http://www.dalepogue.com/ en Copyright 2010 Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:07:13 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss The tires are still hot and my legs are still stiff but we are finally back home after a seven day trip to Dallas and Goliad. We brought the three Duprie children, Dempsey, Emily, and little Calvin who has an ear infection and perhaps mono! Dempsey also has mono. I thought mono was the kissing disease but since Calvin is not quite three he certainly didn't get it in the usual way. We will have the kids here until Friday afternoon, and then have a couple of days break. The wedding was something else! I will take another BLOG for it. Hello? Anyone out there? http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/03/back_in_rockport.html http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/03/back_in_rockport.html Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:07:13 -0600 This is all so personal. If you aren't too interested, that's okay. But a lot is happening with us and our family right now. Tomorrow, Ann and I leave for Dallas. Ann's niece's beautiful daughter, Elle Warren, is getting married Saturday evening in the chapel of First Methodist Church in Dallas. I have been asked to perform the ceremony. That will be special for us all! Friday, James and Laura Duprie fly out of Austin for Germany and then on to Namibia, Africa, to visit with friends they made while in Rockport. These folks operate a hunting and animal photo preserve. It is a trip of a lifetime for them. James' brother-in-law and sister made the round-trip tickets possible. They will be staying with their friends and touring this ancient land. In the meantime....there are THREE children, Dempsey, Emily, and Calvin! They have to have some guidance and food, etc. James' parents and Laura's parents are splitting the sixteen days of caring for the kids. That will be fun. Finally.....James resigned his position Tuesday at Goliad ISD. He was told they were cutting back some positions and the last hired would be the first to go. He was the last hired! In the meantime their Head Coach, AD is supposed to be moving to another job. James is applying for his position. He has been promised an interview before the school board. He was told he would have to "dazzle" the board in order to get the job. This will all happen after spring break and their African trip. I would say that is a bit of family news. We will be in Goliad some and then here in Rockport. I will BLOG from time to time. Breathe a prayer for James and Laura. They really do not want to move. They like Goliad and their church and the kids like school. Pray for their safety as they travel half-way around the world. http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/03/whats_going_on.html http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/03/whats_going_on.html Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:01:12 -0600 One of my readers, (bless her!) researched the phone booth packing craze. I believe a college in South Africa set the record with twenty five. Americans had a much tougher time. Too many Big Macs maybe. It was also a craze in the late fifties instead of the late sixties. Hey, nobody's perfect! Anyway, I like cell phones best. Did you ever make a long distance call and think you had enough money to talk a bit...and you didn't? The operator rudely interrupted and you either clinked in the money or got cut off. I don't miss that. You may wake up in a fog Wednesday morning. I mean a real fog. Be careful if driving. Tomorrow I will write more and inform you of family happenings. We are going to be away for several days starting Thursday. I know you can hardly wait to hear. I am rather anxious to read it also. http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/03/phone_booth_record.html http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/03/phone_booth_record.html Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:56:10 -0600 Does it seem here in Rockport the wind is stronger than it's ever been? Well, remember it is March. Each year it seems the wind is stronger and the winter tides go out farther, and the winter crowds are bigger and the cold winds are colder..... and.....our memories are kind to us and allow us to forget things and see each new day and month and year differently. I have noticed through our years here that the wind will be with us until July 5. Maybe longer. But I don't know that is accurate. Anyway, without it the summers would be miserable. With a breezy southeast-wind and a nice shade, summer days can be comfortable. Spring is nearly here. The wind is a fact of sea coast life. Hang on to your hat. Forget about your hair. Let her blow! http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/03/windy_days.html http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/03/windy_days.html Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:36:04 -0600 These are hard and difficult words to hear. As I talked with this gentle giant of a man in his wheelchair, a silent tear coursed his face. This former sheriff and civic leader had heard them. It meant he could not walk again. Three knee operations behind him. There could not be another. "Nothing more they can do.", he said. You will hear these words, perhaps, or someone will hear them about you. They are reminders of man's limitations in regards to our lives and health. None in the medical profession claim to be miracle workers. Some can do amazing things, no doubt. Lives are saved each day by talented and dedicated medical professionals.....but.... sometimes we have to hear, "There's nothing more we can do." What do we do then? What we do is usually built on what we were doing before then. Faith is something we seek to live by and grow in our lives. It is best to practice it before the shattering times come. As we prepare for a lot of other eventualities tied to life, we should prepare ourselves for whatever is heading our way with a strong and God-anchored faith. The old sheriff I talked with has that. His tears were not of hopelessness or despair. They were the kind we all shed in moments like that. It's okay and natural to do so. This man was sharing his condition, not in a tavern, but in a gathering of people for worship in a nursing home. Others had already heard words like he had. They were still looking to the Lord in faith. When "there is nothing more they can do" there is something more we can do. Trust. http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/03/nothing_more_they_can_do.html http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/03/nothing_more_they_can_do.html Sun, 07 Mar 2010 10:12:16 -0600 We know of the war against the Taliban and Ben Laden, but there is a hot war raging close to we Texans, even spilling over into our streets. It is the drug war, or wars, being fought among those who value the lucrative trails that bring the dope across our borders. In today's (Saturday) Caller-Times the Department of Public Safety is advising spring breakers to avoid Mexican border cities because there is so much violence there. A State Department Web site also lists a travel alert concerning Mexico. Ciudad Juarez is the city across from El Paso. Juarez has been the most dangerous of all border cities. The drug cartels and corrupt police are fighting over the control of the trade in cocaine, heroin and marijuana. In the past year over 2,000 people have been murdered in Juarez! The citizens are frightened to go into the streets after dark. The President of Mexico has ordered 9,200 soldiers and federal officers into the city. Over in Nuevo Laredo there is also violence. It reaches from there to Reynosa across from McAllen, Texas, and extends to other border cities. Last Tuesday a warning was issued in Nuevo Laredo of an ongoing gun battle taking place near the Zoo. US citizens were urged to take shelter and follow precautions until the fighting subsides. So what is the solution? A wall? More Border Patrol? Legalization of these deadly drugs? Stricter law enforcement backed by the courts? Capitol punishment for major offenders? Close our eyes and hope it will go away? Stricter penalties for those who purchase these drugs in the US? Even if I had the answer no one would listen to it, but everyone needs to be aware of the increasing dangers. We have drug battles almost every day in Corpus Christi between rival gangs. They often take innocent lives. We all know the ultimate answer lies in changed hearts and lives. That can and does happen. Those caught up in this war can be rescued by the Lord. It is not an easy rescue, and even poses dangers to the rescuers. Be aware this war is close and it is violent and dangerous. http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/03/the_war_close_to_home.html http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/03/the_war_close_to_home.html Sat, 06 Mar 2010 07:32:58 -0600 They are almost extinct now, these privacy booths for making and receiving phone calls. They were first located outside telephone offices. That was more than a century ago. Phone booths began to appear in fine hotels and eating establishments. They would move outside on the sidewalks and at filling stations. They changed from wooden boxes to glass ones. Finally, the booths disappeared and only a phone was there, making it almost impossible to hear from, on a busy street. To you who are more mature, you will remember the phone booth was an interesting place. It would rarely have a telephone book in it, or there would be one, but visitors had torn out the page or pages they were interested in. That would usually be the page you needed. There would be a lot of numbers available, however, written on any space that would accept a pen or pencil. Sometimes a name would accompany the phone number. Phone booths were NEVER clean! They reeked of stale tobacco smoke. There were no phone booth attendants. Another thing one could always expect; it would be occupied when you needed it! That person would talk on and on, in spite of you edging closer and closer to the door. Sometimes there might be three or four persons lined up outside the booth. Finally, the yakker inside would open the door and say something like, "Well, I am going to have to hang up. These people are about to throw me out of the booth!". Back in 1969 college students began a contest to see how many people they could cram in a booth. I don't know what the record was. Do you? The initial purpose for a phone booth was privacy. One didn't want to share what he or she was saying with the rest of the world. It was also a quieter place so the conversation could be heard. Today, it is all different. With no booth surrounding them, some folks simply yell in that little plastic box from China so they can be heard all the way to it's place of origin. They discuss any subject without regard to the folks who are around them, and HAVE to listen. Do you wonder sometimes if there really is another person on the line? The talker you are hearing never stops long enough for anyone else to answer. I have a solution. Portable phone booths. Pop-up booths if you please. Locate them in all public places. When an inevitable conversation begins in a waiting room between two hearing challenged persons (me being one) this little booth is activated by the louder sound and a voice begins to drone...."In the booth please! In the booth please!". Another possible answer is to say to the yakker, after a reasonable amount of time, "Excuse me, but since I am having to listen to this conversation, let me speak to Gertrude for a moment." Take the cell from that person and say, "Gertrude, would you mind calling back this evening. This conversation is getting nowhere."...and hang up. These little added conveniences, and now necessities in life, called cell phones can really be irritating when mis-used. They aren't giving them at baby showers yet, but maybe when a kid starts to first grade? Have you forgotten and left yours on in church? Has it made it's little musical voice be heard? Does it get everyone's attention around you? What if it is God calling? Have a nice day! http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/03/the_telephone_booth.html http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/03/the_telephone_booth.html Fri, 05 Mar 2010 06:34:13 -0600 I had never seen a truck like this one.It was on our busiest street in Rockport. The company logo was a new one for me. There, in giant letters across the back door was "Dale's Pale Ale". Can they take my name and call an ale after it? Sure can! Still, it doesn't seem quite right. I have been searching for years for my fifteen minutes of fame but this surely isn't it. Well, my name is out there. Now I am wondering if they really named the stuff after me. It is from Colorado and I carved my name many years ago in an Aspen tree. Maybe that is where they got it. It could be they named it after Dale Evans of Roy and Dale fame. I doubt that. Maybe it is from the "Caissons Song"....."over hill, over dale, we will hit the dusty trail, as those caissons go rolling along". Naw! That is a World War I song. Best not research your name too much. I did " Pogue" and kept coming up with a rock group in Ireland by the same name. They were hardly a group I care to be linked with. Some names will never be smeared by the things of this world' .....like these. I "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace". (Isaiah 9:6) These are names good for an eternity of fame! They will be around long after Dale's Ale has paled. You might say, these are names that can cure what ails you. http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/03/my_name_on_a_beer_truck.html http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/03/my_name_on_a_beer_truck.html Thu, 04 Mar 2010 07:40:35 -0600 It seemed back when I was a boy that Fort Smith, Arkansas was a long way off. We lived seven miles out in the country at a one-store place called Cavanaugh. Fort Smith was a large city of factories and a huge main street. We went to town once a month on Saturday. My father had to attend a union meeting. He worked for a glass factory back then. There was a BIG event each year when the CATALOGUES came. There were two; Montgomery Ward and Sears Roebuck. Montgomery Ward actually originated the catalogue idea. Sears Roebuck would not be far behind, The Montgomery Ward catalogue in 1899 had 1036 pages! I remember these "wish books" having everything a boy could ever need or want. You could cut out a sheet in the back (or middle) to send an order. It did not arrive quickly. Things we kids might want for Christmas could be pointed out in a catalogue. You knew only one or two of them would be a reality under the tree. Sears has survived through all the years. They dropped the Roebuck. Their catalogue system of early days is just about gone. We can order from computer items around the globe. Items can be received in a brief time span by UPS and paid for by credit card . The Sears Tower in Chicago is a reminder of these earlier times when even a car could be purchased from a Sears Roebuck Catalogue. Today it seems the mail-order business is used mainly by the vitamin sellers competing with prescription drug companies. Some periodicals I receive hint at products of such nature that I can live almost forever by taking them. They are a little late for me. However, I do have a Catalogue that has a prescription in it for living forever. You have to take a big dose only once. It literally revitalizes every part of one's system. The most amazing thing of all is the cost. It has already been paid for, so the live- forever treatment is free! Want to order it? Check your Catalogue. You surely have one lying about somewhere. It is simply called Holy Bible. Have a great day! http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/03/the_catalogues.html http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/03/the_catalogues.html Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:35:34 -0600 If you are not a birder you are probably thinking, "Why doesn't Allen come get it? What is his bird doing in your back yard?". Those are valid questions. It is a bit more complicated than that. The man who got his name attached to this bird is long gone. The Allen's Hummingbird is usually found along the coastline of California and Mexico. Some stray to the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico. This one strayed to the backyard of the Pogues' in Rockport, Texas. It is still filling out it's summer colors. We hope it will stay awhile longer, but could leave at any time. Early Sunday morning we had three visitors come to the yard. They were from New York! Now that is what I call rare birds! They wanted to see Allen's and they were lucky enough to do so. Driving home from Goliad Saturday, near Holiday Beach, cars were lining the highway. Out in an open field were three Whooping Cranes. I got a good pic of them. Talk about rare birds! There are less than a thousand in the world. Maybe even under five hundred. Will the Allen's come again to our yard? Probably not. That's okay. We have provided it with it's basic need in a cold winter in South Texas. With few blooming flowers it probably could not have survived without the sugar water furnished. He won't send a "thank you" note or tell us goodbye. That does not matter for we gave a little help in time of need. The world is almost overwhelmed with people in need; not just for a place to live, but for basics like food and water. We can help a little though many miles away. There will be no "thank you" notes from those folks. That doesn't matter. "When you give to the needy do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Matthew 6:3-4 http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/03/allens_hummingbird_in_back_yar.html http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/03/allens_hummingbird_in_back_yar.html Tue, 02 Mar 2010 08:10:34 -0600 It happened in Goliad this week-end at the Baptist Church. Junior High and High School kids giving the week-end in a sacrificial way for world hunger. They first had to get money pledged by parents and others. I don't know the total amount. Our grandson, Dempsey Duprie, raised $155.00. The thirty young people spent two nights away from home at the church. Their fast was for the last thirty hours. In those hours they ONLY had something to drink. These are normal, burger-eating kids. In addition to their fasting they took on projects, like mowing lawns, cleaning houses, or whatever. If that wasn't enough, each youth had a "handicap". Dempsey had a paralyzed leg. To top it off, Saturday night they built their own shelters to sleep in from cardboard boxes. These were located outside the building where temperature plunged to the thirties. They did have sleeping bags. Sunday morning, proudly wearing new T-shirts, they sat together in the worship service. This will be a life-changing event for these kids. They deprived themselves of comforts as they learned of the desperate needs among others kids in places like Ethiopia. The leader for this project is a State policeman who works with the youth in that church. First Baptist fed them a covered-dish lunch for their first meal in thirty hours. Any left-overs? What do you think? http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/02/youth_really_working_for_world.html http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/02/youth_really_working_for_world.html Sun, 28 Feb 2010 16:56:04 -0600 In the "roll call of the faithful" in Hebrews 11 is this verse: " By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict." When one reads the more detailed account in Exodus 2 it is easily discovered who did the hiding. The mother is not even mentioned by name. Neither is the father. One can find their names in Exodus 6:20. They are Amram and Jochebed. Jochebed hid this little baby Moses for three months. When she could do it no longer she made a plan. It involved placing the baby in a little basket and locating the basket near the place where Pharaoh's daughter bathed. Miriam, Moses's sister, would play an important role. Jochebed would would get to care for her son until he was a bit older. He would then go to become the son of Pharoah's daughter! She would also have a son named Aaron. From this couple, Amran and Jochebed, would come three of the great leaders of that time, Miriam, Moses, and Aaron. The parents are barely mentioned in the Bible. That has always been the case. We heard little of the parents of those who are taking home gold medals from the Olympics, with a few exceptions, yet behind each medal winner are countless hours, and many more dollars spent in travel, lessons, and coaches. None of those athletes simply picked up skates or skis and became champions. Do we parent for glory? I don't think so. If we do, it is the wrong motive. We parent to see a child or children do the best they can with the God-given talents they have. What's in a name? Jochebed's name means " Glory of Jehovah" or "God is our Glory". These were God-loving parents. Their children would reflect that in later times the parents would never see. http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/02/jochebed.html http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/02/jochebed.html Sat, 27 Feb 2010 06:27:52 -0600 Doris Thompson pleaded guilty this week of taking about $1400. from Children's Medical Group in Torrence, California. It was not a first-time theft for little five foot- three inch Doris, in gray pigtails tied with white bows. Her criminal record goes back to 1955! She graciously thanked the judge for sending her to State Prison rather than the County Jail. Experience also teaches the best place to be behind bars. O, I forgot to mention....Doris is eighty years of age! When does one retire from a life of crime? Apparently some never do. Others reform, or simply lose their nerve and touch. Still others go to prison or die violently. I guess there are a few who simply retire and live on social security and the untaxed loot they accumulated. When does one become too old for a life of crime? Depends on the person. Let's flip the chart. When is one too old to be involved in doing good? When are we to retire from helping others? That all depends. We know health or lack of it plays a part. Our own inability to do in a financial way, like we were once able, comes in to play. One might have more limited opportunities because of one's own limitations. Age itself is not a factor. The opportunity for Christians to do and say good things comes our way each and every day, whether we are in assisted living or driving a F 150. Wouldn't it be nice to read, "Eighty- year old man lends assistance to woman in parking lot who locked her keys in the car.". You won't. That doesn't matter. By the way, you might breathe a prayer for Doris Thompson. One is never too old to change his/her life through the Lord. http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/02/never_too_old_to_be_a_crook.html http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/02/never_too_old_to_be_a_crook.html Fri, 26 Feb 2010 07:56:22 -0600 If you have some really OLD comic books you would like to get rid of, I will be happy to climb into your attic or storage place and get rid of them for you. Why in the world would you want to keep an old comic book of Batman and Robin, or Tarzan, or Superman? Telling you this, if you didn't know it already, will probably ruin my chance of invading your attic, but I wouldn't feel quite right not letting you know....an early copy of Superman just sold at auction for ONE MILLION dollars. It had originally been bought by some kid for TEN CENTS! That was back in the thirties when a dime was a dime. That dime could have bought an RC Cola and Moon Pie. We traded comic books when I was a kid, mainly because we couldn't afford to buy a bunch of them. I remember a guy showing me in High School his collection of comic books from an earlier time. He had hundreds of them! This was some kind of rich kid. Finally, when he left for college or service or whatever, I imagine his mom saw a chance to get rid of all that trash and dumped them in the garbage can. What is it that makes a comic book that sold for a dime now sell for a million dollars? There are a lot of answers to that one. Rarity is at the top of the list. The guy who plunked down one mil is banking on there not being any more first edition Superman comic books. If you bought an old warehouse and found ten thousand of them you would not get a million dollars each for them. By the same token he could not sell his for a tenth of what he paid. You and I DO have something worth that kind of money...and more. It is US. We are rarities. No one in this world is exactly like you. Not even your twin! God made each of us different. That makes us extremely valuable. In fact, we are worth so much that.....God sent His Son to die on a cross for your sin and by that act, and your positive response to it, give to you life everlasting. That is how much you are worth! You are a one-of-a-kind rarity! Now, don't you feel a little better about yourself. ............ about those comic books in your attic.....give me a call..... http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/02/have_any_old_comic_books.html http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/02/have_any_old_comic_books.html Thu, 25 Feb 2010 08:09:12 -0600 I just had to comment on this: The Caller Times newspaper has a picture in the February 24 edition of a group of snowmen on the lawn of the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. They have signs protesting the raising of taxes in the state. Their signs written on cardboard say, "Don't Raise Our Taxes" and "I'm Mad And I Vote". It struck me as a bit humorous: Snowmen protesting to their representatives as they come to do government? We all know they will get the cold shoulder. They know that when things heat up at the State Capitol these protesters will be gone! They will just melt away and their protests will be like water under the bridge. A snowman protester would not last long in South Texas. O, if he had a vote, the politicians would put him in the freezer until election day. After that they would only view him as another drip. We had some demented protester crash his plane into the IRS building in Austin, killing himself and totally innocent workers. What a foolish act. Now, some are seeking to make him a hero of sorts. The best protest is still packed inside a little box. It is called a VOTE. Snowmen protesters can appear so lily white at first, but the grime of the street has a way of turning them brown and slushy and one day we wake up to find they have flowed away. http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/02/protesting_snowmen.html http://www.dalepogue.com/2010/02/protesting_snowmen.html Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:50:52 -0600