An Editorial

Forget James Bond, I’m Talking Sheila Joyner!

My wife has suffered terribly this spring with what the t.v. ads call “seasonal allergies.” This has led to a sudden addiction to old James Bond flicks.

She hasn’t felt like doing much for over a week other than sit in the recliner and doze in and out of 007’s fantastic feats of strength and durability. This is to say nothing, meanwhile, of his ability to charm a chain of lovely young women in 70s clothing.

While passing in and out of the family room in recent days I have been amazed at the banality of all that we took so seriously back in the day. We never missed a James Bond movie 30 years ago. I mean, the scenery is still magnificent, but some of the situations and some of the gadgets he used back then were really far fetched. James Bond’s feats of bravery left nothing to be desired, but they strike out when it comes to today’s “reality” standards.

Real life hits you with a thud that you just don’t feel while watching a movie. When Sheila Joyner, our Zachary Neighbors account executive, told me she had cancer again and that she was going to have to undergo chemotherapy for the third time in her life of fewer than 50 years, it was like a punch in the stomach. And then when Gary Joyner called me on a Saturday morning a few weeks back and said Sheila had coded twice the evening before, I was quite literally knocked to my knees.

Of course, Sheila has survived it all. She is back home and back to her one-phone-call-per-hour standard that can reach two or three CPH (calls per hour) to us here at the Neighbors’ office when she really gets rolling. She is one strong lady.

When Readers’ Digest calls and wants to know about my most memorable character, it won’t be James Bond who comes to mind. It will be Sheila Joyner. 007 just wishes he had her drive and determination and her support team of devoted friends and family who prayed her out of the hospital and back home and back to work last week. As a matter of fact Sheila has the whole city of Zachary praying for her.

We thank everyone who has helped in this very difficult time for the Joyner family. You guys are far too numerous to name here, but you know who you are, and we know who you are. The Joyners could not have made it without such a strong support team.

And to James Bond we say, keep up the good work, but even with all your fantastic gadgets and beautiful accomplices, you don’t hold a candle to our real life heroine: Sheila Joyner of Zachary, LA.