Life’S Like That: An Old Texan Looks at Life Volume Ii

By Jerry McKee Bullock

Lifes Like That was born when I was having trouble getting clients at the Family Counseling Center. That is a fancy name that came from my family counseling career. I thought I needed to get some ads in the local newspaper. That led to my meeting Mr Rowe Ray, the managing editor of the San Marcos Daily Record. I simply wanted to explore possibilities but ended with an invitation to write a weekly column for the newspaper.

I can honestly say I never broke my word on confidentiality; i.e., everything we talked about stayed in the Center, everything that is except the funny things. I was counseling with a game warden that told me about a lady who was losing a sheep a night to one old hungry coyote. Whenever the warden came out, she would start feeling sorry for the coyote and asked the warden not to shoot it. Finally she had five sheep left. She called the warden and once again told him she wasnt ready to have him hunt down the coyote. The warden looked at the little flock of sheep and said, Mrs. Jones, whatever you say, but weve only got five more days anyway. As you read this book there will be tears and sunshine. The good news is you dont have to sit down and read it all at once. Life Really Is Like That.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Nov 29, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477292365

Jerry McKee Bullock

Col Bullock is a native Texan born from two pioneer families dating to the Republic of Texas (1836–46). He grew up on the western plains of Texas during the triple influence of the dust bowl, the great depression and the onset of World War II. He spent 28 years in military service, retiring in 1981 as the Vice Commander of the Air Force Office of Security Police. As an only child of well-spoken and well-educated parents, at an early age he was comfortable in conversation with adults. Too young to be in World War II and in college through the Korean Crisis, he was nevertheless already in uniform through the ROTC programs at Sunset High School (Dallas), Texas Technological College and East Texas State University; his life work was set. After graduating from East Texas State University in 1953 and at the same time being commissioned a second lieutenant in the U S Air Force – all of which was followed by a wedding to the loveliest girl in the world, Lucille Young, in August 1953. As born-again Christians, their love for Christ is prominent in these articles. Answering God’s call to the ministry, the author was ordained a pastor long before he retired from the Air Force. In this book he shares with you the gleanings of 80 years. In his dash between birth and death he has written four books; served through the Cold War; saw the Berlin wall before and after it fell; served as a missile launch control officer on the Atlas ICBM; was executive director of a non-profit corporation; operated a business; had a family counseling service; wrote for and edited several journals; was director of human resources for a major corporation; and wrote about 1400 newspaper articles called Life’s Like That.

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© 2012 by Jerry McKee Bullock. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 02/27/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4772-9238-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-9237-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-9236-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012917090

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my wife, Lucille. She made it possible with her tireless typing, retyping, and critiquing the thirty years worth of work.

Acknowledgements

Thanks go to Mr. Rowe Ray, managing editor of the San Marcos Daily Record, for encouraging me to write these articles by providing me with the medium in which to write and being patience when I failed to meet deadlines.

I would be remiss if I did not thank those folks who encouraged me each time I felt I had exhausted all my ideas and was ready to quit writing the weekly column. It never failed that then someone would comment on how much they enjoyed reading the last column. So thank you, friends. You know who you are.

Testimonies

Reading Jerry Bullock is a wake up call to heed the past, present and future. His words spotlight wisdom and discernment of a balance of life. The Bible speaks to describe this talent: A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold and settings of silver.

. . . Allan Hamlin

Life lessons seldom come so beautifully and joyfully presented as in the writings of Jerry Bullock. For a treasure of wisdom and humor, grounded in biblical truth, you would be hard pressed to find a better guide for improving your attitude and direction for living your life!

. . . Fred Simmons

Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Testimonies

Passing Through a Dry Land

Serving Others Important

Veterans Day

Pornography

Self-identity—Bob Josephs

Liberty and Freedom

New Year—2012

Perfect Round of Golf

Palm Sunday—Dolorosa

Surprises

That Darned Computer

Mother’s Day

After 9/11

What It Takes to Make It Last

Truth vs. Lies

The Washington Monument

Parenting

Freedom of Religion

It Is Okay to Say No

Pastors

Get Involved

Valentine’s Day

Forgiveness… Love and Forgive

George Washington

Our Only Hope for Lasting Peace

The Price of Freedom

Just a Minute

Labor Day

Laughter—April Fool

Marriage

The Spirit Lives On

Remember the Alamo

Mothers Evolve

September 11, 2002

Honor the American Flag—2002

Old Time Radio

A Time of Victory

What Will Heaven Be Like?

Personality

Nothing Is Easy Anymore

Remember the Alamo

Victory or Death—March 2009

Second Hand Lion

Why Does God Let the Evil Prosper?

Setting Goals

Stockholm

The Story of Texas

What Day Is This?

Texas Independence Day

Telephones

The Tyranny of the Urgent … Are you in overtime?

No Fun in Flying Anymore

History Is Made Every Day

Easter

Control Your Tongue

Submit Yourselves One to Another

What Happened to Your Hair?

Hello. Is Anybody There?

Blue Dogs, Lap Dogs, and Lame Dogs

Growing Old Together—or Not

If I Make It Until June …

The Nicest Gifts Come Wrapped in Words

New Year

And It Came to Pass

The First Thanksgiving

Bill Stern, the Colgate Shave Cream Man

Give the Burnt Biscuits to Papa

Financial Planning

Consider the Snail

Retirement of a Warrior

Whatever Became of Sin?

The World in the Way

Vegetarian Lesson

Decisions—Think Twice

How To Be Happy

Humor Heals

Common Courtesies Ignored

Pinocchio

Praying the Hours

Hunter’s Time

Intentions

Truth

The Night Before Christmas

Pilgrims

Bailouts

Howdy with a Smile

What Have You Done with Your Hour?

Mothers Are Special People

Dogs and Cats

He Said He Would

To Vote/Not to Vote

Trust

Waiting Time

On Being a Father

Was Alexis de Tocqueville Correct?

Texas Independence Day—2011

America’s Problems

Sweet Talk vs. Growling

Take Time to Visit

Be a Fan

All Things Are Possible

Running for His Life

Who’s Getting Old?

New Year—2008

Father’s Day/July 4 Combination

Make a Difference

Robert E. Lee and MLK

July 4, 2008

Work Ethic Is Alive and Well

It’s a Bug’s Life

Good Friday

Wives Are a Special Lot

Growing Older

Fountain of Youth

Let God Take Control

Fire Insurance

The Gentle Click of Dominoes

Special Days

Hard Work

Being a Dad Is Serious Business

A Good Life

The Civil War in Prayer

Choices: Free Will or Not

God is Awesome

Membership Has Its Obligations

Find It in the Want Ads

What Time Is It?

Friends

Halloween

Celebrating Thanksgiving

A Christian Nation: Freedom of Religion

General John Flynn

Held Together by Things

After Thanksgiving

Time for a Reality Check

Darwin Awards

The Oschter Haws

Loch Ness Monster

Horse Sense

Ashamed of What We Say

Just Be Thankful

3rd Advent Sunday

50th Wedding Anniversary

A Plan to Trap Jesus

All the World’s a Stage

Bluegrass

Bob’s Story

Bravery

Christmas Phone Cards

Meredith’s Baptism July 2002

But As for Me and My Household

Car Back

Where the Pilgrims Stood July 4, 2000

Christmas 2004

Jay Leno Didn’t Say It, but He Should Have May 2008

July 4, 1999

Chronicles of Narnia

July 4, 1993

December 1994

Cats & St. Patrick’s Day

Cemeteries

Finishing the Job

Mother’s Day 2003

Katrina

Sitting on a Cactus Patty

Put Your Eyes on the Coach

My Mistakes

No Gaily Colored Easter Eggs

New Year’s Revolution 2001

Talk It Through

Texas Independence Day/National Pig Day

Texians and Tejanos

Thanksgiving

The War in Iraq

You Get What You Give

Keep Out: The Conspiracy

I Gave My Life for Thee

New Year Resolutions 2003

Why Mention War at Christmas Time?

Giving Thanks

Years of Religious Freedom 1999

Life’s Like That in Texas

Keep That Camel In Your Lane

Becoming a Parent

Our Loving Father

Silence Is Not Always Golden

Just Do It

Hate vs. Love

Give Thanks in All Things

He Who Has an Ear

No One Said Anything About Logic

Who Was Stephen F. Austin?

Epilogue

Passing Through a Dry Land

This week we stand between Father’s Day and the Fourth of July. My father raised me to believe in the 4th of July as a symbol of man’s never-ending quest for freedom. It is the essence of the Bill of Rights, which, it seems to me, may well be the focus of our thoughts on this weekend before Independence Day.

The Bill of Rights begins with the guarantee of freedom to say and to do almost anything to publicize your ideas. It guarantees a free and uncensored media. And there is the promise that the legislature would make no law that interferes with the free practice of one’s religious beliefs and finally the right to petition and expect to be heard.

I doubt that it ever crossed the minds of the founding fathers that the independent Supreme Court they had created to interpret the law would one day become a legislative body in its own right which would rule that burning our flag was a guaranteed freedom of speech but that saying a prayer to open a meeting of the city council was not.

One of our city fathers has petitioned to end the beginning of each council meeting with prayer. The Americans for Civil Liberties Union is on the job and telling us what we can and cannot do. I understand the rule in this regard. I would argue just that, it is a rule, not the law. There is no statute that makes a prayer a criminal act. The court has said you may have prayer but it should (or must) not be non-sectarian. By interpretation, sectarian means Christian or Judeo. It would not deny a Muslim (or a Hindu, Buddhist, or Wiccan) the right to pray—although each of these is as sectarian as is a Baptist, Lutheran or Methodist.

I am not a religious fundamentalist; I am an American. I love this country with a passion because it has for 233 years been the light of freedom in an oppressed world. We have not been perfect but, by and large, we have tried to be fair and to do what is right by all people. More and more I see those freedoms for which I served and fought eroding. I see the Bill of Rights becoming a Bill of Maybes.

Like Solomon in the scriptures we are passing through a dry land. Solomon heard from God and heeded his warning. It is our time to listen to the words of the Chronicles: Then the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: ‘I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land’ (2 Chronicles 7:12-14, NKJV).

We are coming into the land of pestilence and locusts. It is time to pray.

Serving Others Important

America was built on the precept of people helping other people. In pioneer days they built barns, planted crops, and herded and drove cattle to market—together.

They knew and depended on their neighbors. They asked very little, but everyone was willing to help so that no one suffered. J. Frank Dobie, the great Texas historian and storyteller, tells of the early days in Texas when it was unheard of for a man to go hungry. It was not considered stealing to take the meat of the range, regardless of brand, if there was need.

Today’s fast-paced industrial society does not allow us much time for the amenities of the last century. We often do not even know our neighbor’s name, must less his cares and needs.

Consequently, where does one turn when he is in trouble? Too often, there seems to be coldness, a non-caring attitude, wherever one turns. The store clerk has gone from a stance of The customer is always right to Don’t bother me with your problems.

Even the church which has the responsibility for ministering to (serving) the needs of people seems to have lost much of its earlier power. Remember that the church is we, you and me.

We have ceased to be servants, in order to try to become kings. You might say, No one likes to be a servant. Probably so—but in reality it is only by becoming a servant that one can achieve true greatness.

When one gives of himself, the reward is often beyond his imagination. The great Ford Motor Company empire was built on Henry Ford’s desire to serve people with cheap, dependable transportation. J.C. Penney built a mercantile empire on the desire to provide low-priced, good-quality merchandise. Thomas Alva Edison spent one of the most productive lives in American history because of his driving desire to serve people.

When American manufacturers (and their workers) lost that vision, they began to lose the very qualities that had made America great. Consider the automobile industry. The Japanese have captured the new car market to the extent they have because of their desire to serve.

Pat Robertson, president of the Christian Broadcasting Network, tells how American automobile manufacturers made the conscious decision to place their cars in the dealers’ showrooms and then take care of quality after the sale. They felt that was more economical than spending the time and effort to control quality at the factory. Many of us have experienced the effects of that decision.

This is not a buy-Japanese commercial. It is a lesson in humility to the mightiest nation on earth. It is a signal to all of us to reassess some basic values.

The result of our failure to be good neighbors, to see ourselves as servant-kings, is evident in every facet of American life. It is manifested in the unhappy housewife, the adolescent with behavior problems, and the dissatisfied husband.

In the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians he said that we are to consider everyone ahead of ourselves. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves (Philippians 2:23, NIV). When that happens, everyone becomes an immediate winner.

Veterans Day

What do you think of when you think of Veterans Day? To the historian it is commemorating the day that brought an end to the First World War. Germany and her allies signed the Armistice in a railroad car in Versailles, France, and the war to end all wars came to an end. But, alas, it did not end all wars. In a very real sense it did not even end the war it purported to end.

There has hardly been a time since the first English ships landed on the coast of the New World that the inhabitants of the New World have not been in a state of war. Let me give you some examples. As early as 1675 American colonists participated in the war that history calls King Philip’s War. In 1689 it was King William’s War. In 1702 it was Queen Anne’s War, also known as the War of Spanish Succession. In 1744 it was King George’s War. In 1756 the colonists fought the French and Indian War. Then in 1775 the American Revolution began.

I would say that getting rid of the kings might have been a really good idea, but it did not stop the wars. I could go on with new wars in 1798, 1801, 1812, 1813, 1814, 1836, 1846, 1861, and 1898. In the almost 400 years since that first war the longest period of peace was the 31 years between World War I and World War II. It has always been the soldier who paid the heaviest price for our freedom.

To the Veteran… ah, yes, after all, it is Veterans Day. What does it mean to the men and women who fought the wars for freedom? There aren’t many who were around in 1918 and those that are usually don’t do much parading. Those who paid the price in WW II are dying at the rate of several thousand per day. Korea is called the forgotten war and Vietnam, the war everyone wants to forget. The little wars, Haiti, Somalia, Panama and the like, hardly get a stir. Desert Storm was different in our recent conflicts; we won that one hands down. So how does the veteran feel about Veterans Day?

The American veteran has not always been honored. The doughboys of World War I faced armed troops on the streets of Washington, DC, when they asked for their bonus. The Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen returning from Vietnam met hecklers and even violence on the streets of their hometown when they came home from war.

Rudyard Kipling knew the face of war and he knew the soldier. One verse from his poem, Tommy, tells it well:

• You talk o’ better food for us*, an’ schools, an’ fires, an’ all: We’ll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational. Don’t mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face. The Widow’s Uniform is not the soldier-man’s disgrace. For it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ Chuck him out, the brute! But it’s Saviour of ‘is country when the guns begin to shoot; An’ it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ anything you please; An’ Tommy ain’t a bloomin’ fool—you bet that Tommy sees!

*The British soldier

My last Air Force boss, Brig Gen Brooksher, had an interesting way of differentiating between the civilian career and that of a soldier. He would say simply they don’t ask civilians to die for a piece of the rock. That’s what Veterans Day is all about. It simply gives us the opportunity to say thank you to those that have served and were willing to give their last full measure of devotion to maintain our freedoms.

Veterans Day gives us the opportunity to say thank you to the folks who risked their lives, lost years of time with their family, and willingly went into harm’s way for us. It is an opportunity to teach our children that freedom is not free. Make Veterans proud by saying thank you for their years of service.

Pornography

The world has changed a lot since Uncle Nathan, my circuit-riding uncle, was on the scene. He preached in West Texas in the latter part of the 19th and early 20th centuries. About the top of the line in technology in his lifetime were the electric light, telegraph, automobile, and a barnstormer in a Jenny.

There was the time he, Aunt Maggie, and Cousin Charles went to Dallas. They went into the lobby of the Adolphus Hotel all awestruck with amazement. The first thing Uncle Nathan saw was an elderly lady walk into a little room and the doors closed behind her. The gauge above the door moved slowly clockwise, stopped at the number 7, and then came down again and the door opened to allow a beautiful young lady to emerge. Nearly speechless, Uncle Nathan told Charles to go get his ma; he had found a youth machine.

Things are very different as we near the end of the 20th century. The world has gotten increasingly smaller. We have become immersed in information. Bill Gates told Congress that it is impossible to have a monopoly because the hottest item going today will have spent itself and disappeared in a few months.

The computer and the Internet have added a new and, in many ways, wonderful dimension to our lives. The Internet and its possibilities fascinate me. In just a few years it has changed the way America does business. I am convinced there is not an idea known to men that cannot be tapped on the Net someplace.

As with everything it is a mixed blessing. Internet access belongs in the public library. It is the world’s largest book with every page and every chapter easily accessible at the click of a mouse. As with any great library there are the good and the bad, the classic and the dime novel, the world’s largest collection of books and the filthiest collection of XXX porn.

The Supreme Court has ruled that because we are an open society and believe that everyone has a right to free speech we cannot bar the objectionable material from the book shelves. In the case of the Internet I doubt that is possible even if there were a legal basis. It is, after all, worldwide with no off and on switch.

The Internet is like a library in another way. You see only the books you seek. I have used the Internet for years and I have never accidentally (or on purpose) found myself in a XXX bookstore. I think it is well for public libraries to protect the young with blocking software on their computers with Internet access. It would behoove those with computers and young children at home to do the same.

However, I object to the euphemism that calls this pornography adult material. I wonder how many people would use a computer with a notice: This computer is for viewing pornography. Not many, I suspect. At least it would be honest. I resent being categorized as an adult and, therefore, I am one who seeks lewd and lascivious erotica and perverse pleasure. Such things reflect neither adulthood nor the remotest idea of maturity. If we would call it what it is, on the Internet or on the street corner, a lot of it would go away.

Self-identity—Bob Josephs

A fellow who lived in Brooklyn, New York, was amazed and a little disturbed to find that he was only one of many Bob Josephs listed in the telephone directory. It seemed to steal his identity. Rather than let it upset him, however, Bob went down the list and invited each of them to a Bob Josephs picnic. About 35 Bob Josephs showed up. They held a one-mile Bob-a-thon, bobbed for apples, ate bob-b-que on shish-ka-bob, sang the Beach Boys song, Bob-a-ra Ann, and formed the BJSDABJE (Bob Joseph Society for the Discovery and Advancement of Bob Josephs Everywhere). All were amazed to discover that, while they shared the same name, they represented 35 individuals with 35 personalities—all different.

This amazing discovery is called self-identity. We all have one, but too often it becomes so subordinated we can hardly find it. As a minister, when I perform a wedding ceremony and the couple wants to have a unity candle, I ask them not to blow out the two candles from which the large candle of unity is lit. There is a real and symbolic lesson to be learned from this simple illustration. While it is true in a very significant way that the two become one flesh in God’s sight and in a real physical way, it is equally true that they each retain a very real individuality, one that should not be ignored by the other and one that must not be subordinated.

Eleanore Nutt, the wife of the late Grady Nutt, says that the early years of their marriage were without argument because she and Grady both loved Grady. That suborning of Eleanore’s self-image came close to destroying their marriage. I have counseled with many couples whose marriages were in trouble over this very issue. It is wrong for an individual to so hide in the light of another that there is no light shining from his or her own life.

Each of us is given gifts from God that are to be used for mankind and to God’s glory. Lucille is a wonderful wife but she cannot do my task, nor can I do hers. It is wrong for me to try to put her in a box or in my shadow. Our task is to support each other and seek to lift each other to the very heights that our talents can reach in His service.

One of Grady Nutt’s routines is called the Gospel According to Cinderella. The profound moral that Grady gives to that familiar story is a simple one. Cinderella was not a char girl who became a princess; she was a princess waiting to be found. God has given us talents and gifts that are our potential. What we do with them is up to us. Do not expect a fairy godmother to come along and change your personality or your pumpkin into a coach.

Paul wrote to Timothy: Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life` (I Timothy. 6:18-19, NIV).

Liberty and Freedom

I think most would agree we live in perilous and trying times. While the world seems to be moving toward a semblance of stability, our own country suffers from increasing domestic violence, loss of trust in public officials, and deterioration of institutions that have always been the bulwark of our society.

In spite of revisionist historians who would destroy many of our national heroes we are a people with a heritage of Judeo-Christian moral principles. Our founding fathers may not all have been angels and none were perfect but I think most of us would put them up against present leadership for moral courage and integrity any day.

One who would stand up for Christian morality is labeled a bigot, a fanatic, or worse; yet, if it had not been for men of great personal faith we would not have a country today. From the cross of Calvary to modern America the fundamental principles of our nation have been paid for with the blood of martyrs and brave men willing to give all for Liberty and Freedom.

Yesterday I turned on my laptop computer and with the click of a mouse’s tail brought up on the screen my electronic Bible. With ease and speed beyond belief I was able to go to any chapter or verse of any book. If I wanted to know how many times a certain word is used in the King James Version the program counted them for me. If I wanted to compare the scripture with one of several other versions I did so just as easily. With another click I was able to study the maps of Bible lands. It is an electronic miracle.

I wonder if life has not become too easy for the Christian. I look at my bookshelf and see a dozen Bibles… different versions, different translations, all in easy reach and at very little personal cost. I think of men like John Wycliffe who gave everything he had to give Englishmen the first opportunity to read the Bible for themselves, in their own language. His 14th century fight against the religious hierarchy resulted in his being declared a heretic after his death. Our right to read the scriptures was purchased at a high price.

What is the price of our continued liberty today? I am afraid it is very much the same as it was in the days of John Wycliffe. Throughout Europe we have seen men and women who wanted freedom and sought liberty lay down their lives to gain what we have had and are slowly giving away.

The price of liberty has not changed. The right to worship God has been dearly won. God forgive us if we allow it to be so easily taken away. The virtue of tolerance is no virtue at all when the thing tolerated is evil. When political correctness runs counter to God’s clear and revealed wisdom, Christians need to count the cost and stand for right—even when the cost may once again be counted in the blood of martyrs.

New Year—2012

As I began thinking about today’s essay I sensed a presence of the ghost of New Years past. I’m at the age of if I make it til… So, if I make it ‘til Sunday I will have been around for eighty changes of the calendar.

The first New Year I remember vividly was my tenth—1942. December 1941 had plunged America headlong into the Second World War of the 20th century. The year before we had taken a vacation to California. In Los Angeles there was a large department store named Bullock’s. My Dad stopped and took a picture of a billboard on the highway that said, Bullock’s Welcomes You to Los Angeles.’ I still have the picture. When we got home Dad had a photographer friend take the picture and make it read Bullocks, welcome to Los Angeles."

The friend we were visiting in San Bernardino was a veteran of the First World War. He had been gassed and still suffered from his injuries. I remember his conversations with my father as they sat and listened to the radio filled with news of Hitler’s drive into Poland. I did not really know what war was and had never seen a soldier in uniform or talked to someone who had been in one.

My, how that changed in the year following the attack on Pearl Harbor. My hometown of Lubbock, Texas, suddenly became a military town with two major Army Air Corps bases, one on each side of town.

New Years 1943 and 44 we lived in Ranger, Texas. Dad ran a National Youth Administration project training young men and women in the skills that were essential to the production of war materials. Many of the graduates went to work building bombers in Ft Worth.

New Year 1945… the war was over. James and Herman, two of my cousins, came home; another cousin, Conrad, gave his life for freedom on Iwo Jima. Things really began to happen then. The men came home… most of them. In the excitement at the end of rationing, new cars, and new consumer goods folks stopped thinking much about the 400,000 American Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen who did not come back.

New Year 1960… I had graduated from college in 1953 with a commission as a second lieutenant in the Air Force. In 1954, I came on active duty and by New Year 1960 I had just pinned on my captain’s insignia… I was on my way to Korea for a long 13 months.

That was my first war. There was no fighting in Korea in 1960 but tensions remained high. During that year the strongman president of South Korea, Syngman Rhee, was overthrown. Many people even today do not realize that the Korean War is not over. It is just an old-fashioned standoff on an imaginary line between north and south,

New Year 1969. After two and a half years in Turkey, my next assignment was Vietnam. In August 1968 I arrived in Saigon to be stationed at 7th Air Force Headquarters. Because of a project I was responsible for, I returned to the States for a meeting at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, on the 19th of December. I had flown 13,000 miles to attend a one-day meeting. That night I was in Dallas and able to be home for Christmas. I had two New Year Days that year by leaving California after mid-night on December 31 and crossing the International Date Line.

Now we are coming upon New Year present. There are clouds that surround this New Year: a presidential election, financial worries and continued strife in southwest Asia. Yet behind every cloud there is sunshine. God only knows what this New Year will bring. We all can pray for peace and keep our nation strong.

Life’s like that and I wish you all a happy New Year.

Perfect Round of Golf

Golf is, at the same time, a sport of consummate skill and ultimate frustration. Two Irishmen from Allentown, Pennsylvania, Kelly and O’Keefe, were rivals in business and on the links. Almost no one would play with them because of the ferocious arguments in which they were often engaged. As a matter of fact, it came to the point they almost quit playing each other. Agreeing to one more try, they covenanted to play the entire eighteen holes without a word between them. All went well until the sixteenth hole. Kelly walked ahead and stood by the ball on the hair of the green. O’Keefe dejectedly stepped down to the ball in the sand trap. Sand flew in every direction as O’Keefe took three strokes, only to see the ball finally fly over the green and into the trap on the other side.

O’Keefe, said Kelly, do ye moind if I say just a wee word or two?

What is it? scowled O’Keefe.

Well, said Kelly, I’d not be for ruinin’ your day, lad, but you’re playin’ my ball.

Most of us have had days like that. We work hard and at the end of the day wonder if we have not been playing someone else’s ball. Many times it seems that the easiest thing to do would be just to give up and quit.

One man who we all would agree knows something about golf is a fellow named Arnold Palmer. Arnold was asked one time how he handled the thought of diminishing skills as he got older. I liked his answer and want to share it with you.

Well, I suppose the greatest thought is ‘remember when I hit that shot at the 72nd hole in the U.S. Open?’ or ‘Gee, wasn’t that a great shot at Augusta in 1962?’ or some other ‘remember this’ and ‘remember that .’ The only thing I can say about that is that it is better to be able to remember than not to have anything to remember. No matter how old I get I still look forward to the perfect round of golf. It may come after death but I always feel like it’s going to come’—very drive in the fairway, every shot on the green and one putt. I think that’s kind of what life is all about. When you stop looking forward and start looking backward too much, you’re in serious trouble.

The Christian has so much more to look forward to than to hope in eternity for a perfect round of golf, so much so that the Apostle Paul would say to die he counted gain because he would be in the very presence of God. Paul knew, however,