QUARANTINE BLOG # 640

December 30, 2021

If this story appeared in “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not,” I wouldn’t believe it.  Since it was a story reported by the Associated Press, it has to be true.

Florida authorities stopped a man at 4 a.m. who was driving without lights.  The officers found a gun under the passenger’s seat, and prompted by that, searched the driver.  They found cocaine and methamphetamine taped to his stomach and other body parts inside his underwear, but the man denied the drugs were his.  He did not say to whom the drugs belonged, according to the arrest report.  “Sure I’ll carry your drugs for you.  Let’s hide them here, and be sure to tape them down.”  Right.

👉  Speaking of “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not,” the franchise was founded by Robert Ripley, and deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims.  BION has been a newspaper column, radio show, TV production, films, and dozens of books.  The Ripley collection includes 20,000 photographs, 30,000 artifacts and more than 100,000 cartoon panels.  The various franchise locations – 32 museums – host 12 million guests a year.

Believe It Or Not, Niagra Falls, Canada

Ripley first called his cartoon feature, originally involving sports feats, “Champs and Chumps,” and it premiered on December 19, 1918, in The New York Globe.  Ripley began adding items unrelated to sports, and in October 1919, he changed the title to “Believe It or Not.”  Ripley hired Norbert Pearlroth as his researcher, and Pearlroth spent the next 52 years of his life in the New York Public Library, working ten hours a day and six days a week in order to find unusual facts for Ripley.  Ripley traveled to 198 countries to scout truths stranger than fiction, but his travels were always based on Mr. Pearlroth’s research.

Believe It Or Not, Ocean City, Maryland

This is today’s newspaper column:

👉  One of Ripley’s incredible stories is about the Jim Twins.  Twin boys were put up for adoption in 1940, at only three weeks old, their adoptive parents (one the Lewis family, the other the Springer family) named them both James, both nicknamed Jim.  The two would grow up only 40 miles apart from each other, and go on to live lives that were very similar.

Both had dogs named Toy, and as schoolchildren, both loved math and woodworking but were bad at spelling.  Both Jims had married twice.  The first time, they married women named Linda. They divorced, then met and married women named Betty.  Both Jims had a son, and gave their boy the same name, James Alan and James Allan.

Both Jims smoked the same brand of cigarettes, drove Chevrolets and had similar jobs in security (Jim Lewis was a security guard, while Jim Springer had been a deputy sheriff).  They even took vacations at the same Florida beach.  Their adoptive parents had told them they had a twin brother, and finally Jim Lewis decided to contact with his brother.  They met in 1979.  Believe it or not.

👉  Calvin expresses his game philosophy:

👉  Our highest elected officials tell us there is no supply chain issues.  Pig and Rat beg to differ:

👉  George Lucas wanted to do a modern version of one of his favorite film series, “Flash Gordon,” but another director, Dino De Laurentiis (his granddaughter is chef, writer, and television personality Giada De Laurentiis) owned the rights and wouldn’t sell them.  So he began writing his own space opera – the final version of the script was called The Adventures of Luke Starkiller as Taken from the Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars.  As he began his search for a studio, United Artists said, “No,” Universal Pictures said, “No, thanks,” Disney said, “Not on your mouse’s life.”  Finally 20th Century-Fox bought the concept and got in on the ground floor of a billion dollar franchise.

Stories about Star Wars range from a two picture deal to a 12 picture series (believe it or not).  Once Lucas decided that he had too many stories for one movie, Star Wars (the subtitles Episode IV and A New Hope were added in 1981)premiered on Wednesday, May 25, 1977, in fewer than 32 theaters, with eight more added on Thursday and Friday.  It immediately broke box office records, effectively becoming one of the first blockbuster films, and Fox accelerated plans to broaden its release.  It earned over $220 million during its initial theatrical run ($955 million adjusted for inflation).

But for most fans, as good as the first film was, the sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, is the best movie of the franchise.  Released on May 21, 1980, the sequel became the highest-grossing film that year, and adjusted for inflation, the 13th highest grossing film in the United States and Canada.

One of the top plot twists of all times enhances Empire’s standing.  At the conclusion of a fierce light saber battle during  which Darth Vader cuts off Luke’s hand, the Sith Lord, expanding on his earlier statement, “Obi Wan never told you what happened to your father” reveals, “I am your father.”  It is one of the most misquoted lines in the Star Wars saga – Vader does not say, “Luke, I am your father.”

Other great additions is the developing love story between Han Solo and Princess Leia.  Additionally, the introduction of Luke’s teacher, the great Jedi Master, Yoda.

👍  In 1982, Ron Luciano, one of the funniest men to ever don an umpire’s equipment and call balls and strikes (when umpiring at first base, he didn’t throw up his thumb and say, “Yer out!” he used both hands as pistols and shot the runner while saying, “Out!  Out!  Out!”) wrote a book called The Umpire Strikes Back.  It was one of four books he wrote about America’s pastime, and well worth the reading.

👉  Humor, it is a difficult concept:

👉  A Sunday school teacher asked, “Johnny, do you think Noah did a lot of fishing when he was on the Ark ?”  “No,” replied Johnny.  “How could he, with just two worms.” 

👉  Today’s close, “Grace Isn’t Logical” by Max Lucado is from When God Whispers Your Name.

God’s judgment has never been a problem for me. In fact, it always seemed right. Lightning bolts on Sodom. Fire on Gomorrah. Good job, God. Egyptians swallowed in the Red Sea. They had it coming.

Discipline is easy for me to swallow. Logical to assimilate. Manageable and appropriate.

But God’s grace? Anything but.

Examples? How much time do you have?

David the psalmist becomes David the voyeur, but by God’s grace becomes David the psalmist again.

The thief on the cross, hellbent and hung-out- to-die one minute, heaven-bound and smiling the next.

Story after story. Prayer after prayer. Surprise after surprise.

I challenge you to find one soul who came to God seeking grace and did not find it.  Find one person who came seeking a second chance and left with a stern lecture.

I dare you. Search.

You won’t find it.

Do you need God’s grace?

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