When I was a young boy, I never liked the idea of having leftovers. At that time, leftovers just did not have the same appeal to me as a freshly cooked hot meal. I liked my food right out of the oven with steam still rising from the plate. I never liked eating food that had been placed in the refrigerator and would require rewarming. It had to be right off the grill. So even if it was my favorite dish, I wanted it hot from the stove; leftovers just wouldn’t do.

I could never fully understand why my great-grandmother had food in her deep freezer that was from months or even years ago. She froze peas, chicken, deer, neck-bones and ham hocks. You name it, she froze it! It was even more shocking to me when she would simply pull food from the deep freezer, cook and then eat it. In my mind, I just could not appreciate the idea of eating food from yesteryear.

When I went off to college, I quickly discovered that leftovers were good. There is nothing like eating cold pizza or barbecue chicken the next day. I’m not sure if it was due to me being hungry, but leftovers actually tasted better the following day. Whatever the case, they definitely satisfied my appetite.

During these difficult times in order to survive there are some leftovers that we need to pull out of our deep freezers.

First, our sense of neighborly concern needs to be thawed. There was a time when neighbors genuinely checked on each other and shared their last in order for everyone to have enough.

Afterward, we need to warm up our patience. Patience helps us to make wise decisions by keeping us focused and grounded.

Next, we need to defrost organization. Organization is so important for our survival that without it, we will continue to wander in a wilderness of lack. When everyone has their own agenda, there may be some progress but not significant improvement.

Finally, we must thaw out our creativity. Creativity helps us to come up with solutions to new issues that evolve.

Looking back, I understand why my great grandmother was good at saving, gardening and sewing. She knew that life happens in cycles and if you we are going to survive all of the cycles, you must possess the necessary ability to draw on skills and principles that had been stored away for hard times.

We are on the verge of making significant improvement and if you look closely, things are beginning to thaw.

Rep.-elect Darrio Melton will represent Dallas County in the Alabama Legislature.