BY JOHN H. WALKER
L’Observateur

Price and value … what are they?

We know that Webster’s roughly defines price as “the sum or amount of money or its equivalent for which anything is bought, sold, or offered for sale” and value is “relative worth, merit, or importance.”

For Reserve native and Baton Rouge resident Brandon Simmons there’s a different twist. Simmons, author of the recently released “Christianity: Are You Addicted?” says, “Price only matters in the absence of value.”

“Think about it,” he said, pausing a bit. “If there is no value, then the only way one judges something is the price tag …”

Simmons said writing his self-published book (AuthorHouse ISBN: 978-1-4389-5664-0) was “a long, interesting, humbling experience.”

He said he felt the title was fitting, because his book deals with man’s dealing with rituals, rather than with meaning.

“Tradition locks a lot of people out,” he said. “If you don’t look like me, you don’t belong here.”

Now a member of a non-denominational church, Simmons, who grew up as a Catholic on East 14th Street in Reserve before becoming a Baptist, said Hurricane Gustav provoked him to action.

“There are many storms in life, but no matter what storm you face and what decisions you make, there is a price to pay. People who stayed (during Gustav) paid a price and people who left paid a price.”

After the storm, Simmons said the things he saw made him think — and take action.

“The church, for so long, the church has been the cornerstone but, for the most part, many failed to come out to help. I always felt the church should be open to help people and many weren’t.

Simmons said he went out, got MREs and water, and passed them out to people who needed them.

Since then, Simmons has been writing, fulfilling speaking engagements and practicing his trade as a barber — and trying to make a difference.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR — The son of Faith Farlough and the late Terry Simmons, Sr., Simmons attended St. Peters, St. Joan of Arc and St. Charles Catholic, where he played football and ran track. He now lives in Baton Rouge with his wife and two children.