Plain faith

It's always humbling from a temporal and spiritual sense when you meet folks who seem to have so little material good but such great faith. The people of Plain Dealing had much to teach me when I visited there a couple of weeks ago for a story that ran on Monday.

Henry and Margaret Williams live in a small house with peeling paint. Mr. Williams is disabled and Mrs. Williams is legally blind. Yet they consider themselves blessed, particularly after North Highlands Methodist built them a new wheelchair ramp. "It's a wonderful thing to be connected with God," Mr. Williams said.

Further, he decided to quit smoking when he realized he could ill afford to spend money from his fixed income on cigarettes. He quit cold turkey and left his last pack sitting on the coffee table as a reminder. "I can do it," he said. "Me and God."

Photo: The Williams' home. Greg Pearson/The Times