The Parable of the Wayside

The other day I was talking to my brother-in-law about picking up Chilton County County roads right-of-ways.  Most of us pick up the right-of-ways to help the county that always complains of lack of funding.  By what we find on the side of the roads there would be plenty of money if the county raised the tax on cigarettes, especially Marlboro Lights in the box.  Also, on pints of whiskey, Bud Lite Beer.  These are the most common items tossed.

The local store seals most of the items tossed.  I always fine an empty whiskey pint bottle with in a hundred feet of each other.  I have deduced that the villain has enough time to "KILL IT" when leaving the store.  He says he has the same problem finding tossed at same place.

Several years ago I traveled to Gadsden to Suzy Trader’s dad’s funeral. Suzy is the wife of Dr. Steve Trader, our Alabama Baptist Children’s Home and Family Ministries counselor for the Bethel Baptist Association.  Along the way, I noticed things on the side of the road.  It is amazing what is on the side of the road.  With each mile, I thought of something funny that The First Lady of FBC Demopolis, Ashleigh Williams, told me the other day.

Ashleigh posed the question, “Why is their always only one tennis shoe on the side of the road?  Shoes come by the pair.”  I took a moment to reflect since that was one of those UMPH moments.

Ashleigh gave me a profound question to ponder, especially when I began to pay attention to the things on the side of Interstate 20/59 on the way to Gadsden.  It was obvious that those who did not do a very good job of securing their cargo placed some things there.  These include the aluminum ladder, the air-conditioner insulated duct, the ice chest lid, the Styrofoam cooler, the weed eater, a bag of clothes, the love seat, and the book shelve.  Among these were the rubber straps with one hook missing, the half of the nylon strap, the frayed rope, and the bright yellow bungee.

It makes you wonder sometimes if people toss things on purpose.  There is the Auburn baseball cap, the Alabama T-shirt, the BF Goodrich tire, the broken Bud Lite beer bottle, the empty Marlboro light cigarette package, the plastic six-pack strap, the plastic safety hat, the pair of sunglasses, and the empty Pepsi 12-ounce aluminum can.

I giggle when I see the one sock, the one boot, and the one glove.  I think about the poor soul that arrived at his destination to find he had one sock, one boot, no T-shirt, one glove, and no hardhat.  Frustrated, he reaches for his bag of clothes to retrieve his dirty work clothes and there is no bag.  He takes a moment to settle his nerves and finds no Styrofoam cooler to retrieve a Pepsi.  There is no cooler, no six-pack of Pepsi.  He looks into his beer ice chest and finds it overturned, no bottles of Bud Light hidden under the ice.  He wonders how did they fall off his pickup. Reaching for a Marlboro light, our poor traveler has no nicotine fix.

Knowing he cannot work, our half-dressed worker gets in his pickup and heads to the nearest Walmart.  As his luck is horrible, he gets a flat tire.  He pulls to the wayside. He jacks his pickup up and finds that he has lost his spare BF Goodrich tire.

He abandons his pickup and begins his journey on foot wearing one boot, one tennis shoe, shirtless, and no cap.  He thinks, "I should have worn shirt and shoes while driving."  Now his only companions on the Interstate are the dead armadillos, possums, cats, dogs, and deer that are being devoured by buzzards and crows.  He thinks it odd, but he notices a possum and three crows dining together on a squished possum.  He realizes that vehicles on the Interstate are passing very fast.

Each time he sticks out his thumb to hitchhike, follow travelers pass by switching lanes as they near him thinking him to be a decrepit drug addict making a living picking up aluminum cans and going through things on the wayside.

It is obvious that I had too much time to think on my drive to Gadsden, but I did think about Jesus’ parable to the disciples about seeds falling on the wayside.

 

And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up (Matthew 13:4 KJV).

CLOUD OF WITNESSES

I had a great time attending the University of Montevallo from 1983-1987.  Life outside the university were good and bad.  Dad and mom both died before I graduated.  A third child was born, I was bi-vocational pastor, took fifteen hours of classes, worked twenty hours a week at minimum wage in the university carpenter shop, and was husband and dad.  While in school, I thought that December 1987 would never arrive.

I had the privilege of making the Dean's List my freshman year, the academic side and one for getting into trouble my senior year.  The trouble is for another time.  October 22, 1996, I became a member of the Pi Alpha Theta Society for English.  On April 9, 1987, I received an invitation and was inducted into the Sigma Tau Delta Society for history.

Most of the good was not the classes I took, even though I learned bunches, but it was the relationships I developed with the Physical Plant workers, professors, staff, and a few students.  I was a returning adult much older than many classmates.

I had the good fortune of hearing of all kinds of stories about the university.  One of the funniest was that if a virgin walked through the gates into Palmer Hall a brick would fall out.  The four years I was there none had fallen out.

There were always bomb threats at the mathematics building during finals.  Art majors always had some artist something or other going.  One time walking to the Physical Plant to work, I passed some of my art classmates.  They were sitting in the parking lot painting pictures of a pine tree.  I asked what they were doing other than painting because they surrounded the tree.  One girl said they were painting the different perspectives of the tree.  All looked good except one which I diagnosed as Abstract.  Thirty plus years later I am still trying to see her work as a tree.

Two of my favorite people were Bailey and Lamar, my co-workers in the carpenter shop.  They knew plenty!  One was when Dr. Kermit Johnson retired as president of the University of Montevallo, the University honored him with a gigantic celebration at the baseball field and pavilions.  There were many tents and tables with tons of celebration food.  Dr. Johnson was a people person, that was anyone, and everyone loved him.  There were dignitaries from various levels of the State of Alabama and the educational system.  

To handle the mass of guests, the baseball stadium was the ideal place to honor this wonderful man.  It was a beautiful day for an outside celebration.  Two close friends of the president were Mike and Enos who drove to the festivities and the food tent in their garbage truck.  As the aromatic drippings of the truck spattered the pavement Mike and Enos in their spoiled clothes, and special blend of personal cologne, shook hands with Kermit and other dignitaries then proceeded to the food line.  Mike and Enos were special friends with Dr. Johnson, but the Physical Plant supervisor was in total shock and embarrassment. 

Mike was an Italian and was a very agile man for his age.  I had the privilege of working with him and my daughter played volleyball for his daughter a Jemison High School.  Enoc was more colorful than Mike.  because of his unique appearance and never marrying, Bailey or Lamar asked him if he was a virgin.  Mike answered, "No I'm Church of Christ.  

Bailey, Lamar, and the smorgasbord quests enjoyed a wonderful sending off of Dr. Johnson.  Before too much aromatic drippings puddled the grounds, Mike and Enos, though enjoying the retirement party, were graciously asked to leave.  They were told they hard garbage waiting on them.

Bailey, Larmar, Mike, Enos, and a great host of others have all passed away leaving this old man with fond memories of a returning adult to the University of Montevallo.  It reminds me of the great cloud of witnesses mentioned in the Bible.  

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us    Hebrews 12:2

HAPPY 100TH BIRTHDAY DAD

Happy birthday dad.  Had you lived you would be 100 today.  Boy, forty years have flown by since you died.  I sure miss you.  I miss all those wonderful moments we had sharing life together.

You would not believe all the changes that have taken place in this world in forty years.  You would have a hard time.  You told me once that my generation did not have any gumption.  All your generation is about gone.  Things are so screwed up and weird.  No days there is no respect for senior adults.  This present generation cannot wait until all the old grey-haired white men are gone and extinct.  People now days cannot tell if they are male or female.

I remember when you would not allow my and brother and me to have long hair.  You told my brothers they could have long hair but with stipulations.  Every Friday they had to wear a dress, slip, panties or pantyhose, high heels, lipstick, makeup, fingernail and toenail polish, and feminine napkins.  Well dad, now boys and men dress that way and women dress like men and society says it is okay.

I remember how you taught us to standup for those that could not defend themselves.  It is unbelievable how many senior adults are mistreated.  You taught us to listen to the wisdom of the old.  You said experience is a good teacher, but learning form the experiences of the elderly is better wisdom.  The mistreatment of children is mindboggling.  There are demonic perverts that kill babies, rape infants, murder small children, kidnap the young and sell their body parts.

I remember you telling us that if we did stand up to be willing to stand alone.  That is truer today than before.  Most people do not want to get involved.  Standing for what is morally and ethically right is a minority.  When my brothers and I stand what is right, bystanders tell us to mind our own business and treat us as the perpetrator.

I remember you taught us to work hard for and honest day’s pay.  There seems to be more people not working than working.  People want more money for doing nothing.  It is hard to find people that want to work and have gainful employment.  You would not government assistance telling us that the government would control too much.  That government that you warned us about is paying people not to work, allowing people to vote that have not right to do so, even dead folks, and making deals with countries like you fought in WWII.  You took us to register for the draft, to register to vote, and fight for those rights.  You taught us: “Our county right or wrong.  When wrong to might it right and when right to keep it right.”

I remember you taught us to say grace when we ate, thank you when people did something for us, excuse me when needed, yes mam, and no sir.  You taught us to take our hats off when at the table to eat.  You taught us that it we dipped it we better eat it and could leave the table until we did.  You taught us to be generous and to share.  You taught how to kill hogs and smoke the meat.  You taught to shoot.  I can just imagine how you would react if the government which you helped fight Germany tried to take away you .22 Remington rifle.  You taught us how to split wood, plant crops, shell corn, drive tractors, and hundreds of other things that people are ignorant of today.

Thanks for everything you taught me dad!  This is my gift for your 100^th birthday.

“Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.” Exodus 20:12