GOOD FOLKS:
We don't usually eat breakfast out, but last week Yvette had to get a blood test and you know how that goes. No food or drink after midnight. So, we stopped at the Triple D Diner (formerly Toys). We placed our order, the food arrived along with the tab. We had nearly finished when the waitress came over and picked up the tab and took it to the register. She returned and said: "The man with the orange jacket, who just left, paid for your breakfast. He does this all the time." Here's a Good Folk who is happy and enjoys what he is doing anonymously. As Paul Harvey would say: "Now for the rest of the story": This is the third time this happened to us during the last year. We were in Cracker Barrel one evening and an anonymous party bought our dinner; another evening it was at the Gondola Restaurant. I was not wearing anything that indicated I was a veteran either, so it couldn't have been that. Just in the event this might be someone who reads what I write: "Thank You".
This started me thinking about all the wonderful Good Folks we have met since moving from New Jersey 26 years ago. I hesitate to select anyone in particular because every one deserves our appreciation but there are a couple I would like to comment on. One that came to mind immediately was Butch Burgess. Butch recently retired after 16 years as Sheriff of Cumberland County. Butch weighs in somewhere between 499 and 500 pounds. His body weight is around 250 pounds and he has a 250 pound heart to match it. Crossville is a beautiful little city located in a beautiful part of Tennessee. Unfortunately, it is also the center for many methamphetamine labs in private homes, often occupied with small children and babies. In such cases, the children are removed immediately, wrapped in clean blankets brought in by the police and taken to social services.
The children are bathed and outfitted in new garments, often provided by Butch and his wife, Vickie. The couple often keep some children in their home until a suitable location is found.
Some 15 or so years back, the Crossville Carving Cub invited Butch to speak at one of our monthly meetings. He mentioned that his dream was to have a Halfway House where these Meth children could be housed and taken care of until a suitable home was found for them. We decided we would carve a hundred Snowman Christmas Tree ornaments as a Club project. We did and the Hallmark Card Shop agreed to handle the sale of the ornaments for $10.00 each. In no time they were sold and we invited Butch back to present to him a check for $1000.00. Then, a remarkable thing happened. Butch told us that he needed exactly that mount to close on a house the next day that would turn out to be the House of Hope. He continued that he did not know where he was going to get that amount of money so it was like Dollars from Heaven. And, I know it was exactly that.
Another couple was Sam and Ethel Pugh. The Pughs were one of the first Good Folks we met when moving to Mayland. In their younger years they took in a number of foster children. Ethel related the following story to me: One of their charges was a three-year old girl and her brother, Jack. Jack was a crawler and he loved to open the lower kitchen cupboard doors and pull all the pots and pans out into the middle of the room. One day when Ethel was preoccupied with the girl, Jack was up to his usual pastime and when Ethel and the little girl returned, she said to the little girl: "What are we going to do with Jack?" The reply was: "We'll just have to keep him and love him." And, that's what they did, of course.
Another Good Folk we met before even coming to Crossville was Boyd Raper. If it wasn't for Boyd, we may never have moved to Crossville. We had purchased our previous Tennessee home in Mayland, thinking we might some day retire and move here. We were not yet ready, so we asked Mr. Raper if he would handle the rental. He agreed, but after looking at the property, he said he would have no problem renting it, but anyone he rented it to would destroy it, and he didn't want that responsibility on his shoulders. We agreed and decided we would pack up and move down as soon as possible. Who knows where we would have ended up if that decision had not been made. I know I would have missed one of he greatest joys in my life. There is no doubt that my Sheltering Angel was looking after me, as She has done during my lifetime.
I don't know how many people read what I write. It's not important. I write for my own elucidation and, it keeps me out of the barrooms. Talking about that, many years ago, before your time, there was a men's, magazine called True. In one of the editions there was a cartoon featuring two fishing buddies, in a boat, drinking beer. A case of beer was on the middle seat, and their fishing poles hanging languidly over the side. Now, that's the picture of two true fishermen. The caption, below the cartoon, read: "I went through ten doctors before I found one with the right prescription". This is important because a few days ago, the exact same thing happened to me. How lucky can one get. Only the Shadow knows.
I got a little off-subject there so, I must be running out of space and will continue with Good Folks a bit later. (Copyright 2014-Andrew M. Dolan)
Friday, October 17, 2014
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Nomad News-Vol.5-No.110
TIME FOR THE BLACK-ROBE REGIMENT TO FIGHT BACK:
Black-Robe Regiment was the name the British gave to the courageous and patriotic American clergy during the early days of the Republic's founding. Every Sunday they would stand in their pulpits wearing the long black clerical robes of that era and preach the word of God without fear. They would tell their congregations who they should or should not vote for. They would preach on current topics and explain their importance in the founding of the new nation, and above all, they would preach on the responsibility of the public to vote, because in order to have a good government there was a need for good citizens.
A notable patriot-pastor of the day was Pastor John Muhlenberg. From the pulpit of his church in Woodstock, Virginia, he would preach the word of God and, when finished, hang up his black robe to reveal the uniform of an officer in the 8th Virginia Regiment and one of General George Washington's most trusted officers. In one of Pastor Muhlenberg's famous sermons, he finished with these words: "But there is also a time to fight, and that time has now come."
" And the time has now come for today's Black-robe Regiments "to embrace the responsibilities that God has given them related to the nation and its culture, to refuse the current trend of compartmentalization and reclaim the extensive role that He has ordained for them." The last two lines are from the Black-robe Regiment website. Who will stand with Pastor Muhlenberg and say "the time has now come".
On November 4 we will be electing all 435 members of the House of Representatives and 33 Senators.
It is imperative that the Republicans hold on to control of the House and elect 6 more Republican senators to get control of the Senate. This may be the last chance we get to save America by putting the reins on Obama. In Tennessee, Lamar Alexander has a challenger. In the Primary Election it was "Joe Carr, not Lamar". Unfortunately, Carr could not compete with Lamar's warchest and Alexander was selected as the Republican candidate. Like me, whether you like Lamar or not, he has to be reelected. Don't stay home. This election is critical, as are the rest. If you live in a state where the Democrat is being challenged by a Republican, vote for the challenger. It's critical.
Remember, "Freedom isn't free. Freedom is for those who are willing to fight and die for it."
(Copyright 2014 - Andrew M. Dolan)
Black-Robe Regiment was the name the British gave to the courageous and patriotic American clergy during the early days of the Republic's founding. Every Sunday they would stand in their pulpits wearing the long black clerical robes of that era and preach the word of God without fear. They would tell their congregations who they should or should not vote for. They would preach on current topics and explain their importance in the founding of the new nation, and above all, they would preach on the responsibility of the public to vote, because in order to have a good government there was a need for good citizens.
A notable patriot-pastor of the day was Pastor John Muhlenberg. From the pulpit of his church in Woodstock, Virginia, he would preach the word of God and, when finished, hang up his black robe to reveal the uniform of an officer in the 8th Virginia Regiment and one of General George Washington's most trusted officers. In one of Pastor Muhlenberg's famous sermons, he finished with these words: "But there is also a time to fight, and that time has now come."
" And the time has now come for today's Black-robe Regiments "to embrace the responsibilities that God has given them related to the nation and its culture, to refuse the current trend of compartmentalization and reclaim the extensive role that He has ordained for them." The last two lines are from the Black-robe Regiment website. Who will stand with Pastor Muhlenberg and say "the time has now come".
On November 4 we will be electing all 435 members of the House of Representatives and 33 Senators.
It is imperative that the Republicans hold on to control of the House and elect 6 more Republican senators to get control of the Senate. This may be the last chance we get to save America by putting the reins on Obama. In Tennessee, Lamar Alexander has a challenger. In the Primary Election it was "Joe Carr, not Lamar". Unfortunately, Carr could not compete with Lamar's warchest and Alexander was selected as the Republican candidate. Like me, whether you like Lamar or not, he has to be reelected. Don't stay home. This election is critical, as are the rest. If you live in a state where the Democrat is being challenged by a Republican, vote for the challenger. It's critical.
Remember, "Freedom isn't free. Freedom is for those who are willing to fight and die for it."
(Copyright 2014 - Andrew M. Dolan)
Thursday, October 2, 2014
omad News-Vol.5-No.109
CLOSE CALL ABOARD THE "SNEAKY PETE":
After the war, my friend Jules "Pete" verga invited me to go fishing with him on his boat that he kept docked in Barnegat Light on Long Beach Island. We fished off-shore for Bluefish and caught quite a few. I had never salt water fished and became an instant addict. I became a weekend resident aboard the Sneaky Pete, the name of Pete's boat. We usually passed our days fishing and our evenings at Kubels Bar.
One day in late October, Pete and I were trolling for Striped Bass inside the breaker line along Island Beach, the island just north of Long Beach Island, NJ. The sun was warm for the season, the air calm, and the sea relatively calm. Pete had built an elevated seat for himself on the starboard side where he could control the throttle and steering wheel with his feet so he could cast and fish. All of a sudden, Pete hollered “Hang On” as an unexpected large wave came out of nowhere and broke against the starboard side of the boat and nearly beached her. The following happened in a second or two. Instead of standing on the deck, I was crouched down on the inside gunwale and staring at a startled surf fisherman on the beach. Pete’s legs were dangling and the Sneaky Pete was on her beam end. I figured the boat was going to capsize and I had two choices: jump out and hoped I would clear the boat or stay where I was and let her drop over me. I opted for the second one and then she righted herself. Fortunately, the wave, seeming to atone for its action, carried us out again into deeper water as it receded, leaving us quite shaken. This Sneaky Pete was a Carl Adams 26-foot sea skiff. Carl Adams was a highly respected boat builder on the Jersey coast. We decided the design of the boat saved the day from a calamity.
*for you land lubbers, starboard is the right side of a boat and port is the left side. Gunwale (pronounced gunnel) is the the side of a boat. (Copyright 2014 - Andrew M. Dolan)
After the war, my friend Jules "Pete" verga invited me to go fishing with him on his boat that he kept docked in Barnegat Light on Long Beach Island. We fished off-shore for Bluefish and caught quite a few. I had never salt water fished and became an instant addict. I became a weekend resident aboard the Sneaky Pete, the name of Pete's boat. We usually passed our days fishing and our evenings at Kubels Bar.
One day in late October, Pete and I were trolling for Striped Bass inside the breaker line along Island Beach, the island just north of Long Beach Island, NJ. The sun was warm for the season, the air calm, and the sea relatively calm. Pete had built an elevated seat for himself on the starboard side where he could control the throttle and steering wheel with his feet so he could cast and fish. All of a sudden, Pete hollered “Hang On” as an unexpected large wave came out of nowhere and broke against the starboard side of the boat and nearly beached her. The following happened in a second or two. Instead of standing on the deck, I was crouched down on the inside gunwale and staring at a startled surf fisherman on the beach. Pete’s legs were dangling and the Sneaky Pete was on her beam end. I figured the boat was going to capsize and I had two choices: jump out and hoped I would clear the boat or stay where I was and let her drop over me. I opted for the second one and then she righted herself. Fortunately, the wave, seeming to atone for its action, carried us out again into deeper water as it receded, leaving us quite shaken. This Sneaky Pete was a Carl Adams 26-foot sea skiff. Carl Adams was a highly respected boat builder on the Jersey coast. We decided the design of the boat saved the day from a calamity.
*for you land lubbers, starboard is the right side of a boat and port is the left side. Gunwale (pronounced gunnel) is the the side of a boat. (Copyright 2014 - Andrew M. Dolan)
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