As we all know, Natchez has its problems, not unlike every city across America.

We have a lack of industry and a high unemployment rate. We have problems with education and poor study skills that create poor test scores and high dropout rates. But, closer to our day-to-day lives, there are problems with depression, isolation, drug and alcohol abuse, racial intolerance and a general behavior of being critical and unkind to one another.

So what is right with Natchez?

I’ll tell you.

When a person is in a real crisis, such as a serious illness, injury or the death of a family member, close friend or business partner, this town becomes a city angels.

The people here carry one another on their backs and lift them with their wings.

I know this, not by second-hand observation, but by first-hand experience.

The kindness and caring of people here in Natchez is so rich and strong that it is almost unbelievable; it’s even mesmerizing.

Yes, we can be distant and critical, yet in a crisis, Natchez people shine.

They shine through phone calls, letters, visits, prayers, lighting candles and stopping on the sidewalk to give a hug or a kind word.

So yes there is a lot of “right” with Natchez and the Miss-Lou.

On the other side of every crisis is a little bit more tolerance and a little bit more kindness than before.

So what’s right with Natchez?

Plenty.

Cheryl Tipton

Vidalia resident