Where Are They Now?

The photo you see here is Flight 728 of Basic Military Training Squadron 3704 at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, TX. It was taken in mid July, 1973 as we drew near the end of our six weeks of Basic Training.

The Viet Nam War was still going on at that time, and when Basic Training was over, we didn't even have a graduation ceremony. Our ceremony consisted of tossing our duffel bags into the cargo hold of a Greyhound Bus that took us to our next bases, for Technical School training in our various career fields. A couple of these guys traveled with me to Keesler AFB in Biloxi, MS for Tech School. Others were assigned to places like Shepherd AFB, TX and Chanute AFB, IL for their own continued training. After Tech School I never saw any of them again. I have often wondered what happened to each of these guys.

We came to Lackland as more than forty individual who were mostly strangers, but soon were molded into a unit that was as close as family for a period of six weeks. We ate, slept, worked, drilled, and studied together. One young man had a nervous breakdown and left our flight. He was eventually dismissed from Wilford Hall Medical Center and sent home with a medical discharge. Three of the original guys ran afoul of our Training Instructors (TI's) and were "set back" in training to another flight which meant they would be required to spend an extra three weeks in training. One fellow was set back from another flight into ours and he eventually finished training with our flight.

There were several of us who travelled together from the Recruiting and Entrance Center in Ashland, KY, to San Antonio on May 30th. There were a couple of guys named Litz and Humble, from Wheelersburg, OH, a fellow named Tackett from Greenup, KY, Steve Herring from Pikeville, KY, and an unforgettable character named Cary Grant (honest) from Frazier's Bottom, WV who made the trip together with me from Ashland. The other guys came from Michigan, Texas, New York, New Jersey, the Carolinas, Kansas, Montana, Washington, D.C., and Jamacia.

After our Tech Schools, I'm sure that some of the guys were sent to Viet Nam. I never left the USA. My active duty time after I left Keesler AFB was at a place called K.I. Sawyer AFB near Marquette, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, between Lakes Michigan and Superior. The winters there were brutally cold with lots of snow, but the summer was wonderful - both days of it! My time was spent "flying a Remington typewriter" as a "70250" Administration Specialist, working for the Chief of Maintenance at the 2001st Communications Squadron at K.I. Sawyer.

Richard Nixon was still President, and the Watergate hearings dominated the news. My oldest son was 3 months old when I enlisted. His first birthday was celebrated in the frozen north. There were no cell phones or personal computers. If microwave ovens existed, I didn't know about it (and we sure didn't have one!). 8 track tapes were the hot item for your car, and video tapes were becoming popular, but no one knew if they should get VHS or Beta. Remember those? Hank Aaron was still belting Home Runs out of Atlanta's Fulton County Stadium, and Seals and Crofts, Simon and Garfunkel, and John Denver were regulars on the radio, along with Helen Reddy, singing "I Am Woman" (hear me roar!).

Looking at that old photo that I just came across last week brought so many memories flooding back. Seeing those long forgotten, but all familiar faces, gave me pause to wonder. Where are they now? What have they done with their lives? How many may have already passed on? Only God knows.

The guys in most military basic training photos usually have very serious expressions on their faces. You'll note that everyone in our flight, including Tech Sgt. Rivard, were smiling. One thing I do know is that when that photo was snapped, we were nearing the end of Basic Training and we were all glad. I won't tell you here what the photographer said to make us all smile like that, but smile we did!

By the way. That's me on the second row, fourth from the right, standing next to Airman Kotula in the glasses.

The Big Question...

One had to wonder what it would take to knock the Michael Jackson story off the front pages. The (temporary) answer to that question came earlier this week with the death of Massachusetts senior Senator, Edward Moore Kennedy, at the age of 77.

Born the youngest of nine children to Joseph Sr. and Rose Kennedy, "Teddy" was the last of the four Kennedy brothers and is now survived by his only living sibling, Patricia Kennedy Smith. He was heir to Joe Kennedy's fortune which came from successful investments in movie production, real estate, and liquor. Joe Sr. is rumored to have made a small fortune on bootleg liquor during prohibition, and the fact is that he became one of the very first importers of liquor after the repeal of prohibition. Teddy's Irish Catholic pedigree was impeccable. His maternal grandfather, "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald was the long time powerful Mayor of Boston.

Joe Sr. who had been appointed Ambassador to the Court of St. James by FDR, had groomed his sons for public service and political office. The eldest, Joe Jr., was killed in action in World War II. The careers and fates of Ted's other brothers, John and Robert are well known. Ted, himself, may well have been on track to serve as President, were it not for his early playboy image and the incident forty years ago at Chappaquiddick resulting in the drowning death of Mary Jo Kopchne. His one run for the highest office in the land fell short when he lost in the Democratic primaries in 1980 to incumbent President Jimmy Carter. After that, Kennedy seemed to be content to settle into his role in the Senate as one of it's most powerful Democratic members.

First elected to fill JFK's vacant Senate seat from Massachusetts in 1962, Ted served 47 years in what has been called, "The World's Most Exclusive Club". Over those four plus decades, more than 300 bills he wrote were signed into law. He truly was one of the great movers and shakers in Washington, DC for a generation. He was the face of most liberal causes in the political arena, and his public endorsement of Barack Obama's candidacy arguably was what helped Obama defeat Senator Hillary Clinton in sewing up the Democratic nomination.

The Kennedy clan is, no doubt, the most powerful political dynasty in the 232 year history of the United States. Few families have basked in the spotlight and had the world wide fame this family has enjoyed. On the other hand, few public families have ever endured more tragedy and public heartache than have the Kennedys.

Edward M. Kennedy was the "patriarch" of the clan since the death of his father in 1969. The highlights of his career are being parlayed in the newspapers, magazines, and on the network and cable news channels. His life and impact are the source of conversation on the talk shows. He has known wealth, privilige, and power. He has known celebrity, public adulation and public humiliation. He has known triumph and tragedy. He has known world and national leaders, and has truly been known as one of the post influential men to have ever served in the U.S. Senate.

Now, after 77 years, he is gone. He has kept an appointment that each of us will keep one day. As the Bible puts it, he now "sleeps with his fathers". He knew Presidents, Governors, Senators, Congressmen, celebrities, and Kings.

The big question is, "Did he know the Lord?" Did he have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ?

Do you have such a relationship?

In the final analysis - in light of eternity, that is all that really matters.

"Oh, The Sun Shines Bright..."

Most of my nearly 59 years have been spent here in the Tri-State area of Ohio-Kentucky-West Virginia. Linda and I were both born in the Mountain State, but have, at one time or another, lived in each of the three above mentioned states. However, for the past 29+ years, we have made our home in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. We moved here on April Fool's Day, 1980. Our sons were raised here. Two of our four grandsons were born here. It has become our adopted home. Even though we reside along the northeastern edge of the Commonwealth, we love Kentucky, from the mountains to the Mississippi. We are proud to be citizens of the Bluegrass State.

Recently my good friend and former coworker, Dick Dowdy, sent me an email with the following facts about Kentucky. I already knew a number of them, but some were surprising. Just thought I would pass them on to you today. Here's today's history lesson on "My Old Kentucky (adopted) Home"-

*The bloodiest civil war battle was fought in Perryville, Kentucky .

*The first town in the United States to be named for the first president was Washington , Ky. It was named in 1780.

*1792 - Kentucky was the first state on the western frontier to join the Union

*In the War of 1812 more than half of all Americans killed in action were Kentuckians.

*1816 - (first promoted) Mammoth Cave, with 336+ miles of mapped passages, is the world's longest cave. It is 379 feet deep and contains at least 5 levels of passages. It's second only to Niagara Falls as the most popular tourist attraction in the US . It became a National Park on July 1, 1941.

*The first American performance of a Beethoven symphony was in Lexington in 1817.

*Begun in 1819 the first commercial oil well was on the Cumberland River in McCreary County .

* Kentucky is the state where both Abraham Lincoln, President of the Union , and Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, were born. They were born less than one hundred miles and one year apart.

*1856 - The first enamel bathtub was made in Louisville

*In 1873, Louisville druggist John Colgan invented something that you can find in any just about every grocery store in the world, chewing gum.

*1883 - The first electric light bulb was shown in Louisville . Thomas Alva Edison introduced his invention to crowds at the Southern Exposition. *1887 - Mother's Day was first observed in Henderson by teacher Mary S. Wilson. It became a national holiday in 1916.

*The radio was invented by a Kentuckian named Nathan B. Stubblefield of Murray in 1892. It was three years before Marconi made his claim to the invention.

* Pike County the world's largest producer of coal is famous for the Hatfield-McCoy feud, an Appalachian vendetta that lasted from the Civil War to the 1890s.

*1893 - 'Happy Birthday to You', probably the most sung song in the world, was written by two Louisville sisters - Mildred and Patricia Hill.

*Late 19th century - Bibb lettuce was first cultivated by Jack Bibb in Frankfort , Kentucky

*1896 - The first (known) set of all male quintuplets was born in Paducah .. *Carrie Nation the spokesperson against rum, tobacco, pornography, and corsets was born near Lancaster in Garrard County .

*1926 - A Hot Brown is a hot sandwich originally created at the Brown Hotel in Louisville , Kentucky , by Fred K. Schmidt.

*1934 - Cheeseburgers were first tasted at Kaelin's Restaurant in Louisville .

*1937 - The first Wigwam Village Motel, with units in the shape of a 'teepee', was built by Frank A. Redford in Cave City .

*The "Old Fashion" drink was created in Louisville KY *The world's largest baseball bat, a full one hundred twenty (120) feet tall and weighing 68,000 pounds, can be seen at the Louisville Slugger Museum in Louisville (Jefferson Co.).

*Chevrolet Corvettes are manufactured only in Bowling Green .

*The world's largest crucifix, standing at sixty feet tall, is in Bardstown (Nelson Co.).

* Fort Knox holds more than $6 billion worth of gold - the largest amount stored anywhere in the world.

*The JIF plant in Lexington is the world's largest peanut butter producing facility.

* Kentucky has more resort parks than any other state in the nation...

*Middlesboro is the only United States city built inside a meteor crater..

* Newport is home to The World Peace Bell, the world's largest free-swinging bell.

*Pikeville annually leads the nation (per capita) in consumption of Pepsi-Cola.

*Post-It Notes are made exclusively in Cynthiana , Ky.

* Shaker Village ( Pleasant Hill ) is the largest historic community of its kind in the U.S..

* Christian County is 'wet', while Bourbon County is 'dry'. ('wet 'sells liquor; 'dry' does not)

* Barren County has the most fertile land in the state.

* Lake Cumberland has more miles of shoreline than the state of Florida .

* Kentucky is best known for its beautiful blue grass.

* Cumberland is the only waterfall in the world to regularly display a Moonbow. It is located just southwest of Corbin.

*Thunder Over Louisville is the opening ceremony for the Kentucky Derby Festival and is the world's largest fireworks display.

*The only monument south of the Ohio River dedicated to Union Soldiers who died in the Civil War is located in Vanceburg.

* High Bridge located near Nicholasville is the highest railroad bridge over navigable water in the United States .

*The Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington has 82 stained-glass windows including the world's largest hand-blown one. The window measures 24 feet wide by 67 feet high and depicts the Council of Ephesus with 134 life-sized figures.

*The Lost River Cave and Valley - Bowling Green includes a cave with the shortest and deepest underground river in the world. It contains the largest cave opening east of the Mississippi ....

*The Kentucky Derby is the oldest continuously held horse race in the country. It is held at Churchill Downs in Louisville on the first Saturday in May. * Kentucky is the horse capitol of the world.

*Mohammed Ali, “The Greatest” and most recognized face in the world was born in Louisville , KY.

*Three of Kentucky’s biggest industries are - Bourbon, Basketball, and Horseracing.

Contribution or Commitment?

Both are big words that start with a “C”, but the difference between the two goes much further than the two letters in their length. Here is the example I like to use in explaining the difference between the two concepts:

Have you ever had a breakfast of eggs and bacon? Well, there were a couple of animals involved in providing you with that breakfast. Some hen made a contribution to your meal, but to some hog, somewhere, it involved a commitment! Providing you with those eggs cost the chicken very little, but “bringing home the bacon” cost the hog everything.

Commitment is a concept that is rapidly fading from the scene in our current culture.

You see this truth everywhere. Many people are not as committed to their jobs as folks were in previous generations. Absenteeism and poor quality in goods and services are often evidence of that lack of commitment. Commitment to the institution of marriage is also suspect. Even though the vows are repeated that say “until death do us part” the reality is that more than half of all marriages in 2009 will end in divorce. Coaches tell us that the commitment level of student athletes toward training, practice, and scholastic excellence, is far below the levels of those of the previous generation. Military recruiters also are having an increasingly more difficult time signing up young men and women for our armed services, due to the commitment involved with making such a decision.

Sadly, the decline of commitment also shows up among many professing Christians in their relationship with God and toward His church. Every year in churches all across America, it becomes more and more difficult to find people who are willing to commit to serving the Lord through His church as teachers, deacons, musicians, volunteers, and ministry leaders. This is not because there are not enough qualified folks for the jobs, but because so many church members do not want to make the commitment. The attitude that “someone else will do it, I’m too busy” seems to prevail and this is truly sad.

In my 38 years of ministry, I have come to the conclusion that a lack of commitment to the church is simply a visible symptom of a lack of commitment to our God. Take a moment to think about this. How much time to you spend alone with God in prayer? How much time to you devote to the reading and application of His Word? How serious are you about doing your part to fulfill His Great Commission? How important are missions? Are you teaching your children and grand children the importance of God in your life and in theirs? (Deut. 6)

In the Bible, King David, had sinned against God through an act of selfish disobedience. We read the sad narrative in 2 Samuel 24. When tragedy resulted, David repented of that sin. He sought to purchase a piece of ground where he might erect an altar to worship and offer sacrifice to his Heavenly Father. The owner of the property graciously offered the land to the King at no charge. David’s reply was simple, strong and poignant. “No, I insist on buying it from you for a price, for I will not offer to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” (vs 24, HCSB)
David understood that serving God was more than what I use to hear Leroy Forlines refer to as “cheap easy believe-ism”. Following Christ involves commitment. If you do not think so, check out the words of Christ in the four Gospels.

He called men to “follow Him”. Many of them left jobs, security, family businesses, and comfort zones, for the joy of following Jesus. He spoke of “denying oneself and taking up a cross”. He cautioned would be followers to “count the cost”. He warned half hearted followers that families, personal preferences, and comfort issues were not negotiable. Quitting along the way is not an acceptable option. He talked of a merchant who bought and sold pearls, and when that merchant found that “one pearl of great price”, he sold everything he had that he might obtain that prize. Jesus spoke of vines and branches, and that we must ABIDE in Him. The branches are not alive unless they abide in the vine.

Paul the Apostle said that all that was once important to him, he counted but dung for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus his Lord. Paul, a formerly “religious” man, found that religion alone would not be enough. He learned that a relationship is required, and that his desire was to know Jesus, “In the power of His resurrection and in the fellowship of His suffering”. Many weak believers today want to experience that “pentecostal power”, but have no desire to know the weight of His cross. Dad use to refer to that as “Brylcreme Religion” (a little dab will do you).

Aren’t you thankful that Jesus was willing to commit to you? Aren’t you glad that He “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Phil. 2:7-8 (NKJV)

I ask you today. Are you making contributions to the cause of Christ or have you made a commitment? Have you committed to Him your time, talents, and treasures? May God help us to check our commitment. Not for our own sakes, not even for your church’s sake, but for Christ’s sake.

Let’s “bring home the bacon”.

Justice?

Let me get this straight.

Pro football quarterback, Michael Vick, served 18 months in prison for dog fighting ...

Former Super Bowl star, Plaxico Burress was sentenced to 2 years in prison for shooting himself in the leg...

Lybian terrorist, Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, who killed 270 innocent people in the 1988 bombing of the Pan Am flight over Lockerbie, Scotland, has been released from prison after serving 8 years of a life sentence...

Daily news dispatches are full of strange stories of various court decisions, and sometimes total miscarriages of justice. None of them, however, come close to the travesty of yesterday's decision by Scottish authorities to grant "compassion release" to the above mentioned mass murderer from Lybia.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,540967,00.html

The former Lybian agent spent roughly 11 days in prison for the stolen lives of each of his victims.

Now, with terminal prostate cancer, his life sentence has been nullified and he can go back to Lybia (to a hero's welcome) to die at home.

You be the judge.

Some court judgments seem fair. Others appear to be ridiculous. One thing, however, is sure. There is a Judge, the Creator of the universe, whose judgments are always correct. This Sovereign One has decreed all natural and spiritual laws and He applies all of them fairly. The scriptures tell us that it is appointed unto man, "once to die, but after this, the judgment".

One of those dual laws is the law of sowing and reaping.

On the natural side, we all understand this law. If you plant corn in the spring, you naturally plan to pull ears of corn from the stalk, come harvest time. No one expects to pick oranges off bean vines, do they? Of course not. Naturally we expect to reap what we have sown.

Same thing goes on the spiritual side. The Bible puts it this way:

"Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows he will also reap, because the one who sows to his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit." Galatians 6:7-8 (HCSB)

What are you sowing in your life?

Due to our sinful nature, each of us have been sentenced to eternal separation from a Holy God.

If you are depending upon your own righteousness, to get you a suspended sentence, or time off for good behavior, don't be deceived. It doesn't work that way with the righteous judge.

God's advice to you is "sow to the Spirit". How? By trusting in the one who came "to seek and to save that which was lost" (that is each of us).

Trust Jesus.

That is where the only true "compassionate release" can be found - now and for eternity.

Time Well Spent

I bought the tickets over a month ago, so my recent oral surgery and the threat of rain were not going to keep us from making the trip down the river to Cincinnati.

Most of my readers know that my father had pretty extensive surgery on March 3rd and spent two months in St. Mary's Medical Center and Health South Rehabilitation Hospital recovering and rehabbing. He continued with outpatient physical therapy until the middle of July, and he progressed from a wheelchair, to a walker, to getting around on a cane. Through all of the rehab, he has continued to be the 24/7 caregiver for my Alzheimer's afflicted mother. Dad was due a day off and I was looking forward to treating him to something he had done for me many times during my childhood - a trip to a Cincinnati Reds baseball game.

Dad has logged a lot more "recliner time" this year than any time I can remember. In doing so, he has watched a lot more television, including most all of the Reds games telecast on Fox Sports Ohio. A couple of months ago, I heard him say, "I've never been in that new stadium. I'd like to take in a game there sometime." However, considering his inability to get around like he use to, he allowed that he would probably not be physically able to do so. I knew that if I could get him to go, I could get him in the stadium. So, in looking ahead at the schedule, I saw that today would be the last non Sunday day game of the season. Night games would be nearly impossible, due to Mom's condition and her anxiety at bedtime if she is not home or if Dad is not there. So, I went ahead and purchased a couple of tickets for today's game.

Then came the challenge of getting him to agree to go. Fortunately, my nephew, Josh, is off on Thursdays and he graciously agreed to stay with Mom during the day. With the assurance that we would surely be able to get home before dark, Dad reluctantly agreed to go along. I am glad he did.

Once in the ballpark, I could almost see the memories rolling out, as he reminisced about previous games he had taken me and Bruce and Carl to. He talked to those around us about how he had never been in this ball park before, but shared fond memories of old Crosley Field and Riverfront Stadium. I reminded him that the first game he had ever taken us to was between Manager Fred Hutchinson's Redlegs and the St. Louis Cardinals in 1962. Just seeing Stan Musial play in person, was a great thrill for this eleven year old boy!

I had listened faithfully to the Reds on the radio, with play by play man, Waite Hoyt. But seeing my heroes in person, was absolutely special! My Reds heroes were guys like Eddie Kasko, Don Blasingame, Frank Robinson, Vada Pinson, Bob Purkey, and Jerry Lynch. It was the beginning of a love affair I would carry on for the next 47 years.

The next summer, he treated us to another trip to Crosley field. The opponents were the San Francisco Giants. The two Willies (Mays and McCovey) were there, as were Orlando Cepeda, and Juan Marichal. What memories! Today, the Reds closed out a three game series with the 2009 version of the Giants. Same team - very different players.

We had rain off and on, all the way down the AA Highway. We had rain off and on, all the way back. But the game came off without as much as a minute's rain delay. Dad refused to use his wheel chair or walker, so we moved slowly as he walked along, leaning on his cane with one hand and holding my arm with the other. But he made it to our seats with only one brief rest stop. He had a Big Red Smokey and large diet coke, and seemed to enjoy absorbing all the sights and sounds of Great American Ballpark.

I had my share of memories myself, and made some special new ones today.

The game? Oh yes. The game...

It was a game marked by good defense on both sides. Neither club's offense could put together the big inning. The Giants scored first on a bases loaded wild pitch from Aaron Harang, and the Reds countered with a line drive home run by Laynce Nix that just jumped out of the park. With the score knotted at one, the game went into extra innings.

In the middle of the 10th inning I could hold out no longer. The two bladder buster soft drinks I had consumed had done their work and I told Dad I would be right back. I was in the bathroom when Drew Stubbs (who was appearing in only his second big league game) hit the game winning, walk off homer. As I rushed back to the seats, Dad just grinned and said, "You missed it!"

I may have missed the dramatic long ball that sent the home crowd home happy, but I did not miss out on the tremendous blessing of me and my Dad attending one more Reds game together. He is 82, and I am a gray bearded grandfather, myself. But as Joe McKeever reminded me on Facebook this morning, "I'm still the kid".

I have lots of ministry work to do the rest of this week, and in the coming months. Pastors have plenty to keep them busy, but today was good for me - tender gums and all. I wouldn't have traded this day for anything.

Pistol Packing Grandson

I am recovering today from yesterday's oral surgery and my creative juices are not exactly flowing freely. Since I have noting of any real inspirational or informational value to share, here is a recent photo of my oldest grandson, Quint, and his father at a New Orleans firing range.

They tell me this was Quint's first time to fire his father's .45 caliber Glock.

When grandson number 2 (the always competetive Will) saw the photo, he said, "Wow! Quint has a pistol! All I have is a .22 Henry rifle."

Mamaw, is not too thrilled about firearms of any type in the hands of her grandbabies! Teach them carefully boys...