The Muse is Loose

I came home from church in Taft. The TV was on ABC. I knew Ann had been watching "Wheel of Fortune". She had just left it on. Some three-hour program was playing. I was on the phone but was watching the words spelled out across the screen. A "rock" singing and playing group were making their noise...I could not believe the words that came out. I copied some of them down. Here is what they sang: "I'm your Rock and Roll Jesus. Testify. Get down on your knees. We're all sex and drugs and I practice what I preach". This was repeated over and over. This nauseous piece was followed by some thing where there was a feeble effort to wave flags as they sang. I do not know the group...they were pitiful. Their message being sent out was disgusting. At the same time thousands of Border Patrol and Military are making an attempt to slow down the tons of dope coming across the border to supply guys like the ones singing...and many of their listeners.

Country music like I enjoyed years ago is gone. The hard- rock bunch moved over where the money is and are cashing in with their trash. Some so-called Christian music has some of the same sounds. The words are better, but the music is what grabs young people. We had best be careful or this stuff will come right in and sit down on the first pew.

I supplied a few years ago at a Baptist church in our area. They had a loud band playing during the song service. Finally, when the group finished and I got up to preach they all left the stage and went out the side door. They had NOT been there for an earlier service. They had simply done "their thing" and they were out of there. I was really upset by that discourtesy and ignorance on their part of what the music is for at church. Just an old guy griping? Maybe, but it is much more than that when Jesus is mocked and drugs are promoted on ABC.

As I did my morning walk and listened to Tom Linn and KLUX I heard him say there was a fifty per- cent chance of rain today. I had plenty of time to think about that. Fifty per-cent goes both directions. Which half will come our way?

Percentages are just that and nothing more. A person playing Russian roulette with a six shooter has a twenty-per cent chance of disaster if he/she tries it one time. Is that good enough odds to do such an act of stupidity? I don't think so.

Ted Williams was one of the best hitters ever to play baseball. His batting average, above 400 for a season, is still an all-time record. We say "that is incredible", and it is. On the other hand, it says that he made an out more often than he got a hit, which doesn't sound as great. It all depends on how you look at percentages.

We live in a percentage world. They dominate in money issues as well as health. From the athletic field to the cotton field we are interested in this strange call of percentages.

So are there some that are a sure thing? Yes. The Book gives some startling percentages. It tells us Jesus was and is the Son of God. That is 100%. It reminds us God created this world, and we were the Crown of His creation. 100%. It tells us through belief in Christ as His Son and as Savior gives us unearned eternal life. 100%. Let's go with the best percentages! I have to run check the car windows. I just heard it THUNDER!

Some people retire and they mean it. They are done and finished with whatever they did to make a living and draw a paycheck. Others will retire, then later have a change of heart and take on a less important and lesser paying job to fill in some time. THEN....there are those who RETIRE and hear all the nice words, and get their little "over the hill" gifts, then TURN AROUND and jump with both feet back into the fray. Not once or twice, but again and again.

They simply FAKE a retirement, never really meaning to do so. I know a preacher who is real good at this. He has FAKED his retirement a number of times, but keeps coming back like a copper penny (that's the good kind).

Charles Fake is closing out his Houston ministry at Timbergrove tomorrow. They didn't know what a great preacher and guy they were blessed to have. They will know it quickly in their future, deemed to be rather brief. Charles will be coming back to Rockport next week. Think he might be retired? Think he might stay that way? Time will tell, but I have my idea. Welcome home, Charles!

We had no idea he/she was coming when we retired last evening. A banging outside made us aware that a house guest had arrived unannounced. The name is Hermine. Not knowing spanish very well I am not sure if this is male or female. Time will tell.

Hermine is a Tropical Storm with winds of 45 MPH. It is expected to find landfall below or around Brownsville and then sweep inland and up the coast bringing much-needed rain to our parched South Texas land. Crops are in, so there should be no threat to them. We should be aware that these storms have "minds" of their own and can decide they don't want to go ashore. They want to stay in the Gulf and grow into something bigger. I hope Hermine has no such wish.We do not have the storm, but the outer bands or disturbance that accompanies such a storm.

Storms in our lives have a way of coming just as quickly as Hermine. They are just as unpredictable when they come. Whether we are good or bad, young or old, rich or poor, makes no difference to a storm. It simply comes and hits whatever is in it's path. Our prayer is something like the one expressed in this old song: "When the storms of life are raging, stand by me.When the storms of life are raging, stand by me. When the waves are tossing me like a ship upon the sea. Thou, the Ruler of the waters, stand by me."

Most agree Hermine is a female name. It is not a popular one. The last time it made the top 100 list in names in the US was 1917. Anyway, she came for a visit last night and is lingering this morning. Word has it she will leave after lunch today.

Hermine was a sweetie. She brought us needed rain but didn't try to wash us in the bay. She has blown the limbs about and brought some of the dead and weakened ones down, but no holes in the roof. She came rather quietly with no booming thunder or lightning flashes. She did have an "eye" when passing by. It was over by Alice. We received the outer bands. Some of our wind gusts were probably fifty miles an hour.

Hermine reminds us all what a category III or IV storm would be like. It makes us hope and pray one does not come this way. I will now go out and retrieve the paper and read about what the storm was like. Hey, I was in it!

Hermine is leaving and we are hap-py.
We're ready for a sky of blue..
We're glad she moved on to soak another
Now, our plants are hap-py too!

(Sing to "You Are My Sunshine")

"Almost" hurricanes often have terrible complexes and attitudes. Hermine was no different. Try as He did he never quite made it to hurricane status. That calls for 74 MPH winds. He could only muster them in the high sixties. It angered him so he began knocking out power in the Valley. When he finished there, several thousand were without electricity.

Next, Hermine targeted an inland route as he swept up through South Texas. The "eye" went over Alice. Trees fell and power went out on up to Beeville and beyond. He wasn't through. He aimed at the larger cities, even to the Fort Worth area. He left in his wake small storms that have "popped up" all day in various locations. Water is high in the bays and lowland spots.

It doesn't pay to take a tropical storm lightly. They are like a snake: When you think they are going to crawl away they can coil and strike.

They remind me of another serpent of note. He crawled into a garden one day, looking for all purposes like a house pet. Wrong! This creature struck out at the folks living there, and the results are still causing storms around the world. Tropical storms AND snakes simply can't be trusted. They will strike when you least expect it.

The great guru of these things has set Sunday, September 12, as Grandparent's Day. Hallmark is probably behind it. Whoever, I am NOT impressed! Sometime we need a week or month, but NOT a day!
Following my early morning walk I was at my favorite Mexican Cafe near the house (ruining all I had walked for) and I got to thinking about my grandparents. I never knew either of my grandfathers. Daddy's dad was killed in a train accident when my father was a little boy. My Preacher Grandfather on mother's side died one month to the day before I was born. My mother's mother I saw a time or two before she died. My Daddy's mom was a different story. When she was widowed many years ago remarriage was a necessity for survival. She married a man named Farrar. He was a lot older than grandma. He also had kids that daddy grew up with. Grandma always called him Mr. Farrar. (Romantic Huh?). When he died she found another one and married Mr. Langford. His kids finally took him back to Texas, and grandma lived with her children. She was with us for quite awhile. I was kinda' scared of her. She had a mean streak.

I couldn't help but think what grandma's reaction would have been to "Grandparents Day". Probably something like this: (September 1942) "Happy Grandparents Day, grandma!". "What are you doin' in this house, boy? Git out there in the garden and help your mama pull weeds! We've got to have food, you know." " But grandma, it's Grandparents Day and I made you a card." "This is the top of my shoebox! If I could reach you I would swat your hiney! Hand me my snuff can 'fore I soak you down with brown!" "OK, Grandma. I just thought I should remember the day for you. You are my only grandparent". "You are right about that! And that's one too many. Now git out of here like I told you an hour ago. Grandparent's day! What will they come up with next?"

I spent most of my growing up years in and around Fort Smith, Arkansas, graduating from High School there in 1950. We were a large class of more than 300. Only Little Rock Central was bigger. Through the work and dedication of some classmates the class of 50' is getting together next week-end in Fort Smith. Our plans are to be there.

We will have a formal banquet Saturday evening. I have been asked to lead the prayer of remembrance for classmates no longer here. There are more than a hundred. Others, they simply do not know about. I read through that list last night and looked at each annual picture. I did remember most of them. Some were very special friends of those brief high school years. I thought of the prayer Moses offered many centuries ago. He prayed, " The length of our days is seventy years - or eighty if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away......teach us to number our days aright that we may gain a heart of wisdom." (Psalm 90:10-12)

How do we number our days aright and gain a heart of wisdom? Each can answer that in his own way. For me it means making as many of those days as possible count for something purposeful and lasting. That cannot happen without God being in it and His purpose being followed in what we do and are. Having a heart of wisdom? I have fallen far short of that, regretfully. My life is cluttered with actions that lacked wisdom and judgment. I can see that, looking back. Moses set a high standard for us. God does as well.

The Lord willing, Ann and I will leave Rockport this afternoon for Arkansas. We have several stops planned along the way. This evening we will be in Pearland with the Colburns. Monday evening we plan to visit with Betty and Deryl Everett in Tyler. Tuesday we will be with the Garners in Rison, Arkansas.Wednesday and Thursday will be in Little Rock with Powell and Chloye; my sister, Velda Barnard and husband Paul. We also have other relatives there we hope to see. Friday takes us to Fort Smith for the reunion of my high school class. Sunday evening we hope to stay with Dorcie,my sister, and husband Glenn. Monday and Tuesday will be traveling across Oklahoma and on to Lee and Ranell Pogue in Fort Worth. Wednesday we plan to be in Midlothian with Laura/James and the kids. Back in Rockport by Friday afternoon. Everything is subject to change.

Travel isn't as easy as it once was. The roads are more crowded. Vehicles are fast. Posted speed limits are now minimum instead of maximum numbers. Less than minimum and the bumper of a semi will be in your trunk. More stops are necessary. This will be our second LONG trip in two months.

I will send a BLOG if we can figure out how to do it while away. If not, hope to write again around the 25th. Breathe a prayer for us,if you will. dale

I haven't blogged for some time, and never on this tiny computer I bought Ann for her birthday. I feel like someone out of Gulliver's Travels!

Speaking of travels we have done that. We first visited the Colburns' in Pearland. Then to Tyler and a visit with Derle and Betty Everett. On to Rison, Arkansas and my brother-in-law Hershel and his wife, Lannie. From there it was Little Rock with my brother,Powell and wife Chloye. While in Little Rock we saw my sister Velda and husband Paul, and a whole bunch of relatives! From Little Rock we journeyed to Fort Smith and my High School 60th Reunion. What fun! There were about a hundred present. We also visited my oldest sister, Dorcie and her husband Glenn. On to Liberty Hill, Oklahoma, Monday. I saw my birthplace at my grandfather's home. It was not the same. I remembered the storm cellar and one tree. On to Poteau (we are in Oklahoma) and the graves of Mother and Daddy. From there to Paris where we are Tuesday morning. We plan to leave here for Fort Worth and son, Lee and family, then on to Midlothian and daughter, Laura and family, then HOME to SOGGY ROCKPORT!

I know you really didn't care for all that but I had to mention it to help picture what we have been doing. I have some things to share in later blogs that might be interesting. This is purely informational. We hope to make it home by or before Friday.

God Bless!

dale

Pulled into the grown-up yard and driveway late this afternoon from Fort Worth. A single BLOG could not adequately sum up the trip. There were some great moments as we visited family, friends, and the High School reunion. There were sad moments. There were scary moments like when Ann took a fall. There were one-of-a-kind moments hearing the fire alarm ringing in our motel last Sunday morning at 6:30. There was the nostalgic moment as I looked at the house where I was born. Only the storm cellar and one old tree were recognizable. Anyway, we are back. Will catch you up a bit as we have a chance to catch our breath. I need to check out our bed.

Three-score years have faded into memories that last.
We are here as remnants of special years long past.
No one of us is still the same; time does change every-thing.
It matters not at all today for each of us can sing,

"Through years of loyalty; in our hearts you shall nev-er die.
O, alma-mater in our prayers, Fort Smith Senior High!"
We're battle-scarred; bent a bit; feeling aches and pain,
but, for a precious hour we're here to walk those halls again.

The steps are few until we note the ones' no longer here.
That list is long and friends are there, we've noted with a tear.
To celebrate for those, we must! They'd have no other way!
So lift a toast to all who've gone. This too, becomes their day!

Remember on this day as well, the teachers and a staff
who led our way on each school day, causing us to laugh,
or frown, or say, "Not fair! This grade will not set well
at home. I'll see her (him) at the bell." (We never did)

Memories, dear friends... tonight, just let them flow.
Tell your story one more time before we have to go.
And if, or when we meet again...be sure that you're not late!
That angel with the big gold key might lock the Pearly Gate!

Dale Pogue Class of 50' Fort Smith Senior High

I wrote this for the friends who asked for a copy after it was read at our banquet, September 18.

A classmate, Dr. C.B. Billingsley, shared this story with Ann and I at the class reunion.. I think it is an amazing story about how God can work. C.B. grew up in a Christian setting and church. As is often the case, in his adult years he began to search other religions to see if he had missed something. He examined the Eastern religions and Islam. None of them gave him the satisfaction he was seeking.

In Medical school he was assigned a cadaver for his study. He named her Helen. He told us that as he saw the intricate workings of the human body it was like a light came on. He said that it had to be our Creator God behind it all! His faith blossomed and today at 78 he is not only active in his practice, but an amazingly energetic Christian. He laughed and said, "I owe it to Helen!".

C.B. was in internal medicine/cardiology, but went back to school and became an ophthalmologist. He is doing laser surgery on the eye. C.B. said most people would rather lose a limb than an eye. He hauled loads of diapers and other things to help the 400 persons his church housed at Lafayette, Louisiana, after Katrina. He and his wife make their home in Ardmore, OK.

I saw him sitting on a barstool as I headed for the restaurant. I had to tell him something important, but hoped friends would not think I was in there for other purposes. After a reintroduction and the usual comments I said to this man. "You do not know it but you ruined my athletic career and possibly the pros, in High School". "I did? When in the world did that happen?"

It was at the end of the first week of football practice. A friend talked me into "going out" though I had never played a down of football and it was my junior year! Coach Jones started us out with a one on one drill. The backs would run at a tackler. He was not to run around him but through him. I was chosen as the tackler. I weighed about 140 pounds. My opponent would be this guy now sitting at the bar. He was 190 or about. He would play college ball at the University of Tulsa. His name is Donnell Wells. Donnell ran OVER me like an express train. As I lay on my back shaking stars from my brain I had a sudden "revelation". This was NOT fun! I did NOT want to play football. If my own teammates would hit me that hard what would opponents do to me? I turned in my equipment at the end of practice. My future pro career had ended, and I was happy to be alive.

After I told Donnell my story and we enjoyed a good laugh together he said to me, " Dale, I did you a big favor. I am sitting here with two bad knees from football. My shoulder aches and I have other football-related ailments. You should be thanking me!". I said, "Thanks, Donnell, I never thought of it that way." I walked out of the bar to the restaurant on my two good legs. I had no pain in my hips. I really felt pretty good (for 78). "Thanks, Donnell! I needed that hit that day!"

This is not a racial BLOG though race is a part of it. It does not air any prejudice. Please take it in that light. It is simply an open observation that may or may not be correct.

First of all, I am now reading rankings in 5A football since Midlothian has entered the 5A ranks this year. Most of the teams ranked in the top twenty are from the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Most, if not all, are made up of largely black athletes. This trend continues into college football and the professional ranks. Alabama and Arkansas playing each other last Saturday were mostly black athletes. Why is that so? It should be obvious. They are the better natural athletes, with a few exceptions.

I watched Midlothian play South Grand Prairie last Friday evening. It looked as if all the players were black except two or three. Midlothian is predominately anglo. They are kids from "blue collar" families because of the cement factories. They are tough, hard-playing kids, but it was obvious the "natural" athletes were on South Grand Prairie's sideline. South Grand Prairie won, though not easily.Three of their athletes already have offers from major colleges.

Another observation: The band, which was a good one, appeared to be mainly anglo/hispanic. The guys in the band recognized wisely that competition for football was too tough. The girls can't play football at this point.

Summation: It is NOT that our team should play the boys in the band! It IS that black athletes are simply dominating football and most sports. It shows that our coaches are being fair and impartial and simply play the best athletes. It also has brought some antics and "showmanship" some of us are not too excited about watching. That goes with the territory.

Midlothian plays Duncanville tomorrow night. We ain't seen nothing yet!!!