I'm not a Witch, I'm You

I’m going to take a break from my usual column to let you know a bit about myself. I don’t choose to do this for self-gratification, but to let you the reader know where I’m coming from. I’m a happily married conservative who believes strongly in limited government and personal responsibility. I’m a REALTOR, Dorchester County GOP Executive Committeman, and recruiting chair for the Dorchester County GOP. I am also NOT the stereotypical right wing nut that many in the media attempt to portray.

I am not a person born into money. I was raised by a father who was a small business owner and a mother who was a public school teacher. My mother was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease when I was 8 years old and passed away when I was 12. My father lost his business and clawed his way back to prosperity. He remarried and I am proud to belong to a diverse blended family.

I have worked hard for what I have. I began working at the age of 12 delivering a weekly advertising paper with my stepbrother. I worked for my father delivering furniture and appliances, and working in a sweltering warehouse. I clawed my way through the grocery business and learned everything I could. I cleaned bathrooms, cut chickens, bagged groceries, stocked shelves, learned a Profit and Loss statement, worked third shift and every job one could imagine. My hard work eventually paid off. I was given an opportunity by Piggly Wiggly and Jared Lott to join the management team at the newly rebuilt Meeting Street Piggly Wiggly. Thanks to Jared’s leadership we made the store one that the community could be proud of once again. I was then asked to enter the management training program and upon completion I was offered the Co-Operator position in Hilton Head, SC. The position in Hilton Head was a wonderful experience, and I had a great Store Operator, Bob Cook. Our workforce was largely non-native born Americans, and I learned a great deal from them. We worked long hours in the summer and continued to grow the business. I continued to learn in Hilton Head the value of a cohesive team.

I am not a xenophobe. It was in Hilton Head that I met my beautiful wife, Ana. My wife was born and raised in the Republic of Moldova, a former Soviet republic and the only one to revert to a Communist form of government. We continue to navigate the immigration process, so that she may be able to officially call herself an American. The thousands of dollars we must pay to the government, as well as the countless hours and incessant questioning are well worth it to her for the title of “citizen.”

I hope our readers now understand my point of view. I am opposed to handouts, regardless of whether they are given to corporation or individuals. My life has been shaped by teachers and mentors, some “uneducated” others at the pinnacle of society. I enjoy supporting charities of my own free will, not by government mandate. I believe in an individual’s ability to determine his own path in life, whether that be who they love or what activities they choose to engage in, as long as it does not impact me personally. So with that I ask, let’s end the stereotypes and talking points and engage in civil, intelligent discourse. I don’t fit in a box and neither do any of our readers. LET THE GAMES BEGIN.