Jimmy's Blog

The Four Pennies

2008-02-01T09:17:55Z

He was a simple man. He pastored a small church in rural southern middle Tennessee. The church was in a poor area and offered him no compensation. Matter of fact, I always suspected that he personally paid most of the church's expenses.

One summer day, an accident happened next door to the church. Children were playing baseball. A ball was batted that hit a young girl in the head. The child died. He ministered to the family, conducted the funeral and paid the funeral expenses.

Almost everyone called him "Pappy." He and his family lived simple on their farm. Most of his income came from custom building homes. No contracts were signed. A verbal agreement would be reached and a hand shake would seal the deal. His wife did the accounting. I married their youngest daughter.

His demeanor was always smiling and remaining happy. He always showed interest in others and helped when he could. I never heard the man speak a negative word about anyone. On Sunday's it was customary for the family to gather at their home for a Southern style lunch (we call it dinner and we eat supper as the last meal of the day). After the meal, the men would gather in front of the TV to watch whatever sport was in season. The ladies would gather in the formal living room to talk. I was never one to spend my time watching hours of sports of TV. I often got bored. I would visit between the two groups. I often heard my mother-in-law discuss situations where people owed them relatively large sums of money and would not pay. With that tid bit of information, I would go back to the den and in a low voice, ask Pappy, "What is your opinion of Mr. XXXXX?" Pappy's answer would always be, "He's a mighty fine man." I could not get the man to speak negative about anyone!

We purchased our first home. Pappy would not have it any other way than to send a crew in to re-paint, replace worn carpet and upgrade the kitchen at no charge. He was taking care of his baby daughter and me. He often jokingly referred to me as his wife's son-in-law.

Upon completion of the repairs, we had my favorite in-laws over for supper. While the ladies were in the kitchen, I asked Pappy a question: "How do you always remain so happy...what do you accredit your happiness to?" He pulled four pennies from his pocket and placed them on the table. He went on, "It's simple. Watch these pennies." He raked the first penny over the edge. He asked, 'What did that penny do?" I said, "It hit the floor."

He repeated the process 3 more times and I responded in like manner 3 more times. Then he asked me, " I'm out of pennies, but do you believe that as long as I have pennies and do the same thing, they will always hit the floor." I responded, "yes." He went on, "What causes that?" I said, "The law of gravity." He explained, "Gravity is a law of God. God has created many laws that govern us and the entire universe. My secret to happiness is continually studying God's laws and running parallel with them. Most are just common sense when you look at the big picture,"

Such wisdom was shared that evening with four simple pennies.

The "C" Word

2008-01-31T23:03:05Z

The word, "CANCER" to Baby Boomers, members of the Silent Generation and the G.I. Generation in years gone by was almost as a sure death sentence. But, Thank God (literally) times have change and advancements have been made in medicine.

After surgery, Cindy (my wife) was prescribed HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy). She heard and read that HRT could be related to breast cancer. The longer she took HRT, the more concerned she became. She and I both checked her for lumps often. She made sure that she had mamograms as often as recommended. Finally, the worry reached a point that she asked her gynecologist about discontinuing the treatment. He suggested that she discontinue for a while and see how her body would respond. At first, she did well. But as time past, maybe a year, her symtoms became as though she should return to the therapy and face the possible risks.

She visited gynecologist, Dr. Shepard to discuss writing a prescription to place her back on HRT. Thank God for a good doctor that did not only consult with her and get out the prescription pad. He gave her an examination. His examination discovered a lump that she and I had both missed. His office scheduled a biopsy to be performed by one of Huntsville's most skilled surgeons, his son, the younger Dr. Shepard.

The biopsy yelded bad news, the lump was malignant. When I got the news, my world shattered. I was distraught to the point that I could not pray. I could not think clearly. Inwardly, I threw the world's biggest pitty party. But yet, I had to be strong and put up a front as being positive for Cindy and our two sons. How could I do that?

Cindy appeared to accept the news with much more bravery than I did. I thought that my faith and trust in God was strong...but it wasn't. As the Music Director of a local Baptist Church, I always begin each service with an upbeat congregational responsive exercise of "God is Good, All The Time. All The Time, God is Good." That first Sunday was so difficult to lead that exercise. I stood with a lump in my throat, a knot in my stomach, a worry on my mind and a broken heart. I tearfully led the exercise with a cracking voice. It took all that I could muster to make it through that service.

During those darkened days, Our Church Family was extraordinarily supportive and my prayer time increased. The surgery went well. Doctor Shepherd was almost 100% sure that he removed all the cancerous tissue. But to make sure, Cindy went through radiation treatments. The radiation got more and more difficult for her with each visit. The final days of treatment were most painful, but by God's Grace, she made it.

Since then, she has kept 6 month follow-up visits with her oncologist. He said that if she went 5 years without any re-occurence, it would be reasonable to declare her cancer free.

Today, Cindy made her 5 year visit. We now can claim that she is cancer free. We thank God for his Grace, our supportive family, Church family, friends and our good medical folks in Huntsville, AL.

We are now supporters of the Susan G. Komen Foundation and participate in the annual Cancer Walk for the Cure. We cautiously take detected lumps serious and periodic mamograms are a must.

Looking back, even during those trying times, I can still say, "God is Good All the Time, All The Time God is Good!

You may be reading this and going through the same storm...or maybe your storm is much worse. It doesn't matter the trial, there is still hope and God is still in charge.

Fifty years Ago

2008-01-31T14:16:19Z

It was in October. A pre-school aged farm boy lay with his dad on top of a well house, gazing into a starry heaven. They were trying to get a glimpse of a small object about twice the size of a soccer ball as it past through the dark blue autumn sky.

The little guy didn't understand the significance of the event. But it was a father-son experience to be remembered through his life time.

The skyward object rotating the earth was the first man made vehicle to be sent into orbit. It was the Russian made Sputnik. The father had concerns in his heart about the significance of this wonder. It was on the radio and in the papers about the cold war advantages that the Russians had just gained. This may be the first steps in developing a vehicle that could launch a nuclear device from Europe and deliver it to U.S. Soil.

Little did Dad or the son know that more history was in the making less than 25 miles from that rural home in North Alabama. At Redstone Arsenal, near Huntsville, Alabama, a team of German Scientists, were working on the United States' answer to the Sputnik. The rocket scientists, lead by Dr. Weiner Von Braun, had surrendered to the U.S. near the demize of Adolph Hitler's Nazi regime. They were developing and building, with labor provided by local people, the Jupitor C (Juno) Rocket that was to propel the Explorer 1 into orbit.

Fifty years ago today (1/31/08), that rocket with its precious cargo was successfully launched. In just 4 short months, America stepped up to the challenge and succeeded. America had its first satelite in orbit and Huntsville, Alabama was given its due place in history. The Space race was on!

Shortly, thereafter, President Dwight D. Eisenhower commissioned NASA . The Marshall Space Flight Center was born. A few years later, President John F. Kennedy declared that America would win man's race to the moon before the end of the 1960's. Again eye's were turned to Huntsville. Once again Huntsville handled the challenge with the Saturn V Rocket.

Today, the Marshall Space Flight Center continues to play a major role in America's space quests with development and production of the Space Station, The Shuttle and the next vehicle generation as well as the training of Astronauts.,

.....and who was that little boy that lay on top of the well house with his Dad? ...It was me.

A Lesson Learned

2008-01-30T21:35:27Z

A few weeks back, I listed a Condo in Madison on the low end...a hot item. I had a sales contract on it in 22 hours. The Selling Agent, a true professional by any standard, suggested to her client that the Condo should have a professional inspection. He rejected. She suggested that a Home Warranty be negotiated, he turned it down. After their first tour of the Condo, my Client complained that someone turned the thermostat up and she found the unit extremely warm (a widow, concerned about a high utility bill).

We went to closing, all went well. .....and then, I receive a phone call a week later from the Selling Agent stating that the heat was not working and her client had called a Heating/Air technician. The H/A guy says that the heating unit was not completely wired up and the source of heat was only coming from emergency heat strips. Coils were dirty and beyond repair and the unit needed to be replaced.

The Purchaser is hanging his hat on the contract paragraph that says such should be in working order at the time of closing. The Seller is saying that he signed off on the final inspection that states that she has no futher obligation to repairs, and besides, she holds a receipt as to where she had the unit serviced and cleaned a while back. At that service call, nothing was mentioned about such problems. And futhermore, she knows that someone is trying to pull the wool over the Purchaser's eyes, because his earlier tour resulted in leaving the home like a roasting oven. If the unit quit a week later, it is his problem.

..and just to think that a Professional Inspection and maybe even a Home Warranty would be so nice to have right now.