Singleton talks of the opportunities afforded by the coming new year

George Buster Singleton

(For decades, local historian and paranormal investigator George “Buster” Singleton published a weekly newspaper column called “Somewhere in Time.” The column below, which was titled “World would be better place if all chose to begin anew,” was originally published in the Dec. 29, 1988 edition of The Monroe Journal in Monroeville, Ala.)

As the clock strikes midnight on the 31^st day of this December, all mankind will break from the old year that has been full of mistakes, many errors and near misses.

Strange how only one second will separate the old year that has passed and the new year that is about to begin. Man will pass through that short element of time that has the magic to change all things.

During the span of time that it takes to blink an eye, the whole world – each and every one living – has the opportunity to start anew, if they choose.

All that has happened in the tired old year of 1988 will be only a memory. Suddenly the gates will open wide for all who seek progress and forgiveness. We can look back on our misgivings and mistakes and, as quickly as a thought can flash through our minds, can decide and discipline ourselves for better times ahead.

Try to picture what would happen if everyone alive today chose that last second of this tired old year to change and live a better and more fruitful life. Imagine what would happen throughout this planet within the first few hours of the newly born year, to all mankind.

We would not be concerned about the nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union. We would not be up in arms with Iran and its terrorist misfits. We would not be concerned about the many tons of cocaine that are being smuggled across our borders on a daily basis. And we would not be saddened about the many abused small children who are mistreated every hour that we live.

The alcohol and drug users would cast aside their avenues of death and seek out the ways that would benefit those in need. Those who have abused or are abusing the beautiful, helpless babies who can’t lift a finger in self-defense, would each gather up some child, any child, and hold him close and feel all the love that is there for the asking. And each of them would look deep into that same child’s eyes and see the beauty that is there – beauty so great that it is found no place else.

The oceans and the airways would be filled with people going to the ends of the earth, seeking those in need.

The fields, as far as the eye could see, would be green with corn and food that would feed the hungry. Laughter would ring from the valleys and the high places. Everyone would be so wrapped up in his work until one would be insulted if told to take the day off.

All the ugly trash and the dangerous chemicals that spoil the beauty of the creation would be done away with. Where once there were only filth and ugliness, there would be beauty and flowers growing in all directions. One would be able to travel for miles in any direction and never see anything that would mar the landscape.

Our forests would be allowed once again to grace our countryside. Where waste and neglect once abounded, care and beauty would rise from the rich, fertile earth.

I know that this dream of the new year coming is a bit far-fetched. But should you smile as you read, remember that it could happen; it is within our grasps. The small, short span of time, the second that separates the old year from the new one, holds the clue. Only our thoughts will change that which we deem impossible.

Farewell, old year; the
Time has come for you
And me to part.

There are many things that
I haven’t done that dwell
Within my heart…

But very soon – the hour
Is near, just a breath or
Two away – I’ll bid farewell
Amid smiles and tears, and seek a better day.

I’ll cast my eyes toward
The distant skies, and pray
To the Lord above that the
Coming year will lend an ear
And seek His wondrous love…

(Singleton, the author of the 1991 book “Of Foxfire and Phantom Soldiers,” passed away at the age of 79 on July 19, 2007. A longtime resident of Monroeville, he was born to Vincent William Singleton and Frances Cornelia Faile Singleton, during a late-night thunderstorm, on Dec. 14, 1927 in Marengo County, graduated from Sweet Water High School in 1946, served as a U.S. Marine paratrooper in the Korean War, worked as a riverboat deckhand, lived for a time among Apache Indians, moved to Monroe County on June 28, 1964 and served as the administrator of the Monroeville National Guard unit from June 28, 1964 to Dec. 14, 1987. He was promoted from the enlisted ranks to warrant officer in May 1972. For years, Singleton’s columns, titled “Monroe County history – Did you know?” and “Somewhere in Time” appeared in The Monroe Journal, and he wrote a lengthy series of articles about Monroe County that appeared in Alabama Life magazine. It’s believed that his first column appeared in the March 25, 1971 edition of The Monroe Journal. He also helped organize the Monroe County Museum and Historical Society and was also a past president of that organization. He is buried in Pineville Cemetery in Monroeville. The column above and all of Singleton’s other columns are available to the public through the microfilm records at the Monroe County Public Library in Monroeville. Singleton’s columns are presented here each week for research and scholarship purposes and as part of an effort to keep his work and memory alive.)