always there. Sorenson used the letters in ‘smile’ to describe Spc. Long to family and friends who flocked to his funeral. ‘S’ was for Specialist, Braden’s army rank. ‘M’ was for military. He said Spc. Long wanted to join the military since he was a little boy. ‘I’ was for his intelligence in choosing a supportive wife like Teresa and for choosing the Army. ‘L’ stood for likeable. Sorenson said Spc. Long was an incredibly loving person. “I can see why Teresa would fall in love with him,” Sorenson said. 


Lastly, ‘E’ stood for excellence. He described Spc. Long as determined to do the right thing. He would always fulfill his commitments. 


Sorenson referred to the scripture Romans 5:7-8. “Christ died for us,” Sorenson said. “There is something about a man who is willing to die for those he doesn’t even know…day after day, a willingness to sacrifice his all for people who didn’t know him, much like his Savior did 2,000 years ago.” 


Later in the service, Sorenson said, “Freedom is never free and his (Spc. Long’s) death serves as a reminder of the cost.” 


Following the final prayer of the funeral, the cadence of marching military began to echo across the auditorium and grew louder as the military honor guard advanced through the church isle to retrieve Spc. Long’s casket. 


Mourners poured from the church and the unmistakable roar of motorcycle engines could be heard as the Patriot Guard prepared to escort Spc. Long and his family to Cedarlawn Memorial Park for the final farewell. This was the third part of the Guard’s mission for Spc. Long. 


Riders met the plane bearing Spc. Long’s casket at Grayson County Airport last Thursday and escorted him to Waldo Funeral Home in Sherman. Then the Guard stood in a protective formation around the funeral home during the family’s visitation Friday. 


With flags unfurled in the wind, the motorcycles escorted Spc. Long and his family and friends to Cedarlawn. 


As the procession passed each police sentry at various intersections on the procession route through Sherman, the officer sentry boarded his unit with lights flashing and joined the end of the procession until there were 10 cruisers bringing up the rear.

Sherman firefighters also honored the fallen hero with a U.S. flag suspended between two ladder trucks for the procession to pass under as it turned into Cedarlawn from Texoma Parkway. From that point, the procession stretched west on FM 691 all the way to U.S. Highway 75. 


Inside the funeral tent, the awards earned by Spc. Long were each presented to his wife, Teresa, his mother, Melanie Thrasher, and his father. 


When a mournful “Taps” sounded out from a single trumpet, military and police alike raise their hands in salute. Then Airman Bill Long, Spc. Long’s older brother who was sitting with the family, stood slowly, turned toward the ceremony and raised his salute. Airman Long, served as escort for his brother’s final return to Sherman. He was his mother’s support along with her husband, Bobby Thrasher, throughout the services. 

Hours after the funeral, Spc. Long’s father described their son as a normal teen while he was growing up. “But then, when you look back, you see a teen that almost never caused trouble,” William Long said. “He was focused in wanting to go into the Army and that’s what he did. He was a fantastic kid and a wonderful husband for his wife, and we are really going to miss him.” 


William Long commented on the military honors during his son’s service. “The amount of people that showed up was way beyond our expectations,” he added. “We knew the Patriot Guard was coming but we didn’t know how many there would be.” 


Sparky Cox of Sherman served as one of the Ride Captains for the Patriot Guard along with Mike Grove of Bells and Gary Winters of Sherman. Cox reported there were 129 motorcycles and several cars carrying Patriot Guard members who came from as far away as Waurika, Okla to the north and Fort Worth and Garland to the South. 


William Long said his son was doing what he wanted. “He wanted to join and signed up and enlisted right after his 17th birthday, but couldn’t go in for basic training until eight months later,” William Long said. “He was unbelievably proud to wear the uniform and his whole family was very proud of him.” 


Spc. Long was sworn into the Army Oct. 2, 2004. He left for basic training June 28, 2005 and did his basic training at Fort Knox, Ky. A Web site set up in his memory states he left for his first duty station, Ft. Riley, in Nov 2005. He was deployed to Iraq Feb 8, 2007. 

He is the fourth military personnel, and the fifth over all, from the Texoma area to die while serving in support of the war against terrorism. 

Using shorthand

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Sitting next to a friend in my Wednesday morning Bible Study recently, my friend noticed an element in my note taking that is something she doesn’t often see. I still use Gregg shorthand that I learned in college. In the same session, I took out my iPhone to make some adjustments on upcoming dates as they were announced.

My friend commented on my use of technology as well as my use of shorthand in the same conversation, and it struck me later the dichotomy of the two.

I love to stay up with technology and have the latest to work on, but most times can’t afford it. I did splurge to get an iPhone, though, and now I think I can’t live without it. It’s really a hand-held computer for all the things it does.

On the other end of the technology spectrum, I also use shorthand when I’m taking notes, and I’m thankful I never stopped using it.

To the unfamiliar eye, my scrawling looks much like a foreign language, and in a way, it is. People often look at what I’m writing, and I’m sure they wonder if I know what I’m doing. The use of shorthand has diminished greatly in the business world with the increased use of dictation machines, and later, computers. It seems to be a dying art, and therefore, not as many people are familiar with or know about shorthand as in the 1960s.

I was surprised to see, through a quick look on the Internet, there are still some courses available where someone can learn a shorthand system, but they don’t seem to be very plentiful.

I learned shorthand in 1968 but have never used it in business until the past 10 years working for the Herald Democrat. The system made it easier to take more complete notes in college, but then I couldn’t lend my notes to someone who missed class. That also meant there were fewer people willing to lend me notes when I missed. Everything has a trade off.

I do enjoy the quizzical glances I get as those who aren’t familiar with shorthand try to decipher what must seem like hieroglyphics scratched across my pad. 

For new moms

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Tiffany is a family friend who went to school with our daughter Jamie.


I wrote this to her on the day she went back to work after becoming a new mother.



Dear Tiffany,

Today you leave your sweet baby princess for the first time of any length to return to work.

It’s a tough day for most new mothers and many repeat new mothers — that first day back to work — and today it’s yours. It will continue to be a tough separation for a while but it will get easier with time.

Soon you’ll be a pro at managing all the little details involved with leaving that special bundle who sleeps in her room under the letters of her name. It’s a room that shows a mother’s love in every detail.

We all understand what you feel today because we’ve been there. But that doesn’t lessen your anxiety or stress.

Remind yourself and take solace in knowing, she is not going to change while you’re gone and she’s always going to know who you are, i.e., the most important person in her sweet life. Remember also that God has his hand on you and her, and when God is in control, we get only the VERY best in our lives.

There are many more disappointments in store for you as your little one grows up. That’s motherhood. But those disappointments will melt away through the joys you will feel as you share your life with this new little one who’s taken over your every waking thought.

Your love will grow exponentially day by day, year by year, and a life of joy will totally overshadow the sadness of days like today.

Cowboy pre game 9-20

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As one might expect, the season opener for the Dallas Cowboys was one of grand spectacle and elaborate preparations. A video showing some of the Cowboy history from the beginning to today opened the official ceremonies for pre-game. “Texas, this is the time of legends,” a booming voice said to the more than 100,000-sized crowd. “It’s a new chapter for America’s team because tonight the Cowboys have come home.”

With the video’s final frame, shown on the world’s largest high-definition television screen measuring 160 feet by 72 feet, attention was directed to center field where the turf was pealed away to display the Cowboy blue and white star and the crowd erupted in cheers and standing ovations. Attendees were clearly thrilled to be a part of the Cowboys’ showing off a new home.

A flag was carried out by military individuals of all branches of the service who seemed proud and excited to be selected to help display Old Glory, which by the time everyone was in place, stretched the entire width of the field.

Former American Idol winner Jordan Sparks led the crowd in the Star Spangled Banner. When she finished the phrase “Oh say does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave,” the men and women attending the flag began to move the fabric up and down so it looked like it was waving.

President George W. Bush and wife Laura were ushered onto the field from the western end zone for the ever-common coin toss which assigns the ball’s first carrier in every football game. At his introduction, the crowd began to cheer and applaud. One person yelled out “We love you George” and the phrase was picked up by others who repeated it. Bush tossed the coin and the small group gathered on the blue star immediately looked down to see it’s outcome. The Cowboys won.

Some might have claimed that win to be a good omen for what was to follow, but unfortunately, the Cowboys were upset by the Giants in the inauguration game for their new stadium home.

Nevertheless, a new kind of excitement filled the air as players ran onto the field with fanfare of cheerleaders waving pompoms, loud music and smoke.

Even mother nature cooperated with a beautiful sunset sky to show through the openings at the western end of the stadium.

Informative week

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Our “Good Morning” column appears on the front page of each paper. We (editorial staff) all write them at different times. I learned a few things last week and decided to share them in the “good morning” column. It appeared in our paper today and for any of you who may not be able to see our paper, I’ve posted it here. Hope you like it.


By Joyce Godwin

Herald Democrat


I received an e-mail recently titled “Life’s Handbook for 2009” and several points expressed in the writings touched me. You might say I learned something from it, or was reminded of things.


In fact, last week was pretty informative for me on several levels.

You know all those stories you hear about someone being victimized because an unscrupulous person got hold of their bank or credit-card account information? Well, I learned those stories are not just happening to “other” people. To my surprise, I now know it can happen to me.


The e-mail I mentioned instructed that I should not compare my life to that of others. “You have no idea what  their journey is all about.” Is that something like don’t jump from the pan into the fire? 


Also, “Don’t take yourself so seriously; no one else does,” and “don’t waste your precious energy on gossip. Dream more while you are awake, and envy is a waste of time.” All GREAT advice to include in a handbook about life.


I also learned last week (or it was my decision) that our City Editor, Gary Carter, is never again allowed to take a vacation. Unfortunately for me, I don’t have the power to enforce that one.


The last and maybe the most important thing I learned last week, at least for the immediate future, is those treadmills driven by electricity keep moving even when you stop walking.


My daughter burst into laughter at the mental picture that lesson presented her. Actually, I prefaced it with “You’ll never guess what happened to me,” and she guessed it. I think she knows me better than I thought. And, what my husband said first is, I hope no one there knew your last name.


No one did, at least I’m pretty sure of that. Although, one really nice and considerate man removed his ear plugs and asked me if I was okay. I was, but my humiliation level was over the top.


One of my Facebook friends said she has had a similar experience and then I didn’t feel so stupid. But, in all fairness, let me say I got distracted when I saw Pudge wearing a Ranger uniform again. Sweet!


My daughter’s still laughing… and so am I.

Cowboy Stadium

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Punctuated with chrome and glass, steel and mirrors, the new Cowboy Stadium is almost ready to go. It was unveiled to season-ticket holders Saturday. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. the doors were opened and those with tickets were allowed to roam freely from level to level and section to section.

Billy Wayne said he’s never seen anything like it. The structure was massive. The sliding roof covers were closed fending off the days stifling heat from 100-plus-degree temperatures.

A large array of event staff was on hand to make sure the tour was easy and interested individuals could see everything they wanted to see.

The jumbo-tron is huge and will surely enhance the football-watching experience of every seat in the stadium.