Heilig a kind soul, talented artist

As Reader’s Digest use to highlight its “Unforgettable Characters,” so too do I have my own, one being Joseph Heilig often depicted as Salisbury’s downtown street artist.  No matter where or on what street I encountered him, he always wanted to stop me a moment and speak about my writings and his positive view of Republicans, particularly those of us of color. His snazzy dress, particularly the red outfit, silhouetted his tall handsome dark frame.

Mr. Heilig’s most endearing moments for me were viewing his art featuring caricatures and portraits of family and friends in Salisbury.

It was as if he looked into his subjects’ very soul.  And then there were the special times that he sat on the Main Street bench in front of the Innes Street Drug Store with my grandson, then 8-year-old Dashaun M. Fisher, himself a budding artist, and went through Dashaun’s renderings of many frames of Godzilla to get the plates on that monster’s back aligned correctly while he told him the story of how this monster came into being.

Joseph Heilig was a kind soul whose talent touched on the lives of many rendering a blessing to our lives.  Thank G-d for the likes of him.

— Ada M. Fisher

Salisbury

Are we being brought to our knees?

What separates you and me from people who live on the streets? A cruel work environment? A divorce? An illness? Crime? Or is it that growing up, there was no love, much confusion, a lot of anger? People who threw you away, ignore you, you don’t exist.

Maybe some politicians are good. But don’t be deceived, most are living like “The Lord of the Flies.” Survival of the fittest. Secure incomes and retirements. Futures provided for.

Is this a way to live? A philosopher said we must have a why to live for. Jesus says “I am the light of the world.”

Ask yourself: do you need a gun in your life that fires so many rounds in so many seconds. Can you really turn your back on health issues that can be prevented.

Can you turn your back on the reports that say our citizens are basically uneducated?

Do we want our country brought to its knees? Are we going back to Egypt?

— Audrey Armistead Valencourt

Salisbury