The Muse is Loose

We are going to a birthday party! Not just any little party. This one is for my brother-in-law, Glenn Caldwell. Glenn has been married for more than twenty years to my oldest sister, Dorcie. It is a second marriage for both. They married in Hawaii. My sister had never flown. If she wanted to marry Glenn enough she would have to fly to Hawaii! She did and they did. They followed that trip with many more to places around the world. Glenn is as sharp as ever but a bit feeble. He gave up bowling when he was in his nineties. He is the oldest, or close to the oldest, graduate of the University of Arkansas. He will be ONE HUNDRED YEARS YOUNG! They live in Fort Smith, Arkansas

We will visit relatives in Little Rock, Rison, Fort Worth and Dallas. We will spend Friday evening as a guest of Dr. Edwin Coffman, retired doctor and high school classmate. Saturday morning some of the graduates of Fort Smith High School class of 1950 will gather to eat and swap tales. I haven't done one of these things for awhile. I think it will be fun.

So........The Muse will be loose in Arkansas, so NO blog until June 15. By then, if I survive all this, I will be a year older. Seventy-seven.

"The length of our days is seventy years...(done that) or eighty if we have the strength...( we shall see)...yet their span is but trouble and sorrow....(not for me, Psalm writer) for they quickly pass...(you nailed that one, Moses)....and we fly away. (I feel for tell-tale bumps of sprouting wings, but none yet.) Psalm 90:10.. Take care, dear BLOG readers. I hope to return. Muse

Hats off!
Along the street there comes
A blare of bugles, a ruffle of drums,
A flash of color beneath the sky:
Hats off!
The flag is passing by!
Henry Holcomb Bennett (1833-1908)

We were returning to Rockport this June 14, Flag Day. It was mid-afternoon and we were eager to get off the highway after a wonderful, but tiring, nine-day trip. We entered the historic old Texas city of Goliad. American flags were waving briskly and with pride in the South Texas breezes. I wondered for a moment the occasion but then remembered it was Flag Day. It is always the day after my birthday. Flag Day has a few years on me, going back to 1777. It is not a Holiday; just a day to remember Old Glory and all the related flags.

On THIS afternoon passing through Goliad I thought of the Texas Flag with a single star. You all know, "Remember The Alamo", but do you know "Remember Goliad"? All Texans should. As a non-Texan I am still moved by the awful events that took place in Goliad in 1836. Texians and Mexico were warring. Mexico was determined not to give up the land.. The Texans were determined to continue living here and do so in freedom. An army led by Fannin was surrounded and captured. Three hundred plus men were marched to Goliad as prisoners. An order came from General Santa Anna to kill these prisoners. All of them. On Palm Sunday, March 26, 1836 they were marched from the Fort compound in several columns. Some of the men thought they were being freed. Others doubted. They were told to kneel. When they refused to do so, the Mexican soldiers began shooting them point blank. A pitiful few ran to the nearby river and escaped. Most of them died there. Cavalry came following the shooting and stabbed the ones alive. It was a horrible event. They were buried in mass graves where they still remain. It was near where we were driving. The Fort remains. Flags were flying. A Texas flag with the single star. An American Flag with many stars. I thought of the battle cry for Texas: "Remember The Alamo"!; "Remember Goliad"! Freedom always has a heavy price. It did for early Texas. It does for growing America. Our faith in Jesus Christ, and hope in Him had an awful price. Talk about innocence and sacrifice! So, for we believers our battle cry could well be...."Remember Jesus Christ"! (Trip events tomorrow)

We don't go to Arkansas very often. It is more than 600 miles from Rockport. In recent years the visits have been difficult ones involving family loss. This trip was different. Fort Smith was our first stop. There we were hosted by an dear High School friend, Dr. Edwin Coffman. I knew him as Eddie back then, so still do. Eddie was an all-state football player in high school. He played basketball. Following Hendrix College he went to med school and then air force. He was an anesthesiologist (have you ever tried spelling that word?) for most of his career. Eddie welcomed us into his spacious home where he and his wife raised three boys. He lost his wife two years ago. On Saturday morning, June 6, a number of high school friends gathered for breakfast and talk. That was fun. I missed one of my closest friends, Paul Gean. He was off at a swim meet for grandchildren. We met Paul and Kay after church Sunday. Paul is an attorney still practicing at Gean, Gean, and Gean in Fort Smith. He is an active Christian, going on mission trips around the world. He was one of "the three musketeers" in high school. Gene Oneal was the third member. We would sword fight with rubber-tipped epees along the high sandy banks of the Arkansas River. It was great fun to fake a fatal thrust and plunge from the bluff to the sand below. What do high school kids do now? Saturday afternoon the celebration of Glenn Caldwell's birthday was a classic. The mayor of Fort Smith was there. TV cameras were grinding. Relatives and friends from everywhere. He was 100 years old. Glenn felt great and had a wonderful time. He is sure the oldest male graduate of the University of Arkansas, having graduated in 1931.It is comforting to have a brother-in-law much older than yourself. It was a genuine homecoming for my family. Tomorrow we invade Little Rock.

In 1722 a French explorer named Jean- Baptiste Benaud de la Harpe arrived on the Arkansas River. He marked a certain landing site by name calling it La Petite Roche, so naming the place Little Rock. Unlike Rockport there were a lot of unnamed rocks and boulders left over.

It is the Capitol of Arkansas and the largest city. War Memorial Stadium is there. That is a place where the University of Arkansas played many of their "home" games. U of A is actually in Fayettville.

Nineteen fifty-seven was a dark year when Governor Orville Faubus called on the Arkansas National Guard to block the doors of Central High School so integration could not take place. Then President Dwight D Eisenhower called upon federal troops to break the deadlock. Today the city and state are places of great progress. Wal-Mart has it's home in Bentonville. Many other large companies call Arkansas home. Some mountain drives are as pretty as they come. There are many lakes and rivers. It is called The Natural State.

We visited relatives in Little Rock. My younger brother, Powell, and wife Chloye, have a lovely new home there. They hosted us for THREE days! My sister Velda and husband Paul, have made Little Rock home for all their married lives. Their daughter and husband and many others of my kin make Little Rock home.

The first church I ever served was in Little Rock. I was a student at Ouachita Baptist College. I came only on Sunday to direct the music and choir. It was Gaines Street Baptist Church. It is now a Black congregation. I caught an early Sunday morning train from Arkadelphia to Little Rock, then walked a mile or so to the church. Did the same to return Sunday night. I had a pass, since my Dad worked for Missouri Pacific.The church paid me $17.50 each Sunday. It was more than I was worth, and sure helped out. We had a great visit in Little Rock. Next stop will be Dallas, Texas. A big storm!

Dallas was the next-to-final leg of our big trip to days past. We spent the first night with Gene ONeal and wife Joyce. Gene was the third member of " the three musketeers".(Not the candy bar). Gene is an insurance man and active member of FBC Richardson. He and I threw papers together in high school . We were members of our High School quartet, "The Blue Moon Boys". We went to church and sang in the choir at First Baptist, Fort Smith. A great friend. Shortly after arriving at their home the sky darkened. It didn't dampen our talk.....until.....sirens began to wail. These were different from any I had ever heard. Gene had not heard them before. A quick switch to the TV showed us a huge storm bearing down on Dallas-Fort Worth. There was a tornado warning. Winds began to blow and the rain fell in torrents. When it calmed a bit we found a neighbors tree split in half and partially in Gene's yard. Six to eight inches of rain had fallen. Trees were down all over. Power was lost at 250,000 homes, including Ann's brother's home. The next morning another dosage of the same violent-type weather. We longed for some of it in Rockport. The next evening was spent with Charles and Jeanne Warren in their spacious home. Jeanne gave us the downtown Dallas tour as well as North Dallas. Their daughter has a high-scale wedding dress shop. I dared touch some tags. The least expensive ones were 15,000.! It surely is the finest bridal shop in Dallas. Charles and Jeanne are both attorneys. Our last night in Dallas was with Bobby and Janell Maurer. Their power was back on and we were glad. Bobby is Ann's one surviving brother out of four. So Dallas is the same. The billion dollar home for the Cowboys is ready for action. Money is still flowing and the people are going. I was kinda' glad to see Dallas in the rear view mirror. Traffic is confounding. Big cities aren't in my blood. Next stop...Nixon, Texas, population 2250 and falling.

Nixon, Texas is south of San Antonio. It is a small town with only a couple of decent places to eat. It is a crossroads. Back in the sixties during a presidential campaign I remember seeing a couple of road signs. One pointed to Nixon. The other to Kenedy some thirty miles away. (It is spelled with one n). Nixon has been home to James and Laura Duprie and the kids. They bought an old home and spent days working on it. They thought the plans would be to spend a few years there. In coaching you best not make long plans without a long contract. Some "inside" events were taking place as locals took care of each other. James was squeezed out after a year where he won more ball games than they had in the last two years. He had increased the number of kids going out from the forties to almost seventy this Fall. But he was passed over for a local who had been there for six years and had grown up there, and was a basketball star. He didn't have a college degree until this May. Anyway, James didn't get AD so he decided to relocate. They are in this painful process right now. The next few days will be crucial. We shall see. Anyway, the population of Nixon is due to drop by FIVE sometime soon. Want to buy a house in Nixon?

"Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home...." You surely have heard that phrase. You may have sung it. Do you know where it came from? Well, let me tell you.

John Howard Payne was born in New York City in 1791. He was the sixth of nine children. His father was a teacher of elocution (look it up...not an electrician). He taught at Clinton Academy, the third oldest school in New York State. John Howard wanted to be an actor, to the shock of his father. Actors were not admired and worshiped as some are today. He held to his desire and made his debut in 1809. The papers gave him rave reviews. He traveled to England as the first American actor to ever be on the British stage. He later devoted himself entirely to writing. One of his creations was an opera called, "Clari, The Maid Of Milan". Surely you have seen that famous opera!!! One of the songs in the opera was "Home Sweet Home". That's where it was born. I know you were dying to know. Thanks, Wikipedia.

The truth is "there is no place like home". That can be good or bad. It can have beautiful or painful memories. A home for some may be the remembrance of a certain house on a certain piece of land in a certain town. Home is more than that to me, for we lived in EIGHT different "homes" when I was growing up.For me, home is the remembrance of family and friends, school and church in all those places." Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."

It just happened! Sunday, June 21, is the longest day of this year. Did it seem like a long day? It just depends on what one is doing, or not doing. Alaskan days in the summer can go to nearly midnight. At the North Pole the sun only rises once each year. Long days are not always judged by hours and daylight but by events. You have had those times in ER or even at school when it seems time has ceased. Ever waited for a call from loved ones about their well-being? Minutes seem like hours. So it is. Our time clocks,and days and nights, are not always like God's. He has fined tuned this marvelous universe to the second. Our little clocks and timers are not so well tuned. In the Bible there is an event where God changed it all for a day. The sun stood still! That is not possible! You are right..... except where it involves the timeless Creator of time.

Yesterday we were moving along in a normal way as family. Today Ann is in the Hospital in Corpus Christi with what is being called colitis, and infection in the colon. This is causing a rather extensive bleeding for her. She also has a great deal of discomfort. Laura took Ann to the hospital late Monday evening while I slept! I had birded all day with Emily and was worn down. Didn't know about it until I arose early this morning. We still await a gastro-enterologist, (hope I got it right.) She will possibly have a colonoscopy to check it all out. Will be in the hospital a couple of days for sure. I don't like BLOGS like this. Neither do you.

This has not been a better day for Ann, but she has improved. She has been sick some and has felt bad, probably because of high blood pressure and medications, but the bleeding has almost stopped. She will possibly get to come home tomorrow. She will not be on her coumadin for several days so we will have to be careful. Right now, things look better. Thanks for your interest and prayers.

Elvis surely was the king of Rock n Roll. He died a premature death. His music, however, is almost as popular today as it ever was. He was a good guy, but with little guidance when he really needed it. He proudly answered the draft call and was sent to serve in Germany just after I left there. Michael Jackson was also king in his field. He was a dancing demon. Who hasn't tried to do that scoot across the floor! I remember him as a kid singing in the Jackson Five. His sister became a big star. I am not sure what Michael became, except a rather tragic person. I have always hoped the charges against him really were not true, but I guess we will never really know. He wasn't a good singer in my estimation. His squeaky, high-pitched voice was not great. He was a showman. Someone behind the scenes saw to that. His record sales were phenomenal. Then, like a comet, it all plunged to earth and he was through. There were plans for a come-back, but we will never know about that. The show-biz spotlight has a way of burning folks. Look at the tragic ending of Judy Garland. There are others. The Bible simply says: "Pride goes before destruction." That is true for others outside the Hollywood scene.

I tried last evening to write a BLOG, and to my utter amazement, I discovered my former Pastor, and still friend, had turned his site, which I use to BLOG, into a site for purchasing "cheap" (They used the word) womens purses, luggage, and even economy airline tickets. It was hard to believe that Charles had deserted his calling to begin selling trash. Had it been Neiman-Marcus stuff it would have been far more acceptable. We had a good laugh about it and service is now restored.

What makes or allows these phenomenal machines to suddenly do things they are not invited to do? Do you understand? If you do, don't bother to explain it to me for I would not get it.

Yesterday was a wonderful one in celebrating Dr. Robert Edwards and Dolores' fiftieth wedding anniversary. These dear folks who spent most of their married years in Colombia as Medical Missionaries have become fast friends. Ann and I are grateful to share their love and friendship. They had missionaries and family from across the country. In spite of all these folks being here they took time to come by to see Ann who could not go. It helped her spirits and mine.

James Duprie accepted the position of Offensive Coordinator for Goliad High School. Goliad is an historic old city. Today it is ranching country, with oil and gas and some uranium. The school is AAA and they play in their district, Cuero, Edna, Gonzales, Palacios, and Yoakum. Their head coach is Greg Althof. Cuero is picked number one in district and number nine in state.Goliad is picked for next to last in district. Not a bad place to be before it all begins. We are proud for James and excited our kids will get to live in this place. It is ONE HOUR from our front door so that is nice too.Still no rain in Rockport. This drought is SEVERE for this area. It is almost total crop failure for the farms. We know rains will come but are anxious about what they might bring with them from the Gulf Of Mexico.

Our Corpus Christi paper used to carry two puzzles daily. One was from Chicago, the other New York. Now there is only one. It is the puzzle from the New York Times. Early in the week it is almost workable for me. Later in the week it becomes extremely difficult. By Sunday this puzzle is impossible...for me. I know I am old, and not a member of Mensa, but how many out there know the answers to most of the Time's clues? Let me give you some from last Sunday's puzzle:
Kapa haka dancer-5 letters; Pair in an ellipse-4 letters; Vatican rules - 8 letters;"Eva is leaving" -8 letters. Exsiccate - 5 letters; Pele's real first name - 5 down; Kerfuffle - 3 letters. Enough? Did you get them all? Even the computer underlined some of these words, thinking they were misspelled.

In a time when the newspaper business is up against the wall it seems not a good time to rid themselves of folks like myself who mainly want the paper for Pickles, Sudoku, and the crossword puzzle. That's my cross word for the week.

You ever bothered by your memory...or lack of it? It used to be limited to older adults but it seems to have afflicted a lot of younger folks today. I have lapses at awkward moments, like when I am introducing a person I have known for a lifetime. Here is a joke from Paul Powell's book, "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Retirement"

An elderly couple was sitting on the porch one evening and the wife said, "You know what I'd like?"
The husband said,"No", and she said, "I'd like some vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup on top." The old man said, "Okay, I'll get you some.". His wife said, "You better write it down or you'll forget!". He said, "I won't write it down and I won't forget."

In a few minutes he came back to the front porch and had a plate with two scrambled eggs and an order of toast. The old lady disgustedly said, "I TOLD YOU TO WRITE IT DOWN! YOU FORGOT THE BACON!"

Have you forgotten anything lately?