June 18, 2021
One last look at P.T. Barnum:
When I hear his name, the thing I think of is “circus,” but Barnum did not enter the circus business until he was 60 years old. He established “P. T. Barnum’s Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan & Hippodrome” in 1870. In 1881 he merged with James Bailey’s circus and the name was shortened to “Barnum & Bailey’s.” This entertainment phenomenon was the first circus to display three rings, and the first to travel by train. The show’s first primary attraction was Jumbo, an African elephant that Barnum purchased in 1882 from the London Zoo.
The giant elephant’s name spawned the common word “jumbo,” meaning large in size. Examples of his lexical impact are phrases like “jumbo jet,” “jumbo shrimp,” “jumbo marshmallows,” and “jumbotron.” Jumbo’s shoulder height has been estimated to have been 10 feet 7 inches at the time of his death, and was claimed to be about 13 feet by Barnum.
👉 And a last look at General Tom Thumb:
Charles Stratton’s marriage in 1863, to Lavinia Warren, also a little person, became front-page news. The couple stood atop a grand piano at the reception to greet some 10,000 guests. Following the wedding, the couple was received by President Abraham Lincoln at the White House. Stratton and his wife then toured together in Europe as well as British India.
Under Barnum’s management, Stratton became a wealthy man. He owned a house in the fashionable part of New York, a steam yacht, and he had a wardrobe of fine clothes. When Barnum got into financial difficulty, Stratton bailed him out. Later, they became business partners.
👉 Here is a different couple from 9 Chickweed Lane:
👉 The letter which follows came to me with the name of the family X’d out (Although I dislike shopping as much as the man who is featured in the letter, it is NOT autobiographical). I offer it unedited and without comment:
“After I retired, my wife insisted that I accompany her on her trips to WalMart. Unfortunately, like most men; I found shopping boring and preferred to get in and get out. Equally unfortunate, my wife is like most women – she loves to browse. Yesterday my dear wife received the following letter, from the local WalMart:
Dear Mrs. XXXX,
Over the past six months, your husband has caused quite a commotion, in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and have been forced to, ban both of you from the store.
Our complaints against your husband, Mr. XXXX, are listed below and are documented by our video surveillance cameras:
1. June 15: He took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in other people’s carts when they weren’t looking.
2. July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at 5-minute intervals.
3. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official voice, ‘Code 3 in Housewares. Get on it right away’. This caused the employee to leave her assigned station and receive a reprimand from her Supervisor that in turn resulted with a union grievance, causing management to lose time and costing the company money. We don’t have a Code 3.
4. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag of M&Ms on layaway.
5. August 14: Moved a, ‘CAUTION – WET FLOOR’ sign to a carpeted area.
6. August 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told the children shoppers he’d invite them to camp with him if they would bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department to which twenty children obliged.
7. August 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him he began crying and screamed, ‘Why can’t you people just leave me alone?’ EMTs were called.
8. September 4: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while he picked his nose.
9. September 10: While handling guns in the hunting department, he asked the clerk where the antidepressants were.
10. October 3: Darted around the store suspiciously while, loudly humming the, ‘Mission Impossible’ theme.
11. October 6: In the auto department, he practiced his, ‘Madonna Look’ using different sizes of funnels.
12. October 18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed through, yelled ‘PICK ME! PICK ME!’
13. October 22: When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumed a fetal position and screamed: ‘OH NO! IT’S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!’
14. Took a box of condoms to the checkout clerk and asked where is the fitting room?
And last, but not least:
15. October 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile; then yelled very loudly, ‘Hey! There’s no toilet paper in here.’ One of the clerks passed out.”
👉 How about a couple of “awwww”s:
👉 Two signs for the times:
👉 Today’s close “God’s Guarantee,” is by Joyce Meyer.
“Have not I commanded you? Be strong, vigorous, and very courageous. Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).
Notice the emphasis that God places on Himself. Joshua was to keep his eyes on God and His command. He was not to get entangled in other things that might frighten him; he was to stay focused on his goal.
And just in case he needed one last encouragement, God basically repeats Himself in saying He would be with Joshua. I believe His discourse to Joshua is evidence that there would be reasons in the natural for him to fear and become dismayed and want to turn back.
When we take steps of faith to make progress in life, there is no guarantee that we will not experience opposition. But we do have God’s guarantee that He will always be with us, and that is truly all we need. We don’t need to know what God is going to do, how He is going to do it, or when He is going to do it. We only need to know that He is with us.
Prayer Starter: Lord, of all the blessings in life, the greatest one I ask You for is that You will be with me as You were with Joshua. I can do without a lot of things, but not without You. Amen.
-30-
No comments:
Post a Comment