QUARANTINE BLOG # 527

September 8, 2021

For my Padawan Mac, we begin with more of the “back to school” comic strips I promised yesterday.

Some more tomorrow.

👉  Yesterday we played two Number 1 songs from the 60s.  The Dougster commented, “Many of us from a music standpoint call back genres daily. For me it is music from the 50’s and 60’s. Old rock and country are my favorites and [Ronnie Milsap’s, ‘Lost in the Fifties Tonight’] is one of my favorites.”  Here is that song by a great artist.  Watch as one of the cool cats gives his high school ring to his girl, and the developments after that token is received.

Elvis Presley had 3 of the Number 1 hits from 1960.  It comes as no surprise that the King of Rock and Roll dominated the lists up until the time of the British Invasion, and then The Beatles produced frequent Number 1s.

In May it was “Stuck on You,” Elvis’ first hit single after his two-year stint in the US Army.  It was his 13th Number 1 at that point in his career.

October's Number 1 hit was Elvis' “It's Now Or Never.”  This video features pictures of Elvis in Germany, and then after he comes home from the military.  The best part is at 1:40 when the car in which he is riding follows a 1959 Chevrolet.

And in December it was “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”  This video is from a 1968 television special when Elvis was reunited with his first backing musicians – it’s complete with out takes, and Elvis obviously having a good time with the performance.

Tomorrow two of rock ‘n roll’s top ladies with Number 1s.

👉  Let’s visit a couple more disappointing vacation sites (maybe not disappointing, but definitely strange).

First up, Beaver, Oklahoma, which since 1970 has hosted the annual World Championship Cow Chip Throw, thus giving the town the enduring title of the “Cow Chip Throwing Capital of the World.”  Why people get entertainment out of throwing cow dung is a mystery, but it’s an understatement to say attending this festival would stink.

If you’re an adrenaline junkie or you like to drive at the rip-roaring speed of five miles an hour, then it makes sense why you would want to drive down Lombard Street, one of the most crooked streets in the world.  It seems like waiting in notorious San Francisco traffic just to drive down a perilous, overcrowded zig-zag road is a big waste of time.

If you’re obsessed with freshwater fish, then by all means enjoy a trip to Hayward, Wisconsin and the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame, where the highlight is a four-and-a-half-story tall fiberglass muskellunge.  It’s unclear if the site is meant to be more intriguing or terrifying, but the musky’s mouth (doubling as an observation deck) is apparently a popular wedding party photo op.

👉  And now a return to Walmart some more unusual shopping costumes. To paraphrase Al Jolson's aside in the 1927 film The Jazz Singer, “You ain't seen nothing yet.”

👉  Hundreds of women took to the streets of Kabul on Tuesday to demand that their rights be respected, and they were brutally sent scattering by the Taliban.  The protest made clear that Afghan women are unlikely to easily surrender the gains they have made over the past two decades.  But it also offered a troubling signal that the Taliban may be determined to turn back the clock.  

The demonstrators were peaceful, but as their numbers grew, and the women were joined by hundreds of men, the Taliban used force to crush a demonstration for the second time in less than a week.  They began beating protesters with rifle butts and sticks, witnesses said, and the crowd scattered after the fighters began firing into the air.  It was a remarkable public display by women, who suffered brutal subjugation the last time the Taliban were in charge of the country.  Now, many fear that its professions of moderation notwithstanding, the group has not changed.  Is anyone surprised?

👉  Today’s close, “Are You All There?” is from Good Morning Lord. Can We Talk? by Charles Swindoll

Everyone has a God-given niche that makes him or her unique. Paul uses the metaphor of the body – each one of us representing a separate part. One is the head, another is a hand, still another is the toe! The point is, we all need each other to make the body work.

Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly (Romans 12:3-8).

Are you feeling like a left foot or a sore thumb, or maybe like an insignificant pituitary gland – always taking the backseat to the mighty liver? God made you just as you are to serve His body perfectly – no matter your size, giftedness, or function. Stop comparing. Stop complaining. Celebrate the uniqueness of being you. Find your place in the body and be all there for the glory of God. Honestly now, are you “all there”?

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