Part Four: I'm A Cowboy

As I stated in his first post, once weekly I plan to feature a guest writer, my husband. He has been painstakingly writing down the stories of his childhood to share them with his 9 year old niece. I wanted her to know what kind of childhood her beloved Uncle was able to enjoy. While enjoying them myself I thought these are so much fun to read, why not share them? So here are the short missives of his memories of growing up in wilds of Florida during the 1950's and 1960's. They're packed with misadventures, romance, and all the confusing things that can happen in our youth. Even though his hometown of Jacksonville is a big city with over a million residents now, during his childhood it was several small communities surrounded by countryside.

This is his story.

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I'm A Cowboy
by Steven R. Hudson

On a summer day a truck pulling a small horse trailer parked on our street.

The driver got out and began knocking on doors. This was not at all unusual in those days for door to door salesmen were common. Very few mothers worked outside the home and selling vacuum cleaners, encyclopedias, Bibles and even cleaning brushes could be a lucrative enterprise for a man with a gift for gab. When the man arrived at our door we learned that he was a photographer and in the trailer was a pony and cowboy costumes. For a small fee you could put on the cowboy garb and get your picture taken on the pony. I was so excited when Mom said yes to my pleas. When the man helped me into the saddle I was ready to ride off with Roy Rogers, all I needed was a pair of six-shooters and a rifle in the saddle scabbard.

The creek became a favorite spot for us boys. We would cross Beach Blvd and follow a narrow muddy path along it's banks. Usually we were there to hunt frogs which dove into the creek by the hundreds as we disturbed them from their hiding places along the bank. Frog gigs were fashioned from Maple limbs, sharpened with a pocket knife and then hardened in a fire. Sometimes we would gig a few unlucky frogs but we tired of this when we could not convince any of our moms to fry up the legs for us. Baloney sandwiches would have to do for lunch. The creek was a truly beautiful place. The water ran clear when it hadn't been muddied by heavy rain. The banks were lined with huge old trees. Their roots were exposed along the foot path and formed a maze that we had to step over as we walked. Moss grew heavily upon overhanging limbs forming a drapery that hinted of danger and mystery in our young minds. Bees and butterflies swarmed on the purple flowers of Pickerel Weed that grew thick in the shallows and the buzz of Katydids and Cicadas filled the air, heavy with summer humidity. We walked along barefoot, a pair of shorts or cut offs and sometimes a T-shirt, our feet calloused and hard and our skinny bodies brown as bugs. A scene right out of "Lord of the Flies".

My first encounter with a venomous snake happened while on a minnow and crawfish hunt with friend Peanut. There was a pair of fancy brick gates on Huffman Blvd that marked the entrance to Center Park and a large pool of water at the culvert here that always held big crawfish. As we neared the gates we could see a large banded and heavy bodied snake at the base of one gate. It was a Canebreak (coastal Timber) Rattlesnake. As we approached it started rattling a loud buzz like escaping steam and reared it's head defensively, warning us to come no closer. We didn't. We were awe struck at the size and power of this beautiful reptile. Peanut climbed up on the gate so he could get a better look. I stood where I was and after a while the snake crawled away. We talked about that snake for days and it grew bigger and more fearsome with every telling.

Two Minutes With The Bible ~ Glorious Deliverance

Glorious Deliverance 

by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

Berean Bible Society
Printer Friendly Version

In I Thes. 1:10, the Apostle Paul, by divine inspiration, assures believers that the Lord Jesus Christ has “delivered us from the wrath to come.” He refers, of course, to deliverance from the penalty of sin. But in other passages he declares that we are also delivered from the power of sin.

In Col. 1:12,13, for example, he gives thanks to God “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son.”

This deliverance, and the glory of our heavenly position and blessings in Christ, we may enjoy experientially now, by grace. Rom. 6:14 says: “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law but under grace.” This does not mean that it is not possible for the believer to sin, but rather that it is possible, in any situation, not to sin. Thus the same passage in Romans goes on to say that we should not yield ourselves as servants to sin, but to God, who, in grace has broken sin’s power over us.

Finally, the believer in Christ will one day be delivered even from the presence of sin, for at our Lord’s coming for us “we shall all be changed” (I Cor. 15:51). Believers should long for Christ’s coming for them, not merely because these bodies of humiliation will then be glorified, but because from that moment on they shall never again be tempted or defiled by sin. What a change that will be!

In II Cor. 1:10 the Apostle includes all three tenses of the believer’s deliverance. Here he tells how God has “delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver, in whom we trust that He will yet deliver us.” This is why he could write to the Philippians about his confidence that “He who hath begun a good work in you will perform [complete] it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6).

Some may not feel the need of deliverance now, but we all need deliverance from sin and its results. If you have not yet experienced this deliverance, why not place your trust in Christ who died to “deliver us from the wrath to come.”

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To the Reader:
Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:

"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."

To this we would add that the same is true for the articles written by others that we continue to add, on a regular basis, to the Two Minutes library. We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.

Do Do Do, Lookin' Out My Back Door #sunset

Our sunset this evening.

The photo doesn't really do it justice. It was quite stunning.

Today was especially lovely for a February.

It graced us with cool, gentle breezes,

bright sunshine and soft puffy clouds.

I made it a day of outside work.

Have a happy weekend folks.

And ...

Funny Friday ~ Affordable Golf Club Act

 Affordable Golf Club Act

        The administration has passed a new law titled: "The Affordable Golf Club Act" declaring that every citizen must purchase a new set of golf clubs, before April 2014.

       

        This law has been passed, because until now, typically only the wealthy or financially responsible have been able to purchase new golf clubs without the assistance of their government.

       

        This new law ensures that every American can now have "affordable" golf clubs of their own, because everyone is equally entitled to new golf clubs. And if you want to keep the golf clubs you already have, you can do that, until April 2014.

       

        These affordable golf clubs will cost from $1,000 to $3,000 each depending on your income level. This does not include taxes, pull cart, electric cart fees, green fees, membership fees, balls, tees, gloves, range finders, storage fees, maintenance, or repair costs.

       

        In order to make sure everyone participates and purchases their affordable golf clubs, the costs of owning golf clubs will increase 50% each year up to 400% by year 2018. This way, wealthy people will pay more for something that other people don't want or can't afford to maintain. People who can't afford or refuse to maintain their golf clubs will be fined. However, children under the age of 26 can use their parents’ golf clubs until they turn 27 at which time they must purchase their own golf clubs.

       

        If you don't want or think you don't need golf clubs, you are still required to buy them. If you refuse to buy a set or make claims that you can't afford them, you will be fined $800 until you purchase a set or face imprisonment.

       

        People living in farming areas, ghettos, inner cities, Wyoming, or areas with no access to golf courses are not exempt. Age, health, prior experience or no experience is not acceptable excuses for not buying, maintaining, and using your golf clubs.

       

        A government review board that doesn't know the difference between a hook and a slice will decide everything. This includes when, where, how often and for what purposes you can use your golf clubs along with how many people can ride in your golf cart. The board will also determine if participants are too old or not healthy enough to be able to use their golf clubs.

       

        They will also decide if your golf clubs have outlived their usefulness or if you must purchase specific accessories, like a range finder with slope adjustment or a newer and more expensive set of golf clubs.

       

        Those that can afford memberships at expensive golf country clubs will be required to buy memberships. If you are already a member and you like your membership you can keep your membership. After April 2014, a different country club will be assigned for you to purchase a membership.

       

        Government officials are exempt from this new law as they and their families and some of their friends and a few of their friends can obtain golf clubs at taxpayers expense.

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A Friendly Reminder

It’s time to file your income tax, so pull out the cancelled checks and the shoe box full of receipts and get started.

There is some good news this year.

The government won't tax hen’s teeth and fish hair. 

Aren’t we lucky?

Our chickens are toothless and our fish are bald.

This Day Has Just Flu By

I'm down with a mild 24 hour something ...

or other.

Poor Hubby had it first, now me.

I keep dozing off in front of the computer.

What treatments do you recommend when you have the flu?

Opps, gotta run ... *lol*

Light Of My Life

There are so many things that are a beacon of hope to humanity, lights of our lives, if you will: friends, family, material possesions, memories, etc. God understands this since "... we are dust" [Psalms 103:14] and cannot understand all spiritual things yet. I'm thankful He forgives me of my weaknesses. It's natural to want to cling to what we are familiar with. I have my own self-made comfort zones too. One of them is financial needs.

The meeting with Financial Guy went really well. Better than I expected. I think the dangerous time for us has been averted. Hubby and I prayed before going into the meeting, seeking further guidance from the Holy Spirit who loves us best. The true Light of our lives. Our blessed Savior and He was there. And I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all the prayers of all you dearly, beloved saints. For you are saints. Anyone who believes in Jesus Christ is called a saint. Whenever there is a concern and believing Christians all put their spiritual “shoulders to the wheel”, things get moved. Last night I could feel your love and concern about the meeting. God answers prayer. There was peace, a calm and an understanding which we where lacking before. Thank you so much for adding your "shoulder" to our burden!

The good news made me so lite hearted that it definately called for a ride. Yucky weather be darned. We hopped on the metal steeds and galloped off into the sunset. Well, Ok, it’s too overcast to tell but there will be a sunset. *lol*

 Hubby with his 2013 Honda CB1100.

He said all it lacks is a windshield.

My 2012 Suzuki V-Strom DL650.

The most perfect motorcycle ever! 

(Not that I'm prejudiced or anything.) *lol*

We where having such a good time that even the locals where curious about our rides.

Hey, get your own wheels guys.
Silly cows. Always trying to horn in. 

Moooving right along.

Something I've done around the house lately is I've added multiple strings of LED Christmas lights. They are very inexpensive (these where only $4 a 100 light string), burn cool, use very little electricity and even though it’s a soft glow, brighten up the place.

There’s a string on each of our two back decks, one in the guest bedroom and one in my office. I think I will also add a string in the carport. Later. I’m too tired to continue any further. Stress takes a lot out of one, doesn't it.

So my hope is that every one is having a funfilled and non-stressful week. Thank you again for all the prayers and words of encouragement. And keep looking up!

Part Three: 11935 Cornelius Street

As I stated in his first post, once weekly I plan to feature a guest writer, my husband. He has been painstakingly writing down the stories of his childhood to share them with his 9 year old niece. I wanted her to know what kind of childhood her beloved Uncle was able to enjoy. While enjoying them myself I thought these are so much fun to read, why not share them? So here are the short missives of his memories of growing up in wilds of Florida during the 1950's and 1960's. They're packed with misadventures, romance, and all the confusing things that can happen in our youth. Even though his hometown of Jacksonville is a big city with over a million residents now, during his childhood it was several small communities surrounded by countryside. 

This is his story.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

11935 Cornelius Street

by Steven R. Hudson

Our house in Center Park, like most Florida homes then, was concrete block with three small bedrooms and one bath. Linoleum covered the floors throughout and the walls were rough textured plaster that "sweated" when the seasons changed. There were no trees in our yard which appeared barren except for the plugs of St. Augustine grass that gave a strange polka dot effect. It rained every afternoon in those times, or it seemed so, and the little plugs of grass sent out their "tentacles" and quickly produced a carpet of green, broken only by patches of white flowered clover. There was a large vacant lot behind the house with an ancient Long-leaf Pine on the lot's east side. We had no air conditioner to counter summer's heat but winter was made bearable by an oil fired space heater. I remember how happy we were to have our own home. Life was good.

I turned six that spring and started first grade at Southside Elementary, a school that is still part of the county school system. I caught school bus # 73

each school day, Mrs. Dent driving. My teacher, Mrs. Grady, told us that we needed to memorize our addresses and telephone numbers and to this day, I still remember them. 11935 Cornelius St. and 724-2426 or RAymond 42426 as the telephone numbers were always proceeded by the name of the exchange back then, R and A being 7 and 2 on the dial, no touchtone either. I enjoyed school, especially the days when we had art class. I loved to draw and my teacher recognized that I had some natural talent as even at that age I drew three dimensional figures and had an understanding of perspective. She told my mother that I should get training but we were poor and that would never happen. I was always given drawing supplies at home however, sometimes I would spend an entire evening drawing, mostly dinosaurs, my favorite.

That same year a family from Chattanooga, Tennessee, moved into the house directly behind ours and across from the vacant lot. Gene and Irma Mealer and their two sons, Ray and Jackie. Gene Mealer was a commercial artist and a good one. Ray and I were the same age and his brother Jackie only one year younger. We became fast friends and would remain so for many years. Our parents became friends also, especially our mothers who, to this day, are still in contact. 

There was a Mexican family, the Lopez's that lived a few houses down. They had a son my age named Roberto but we all called him Robert. I was amazed that he and his siblings could speak another language as easily as they spoke English. Robert had three sisters and three brothers, his oldest sister was already married and his oldest brother was in high school which I thought really cool. I remember his mother being a very kindly woman who loved children and was always inviting the neighborhood kids in for homemade cake and a glass of cold milk.

There were other friends that came and went as families moved in and then moved elsewhere. Many of the names I still recollect, Rick Martin, Bobby Fann, Peanut (I never knew his real name), and Bret and others I can't remember.

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