“Why do I smile?” by Don Hill

[Early Bird]

“Why do I smile?” by Don Hill

In a recent front page story in the Dallas Morning News written by Gromer Jeffers, a comment was made by an African American leader in our community, who was one of the persons interviewed in the story, that I “smiled” as the cameras rolled and I entered the federal courthouse one morning for the trial of our case. This leader posed the question: Why was I smiling? What did I know that he did not that caused me to smile in the face of a trial where the Government seeks to incarcerate me for many years? With words such as “bribe”, “extortion”, “kickback”, and “conspiracy” swirling around me, why was I “smiling”? A good question which deserves a truthful answer!

I smile for seven (7) reasons:

1) I smile because I “see” the end of the story and I know my wife and I will be exonerated;
2) I smile because I will experience the rewards of perseverance in the face of a great trial in my life;
3) I smile because I am not fearful;
4) I smile because I am an “overcomer” and I will not allow the enemy to defeat me;
5) I smile because the forces “for me are greater than the forces against me”;
6) I smile because I am blessed; and
7) I smile because my “advocate” in the courtroom has never lost a case!

I smile even if some of my friends and supporters have short memories.

And why not smile? People in the community constantly stop my wife and me in public, giving us encouraging words. When those people stop and tell us they are lifting us up in prayer, I can only do one thing: smile.

I smile because of a wonderful note I received recently from a senior executive at a major real estate development company. The note reads:

“I just want you to know I am thinking about you and will continue to hope for the best-you are a class act and a great guy who has done lots for many” -
Good luck-

I smile because that’s what God would have me do!

[MAAT]

Brother Hill I hear you loud and clear . Keep your head up and watch the vipers who around your feet and ankles. I also am wise enough not to go to a gun fight with a pocket knife. Hell, I want the biggest and most devastating weapon that I can handle. That is what our government does when we invade sovereign nations and take over. You can never defeat an enemy without studying the way that he thinks and the reasons for his thoughts. The shrewd mind will avoid defeat.