Last night our 7:14 group met and we started our DO book. Carole was sitting next to me and she wanted to tell us about a happening in her life. She told it as if it were a small thing but I saw it as a great thing. I will share it here and you can make up your own mind if you want to.
She told us that she was sitting on the airplane while coming back from a vacation trip. There was an older lady sitting next to her who obviously was having trouble getting set in her seat. And she dropped something on the floor in front of her. If you have traveled by air lately you are aware that there is not much space between your knees and the seat in front of you. This of course rendered the older lady a problem. How does one get down on the floor in such a small space especially when it is a time in life when it is hard to get around in any case? And so as the lady twisted and turned without much success, Carole offered to pick up whatever she had dropped. And she did. As you can imagine the lady was very thankful and told Carole so.
That is the whole story. What do you think? I think I know what I think. As I listened to that short story I began to wonder. How many people would have simply sat there and watched the older lady struggle and never offer a helping hand? Or worse yet how many people would have become irritated by the struggle. "Why doesn't that old woman sit still? Can't she see I am trying to read?" I sincerely hope not many. But anyway my friend stepped up to the plate. She helped the lady.
I couldn't help wondering what I would have done in that case. Would I have been too busy looking out of the window to even notice that she needed help. Or maybe I would have bowed my head and prayed for God to help her. I have never been in the running for the helper of the year award so I really don't know. But this I do know. Carole showed honest caring and love to a perfect stranger. And I will always have a soft spot in my heart for that kind of thing. It was a real random act of kindness.
I pray each day for an opportunity to do something like that. It may seem small but I think not. It is what I see as real Christianity. Love in action. I want to be a part. And I'll bet that you do, too.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
The banjo
A friend recently asked me if I really did play the banjo. He had seen my picture on this blog. I wanted to tell him that not only do I play one but I am very good at it. But I could not bring myself to lie like that. So I think that today I will tell the true banjo story and get it off my chest after all these years.
It all started in 1950. I was going to architectural school at the University of Cincinnati and each weekend I would walk down town just to look around. I went by a pawn shop every time I walked and there was a four string tenor banjo hanging there for sale. I asked them how much they wanted for it and was told ten dollars. I thought that was a very reasonable price. Only one problem. I didn't have ten dollars. So I joined three other students and went to Marion, Ohio and there we dug a swimming pool. With shovels and a wheelbarrow. And after three weekends we were paid fifteen dollars apiece. I bought that banjo. Then I took the rest of my hard earned money and took banjo lessons. I had enough money for eight lessons including the sheet music. At the end of that time I could play four songs that I still play today. I also learned that C, F, & G7 covers a multitude of songs if you sing real loud.
When I went into the Navy I took my banjo with me. During boot camp I was threatened a lot of times but I was still able to take it with me during my two year time in the Philippines. When my time was up there they told me that I could go home by air or ship but that I would not be allowed to take the banjo in the airplane. I was homesick so I opted for air travel. I gave my banjo to a friend there who didn't really want it and came on home. I thought that was a good decision because I could still only play four songs and I had noticed that my playing cost me a lot of friends.
Years later Linda gave me another banjo for Christmas. I told you she was a fine woman! I began to run her crazy as I practiced my four songs. Then one day we had some friends over for dinner and I began showing pictures I had taken while I was in the Navy. Two of our visitors were banjo players. When they saw a picture of me while I was playing one of the guys jumped up and almost yelled to the other, "Bill had a Gibson Mastertone!" For those of you who do not know much about banjos (And that would include me) a Gibson Mastertone is worth somewhere in the neighborhood of three thousand dollars. And I gave it away to a guy who didn't want it.
I took lessons with the one Linda gave me and after about a year I could play the same four songs along with C, F, & G7. I played with a banjo band here and they let me play as long as I didn't play very loud. So you see, that is my banjo story. I wanted to play a banjo more than I can explain but the biggest lesson I learned was that one has to have talent to play those things no matter how hard one is willing to practice. And so it is a pretty good bet that you will never hear me play. That's because I love you and don't wish to make you unhappy.
Pray for me, won't you?
It all started in 1950. I was going to architectural school at the University of Cincinnati and each weekend I would walk down town just to look around. I went by a pawn shop every time I walked and there was a four string tenor banjo hanging there for sale. I asked them how much they wanted for it and was told ten dollars. I thought that was a very reasonable price. Only one problem. I didn't have ten dollars. So I joined three other students and went to Marion, Ohio and there we dug a swimming pool. With shovels and a wheelbarrow. And after three weekends we were paid fifteen dollars apiece. I bought that banjo. Then I took the rest of my hard earned money and took banjo lessons. I had enough money for eight lessons including the sheet music. At the end of that time I could play four songs that I still play today. I also learned that C, F, & G7 covers a multitude of songs if you sing real loud.
When I went into the Navy I took my banjo with me. During boot camp I was threatened a lot of times but I was still able to take it with me during my two year time in the Philippines. When my time was up there they told me that I could go home by air or ship but that I would not be allowed to take the banjo in the airplane. I was homesick so I opted for air travel. I gave my banjo to a friend there who didn't really want it and came on home. I thought that was a good decision because I could still only play four songs and I had noticed that my playing cost me a lot of friends.
Years later Linda gave me another banjo for Christmas. I told you she was a fine woman! I began to run her crazy as I practiced my four songs. Then one day we had some friends over for dinner and I began showing pictures I had taken while I was in the Navy. Two of our visitors were banjo players. When they saw a picture of me while I was playing one of the guys jumped up and almost yelled to the other, "Bill had a Gibson Mastertone!" For those of you who do not know much about banjos (And that would include me) a Gibson Mastertone is worth somewhere in the neighborhood of three thousand dollars. And I gave it away to a guy who didn't want it.
I took lessons with the one Linda gave me and after about a year I could play the same four songs along with C, F, & G7. I played with a banjo band here and they let me play as long as I didn't play very loud. So you see, that is my banjo story. I wanted to play a banjo more than I can explain but the biggest lesson I learned was that one has to have talent to play those things no matter how hard one is willing to practice. And so it is a pretty good bet that you will never hear me play. That's because I love you and don't wish to make you unhappy.
Pray for me, won't you?
Friday, January 14, 2011
A Happy Group - 714
Last night was Betty's birthday. She is eighty-six. I don't think I will make it that long. But she did and we all celebrated with her. Being a Thursday our 7:14 group normally meets anyway so we decided to make it a birthday party. Linda fixed three kinds of soup and other good eats and Shirley brought her great cole slaw. We had cornbread and finished with a Coca Cola cake or, if you were fat, you could choose a sugar free (almost) pudding. After eating we gave Betty cards and then Linda had the floor. She first gave us a test to see if we could name a hymn for different professions. Shirley knew just about them all. Then the big time! Linda opened a very large poster board that had all sorts of pictures of Betty Boop. And when you are eighty-six you can remember people like that. We all laughed and fun was had by all. Now don't tell me that small fellowship groups can't have a good time. Next week we start on our new study. It is about how to actually DO something.
We decided that the first thing we would DO was to take care of the name tags that should be used at our church. Some are going to build a rack where the name tags will hang, and then from week to week we will keep them up to date. A pretty good first step, don't you think? Someone said that our next step should be to go to business places and clean their toilets. I am having trouble getting excited about that. I did that while I was in the Navy and never did get a good feel for it. It is going to be interesting to see what the next DO is going to be. Maybe we will take out the garbage for old people or something else exciting. If you would like to join us in our DO efforts let me know and I will be glad to direct you to the proper place to join.
I just read this blog spot and it is really dull, isn't it? I think I will quit and be back tomorrow. Please don't judge all of my blogs by this one.
Still love you!
FYI: my email address is now wilkinswilliam@comcast.net Try it. I will be glad to hear from you.
We decided that the first thing we would DO was to take care of the name tags that should be used at our church. Some are going to build a rack where the name tags will hang, and then from week to week we will keep them up to date. A pretty good first step, don't you think? Someone said that our next step should be to go to business places and clean their toilets. I am having trouble getting excited about that. I did that while I was in the Navy and never did get a good feel for it. It is going to be interesting to see what the next DO is going to be. Maybe we will take out the garbage for old people or something else exciting. If you would like to join us in our DO efforts let me know and I will be glad to direct you to the proper place to join.
I just read this blog spot and it is really dull, isn't it? I think I will quit and be back tomorrow. Please don't judge all of my blogs by this one.
Still love you!
FYI: my email address is now wilkinswilliam@comcast.net Try it. I will be glad to hear from you.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
My Son Neal
When Max preaches I would shout if he read to his congregation from the telephone directory. Why? Because he is my Son and I love him. When Lee comes into a room I begin to laugh because he is funny when he wants to be and anyway he is my Son and I love him. God gave us three fine sons and for that we are forever thankful.
I missed one you say?. No I didn't because tonight I have a story just about Neal.
Neal called me the other day and we talked a while about nothing in general. Then he asked me if I had seen where the man had won $190,000,000.00 dollars. He said that after taxes he only got $90,000,000.00. We both agreed that we might be able to make do with that amount if we won such. Then I asked him what he would do if he suddenly had that much money after I had told him that I would pay my bills with it as far as it would go, if indeed I had won it. He said that he had spent some time thinking about such a thing. And then he told me what I think is a perfect solution to using sudden wealth. He said that in the area where he lives his neighbors call him the neighborhood fix-it man even now. And if he was all of a sudden extremely rich he would spend the rest of his time fixing things for people who needed it. He has become active in his church and does a lot of that already but his dream seems to be to be able to spend ALL of his time helping those who needed it.
Do you think that I am proud of him? As you may have already surmised I do not need a reason to be proud of him. I already am. And I believe God is too.
All of this to say that this is what I have always believed. Our God loves us simply because we are his children. And that is true even when we don't do a whole lot for Him to be proud of. I know that I don't.
It causes me to remember an old man who was a member of our church in Madisonville when I was a youngster. His name was Sidney. He was almost completely deaf and could barely see. But each Sunday he would be seated on the front row of our church. He would bow his head at the opening prayer and wake up during the benediction. We all knew that he had not seen or heard any part of the service. Our preacher asked him one time,"Sidney, why do you bother to come each Sunday. You can't hear or see so you cannot possibly know what has been going on in the service."
Sidney would smile and reply,"Well you know, preacher, it does show whose side I am on."
And it did!
I missed one you say?. No I didn't because tonight I have a story just about Neal.
Neal called me the other day and we talked a while about nothing in general. Then he asked me if I had seen where the man had won $190,000,000.00 dollars. He said that after taxes he only got $90,000,000.00. We both agreed that we might be able to make do with that amount if we won such. Then I asked him what he would do if he suddenly had that much money after I had told him that I would pay my bills with it as far as it would go, if indeed I had won it. He said that he had spent some time thinking about such a thing. And then he told me what I think is a perfect solution to using sudden wealth. He said that in the area where he lives his neighbors call him the neighborhood fix-it man even now. And if he was all of a sudden extremely rich he would spend the rest of his time fixing things for people who needed it. He has become active in his church and does a lot of that already but his dream seems to be to be able to spend ALL of his time helping those who needed it.
Do you think that I am proud of him? As you may have already surmised I do not need a reason to be proud of him. I already am. And I believe God is too.
All of this to say that this is what I have always believed. Our God loves us simply because we are his children. And that is true even when we don't do a whole lot for Him to be proud of. I know that I don't.
It causes me to remember an old man who was a member of our church in Madisonville when I was a youngster. His name was Sidney. He was almost completely deaf and could barely see. But each Sunday he would be seated on the front row of our church. He would bow his head at the opening prayer and wake up during the benediction. We all knew that he had not seen or heard any part of the service. Our preacher asked him one time,"Sidney, why do you bother to come each Sunday. You can't hear or see so you cannot possibly know what has been going on in the service."
Sidney would smile and reply,"Well you know, preacher, it does show whose side I am on."
And it did!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Some people do good things!
I don't really care much for golf. And that seems to be a problem with my basic personality, I guess. All of my friends seem to love it almost to a fault. Putting a ball in a hole has never been much of a challenge to me but I must be the one who is wrong. Too many people I know get very excited about it. So it must be fun and I just never learned how to find it.
Having said all this I thought maybe I ought to ask your forgiveness for the guilt I feel. And I also want to take this opportunity to share a feeling of mine that somewhat concerns golf:
I don't know Morgan Pressel. I am pretty sure she doesn't know me, either. I do suspect, however, that you golfers out there do know her and know her well. She must be a really good golfer because that is what the sports pages in our newspaper report fairly regularly. I do know that she is young and cute, so as an old man it is all right for me to be proud of her. And I am. However it is not because of her golfing skills or her cuteness. It is because of the article I read about her in today's paper. It seems that she has taken a large portion of the money she makes from putting that little ball in that little hole and has bought a vehicle that can test women for breast cancer. And she is only seventeen years old. Being one of those crazy old men who has lost all faith in young famous people, I was elated to see that there are still ones coming up in the world who want to do something good for others. I was under the false impression that all those famous people nowadays were on drugs or in jail, laughing at authority and feeling as though they were above all the rules the rest of us have to follow. You know, somewhat like politicians Some may be that way but I guess that kind of news does sell papers so we don't hear much about the good ones. Most of us do not like to read about the good ones. Not much spicy stuff there, is it?
Well I am proud of Morgan Pressel. And I am proud of the other young famous people who have that same kind of mindset. I don't have to name them. You know who they are. Let's be thankful for the good ones, O.K.! Maybe one of them will grow up and run for president some day. Go, Morgan. I am rooting for you! Put that ball in the hole. I will cheer and it will be heartfelt and authentic. Well done, girl!
Having said all this I thought maybe I ought to ask your forgiveness for the guilt I feel. And I also want to take this opportunity to share a feeling of mine that somewhat concerns golf:
I don't know Morgan Pressel. I am pretty sure she doesn't know me, either. I do suspect, however, that you golfers out there do know her and know her well. She must be a really good golfer because that is what the sports pages in our newspaper report fairly regularly. I do know that she is young and cute, so as an old man it is all right for me to be proud of her. And I am. However it is not because of her golfing skills or her cuteness. It is because of the article I read about her in today's paper. It seems that she has taken a large portion of the money she makes from putting that little ball in that little hole and has bought a vehicle that can test women for breast cancer. And she is only seventeen years old. Being one of those crazy old men who has lost all faith in young famous people, I was elated to see that there are still ones coming up in the world who want to do something good for others. I was under the false impression that all those famous people nowadays were on drugs or in jail, laughing at authority and feeling as though they were above all the rules the rest of us have to follow. You know, somewhat like politicians Some may be that way but I guess that kind of news does sell papers so we don't hear much about the good ones. Most of us do not like to read about the good ones. Not much spicy stuff there, is it?
Well I am proud of Morgan Pressel. And I am proud of the other young famous people who have that same kind of mindset. I don't have to name them. You know who they are. Let's be thankful for the good ones, O.K.! Maybe one of them will grow up and run for president some day. Go, Morgan. I am rooting for you! Put that ball in the hole. I will cheer and it will be heartfelt and authentic. Well done, girl!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Two more days
Yesterday Linda and I met with two old friends for breakfast. We had not seen them for a long time. We ate breakfast and chatted. We chatted for a long, long time. We had a lot of catching up to do. When we finally left the restaurant folks were grateful. You see, it was lunch time already. Doesn't that sound like a fine day? It was for me.
Tom and Donna live in Georgia now. And we found out that last year we almost lost Tom. He has gone through a lot but today he looks young again. Donna still has that smile that everybody loves. We learned all about their children and we made them listen to all about ours, too. We laughed to the point that all of the other guests at the restaurant were concerned about our sanity. But we didn't care. It was a special day. I sincerely hope that we never reach the time in our lives that we do not enjoy old friendships. They didn't make fun of me because I couldn't see well or hear well . Then it became clear to me that that is how old friends treat each other. There were no warts seen at our table.
That is all I wanted to share today. It is still two days before my DSL is on another line so I must type fast. That is hard to do with two fingers. But before I go I have a request for you. Today call a friend you haven't seen in a long while and renew that friendship. I can guarantee that you will be happier. I know I am.
Tom and Donna live in Georgia now. And we found out that last year we almost lost Tom. He has gone through a lot but today he looks young again. Donna still has that smile that everybody loves. We learned all about their children and we made them listen to all about ours, too. We laughed to the point that all of the other guests at the restaurant were concerned about our sanity. But we didn't care. It was a special day. I sincerely hope that we never reach the time in our lives that we do not enjoy old friendships. They didn't make fun of me because I couldn't see well or hear well . Then it became clear to me that that is how old friends treat each other. There were no warts seen at our table.
That is all I wanted to share today. It is still two days before my DSL is on another line so I must type fast. That is hard to do with two fingers. But before I go I have a request for you. Today call a friend you haven't seen in a long while and renew that friendship. I can guarantee that you will be happier. I know I am.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)