QUARANTINE BLOG # 92

June 30, 2020

Today’s blog will run longer than normal.  I’ll be back to a briefer size tomorrow, and won’t repeat this length until the end of July.

👉  COVID-19 is not going away any time soon.  That’s not news.  As of this writing 126,369 of us have died in the United States, and Georgia – 13,401 in the last 7 days – is now in the highest category of infection along with California, Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Massachusetts – those being the only states over 77,210 infections.

👉  It is no secret that I am a fan of professional wrestling – not as intense a fan as some readers of this blog, and not always a fan of Mr. McMahon’s modern version, but a fan of choreographed sports entertainment nevertheless.  So it was with interest that I read the comment of one of the WWE’s top superstars, Roman Reigns.  The former Georgia Tech football player pulled out of WrestleMania 36, because he is  immuno-compromised from a battle with leukemia.  Following WrestleMania, Reigns continued to remain absent from WWE programming in the midst of the pandemic.

In a public statement Roman Reigns, born Leati Joseph Anoaʻi, said, “For me, I just had to make a choice for my family.  The company (WWE) has done everything that they can to make it the safest work environment possible.  It is not the workplace that I was necessarily concerned about.  The decision was taken mainly because each performer travels so much, and we are all such a diverse group and from all over the place.  I’m not convinced, and I can’t trust the fact that everybody is taking it as seriously and locking themselves down at home like I am.  I trust my life with my co-workers every time I step foot in the ring, but I just can’t put the same trust when it has my children, my wife and my family involved.”

👉  On this day in 1936 Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind, one of the best-selling novels of all time was published.

In 1926, Mitchell quit her job as a reporter at the Atlanta Journal to recover from a series of physical injuries.  With too much time on her hands, she began telling the story of an Atlanta belle named Pansy O’Hara.

In tracing Pansy’s tumultuous life from the antebellum South through the Civil War and into the Reconstruction era, Mitchell drew on the tales she had heard from her parents and other relatives, as well as from Confederate war veterans she had met as a young girl.  She sent a partial manuscript to Harold Latham, an editor from New York’s MacMillan Publishing.  Latham encouraged Mitchell to complete the novel, with one important change: the heroine’s name.  Mitchell agreed to change it to Scarlett.

Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937.  The movie version, produced by David O. Selznick, premiered in 1939 at Lowe’s Theater in Atlanta.  Starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh, Gone with the Wind  became one of the highest-grossing movies of all time, breaking box office records and winning nine Academy Awards out of 13 nominations.

Hattie McDaniel became the first African-American to win an Oscar.  The Twelfth Academy Awards took place at the Coconut Grove Restaurant of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.  She and her escort were required to sit at a segregated table for two at the far wall of the room; her white agent, William Meiklejohn, sat at the same table.  Her Best Supporting Actress Oscar was presented by Fay Bainter (in the picture).  The hotel had a strict no-blacks policy, but made an exception for the Oscar-nominated McDaniel.

Hollywood pigeonholed McDaniel as the sassy Mammy archetype, with 74 confirmable domestic roles out of the IMDb’s list of 94 (“I’d rather play a maid than be a maid,” was her go-to response).  The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People – NAACP – disowned her for perpetuating negative stereotypes.

To date, more than 30 million copies of Gone with the Wind have been printed worldwide.  Adjusted for inflation, Gone with the Wind is the top grossing movie of all time at $3,706,000,000.

👉  I haven’t given an “on this day in history” event for every day this month, so let’s look back at a few other notable happenings.

👉  On June 2, 1935, Babe Ruth, one of the greatest players in the history of baseball, ended his Major League playing career after 22 seasons, 10 World Series and 714 home runs (those homers were not assisted by performance enhancing drugs).

👉  On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress adopted a resolution stating that “the flag of the United States be thirteen alternate stripes red and white” and that “the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.”

👉  On June 18, 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman to rocket  into space.  Her first flight was the second one for the space shuttle Challenger.

👉  On June 20, 1975, Jaws, a film that made viewers afraid to go into the water, opened in theaters.  The story of a great white shark terrorizing a New England resort town became an instant blockbuster and the highest-grossing film – not adjusted for inflation – in movie history until it was bested by 1977’s Star Wars. 

👉  On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution of the United States, thereby making the document the law of the land.

👉  On June 24, 1953, Jacqueline Bouvier and Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy publicly announced their engagement.

👉  On June 29, 1995, the American space shuttle Atlantis docked with the Russian space station Mir to form the largest man-made satellite ever to orbit the Earth.




👉  An graphic illustration to close this part of the blog:

👉  One more bit of history as we go to the record stacks and play a golden oldie.   This one is not from June, but from October.  Released on October 15, 1962, it was a moderate hit, reaching # 17 on the national music charts, but “Love Me Do” by a band from Liverpool, England, would set the stage for a music revolution. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uuLocPnDDM Here is the first recorded song by the Beatles.

👉  A young boy came in from the backyard and announced to his dad, “I’ve been playing baseball with God!”

A little bit taken aback by his son’s new playmate, his dad asked for an explanation of the game.  The little fellow said, “I throw it up to God and He throws it back to me.”  Simple enough!

It may have been the same fellow, I’m not sure, but a youngster asked, “Does God play hide-and-seek?”  I don’t know what his parents answered, but I would have said, “No, God does not hide from us.”

He reveals Himself to anyone who wants to find Him.  “God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.   They know the truth about God because He has made it obvious to them.  For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky.  Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature.  So they have no excuse for not knowing God” (Romans 1:18-20 New Living Translation).

All nature is a witness of God’s power and plans.  Look around.  Pay attention to the world God has created.  The main thing He says to us through nature is that He’s real, and He’s truly here.  It is as if He is saying, “I am here!  You don’t have to worry or be afraid.  I am here.”

Daily the sun peeks over the horizon, rises into the sky, and disappears over the opposite horizon.  Daily when the sun goes down the stars come out in the night sky.  The universe remains in order as a reminder that God is watching out for us.  In spring the grass is brown and most trees are barren of leaves, but soon, though they look totally dead, they come back to life.  Just so, God will bring our lives back into full bloom – regardless of our circumstances – when we put our trust in Him.

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QUARANTINE BLOG # 91

June 29, 2020

I have a special prayer request, the details will remain unspoken, but I ask a sincere interest in your prayers.

**  From the Online Etymological Dictionary (only one-fifth of the entries of the Oxford English Dictionary, but just as accurate):

“master (n.) late Old English mægester ‘a man having control or authority over a place; a teacher or tutor of children,’ from Latin magister (n.) ‘chief, head, director, teacher’ (source of Old French maistre, French maître, Spanish and Italian maestro).

“From late 12c. as ‘man eminently or perfectly skilled in something,’ also ‘one who is chief teacher of another (in religion, philosophy, etc.), religious instructor, spiritual guide.’  Sense of ‘master workman or craftsman, workman who is qualified to teach apprentices and carry on a trade on his own account’ is from c. 1300.

“In academic sense ‘one who has received a specific degree’ (translating Medieval Latin magister) it is attested from mid-13c., originally ‘one who has received a degree conveying authority to teach in the universities;’ master’s degree, originally a degree giving one authority to teach in a university, is from late 14c.

“Also from mid-14c. as ‘one who employs another or others in his service’ (in which sense the correlative word was servant, man, or apprentice); also ‘owner of a living creature’ (dog, horse), also in ancient contexts of slaves.

“Paired with slave in the legal language of the American colonies by 1705 in Virginia.  As an adjective from late 12c. master bedroom is by 1919.”

[All italics are in the original].

So many uses of the word “master.”  And we didn’t call it a “master bedroom” until the early 20th century.  Now this from Station KUTV in Houston: “The Houston Association of Realtors (HAR) is dropping the word ‘master’ from bedroom and bathroom listings and replacing it with the word ‘primary.’  Several HAR members called for the association to change the way it describes master bedrooms and master bathrooms due to the word ‘master,’ which has been linked to sexism and slavery.”

I am wondering if the Augusta National Golf Club will change the name of their annual tournament.

**  It’s been a couple of days since I shared a cooking tip from https://betterbe.co/ so here’s one for the grill.  The next time you are preparing cheeseburgers, don’t just add a slice of cheese to the burger right at the end of the cooking time.  Add a piece of Babybel cheese directly in the center of your thick patty.  The cheese will melt in the center, and you’ll have a delicious cheeseburger.

Almost like the ones at Guy’s Burger Joint on a Carnival cruise ship – our September sailing has been canceled, and I am going through cruise withdrawal!

**  A small-scale miner in Tanzania has become an overnight millionaire after selling two rough Tanzanite stones – the biggest ever find in the country.  Saniniu Laizer earned $3.4 million for two stones which had a combined weight of 33 pounds.  “There will be a big party tomorrow,” he said.  He also plans to build a shopping mall and a school.  Mr. Laizer, who has four wives and more than 30 children, said he would slaughter one of his cows to celebrate.  He also said the windfall would not change his lifestyle, and that he planned to continue looking after his 2,000 cows.  The remaining 1999.

**  I never believed it could happen, but Joe Biden has said something with which I agree.  The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said in an interview last week on KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh that if he were president, he would require people across the country to wear masks in public during the coronavirus pandemic.  “The one thing we do know, these masks make a gigantic difference.  I would insist that everybody in public be wearing that mask.”

**  Beany and Cecil, an animated television series created by Bob Clampett for ABC, premiered on January 6, 1962.  Although Beany Boy and Cecil the Sea-Sick Sea Serpent were a children’s show, many of Clampett’s stories were drawn from current events, political issues, and well-known personalities.  Originally created as a puppet show, the animated satire attracted adult viewers.  After 1962, the 26 shows, which including 78 cartoons, were repeated during Saturday mornings for the next five years.

Beany Boy wore a propeller beanie cap that allowed him to fly.  The  “Beanycopter,” complete with helmet and propeller, became a popularly marketed toy.  In most episodes, Beany would be kidnaped by a villain or get caught in a rough situation, crying “Help, Cecil! Help!” to which Cecil would reply “I’m a-comin’  Beany-boy!” as he raced to the rescue.

Cecil was is fiercely loyal to Beany, but his trusting good nature invariably resulted in him being taken advantage of by the bad people, and he often suffered a great amount of physical abuse.  The end of Cecil’s tail was never seen in most episodes; it always extended off-screen or was hidden behind an obstacle.  Cecil was originally a hand puppet whose tail was likewise hidden.

One episode featured Davey Cricket, a cricket with a coonskin cap who lived in the backwoods of Eight-Nine-Tennessee. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkhLhZX7ItI Davey Cricket was parody of Walt Disney’s popular character, American frontiersman Davy Crockett.

**  Before we wrap this blog up, let’s drop a nickle into the nickelodeon.  By request, here’s New Kids On the Block with “Hangin’ Tough.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZBc0ncWEZk NKOTB is a boy band named for a rap song that was on their first album.  If you are too old to remember – I had to look it up – a boy band was a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teens or early 20s, singing love songs marketed towards young women.  The featured clip is from a live concert (as opposed to a dead concert?) and is 4 minutes and 51 seconds long.  If you don’t want to listen to the whole piece, here are the main words: “Hangin’ tough.  Hangin’ tough.  Hangin’ tough.”  But the choreography of the background singers is interesting to watch.

**  We all face challenges in life – financial, vocational, relational, mental, or physical.  No one is exempt.  Thankfully, we serve a God who is both interested in our problems and is able to take care of them.

Jehoshaphat, the King of Judah, faced an enormous challenge: “... The Moabites and Ammonites, accompanied by Meunites, joined forces to make war on Jehoshaphat  who received this intelligence report.  ‘A huge force is on its way from beyond the Dead Sea to fight you.  There’s no time to waste – they’re already at Hazazon Tamar, the oasis of En Gedi.’  Shaken, Jehoshaphat prayed.  He went to God for help and ordered a nationwide fast.  The country of Judah united in seeking God’s help – they came from all the cities of Judah to pray to God” (2 Chronicles 20:1-4 The Message).

Three different tribes – the Moabites, Ammonites, and Meunites – simultaneously waged war against Jehoshaphat.  That was a situation that  would have crushed many people, but Jehoshaphat, knowing that God was interested in his dilemma, “went to God for help.”

Oh the blessing of a leader who would call his nation to prayer to seek the Lord God Almighty!

The writer of Chronicles gave the location of the advance as the oasis of En Gedi, just north of Jerusalem.  If ever there was a time to pray, this was it.  Jehoshaphat knew God’s history and the miraculous things He had done for Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, and Daniel.  That same God would help him, too, in his hour of need.   That same God will help us.

We should never underestimate the Lord’s interest in our affairs.  I’ve never faced three invading armies, but I have faced problems that were just as enormous to me.  I’m guessing you have, too.  It is easy to think our problems are unimportant in the eyes of God, but whatever concerns us, concerns Him.  “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15 New Living Translation). 

No matter how great our challenges are, God is greater.  Problems?  Pray!

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QUARANTINE BLOG # 90

June 28, 2020

THE GRACIOUSNESS OF GOD

Jim Zerilli was a policeman in Detroit.  One day he answered the phone in the precinct station and there was only silence on the other end of the line.

“Who’s there?” Jim asked.

And there was only silence.

Somehow Jim sensed that someone was on the other end of the line, that this was not a crank call, so he asked his partner, “Will you see if this call can be traced?  I think something is wrong.”

Equipment problems kept them from tracing the call, so Officer Zerilli said, “I think you need help.  I am going to ask you some questions and I want you to tap twice for yes and once for no.  Do you understand?”

There came two taps.

Officer Zerilli said, “Do you live in the northern part of the city?”

One tap.

“Do you live in the southern part of the city?”

Two taps.

From memory, the policeman began to call off street names.  Always there was one tap.  Finally, he got two taps.  He had found the street.

Then he started with house numbers until once again he received two taps.  Forty-five minutes after receiving the call, Officer Zerilli dispatched an ambulance to the home of a man who had suffered a stroke and was paralyzed on his right side.

Don’t give the credit to man’s ingenuity.  Give the credit to the graciousness of God.

The young man had been married for five months.  Due to an argument with his father after the wedding, the man had not spoken to his Dad during those five months.  One Sunday night he came home and said, “Dad, I am sorry I haven’t called.  My wife has left me and I don’t know what to do.”

His father said, “Let’s pray.”

And they did.  In the graciousness of God, the young man invited Jesus into his life.  He got up from his knees and went to the apartment where his wife was living.

“I want to make it up to you,” he said.

“I want to think about it tonight,” she said.

In the morning she was committed to the hospital with a nervous breakdown.  The young man visited her every day and encouraged her and prayed for her.

Four days after the father and son had prayed together, the father was awakened by a phone call.

“There’s been a fire at your son’s house.  You’d better get there fast.”

The father pulled on his clothes and rushed to his son’s house.  When he arrived, he found it completely destroyed.

“Was anyone inside?” he was asked by the firemen.

“I don’t know, but I can show you where my son’s bedroom was,” the father replied.

They found the bedroom and the charred body of his son.

Later the father said, “I could not have endured the death of my son if I did not know I would see him again.  God is so faithful.  He did in my son’s heart on Sunday night what could not have been done after Thursday.”

The prophet Jeremiah wrote about God, “Great is your faithfulness.  Great is your lovingkindness.  Your mercies are renewed every morning.”

The stroke victim who recovered understood the truth of Jeremiah’s words.  The grieving father rejoiced in the truth of Jeremiah’s words.

Whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever is going on in your life, do you understand the graciousness of God?  Through personal faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, you can.

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QUARANTINE BLOG # 89

June 27, 2020

Moderna Inc said on Thursday it was partnering with drugmaker Catalent Inc to prepare an initial 100 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine for the United States, starting in the third quarter of this year.  The vaccine, among the first to be tested in humans in the United States, was found to produce protective antibodies in a small group of healthy volunteers last month.  Moderna is preparing to begin the final stages of testing in July to evaluate the vaccine’s effectiveness in preventing the respiratory illness in around 30,000 adult trial participants.  The company aims to produce 500 million doses initially and 1 billion doses a year beginning 2021.

👉 The Pro Football Hall of Fame has canceled the NFL’s preseason-opening game between the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers and postponed its annual enshrinement ceremony because of the coronavirus pandemic.  The Cowboys and Steelers, who were scheduled to play on Aug. 6 in Canton, Ohio, will instead play in the 2021 Hall of Fame Game, and the enshrinement ceremony – originally slated for Aug. 8 – will be held next year.  David Baker, president and CEO of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, said, “The health and safety of our Hall of Famers, fans and volunteers who make Enshrinement Week so special remains our top priority.”

👉  When the SpaceX capsule blasted off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket May 30, NASA managers had not specified a return date.  But flight controllers now are looking at an early August splashdown.  The six week interval between launch and splashdown would give engineers time to thoroughly evaluate the spacecraft’s first piloted test flight, before clearing the decks for an operational, full-duration mission with four astronauts in the mid-September time frame.  Americans flying an American-built spacecraft and launched from an American space port – priceless!

👉  Hoping that there is a 2021-2022 cruise season, Princess Cruises announced that the Majestic Princess is heading to the West Coast.  Princess said the ship would offer cruises to the  Mexico, Hawaii and the California Coast as part of a five-ship deployment from Los Angeles and San Francisco.  The new Discovery Princess, the Grand Princess, the Ruby Princess, and the Sapphire Princess will join the Majestic on the Left Coast for the hoped-for season.

👉  One of the most incredible woman of all time was born on this day in 1880.  You’ll know her name as soon as I tell you she was born deaf and blind, but earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Radcliffe College, where she graduated as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and later wrote her autobiography, The Story of My Life, which was adapted as a play and a film as The Miracle Worker.

At 19 months old, Helen Keller contracted an unknown illness described by doctors as “an acute congestion of the stomach and the brain.” which might have been scarlet fever or meningitis.  The illness left her both deaf and blind.  She lived, as she recalled in her autobiography, “at sea in a dense fog.”  She was able to communicate somewhat with Martha Washington, the two-year  older daughter of the family cook, who understood her signs; by the age of seven, Keller had more than 60 home signs to communicate with her family, and could distinguish people by the vibration of their footsteps.

Helen Keller’s life changed dramatically when Anne Sullivan, herself visually impaired, became Keller’s instructor. It was the beginning of a nearly 50-year-long relationship during which Sullivan evolved into Keller’s governess and eventually her companion.

👉  Muskie Muskrat, Vincent Van Gopher, Moley Mole, Pig Newton and Ty Coon were among the adversaries of one of my favorite cartoon characters, Deputy Dawg.  His boss is the Sheriff and his wife is Mrs. Deputy.  Old DD was created by Terrytoons in 1960 and featured 34 one-half hour episodes.  Deputy Dawg was a deputy sheriff in Florida.  As the episodes progressed, the location changed to Mississippi, and later to Tennessee.  I’ve searched for one of my favorite episodes (I don’t know the title, so I’m searching in the dark).  Deputy Dawg falls into the creek and hollers to Muskie for help: “Help Muskie!  Help!  I’m sinking in the creek mud!”  You have to read that with a very bad Southern accent and the imagination of a 13 year old.

But since I can’t find it, here is an episode entitled “National Lazy Day” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rmw3IROt-s Today is not National Lazy Day.  It is August 10th.  You have time to get ready.

👉 Today’s closing piece is adapted from Joyce Meyer.

The enemy likes to fill our minds with thoughts like “I can’t,” and “I’m not strong enough.”  He wants us to be weak minded so we’ll give up before we even try.  But if you have Jesus, then you have what it takes to do anything you need to do, and anything He wants you to do.

Paul said, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV).  Through Christ you can find the strength you need.  We all feel weak at times, but when we do, we can go to God and His Word and receive His limitless strength.  John tells us that God lives in us, and “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4 NKJV). 

The strength I’m talking about comes only from our relationship with God through Jesus.  We’re not strong in and of  ourselves.  Jesus said “without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 NKJV).  Paul testified, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13 NKJV).  Learn to lean on Him https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbLAXpRsPhI for everything.   You are stronger than you think you are!

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QUARANTINE BLOG # 88

June 26, 2020

Because I write these blogs a day early, unless something catches my eye on the morning I post it, you may already have heard a news item that I put in.  That is the case today.  But nevertheless, I want to ask a question: When is a noose not a noose?  Answer: when it is a garage door pull.

A statement issued by U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town said the investigation had concluded and that no federal crime had been committed.  “The FBI learned that garage number 4, where the noose was found, was assigned to Bubba Wallace last week.  The investigation also revealed evidence, including authentic video confirmed by NASCAR, that the noose found in garage number 4 was in that garage as early as October 2019,” the bureau said.  “Although the noose is now known to have been in garage number 4 in 2019, nobody could have known Mr. Wallace would be assigned to garage number 4 last week.”

NASCAR said in a release after the findings, “The FBI report concludes, and photographic evidence confirms, that the garage door pull rope fashioned like a noose had been positioned there since as early as last fall.”

What kind of world are we living in when a garage pull would be immediately seen by a black man as a threat to him?  And what kind of world are we living in when someone would make a garage pull that looks like a noose and leave it up for a year?

I understand I am a white man crying in the wilderness, but could we go back to Genesis 1:26 – “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.’” The writer of Genesis said we were made in the image of the Triune God.  Not a word about the color of His creation.

It has been almost 60 years since Martin Luther King said, “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”  It doesn’t seem like we are any closer today than we were on August 28, 1963.  People of every color seem to be saying that their color is the paramount color.  There will never be healing until we get beyond that.  Our hearts have to change.

👉  Texas paused its reopening process and moved to free up hospital space for coronavirus patients on Thursday amid growing concern over its rising tally of cases.  The state has recorded more than 130,000 cases and nearly 3,000 of us have died.    More than 4,300 people with the virus are hospitalized across the state, more than double the number at the beginning of June.  Texas is one of 29 states where case numbers have been rising.  The United States reported its largest one-day total since the start of the pandemic on Wednesday: 36,880 new cases, more than two months after the previous high.  The resurgence is concentrated largely in the South and West.  Florida, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas reported their highest single-day totals on Wednesday.

👉  We had a good, steady rain Thursday morning, the kind that soaks in and doesn’t immediately run off into the storm drains.  Makes the grass green and the flowers sparkle.  And it got me thinking, as it usually does, about “rain” songs.  Here are a few, and let me know if I’ve missed any.  A website called Spinditty lists 153, but that doesn’t count – just from your memory, and mine.

“I Can See Clearly Now, the Rain has Gone” by Johnny Nash https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkwJ-g0iJ6w

“Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYwhvD2-fYw

“Rainy Night in Georgia” by Brook Benton https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjp53tZcVuI

“Singing in the Rain” from the movie of the same name with Gene Kelly https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1ZYhVpdXbQ

“Rainy Days and Mondays” by The Carpenters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPmbT5XC-q0

👉  Return with us now to those thrilling days of yester year ... oops wrong intro.

A thunder of jets in an open sky, a streak of grey and a cheerful “Hi!”  A loop, a whirl, and a vertical climb, and once again you’ll know it’s time for Rocky and His Friends. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7xa8dOAHxU That was the Rocky and Bullwinkle introduction when the show premiered in 1959.

Here is the first episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtdpVKpl8qY&list=PLOgB1w7frU8-qJUbl2isxeHjqwH_28Am0 Twenty minutes without commercials.

My favorite part of the show was “Peabody’s Improbable History” starring Hector J. Peabody – usually referred to as just Mr. Peabody – who is the smartest being in existence.  He graduated from Harvard at age 3 (“Wagna cum Laude”).  Mr. Peabody accomplished many things in his life as a business magnate, inventor, scientist, Nobel laureate, gourmand, and two-time Olympic medalist.  In spite of his accomplishments, Peabody was lonely and decided to adopt his own human as a son.  In an alley, he met Sherman, a bespectacled, red-haired boy.  Peabody discovered that Sherman was an orphan and adopted him.

Believing that boys need running room, Peabody invented the Way Back machine as a birthday gift for Sherman.  He and Sherman traveled back in time to see a Roman speaking in Latin; Peabody added a translator circuit to the machine so that everyone seems to speak English.  From 1959-1960, the duo used the Way Back machine to meet 91 people from history, including Napoleon, Wyatt Earp, King Arthur, the Wright brothers, Leonardo da Vinci, and Edgar Allan Poe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm_1L27JGFg

Another regular feature of Rocky and Bullwinkle was “Fractured Fairy Tales” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6bwyILxtYA Watch this one, think “fake news” and enjoy.

👉  Today’s close, “A Lesson in Humility” is by Max Lucado.

Jesus… made Himself of no reputation… He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Philippians 2:5, 7–8

Deflating inflated egos is so important to God that He offers to help.

He helped me.  I recently spent a week on a book tour.  We saw long lines and crowded stores.  One person after another complimented me.  For three days I bathed in the river of praise.  I began to believe the accolades.  All these people can’t be wrong.  I must be God’s gift to readers.  My chest puffed so much I could hardly see where to autograph the books.  Why, had I been born two thousand years earlier, we might read the gospels of Matthew, Max, Luke, and John.  About the time I wondered if the Bible needed another epistle, God shot an arrow of humility in my direction.

We were running late for an evening book signing, late because the afternoon signing had seen such long lines.  We expected the same at the next store.  Concerned, we phoned ahead.  “We are running behind.  Tell all the people we’ll arrive soon.”

“No need to hurry,” the store manager assured.

“What about the people?”

“Neither one seems to be in a hurry.”

Neither one?

By the time we reached the store, thankfully, the crowd of two people had tripled to six.  We had scheduled two hours for the signing; I needed ten minutes.

Self-conscious about sitting alone at the table, I peppered the last person with questions.  We talked about her parents, school, Social Security number, favorite birthday party.  Against my pleadings, she had to go.  So I sat alone at the table.  Big stack of Lucado books, no one in line.


I asked the store manager, “Did you advertise?”

“We did.  More than usual.”  She walked off.

The next time she passed I asked, “Had other signings?”

“Yes, usually we have a great response,” and kept going.

I signed all the books at my table.  I signed all the Lucado books on the shelves.  I signed Tom Clancy and John Grisham books.  Finally a customer came to the table.   “You write books?” he asked, picking up the new one.

“I do.  Want me to sign it?”

“No thanks,” he answered and left.

God hit his target.  Lest I forget, my daily reading the next morning had this passage: “Do not be wise in your own eyes” (Prov. 3:7).

When you’re full of yourself, God can’t fill you.

But when you empty yourself, God has a useful vessel.

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QUARANTINE BLOG # 87

June 25, 2020

Captain Obvious reports that this past Sunday was Father’s Day.  I asked the good Captain (and that is simply a metaphor, not a reference to any single person you may know) to share that with you so I could offer a quote from one of my favorite authors, Frederick Buechner, which reminded me of a Father’s Day 61 years ago.

Buechner, in his memoir Now and Then, tells about the reason he, a teacher and a novelist, went to seminary.

“I wanted to learn about Christ – about the Old Testament, which had been His Bible, and the New Testament, which was the Bible about Him; about the history of the church, which had been founded on the faith that through Him God had not only revealed His innermost nature and His purpose for the world, but had released into the world a fierce power to draw people into that nature and adapt them to that purpose ... about the theological systems that the passion of His original followers, and of Saint Paul in particular, had been distilled into.

“No intellectual pursuit had ever aroused in me such intense curiosity, and much more than my intellect was involved, much more than my curiosity aroused.  In the unfamiliar setting of a Presbyterian church, of all places, I had been moved to astonished tears which came from so deep inside me that to this day I have never fathomed them.  I wanted to learn more about the source of those tears and the object of that astonishment.”

I don’t think I’ve ever heard a “call narrative” as beautiful and as powerful as that.

God called me into ministry on Father’s Day, 1959 (it was also the 21st of June, the same as this year).  The Men’s Fellowship of Loch Lynn Evangelical United Brethren Church had charge of the entire morning worship service.  Dad was asked if he would read a poem, and as he always did, said, “Yes,” and then as he always did, got stage fright with accompanying butterflies, knocking knees, and shaky voice (when he became the Scoutmaster for Troop 95 that all went away – I don’t understand how, but it did). 

That Sunday morning Dad asked me if I would read the poem he had volunteered to read and I immediately replied in the affirmative – an awesome privilege.  The poem was titled, “If I Had A Boy,” and as I stood in the pulpit and read it, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart.  It was as if He stood beside me and whispered into my ear: “Just as you are now speaking words on behalf of you father, so I want you to speak words on behalf of your Heavenly Father.”  It was a call I never doubted.

👉  Today’s trip down Memory Lane continues with an introduction to Saturday morning cartoons, 1950s and 60s style.  If readers would like to remember cartoons from the 1970s and 80s, I invite them to share the names of their favorites with me, and we’ll look at them in a future Quarantine Blog series.

Writing in Philadelphia magazine, Aaron Mettey listed “The 20 Greatest Saturday Morning Cartoons of All Time.”  Before the list, he introduced his subject with a paragraph that took me farther along in the Way Back Machine.  His list started in 1969 with Scooby Doo, Where Are You! (and an honorable mention to the Jetsons of 62-63) up through 2001s Recess (I know nothing about it – you will have to look it up).  Here is Mettey’s intro:

“I know it’s a ‘back in the day’ or ‘walked up a hill both ways’ thing to say, but I think kids today are being robbed of a magical experience.  With everything now available 24-hours by cable or streaming, the specialness of cartoons is completely gone.  I wish my nieces and nephews were able to wake up early on Saturdays (not because they had to, but because they wanted to) – with their Pound Puppy in one hand and a bowl of Boo-Berry in the other – and fight with their brother and sister about who got to pick the shows that morning, one of the most important decisions a kid could make.  After all, with only 4 channels airing cartoons for only a few hours a week (and long before DVRs and, actually, VCRs), you could miss a new episode of your favorite show.  And never know when you would actually see it.”

With apologies to Mettey’s too-new list, that paragraph did take me back to Saturday mornings at 117 Shenandoah Avenue and watching cartoons (all in black and white because we did not have a color TV) with my brother, Kyle, while we consumed peanut butter toast.  On Saturdays when we played Monopoly with Wayne Callis we ate plain buttered toast and chili, but that’s a story for another blog.

There is a difference between the cartoons of my youth and the cartoons the JAMM Kids (Jennifer, Amy, Michael, and Matthew) watched.  My cartoons were animated stories told by cats and mice and rabbits and dogs and woodpeckers and magpies and bears and squirrels and moose.  The cartoons which my offspring watched were animated stories told by a variety of characters who functioned as advertisements for the latest toys.  But I reckon each group enjoyed their own cartoons and looked forward to Saturday mornings.

And with that, let’s watch The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65t-OzhlmvE

The title characters were, of course, Rocket J. Squirrel and Bullwinkle Moose.  The main antagonists in most of their adventures are the two Russian-like spies Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale, both working for the Nazi-like dictator Fearless Leader.  In addition to squirrel and moose, segments include “Dudley Do-Right” (a parody of old-time melodrama), “Peabody’s Improbable History” (a dog named Mr. Peabody and his boy Sherman traveling through time in their Way Back Machine), and “Fractured Fairy Tales” (classic fairy tales retold in comic fashion).

Rocky and Bullwinkle is known for its quality writing, clever – often pun-filled – humor, and topical satire.  The animation is choppy and unpolished, but since its first airing on ABC on November 19, 1959, the show has been enjoyed by adults as well as children.

Well, I’m already into page 3, so tune in tomorrow for more details about our favorite moose and squirrel and their adventures.

👉  Today’s close comes from Christ Beside Me, Christ Within Me by Beth A. Richardson

For One Who Is Hurting

God, your peace,
Your comfort,
Your healing presence.

Send them into
The places of deep sadness,
The wounds,
The disappointments,
The tears and aching hearts.

Touch the tear-lined cheeks
With your kiss of peace.

Hold your child close,
Child full of sorrow.
Hold your child close,
Child all alone.

Bring comfort and healing,
Balm for broken hearts,
Freedom from fear,
And courage to face forward.

You are the Miracle Worker,
The Great Healer,
The Mender of the Breach.

Come, now,
Come, quickly,
Come.

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QUARANTINE BLOG # 86

June 24, 2020

Get Smart was a comedy TV series parodying the secret agent genre.  Created by Mel Brooks, Get Smart reflects his very off-the-wall style.  This clip is a teaser for the show.  Pause it when the green screen comes up to read the entire description. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBPYdiVAkyA

The show stars Don Adams as agent Maxwell Smart (Agent 86) and Barbara Feldon as (Agent 99).  They work for CONTROL, a secret U.S. government counterintelligence agency based in Washington, DC, and thwart various threats to the world.  The nemesis of CONTROL is KAOS, described as “an international organization of evil.” 

The show generated a number of popular catchphrases during its run – most of them presented in the deadpan clipped style of Don Adams which many of us tried to copy – including “would you believe…,” “I asked you not to tell me that,” and “the old (such-and-such) trick.”  One of my favorites is “missed it by that much,” and it is in this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz77pH9XMow&feature=youtu.be

Like any good spy show, there were plenty of gadgets.  In Get Smart telephones took the lead, and were concealed in over 50 objects, including a necktie, comb, watch, and a clock.  A recurring gag is Max’s shoe phone.  To use it he has to take off his shoe.  Agent 99 had her concealed telephones, as well.  She had one in her makeup compact, and one in her fingernail.  To use this last device, she would pretend to bite her nail nervously, while actually talking on her “nail phone.”  Maxwell Smart’s prop shoe phone was included in a display entitled “Spies: Secrets from the CIA, KGB, and Hollywood,” a collection of real and fictional spy gear that exhibited at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

The Cone of Silence was one of many recurring Mel Brooks joke devices.  The apparatus, designed for secret conversations, makes it impossible for those inside the device – and easy for those outside the device – to hear the conversation.  The COS produces a very strong echo that gives both characters a headache.  After the COS is lowered, it randomly raises and lowers.  As Max and the Chief stand and sit to accommodate it, the Cone finally goes so low that it breaks through the Chief’s desk, forcing them both to sit on the floor.  There was also a Closet of Silence, a Portable Cone of Silence, and an Umbrella of Silence.

Tomorrow we start a look at old-timey Saturday morning cartoons, and peanut butter toast.

👉  Our “Public Service Department” notes that Southwest Airlines is offering one-way tickets starting at $39 (last year they were $49, but to entice you back during the pandemic, you get $10 off this year).  On longer flights, fares start at $79.  The three-day sale generally covers travel between Aug. 11 and Dec. 17, excluding travel around Thanksgiving.  Labor Day weekend travel is not blacked out.  The catch is, as far as QB 86 is concerned, you only have today and tomorrow to book.  The sale is for 3 days and started yesterday.  Your humble blogger did not know the sale was on yesterday when QB 85 went up.  Sorry!

👉  The North Face, makers of outdoor recreation products, is the first major brand to halt advertising on Facebook and Instagram as part of a boycott organized by civil rights groups to condemn the social media company’s failure to crack down on hate speech.  TNF said the boycott would continue until Facebook puts in place stricter policies to stem the flow of hate speech on the two platforms.  This morning I read that Ben & Jerry’s and Patagonia have joined the bandwagon, pulling advertising from Facebook and Instagram.  Once we stop hate speech on Facebook and Instagram, could we also stop lies, rumors, and general stupidity that is broadcast on those platforms?

👉  If you remember when car manufacturers changed body styles every year, and you could tell which car was which just by looking at the tail lights, you’ll enjoy this video from the 50s (sent to me by Brian and Elizabeth in Victoria BC).  If you’re too old to remember tail fins, just check out what you missed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5UlUXElNXA&feature=youtu.be Gas was a quarter a gallon and we cared more about style than aerodynamic – and boring – styling.  The Cadillac ElDorado at the 27 second mark is great.  My favorite comes at 1:04 – the 59 Chevy.  This clip is a minute and a half of cool.

👉  Apple is once again temporarily closing 11 stores in four states.  The closures include all six Arizona stores, two on Florida’s West Coast, two in North Carolina and one in South Carolina.  “Due to current COVID-19 conditions in some of the communities we serve, we are temporarily closing stores in these areas,” Apple said in a statement. “We take this step with an abundance of caution as we closely monitor the situation and we look forward to having our teams and customers back as soon as possible.”  Chances are very good that other retailers will be following suit.

👉  While we are waiting for the 11th season of the Great British Bake Off – one of my all-time favorites – to return (filming has been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic) I found a website that offers kitchen, and other, tips.  It’s not Paul Hollywood, but here’s the first of four I have selected.  Light, fluffy, creamy scrambled eggs are the ultimate dream.  To achieve that consistency, most cooks add a bit of milk or cream to their egg mixture to keep things moist and rich.  Mayonnaise, however, might be just the thing you need to get perfect scrambled eggs every time you cook.  If you can’t wait for the next tips check out https://betterbe.co/

👉  If you’ve ever stopped by 233 Woodland Drive and have seen “The Calendar at 233” held onto the refrigerator by magnets, you know that I mark each day off with a sticker, sometimes Star Wars, sometimes Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang, sometimes flowers or butterflies, but always each day is marked so I know what day it is.  I tell you that, to tell you this: I know that today is June 24.  You will understand why that revelation is necessary when I reveal today’s closing piece is the story behind one of Isaac Watts’ most beloved hymns: “Joy to the World!”

Isaac Watts had become dissatisfied with the quality of singing in church.  In the early 18th century most singing in British churches was from the Psalms of David.  Watts felt limited by being able to sing only those verses so he “invented” the English hymn.  He did not neglect the Psalms, but based many of his hymns around them, in fact, publishing a hymnal called The Psalms of David Initiated in the Language of the New Testament.  He studied several psalms from the perspective of Jesus and the New Testament, and then formed them into verses for singing.

“Joy to the World!” is Isaac Watts’ interpretation of Psalm 98, which says, “Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth” (verse 4).  As he read Psalm 98 he thought about the real reason for shouting joyfully to the Lord – the Messiah has come to redeem us.  The result is a song that we’ve sung for 300 Christmases.  And with its message of redemption and God’s grace maybe we should start singing it other times than in December.

Joy to the world, the Lord has come
Let earth receive her King
Let every heart prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing
And heaven, and heaven and nature sing

Joy to the world, the Savior reigns
Let men their songs employ
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy

No more let sins and sorrows grow
Nor thorns infest the ground
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found
Far as, far as the curse is found

He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of His love, and wonders of His love
And wonders, wonders of His love

Here are two versions, neither of them are exactly the way Isaac Watts wrote “Joy to the World!” but I think he would approve the atmosphere of worship that they raise.

Pentatonix: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xo64Q2ucQ8

Mormon Tabernacle Choir: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLT9dSt8cwg

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QUARANTINE BLOG # 85

June 23, 2020

Returning to The Wild Wild West, let’s take a look at one of the most interesting “characters,” one without a word to say, in fact, couldn’t speak, but was vital to the series: the train.  President Grant gave a special train to James West and Artimus Gordon for use on their assignments.  It was a luxury hotel on wheels and their base of operations.

For the pilot episode the producers used Sierra Railroad No. 3, that was built in 1891, almost 2 decades after the series was set.  Best known for its role as the Hooterville Cannonball in the CBS series Petticoat Junction, Sierra No. 3 probably appeared in more films and TV shows than any other locomotive in history. 

The train was used only for exterior shots.  The luxurious interior of the passenger car was constructed on stage at CBS studios.  The set cost $35,000 in 1965 (approximately $300,000 today).  The train interior was also used in one episode of Gunsmoke, and in two episodes of The Big Valley. 

Another important part of The Wild Wild West was all of the gadgets and inventions which played rolls in the series.  Many of them were concealed in West’s clothing.  One of the most often seen was sleeve gun (a Remington Double Derringer), a  concealed weapon.  In a some episodes the ejecting arm of the device dispensed other useful gadgets, such as a tiny squirt-can containing acid, iron climbing-claws, a knife, a pulley, and various blades.  Someone, with a lot of time on his or her hands, counted 171 devices of all kinds which were used on the show.

Tomorrow, we’ll take a look at a different kind of spy show, Get Smart.

👉  The coronavirus is gaining ground.  Nationwide, cases have risen 15 percent over the last two weeks.  Cases are rising in 18 states across the South, West and Midwest.  Seven states hit single-day case records Saturday, and five others hit a record earlier in the week.  The pandemic has now sickened more than 8,899,000 people, and at least 466,200 of us have died.  Across the United States, the number of new infections has steadily risen during the past five days after plateauing for the previous 80 days.  At the same time, overall deaths have dropped dramatically.  The 14-day average was down 42 percent as of Saturday.  Strikingly, the new infections have skewed younger, with more people in their 20s and 30s testing positive.

👉  On this day in 2013, 34-year-old Nik Wallenda became the first person to walk a high wire across the Little Colorado River Gorge near Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.  In June of the previous year, Wallenda, a member of the famous Flying Wallendas family of circus performers, became the first person to walk a tightrope over Niagara Falls.  Because the event was televised around the world, broadcast officials required Wallenda to wear a safety tether in case he fell.  Wearing jeans and a T-shirt and holding a 43-pound balancing pole, he prayed out loud as he walked untethered across a 1,400-foot-long, 8.5-ton cable suspended 1,500 feet above the Little Colorado River.  It was the highest walk of his career.

👉  Based on the requirement that a prophet be 100% accurate, it appears that my title as a prophet is suspect.  I said yesterday that the chances of playing baseball in 2020, or any major league sports, were slim and none, with slim having already departed the premises.  The proof of my non-prophet status came yesterday when Major League Baseball owners voted unanimously to proceed with the 2020 MLB season under the terms of their March 26 agreement with the MLB Players Association.  The projected opening day is July 24.

That March agreement has a 67-page health and safety protocol which will make this season very different from any we’ve seen before – if things during this coronavirus pandemic were not totally upside down anyway.  For instance, players and other team personnel not participating in the game would sit in the stands, separated by at least six feet.  Celebratory contact is forbidden: No high-fives, fist bumps or hugs.  No spitting, chewing of tobacco or sunflower seeds or any combination thereof.  So, there you go.

👉  You have heard the calls that Uncle Ben’s Rice should no longer be Uncle Ben’s, Mrs. Butterworth’s Syrup should no longer be Mrs. Butterworth’s, Aunt Jemima’s Syrup should no longer be Aunt Jemima’s, the UNLV’s Running Rebels should no longer be the Running Rebels, and because the name has an association with law enforcement, there is a call for baseball’s Texas Rangers to no longer be called the Texas Rangers.

Let me say unequivocally, I understand why these calls for change have surfaced.  Feelings caused by recent events have dug into the history of centuries gone by, and have remarked upon the ugliness, the inhumanity, the sin of human trafficking.  But there is another side to the call for the names of products and teams to be changed that is not being heard. 

The Richard family of Hawkins, Texas, objects to the changing of the name of Aunt Jemima’s syrup, because it was their aunt, Lillian Richard, who became a goodwill ambassador for Quaker Oats, and for decades, portrayed Aunt Jemima.  And the family is proud of what she did.  “She was considered a hero in Hawkins, and we are proud of that.  We do not want that history erased,” Virginia Harris, the family historian, said. 

Harris said her family feels that activism has gone too far.  “I wish we would take a breath and not just get rid of everything, because good or bad, it is our history. Removing that wipes away a part of me.  A part of each of us.  We are proud of our cousin.”

👉   Don’t be discouraged today.  You can leave your “what-ifs” and “if-onlys” in the hands of the One who loves you and rules all things.

“Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.  Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.  Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds?  And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?  Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?

‘And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.  For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things.  But seek ]the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you’” (Luke 12:22-31 NKJV).

Real, sturdy, lasting peace, peace doesn’t rise and fall with circumstances.  Peace is found only in trust, trust of the One who is in careful control of all the things that tend to rob you of your peace.  He knows, He understands, He is in control of what appears to be chaos, He is never surprised, He is never confused, He never worries or loses a night’s sleep, He never walks off the job to take a rest, He never gets so busy with one thing that He neglects another, and He never plays favorites.

You need to remind yourself again and again of His wise and loving control, not because that will immediately make your life make sense, but because it will give you rest and peace in those moments that all of us face at one time or another – when life doesn’t seem to make any sense.

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QUARANTINE BLOG # 84

June 22, 2020

Cruise Lines International Association which represents 95% of the world’s ocean going cruise ships, says its member cruise lines have voluntarily extended the suspension of U.S. cruise operations until Sept. 15 amid coronavirus concerns.

“Although we had hoped that cruise activity in the U.S. could resume as soon as possible after that date, it is increasingly clear that more time will be needed to resolve barriers to resumption in the United States,” Bari Golin-Blaugrund, senior director for strategic communications told USAToday, noting the organization informed the CDC of its continued voluntary suspension.

Your favorite bloggers were scheduled to sail on the Carnival Fantasy on September 14, but a check of the Carnival website shows no sailings until October.  Stay tuned for more news.

👉  In our “Things That Really Don’t Matter All That Much Department” Major League Baseball and the Players Association (MLBPA) have been negotiating for almost six weeks about a return-to-play plan for the 2020 season.  Yesterday the players declined to vote on accepting the league’s offer of a 60-game season.  I think that the chances of any major league sport being played in 2020 are “Slim” and “None,” and Slim has already left town.  But just so there is a little baseball, I offer the following cartoon:

👉  We haven’t dropped a nickle into the nickelodeon in a few days, so let’s spin a record.

Lionel Brockman Richie Jr’s singing career began in 1968 with the Commodores.  The group met when they were freshmen at Tuskegee Institute.  They signed a contract with Motown in 1972.  Ten years later, Richie left to follow his solo career.  All Night Long was a major hit from his second solo album, reaching #1 on three Billboard charts.  The song’s Caribbean influence featured “African” lyrics, such as “Tom bo li de say de moi ya” and “Jambo jumbo,” that Richie later said were his own made-up gibberish.  Enjoy his music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqAvFx3NxUM

Richie’s first production work outside of the Commodores was Lady, a song he pitched to the Commodores, but they turned it down.  The year was 1980.  He then gave the song to Kenny Rogers and it became Rogers’ biggest single solo hit.  It is listed as Billboards # 60 All Time Top 100.  Here is Kenny Rogers (after his unfortunate facelift) singing with Lionel Richie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI2CvL6UYvE

👉  Pet Sitters International advertises that today is National Take Your Cat To Work Day.  And they give some advice so you and your kitty will have a great day.  Decide if this is right for your cat.  Keep your kitty comfortable – don’t forget your kitty’s comforts of home.  Avoid forcing co-workers to interact with your cat.  Have an exit strategy in place in case your cat shows signs of stress or decides she’s not interested in “working like a dog.”

👉  I apologize for missing International T-Shirt Day yesterday.  My head is hung, especially since in retirement, about all I wear for top covering are t-shirts.  This versatile clothing staple that is the center of this holiday first came into popularity in 1904.  It began with a magazine ad from the Cooper Underwear Company, showing a man looking sloppy in a traditional undershirt with buttons, and a second man looking suave in the newly invented “Bachelor Shirt.”

The t-shirt’s first appearance in the movies was 1951's “A Streetcar Named Desire” starring Marlon Brando.  T-shirt sales went to $180 million that year.  Another t-shirt hero is James Dean who portrayed teenage disillusionment.  Do you have to smoke to be a t-shirt hero?

👉  The number of cases of coronavirus is surging globally, driven by outbreaks in Latin America, Africa, South Asia and the United States.  More than 140,000 cases were reported on Tuesday and another 166,000 on Wednesday, two of the three highest tallies since the outbreak began.  Seventy-seven nations have seen a growth in new cases over the past two weeks, while only 43 have seen declines.  On Thursday, California and Florida reported their highest daily totals of new cases yet.  Texas became the sixth state in the nation to surpass 100,000 cases.  It took Africa nearly 100 days to reach 100,000 cases, but only 19 days to double that tally.  Some countries where caseloads had appeared to taper – including Israel, Sweden and Costa Rica – are now watching them rise again.  More risks lie ahead as nations begin to reopen their economies.

👉  If things weren’t bad enough, the small town of Verkhoyansk in Siberia reached 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, 32 degrees above the normal high temperature.  The reading hasn’t been verified, but if it holds, it would surpass the previous record for high temperature above the Arctic Circle previously held by Fort Yukon, Alaska at 100.0 degrees Fahrenheit, recorded in 1915.  For perspective, the highest recorded temperature in Fort Lauderdale was 100.0 on August 4, 1944.  Verkhoyansk is typically one of the coldest spots on Earth.  This past November, the area reached nearly 60 degrees Fahrenheit below zero – cold enough to freeze automobile tires so that they will crack and shatter – which is certainly more characteristic of eastern Siberia.

👉  Let’s crank up the Way Back Machine for a look at another spy TV series.  This one could actually be called a spy series, or a western, or a science fiction show: The Wild Wild West.  At a time when westerns on TV were losing out to spies, Michael Garrison created a “James Bond on horseback.”

Set during the administration of President Ulysses Grant, the series followed Secret Service agents James West (Robert Conrad) and Artemus Gordon (Ross Martin) as they solved crimes, protected the President, and foiled the plans of megalomaniacal villains to take over part or all of the United States.

The show’s most memorable recurring arch-villain was Dr. Miguelito  Loveless, a brilliant but petulant and megalomaniacal dwarf portrayed by Michael Dunn, and his side-henchman, Voltaire, played by Richard Kiel (who would later appear as “Jaws” in two James Bond films).

“The Night of the Inferno” was the premier episode – and in a pattern similar to The Man From U.N.C.L.E whose episodes were all “Affairs” – WWW episodes were all “Nights.”  Watch Jim West suit up for action for “Inferno” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXCaFoXwrwo

We will return to The Wild Wild West tomorrow.

👉  “Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and shield” (Psalm 33:22 NRSV). 

We are wearing masks – some of us – and practicing social distancing – same caveat – but beyond this, we need a good defense system.  In our new normal of COVID-19, medical practices and procedures are on the front line.  Other protections are our nation’s strength: economic and military.  Important though these definitely are, our greatest source of strength, our strongest protection is God, “our help and shield.”

Pray with me: Defend me, Almighty God, as I learn to trust in your care.  Help me to find gladness of heart and peace of mind safe in your loving arms.  Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon me, even as I hope in You.  Amen.

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