The Muse is Loose

They had to be the sentimental favorites after all that has happened to New Orleans. The owner, Tom Benson, has a home here in Rockport. I heard that they flew his priest from here down for the game. Anyway, the New Orleans Saints have the Super Bowl title for the year. Their quarterback played an outstanding game, and their young coach caught everyone off guard with some daring calls. To see a pro team go for two and also do an onside kick at the start of the second half was amazing. Everyone loves it when those things happen and work. When they don't work it is bad news for coach.

Football can rest awhile as we prepare for the winter olympics. I really enjoy watching them. I was sick on the Sunday years ago when the Americans beat the Russian hockey team. They played on a Sunday morning. I really WAS SICK! Of course I had no idea that would be called the greatest upset ever in the sport. It is a marvel to me how men can fasten on skis and jump out into space with no parachute. The bobsled runs look deadly, and sometimes are. Remembering my first and last time on ice skates.(It was the same evening), I am amazed by figure and speed skating. I think the winter games will be interesting. After the winter we are having Oklahoma City or Amarillo may bid for them in 2018.

"Go to the ant, you sluggard; (lazy person) Consider its ways and be wise. It has no commander, no overseer, or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest." Proverbs 6:6-8

We have all watched ants. They are busy ones. They can carry objects many times larger than their own bodies. They seem never to stop. They are a simple illustration of work. Nothing else. This is not a verse to build a theology on. It is a simple illustration. That's all.

Ant counters claim there are 20,000 different species of these little guys. Some build mounds as tall as tents. Others build tunnels fifteen feet into the ground. Some will sting and bring redness like the fire ant. Some can crawl over our bodies and never bite at all. Some live in wood just like termites,. Some, like the army ants, simply stay on the move all the time looking for food. The red ants are a food supply for horned toads. They mind their own business as much as they can. We ought to protect them.

Coming on the scene in 2002 In Pasadena, Texas is the "crazy ant". An exterminator named Tom Rasberry found them there. They are now called the Rasberry Ant. These guys are trouble. Bad trouble. They don't sting so much as they eat all the wrong things, like your electric wires, bird eggs, and whatever. NASA is frightened by them getting into their expensive wiring. Crazy ants! Why the name? They run about in all directions. One woman described them as being like race horses running down a track going both ways. The Rasberry ants are spreading through the Houston area. If they haven't already they will hitch a ride and come to where you live. I know that sounds crazy, but so are they.

Solomon wasn't looking at a crazy ant when he wrote his illustration. I do, however, see people every day who are crazy-ant like. Running here and there with little planning or purpose in their movements. Their antics affect others as well as themselves. Maybe we could say, non Biblically, "go to the crazy ant and also learn a lesson". A lesson of what not to do and how to be.

Ann's niece, Suzie, and Gary her husband, headed west toward Dallas in the last of our Recreational Vehicles. It ended twelve years of love-hate with these unusual and unpredictable critters. It was mostly love.

When we lived in Wharton in the early seventies Elmer Bergstrom loaned us his home-made "pop up" trailer for a trip to Yellowstone. It was very exciting for our family of four. There were moments of uncertainty and even fright. The rainy night in Yellowstone when we heard a "bear" rumbling about outside the tent was scary. I armed myself with a piece of firewood and waited for his head to poke inside. It never did. The trailer unhooked on Slumgullion Pass and began to roll toward a thousand foot drop-off. Only a large boulder along side the highway saved it from disaster. Our clothes,etc. were all in the pop-up. In spite of those inconveniences we decided to RV some day, Lord willing. That happened in 1997 when we both retired. We bought an old 32 foot Honey. That was it's brand, no kidding. With one trip to Texana under our belts we headed west. No tow vehicle behind. Just the Honey. Later we would tow an S-10 pickup and my brother Powell and his wife joined us. Travels carried us into Canada and throughout the west. We wore the Honey out. It also wore us out. The gas tank leaked. The awning blew off. It had a bad habit of vapor-locking in the mountains. Next came a 24' fifth- wheel with a slide-out. I had to buy a truck to pull it. That was a Ford 250. Each of them were well broken in. More travel to the west and over to Minnesota, etc. One fearful day in Utah on a steep grade the transmission in the Ford gave up. Each vehicle was towed separately from that mountain setting. The truck went to a town forty miles away. The fifth-wheel went to an RV park five miles away. Finally, it was time for the fifth wheel and truck to go. I had lost confidence in them and myself. One more try: Laura helped me bid on a 20' foot Class C motorhome on E-bay! Had I lost my mind? Probably. I ended up buying it, never having kicked a tire or starting the engine. Bob Box flew with me to Phoenix to see what I had bought. It wasn't bad. We drove it home. That was almost four years ago. Health problems closed in on us so no more long trips. It was helpful in giving us a place to stay in Comfort and Nixon when the kids lived there. For the last two years it was a hunting lodge near Richland Springs. Now it is trying for a new life with a band of singers called Gospel Grass. They plan to get it to Colorado. I wish them success.

So, a chapter closes. I would not trade it for anything. The places we saw and camped were incredible. Each day was an adventure. I heartily recommend this experience to those with strong backs and weak minds. We loved it! Got to go. Saw a neat little trailer for sale that would pull behind my old Ram........

Just when I thought I was catching up a bit with the electronic communication in writing a BLOG..... Ann joined FACEBOOK! Suddenly our computer is FILLED with names known and unknown welcoming her to this world of friends, new and old. That was okay. Everybody needs friends. It was okay UNTIL she became imbedded at the computer chair trying for hours to communicate with all these folks. You who know Ann know that brevity is not her. She loves people and enjoys conversing with them in person, by phone, and now by FACEBOOK. I no longer see her face. She told me folks were writing on her wall. We don't even have a wall! A fence but not a wall. If we had a wall writing on it would be graffiti and that is against the law. These lawbreaking friends are writing graffiti on an imaginary wall! After a lesson about her wall I was told I could not write on her wall because I am not in FACEBOOK. If you are one of her friends on FACEBOOK would you do me a favor? Mention to her that it is now February and time for us to store the Christmas stuff. FACEBOOK!

The last time ever I saw her face
Was here...here at computer place.
She was writiing - writing on someone's wall.
Makes no sense...no sense to me at all.

If you're her FACEBOOK friend, that's great!
But tell her please ... we can't be late
for every thing and everywhere.
You friends will always be right there
on.........FACEBOOK!

(Yes I know these lines are leaning)

Toyota is taking a beating. They were leading the pack in car sales. Now they are yelping at the rear, trying to regain the people's confidence. It has to do with stuck accelerators. Seems a tiny piece of metal added will solve the problem. Wonder if baling wire and some tin from a can would repair it? If so, my dad, if living,could fix the problem. We were making a short trip one day in Arkansas when I was a boy. The car suddenly would not turn. Daddy was going so slow he could drag his foot out the door and stop the car. You see we had an attachment that did not allow the car to go faster than thirty. It was my mother! Daddy stopped the car and took a look. The front suspension had come loose. We were stranded on this lonesome Arkansas road. Daddy had to take the matter into his own hands. Road service back then would have consisted of a team of mules. He went over to a barb wire fence and chose one of the strands to clip. I know, he shouldn't have done it, but this was an emergency. There were seven of us in the car and the air conditioning wasn't working. We didn't have one. With the wire and a jack he went to work and in an hour or so we were back on the road to Cavanaugh. Recall? That was something mother did at the back door to get us to supper when we were playing. Back to stuck accelerators. The problem is not in Toyotas alone. They are bad about sticking on the causeway, in a lot of brands, between Portland and the High Bridge. I have had cars with stuck accelerators pass me going eighty or more. I could see the drivers frantically calling or texting on their phones for help. How about a recall of ALL vehicles under ten years old? The older ones have this problem solved, or they are in the junk yards. That would leave the roads safe for Ann and I in our 97' Dodge Ram. It doesn't have a Hemi.

Long ago the Bible cautioned us about putting total confidence in any instrument of travel. "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God" Psalm 20:7. Now there is reliable Transportation! No recalls.

Get our your raincoats and umbrellas if you live near Rockport. You will need them.

It is an open group that hits our local DQ after church on Sunday evening. Anyone can join in. Finding a place to sit might be a problem.

Our group had hashed out all the ailments and med stuff. The women have a way of leading that discussion. Finally it was decided aches and pains be put to bed. That gave the men an opportunity to share wild and unbelievable, but true, tales. Pete Stamps finally got the floor. It wasn't easy. He told of a scene he once viewed of tarantulas....hundreds , maybe thousands of them crossing highway 21. I asked a logical question, "Where were they going?". No one seemed to know. I raced home to the " know-it-all", and here is what I found.

They were males. They were between seven and ten years of age. (Some female tarantulas live twenty-plus years). They had joined together on a journey seeking a mate. The females live in lairs beneath the surface of the ground. One might hear the slight tapping of her suitor's feet and come to the surface. She may or may not be interested in this guy fathering her next brood of eggs that can number as many as a hundred. If she comes out of her web-wrapped lair with a DQ appetite the much larger female might just sprinkle a little salt on lover boy and have him for a meal. He is a bundle of protein her eggs will need. If romeo escapes it is curtains for him anyway. He will soon die. Is that crazy or what? A young male leaves home and is entrapped by a female who has no intention or desire for a life- time relationship. How can he be so stupid? Well, these guys don't have the corner market on stupidity. Read this:

"At the window of my house I looked out through the lattice. I saw among the simple, I noticed among the young men, a youth who lacked judgement. He was going down the street near her corner,walking along in the direction of her house at twilight, as the day was fading, as the dark of night set in....she took hold of him and kissed him and with a brazen face she said, I have fellowship offerings at home. Today I fulfilled my vows, so I came out to meet you. I looked for you and have found you....with persuasive words she led him astray. She seduced him with her smooth talk. All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer stepping into a noose, till an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing it will cost him his life." Proverbs 7:6-23.

Glancing at one of these magazines at a check-out stand I noticed the Hollywood tarantulas are always on the move. Some of that junk is not true. Most of it, however, has an element of truth. The morals there are no better than a spider's. But it doesn't end there. It can reach out and capture professional men; doctors and preachers included. Amazing, but sadly true. I raised my IQ at the DQ last night. I wish the human mygalomorphae might raise theirs before a fatal bite to family, careers, and dreams.

The one I write about was not Jesus Christ. He is not in the past tense. He is still changing the world as He changes people, one by one, who come to know him. This man changed the world by a product. The man was Henry Ford. The product was called a Model T. Let me tell you a little about this man.

Henry Ford was a farmer's son. He was a runner, long before it had popularity like today. Folks thought he was crazy. He was a tinkerer. He was an inventor. Someone said of him: "He had a twenty-five track mind with trains going on all the tracks at the same time". He was full of energy but had a casual way. He believed in hard work. He once said: "Chop your own wood and you get warmed twice". As a young man he got a job in Thomas Edison's factory. They became fast friends. He shared with Edison a plan to make an inexpensive car powered by liquid fuel. Edison liked the idea. Ford designed such a car. He called it the Model T. He wanted something everyone could afford, so he had to come up with a way to build them that would be efficient and cost saving. It was the assembly line.

Henry Ford went to The House of Morgan (JP Morgan's bank) to get a loan. The House of Morgan was the largest bank in the country. They turned him down. They said cars were only for rich people. Ford found the money and started his business. The first Model T came off the assembly line in 1908. It cost $850.00. People didn't have to be rich to buy one. People who had never been further than their feet could carry them began to travel. Roads were built and improved. Businesses sprang up . Factories grabbed his mass production idea and began making washing machines, refrigerators and other appliances. Motels were needed. In 1914 when the average worker made $2.40 a day for a nine-hour day, Ford started paying his workers $5.00 a day for an eight-hour shift. By 1916 the price for a Model T had dropped to $360.00! He put our country on wheels. You could buy a Model T in any color you wished as long as it was black. The same held true with the Model A which would come next. We had one of those when I was boy! Henry Ford lived until 1947. He would have been proud this week when the word came that Ford Motor Company made profit when all others did not. They made jokes about his rattling flivvers and Tin Lizzies, but Henry didn't mind. He said, "I hope they never end!". He was smiling all the way to the bank.

This information was obtained from History of Us, An Age of Extremes by Joy Hakim

On this Friday, the last one in January of 2010, some entire states are in the grasp of wintry weather. Oklahoma is covered. So is Arkansas. Parts of Texas are being hit with wind,snow,and cold arctic winds. It is a double reminder: First, it is still winter. We cannot hurry it on through. Secondly, our own plans become secondary, however important they may be. These two reminders tell of a third reminder: God, and all His great creative powers, including the weather, have a lot to say about what we do and where we go!

How often has this simple hymn been heard; "He's got the whole world in His hand. He's got the whole world in His hand. He's got the whole world in His hand. He's got the whole world in His hand." .....the wind and rain.....the tiny little baby.....you and me, brother. He's got the whole world in His hand.

The spacing of a single letter can take us from "Have a nice day!" to "Have an ICE day". Wherever you are out there take the one that best fits....and be careful! Remember, He has it all in His hand.

I can walk out our front door, turn right on seventh for a half-block, and then turn left for less than half a block, turn right and walk 100 feet into a good Mexican food restaurant. The cook will have Tejano music playing. The girls working there speak with heavy accents. The juevos rancheros and tortilla and coffee are great. They open at 6:00 AM. I enjoy that early morning walk!

I can go to my left, later in the day, and walk two blocks to a shopping center and tank up on most anything from squid to shrimp. It is a Chinese buffet. I can go next door to that place and have a Pizza at Panjos, or walk a little further down that strip center to a sandwich shop next to the theatre.

I can walk across highway thirty-five and find a Subway, Popeye's, or a Pizza Hut. All of these places are less than three blocks from our front door. Why eat at home anymore? The truth is we don't very much. It is a new way of life: A life of quick service, good food, and convenience. None of these places make me stay and do the dishes. I can leave and not smell fried fish or chicken all afternoon. They take care of the garbage. I have several choices at each place. Not so bad, huh?

When Ann does decide to prepare a meal at home she seems to spend hours in the kitchen. I make more than one trip to a grocery store. We set the table and do the dishes. It is an event. The food is always better than any of the other places mentioned. No question about that. The cook, however, and her assistant are worn out. So, eating out is a vital part of our lives. We are learning how to cut back and split meals when possible. Order less chicken. Cut burgers in half. Bring a doggy bag home and re-eat an earlier meal. Hey, it is 6:20 AM and Ann is sound asleep. I am out of here! Let's see...turn right and go half a block...and then turn left.....I can hear the Tejano music already!

I lost a very special friend this week-end in the sudden passing of Herb Grebe. He was a wonderful friend in my years at Taft as pastor. The friendship continued to the last time I talked with him on Wednesday, not knowing he would be gone by Friday. Ann and I went to visit his grieving widow at a nursing home in Portland last evening. Their son, Trey, was there from Marble Falls. Another son, Clayton, is driving from Oklahoma. He was found at his home Sunday morning by friends who noticed the car there. Herb went every day from Taft to Portland to be with Nancy, his wife, and feed her her meals. He was a loving, caring husband and father.

Herb worked for Hormel for many many years. He blanketed South Texas from the Valley to San Antonio selling the Hormel products to grocery stores. Their big product was SPAM. He was a super salesman for that Minnesota Company. A few years before Herb retired the Company set up new plans of District management. Herb was being promoted to a more prestigious position in Houston. It would have been a dream for some younger men. Not for Herb. He informed the Company he was not moving to Houston. He would continue what he had been doing or they could retire him. The company actually backed down and allowed Herb to stay in his position in South Texas. One could only do something like that if they were respected as a top producer, like Herb was for them..

Herb was Mayor of Taft the ten years we were there. He worked hard in promoting the city. He gave countless hours to a job that paid him nothing, but satisfaction in helping his town. He was also a faithful member and deacon at First Baptist. He was a special friend to this pastor and to all our family. I will have the sad duty to speak at his funeral service Wednesday.

"Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. In humility consider others better than yourselves." Philippians 2:4