EVER BEEN CALLED STUPID AND IT WAS TRUE?

A couple of weeks ago, during the hottest of the hot times we have experienced this summer, I learned that a person, me in this instance, can be rightfully called stupid in the most innocent of ways. No rudeness, or bad intent, just truthful innocence.

A friend had ask me to ride with him to a city not far from Decatur to look for some grave sites. The reason for going he explained was that his wife had some relatives buried in this particular cemetery and she intended to spruce up the graves before Decoration Day(an annual Sunday in the South when relatives will refresh the grave sites of love ones by making sure the grass is cut or sand smoothed out and fresh plastic flowers are placed on the burial sites). I did not have anybody buried there or did not even know of anyone that intended to be placed at rest in this particular ‘garden’.

We arrived at the huge plot designated as the final resting place for what look like thousands of dearly departed in the heat of the day. There was a tiny office near the only entrance to the place where we stop to ask directions to the plots of my buddy’s distance and long departed in-laws. We both went in and were greeted by a woman just finishing a bucket of KFC hot wings which had obviously been chased by a huge bottle of Sun-Drop. She was a little overweight and had finger nails that had the logo "A" for the University of Alabama in glitter on both index fingers. My friend ask about where Uncle Morton McNutt's family might be buried and without consulting anything the chicken lady quickly informed him they were in the Garden of the Cross, which was the center most plot. “We ain’t got maps for each grave site but I know they are up there because my husband’s third cousin by marriage was buried up there last month and I remember seeing that name, go see if that’s who you’re looking for and if it ain’t come back and I will get out the maps.”

Armed with this wealth of information we returned to our car and started looking for the large Cross she had told us to find. Sure enough in the center of the property on what looked like the highest point we saw the Cross and proceeded to the area surrounding the only clue we had. We parked as close to the Cross as possible but quickly saw the ‘Garden of the Cross’ held what looked like a couple of hundred markers for all those fortunate enough to get what must have been a coveted place.

We had been in the area, separated by only a few grave sites for 15 or 20 minutes and it was miserably hot. As we walked the length of the ‘Garden’ and back, searching each headstone for any McNutt we could find, an old pickup pulled in behind my buddy’s car and stopped. Inside was a driver and two passengers. The driver, sporting a 2 or 3 day old beard and obviously chewing tobacco hollered across all those resting in what had been peace to my buddy and I. “Ya’ll got somebody burd (southern one syllable word for ‘buried’) out there?” Being the closest to him I replied, “no, we are from out of town and we are looking for some of the graves of my friends wife”. “That’s what I come for to" the driver replied, "my old lady found out I was coming to town today and she told me to find an uncle of hers”, the driver informed us. “Ya’ll seen any Willard’s out there”, the grave searcher in the pickup ask? “They’d a-been burd up here since back in the 80’s”, the driver continued to holler. “I haven’t seen anything I remember”, my buddy responded, “but we haven’t covered much ground yet”. “You might a knowed em”, the driver just kept talking. “He was old ‘Mutt’ Willard that run that bait store out on 20 close to the dam, sold a little beer too before the county went wet”, the driver just kept talking without ever getting out of the truck. "I think there's four or five of 'em burd out here". This time we both answered, “We don’t live around here, sorry”, it came out pretty close to the same at the same time.

“Why don’t you get out and look around, surely they will be in here somewhere”, my buddy asks. “Not me the driver responded, I’m gonna just tell the old lady I looked and couldn’t find ‘em, she ain’t gonna know the difference and really don’t care. Anyway I ain’t stupid enough to walk around a hot cemetery in 100 degree weather looking for somebody I don't give a ---- about anyway. See you boys later”. With that the pickup pulled out, passed our car and drove off through the entrance and back on the highway.

Suddenly it hit me, I was stupid enough to stand out in the 100+ degree weather and look for the graves of people I never knew. It must have hit my buddy about the same time because he looked at me and said, “this is pretty stupid, let’s get out of here and I think I’ll tell my ‘old lady’ we couldn’t find her folks either, maybe well come back around Thanksgiving”.

We never found my buddy’s folks or saw where the Willards were burd, but we were smart enough to get back in some air conditioning.

I ADMIT TO BEING 'VISION' CHALLENGED

Hardly a day goes by I don't read or hear something about someone with great 'vision'. The President is supposed to have a great 'vision' for our country. The Republicans are supposed to have a better 'vision' and Warren Buffet just has more 'vision' than Dr.Carter has Liver Pills. I think all of us think we have 'vision' to some extent and many do I'm sure. Those of us who are 'vision' impaired are always asking ourselves how someone knew to put a coat of chocolate around a glob of peanut butter or come up with exactly eleven (11) herbs and spices to coat chicken in before you fried it. We don't like to admit it but other people just have 'vision' and you can't learn it in school.

I have decided I do not have 'vision' after thinking about many of the conclusions I have come to in the past and looking at opinions I have formed over these last 64 years.

First I remember vividly thinking the automobile industry had peaked when the 1957 Chevrolet was introduced. Yea, I figured they would tinker with it a little but never would a car be manufactured that would ever change the basic style. That day, probably in October back in 1956, at Ray Motor Company in Haleyville, was in my opinion at the time the epitome of automobile design efforts, never to be surpassed.

There are many other evidences I should have picked up on over the years that would have confirmed my 'vision' challenged state. Some time in the early 70's Wally Weeks who sold for IBM at the time convinced me that the 'SelectMatic' typewriter would probably be as far as word processing would ever go. In a time of onion skin copies and unforgiving typing, this miracle machine would allow one to back up one letter and remove the mistyped single letter. Was this not as far as typewriting could ever go, Wally convinced me and I bought, knowing I would never need to buy word processing equipment again.

I'm the guy who thought the double bar face mask on a football helmet was the last innovation in facemask, I firmly believed you could never make Coke and Pepsi light, television signals bounced off satellites giving rise to 500 channels, (people couldn't watch the 3 they had at the same time anyway), or telephones that did not utilize land lines.

I'm still working because when computers really took off I never saw that the machines themselves were nowhere near as valuable as the programs running them. I never thought a gazillion applications could be marketed for use by a world starved for the next new gizmo app giving you a score from a game being played on the opposite side of the world or a recipe for cooking ribs in your backyard.

I have long reconciled myself to the fact this world is made up of all kinds of people. Some are givers, some are takers, some are basically good and some without God are basically bad, some are athletes some are bookworms. Some are 'visionary' and I'm not.

On this Day in 1776

Members of the Continental Congress began adding their signatures to the Declaration of Independence. Many believed the painting showing everyone lining up on July 3rd or 4th was an accurate portrayal of the events surrounding the signing by the Congress but such was not the case. After these guys read what Jefferson, Adams and Franklin had written or directed to be written it took a full month to start getting them back together to sign the actual document.

When this bunch saw what the leaders had done it scared the hell out of them. Reports are they lit out of Philly as soon as the first draft was read and it took Washington's army to drag them back. Who in their right mine would send such an inflammatory writing to the King of the most powerful nation in the world, telling him this bunch of radical field hands were taking his summer vacation retreat and turning it into a sovereign nation. Washington found many of these Congressmen in caves and others hightailing it to Canada. It took months to get everyone in to sign.

I guess we should not get too upset when our current Congress finds every way possible to avoid addressing the real issues of the day. Congress has a long record of CTA (Covering their A$$).

God would play great in Vegas

On this day in 2010 God extended his time defying evidence of power and awesomeness by once again transforming the world from pitch darkness to sunshine bright. He fed and nurtured billions and billions of people with food and love, sometimes using the hands, hearts, and resources of his children from one bountiful place serving in places where food and love are in short supply. All the time he remembered the name, address, social # and e-mail address of those many consider to be the least worthy of all. What an awesome God.

There is a difference between our awesome God and the great illusionist in Vegas. Our God does it without smoke, mirrors and illusions. This stuff is real.

How did I miss 'Proverbs'

My Tuesday morning Bible Study group recently started a study of the Book of Proverbs, which is still tucked right behind Psalms in the Old Testament. John Coon being a former teacher and a true student of religion and spirituality found our study guide and introduce us again to this fantastic work we find still located between Psalms and Ecclesiastes. The rest of us will take a Chapter each and leaning heavily on John and Mike Free try to get something out of the book.
I am a little tired of the ‘On this day’ stuff and I am finding this Proverb’s stuff really interesting. I think I want to talk about this new interest for awhile and leave the ‘battle of Brushy Creek’ and ‘how the Yankees cheated us in the great war’ stuff alone for a while.

That great spiritualist and wild game hunter Roger Ferrell led us in Chapter 1 and really did a good job. This stuff so far is so simple I can’t figure out why a dummy like me has not used it more for a resource during my life. The writer, Soloman primarily, starts it off by saying “the proverbs set out are to teach people wisdom and discipline and to help them understand wise sayings”. It seems like for 64 years this little nugget just went over my head. Now Mrs. Gladys Young and Mrs. C.C. Burdette taught me the proverbs and my family discussed them from time to time when one would apply to my raising but to actually study them and make them a part of my character and soul it just did not seem to take. I know I was a better person because I had heard them and knew where they came from but to absorb them and make them a part of my very fiber I don’t think I made the grade.

The first few verses of Chapter 1 very simply tell why these were put together. The book is not designed to convey a lot of religious or spiritual content. Solomon and the other writers are not looking to give the listeners and readers religious doctrine but simply everyday wisdom. Chapter 1:3 tells us that ‘Through these proverbs, people will receive instruction in discipline, good conduct, and doing what is right, just, and fair”. Duh, I have needed a lesson in right, just and fair many times over the years and the instructions were right there.
Now here is a truth, written for me in, I really have needed numerous times, 1:4 says “These proverbs will make the simpleminded clever”. If you look in the dictionary under ‘simpleminded’ I think you will find my picture, so why haven’t I been in this book daily. 1:4 finishes by assuring us the proverbs will “give knowledge and purpose to young people” (and old alike).

The writer sums up this introduction with simple instruction, which I somehow missed for so long. 1:5-6 says “let those who are wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser. And let those who understand receive guidance by exploring the depth of meaning in these proverbs, parables, wise sayings, and riddles.” I guess it is time for me to start understanding these gems and receiving this guidance.


*All quotes are from the ‘Life Application Study Bible’, New Living Translation.

Paul Hubbard's new book: Black is White and White is Black

Are we actually stupid enough to fall for the latest and greatest from Paul Hubbard. Bradley Byrne is one of the very few that has gone one on one with Hubbard and won. Byrne has come the closest to breaking Hubbard's strangle hold on the legislature of this state and has the scars to prove it. Now Hubbard is funding an underground campaign that has the sheer nerve to question Byrne's credentials as a conservative while painting Tim James as the second coming of Ronald Regan. Little Timmy like is daddy has been bought to carry the water for Hubbard for the next four years. (It will only be four years because it is a proven fact that this state cannot stomach a James for more that four years at time.)

The polls say we may be buying this load of garbage hook line and sinker. I think we are smarter than to let that happen. It has taken Hubbard nearly four years to get some of what Byrne took away from him earlier and Hubbard thinks he's got the $$$ to keep the Byrne machine from jerking him around again. I hope we can understand if it quacks like a duck, walks like a duck and swims like a duct it is probably a duck. In the words of that great American, Tim James, 'what do you think about that'.

Politicians can't trade anymore

How incompetent can the people that are supposed represent us be? Have we made it so hard for a regular person, possessing the skills to barter and trade, to be elected to any of our governing bodies? Whether you like it or not rich people, who have been rich all their lives or at least for so long they can't remember how ordinary people get by, are running this country. Most of these folks are so spoiled they think they must have it their way or nothing. Look at them, $2,000 dollar suits, $100 dollar haircuts, a government passenger jet for transportation and who knows what else we cannot even imagine.

Nobody trades anymore. John Sparkman, a Democrat, laid the groundwork for the giant Redstone Arsenal and Marshal Space Flight Center and NASA during the Republican administration of General Eisenhower. Old time traders like former Sen. Jim Allen and Representatives like Bob Jones, Tom Bevil and Bud Cramer kept it going through the Kennedy, Nixon, Carter, Reagan, Bush 1, Clinton and Bush 2 years. Today we have spoiled blue-bloods who can not even spell trade or compromise.

With conditions being the same as they are today Sen. John Sparkman and Rep. Bob Jones could have had the Washington Monument moved to Arley. This President needs help from the Republicans like a dead man needs a coffin. We are sitting here whining about losing a giant 'tanker' project in Baldwin County in addition to the dismantling of the NASA we know. At the same time our senior Senator is holding up 75 or 80 administration appointments out of sheer spite. Also our entire delegation meets each morning at the Lincoln Memorial to ride together in a limo past the White House while collectively 'mooning' the 'house of the people', as a sign of party loyalty.

This administration is so desperate for some Republican (which is all we have now) help they would be willing to trade almost anything for a breakthrough on the impasse Washington finds itself in. In the old days if the opposite party were as desperate the Obama administration is today, Sen. Sparkman would be easing over to the White House after dark with a handful of shopping bags to bring home the projects he wanted for his State.

If any of this state's delegation had enough skill to trade with Joe Sartain or Lynn Layton for a used car they could get anything they wanted at this particular time.
There is supposedly 80% of the Health Care bill that all parties agree on. If Shelby or that other guy representing us came out and publicly said he was going to support that 80% you could not run enough trains into Alabama to deliver what the Democrats would send. If a couple of the members of our delegation just went on T.V. and said they wanted to be the first to sincerely start the process to return to bipartisanship they would be amazed the goody bags that would begin to open. But NO, whatever the other side says is bad, they are trying to subvert the infra structure of the country, any success from the opposition will kill our democracy and lead us to a downfall like no other.

The neat thing about trading with the enemy is that most times everybody comes out a winner. What if we did get some relief from skyrocketing health care cost, and Baldwin County got a couple of thousand new jobs and a boost to their economy. What if we got another 35,000,000 people covered by insurance and the ones with insurance quit paying for those without coverage, and NASA went back to work trying to get a man on Mars.

The way things are today John Sparkman could get the U.S. Capital moved to Huntsville, Cape Kennedy to Mobile and the Jack Daniels Distillery to Sommerville. But our guys today will continue to hold on because they are right, that is what Jefferson Davis thought back in the mid 1800's and he got to retire early.