Just Like Guinevere

In folklore, Guinevere the legendary queen consort of King Arthur, was safe behind the walls of the castle. Then, Arthur's chief knight, Sir Lancelot, came along. Their affair eventually led to the downfall of Arthur's kingdom. After the affair was exposed, Guinevere was sentenced to burn at the stake, but Lancelot rescued her. She eventually fled to a convent when Arthur declared war against her lover. It was there, behind the walls of the convent, that Guinevere spent the rest of her life. Upon hearing the news of Arthur's death, and after discovering Guinevere had become a nun, Lancelot retired to a hermitage to live out the rest of his life in penitence, just like Guinevere.

The song, Guinevere, by The Eli Young Band says..."forgiveness ain't nothing but a lifeless tire on the shoulder of her soul that never rolls."

Life isn't always fair as we see it, or as we want it to be. We have our mountains and we have our valleys. You seem hard on the outside only because you have taught yourself to be that way because of past experiences. While you may think you need those walls, it is sad that you cannot see that perhaps there is a special someone who has come into your life, who is worth letting your guard down for.

For as much as she stumbled, she's runnin'

For as much as she runs, she's still here

Always hoping to find something quicker than heaven

To make the damage of her days disappear

Just like Guinevere

If there is one thing I have learned over the past few years, it is, just like Lancelot the once-brave knight, never let yourself be called out on strikes. ALWAYS go down swinging. Come what may, act as though it is impossible to fail. If you are going after Moby Dick, take along tarter sauce. And, NEVER give up on anyone or anything. Believe it or not, miracles happen.

The Great American Fraud

Founded mainly on fraud and poison, patent-medicine methods were the rage in America between the mid 19th and early 20th centuries. Before it was finally put to an end, gullible America was spending some seventy-five million dollars in the purchase of patent medicines to cure all sorts of ailments. You name it and there a patented medicinal cure for it, but, it was mostly all fraud. Not all, but most. So, the government set out to separate the sheep from the goats, but an honest attempt to do that developed a lamentable lack of qualified candidates for the sheepfold. Some remedies were honest in their claims and effective for their purposes. "None of these "cures" really did cure any serious affection, although a majority of their users recovered. But, a majority, and a very large majority, of the sick would have recovered anyway. Were it not so, were one illness out of fifty fatal, and this earth would soon be depopulated," said Samuel Hopkins in his 1931 book, Great American Frauds.

Newspapers bore a huge chunk of the blame for the popularity of the medicinal frauds. "The ignorant drug-taker, returning to health from some disease which he has overcome by the natural resistant powers of his body, dips his pen in gratitude and writes his testimonial. The man who dies in spite of the patent medicine, or perhaps because of it, doesn't bear witness to what it did for him," said Hopkins. "We see recorded only the favorable results: the unfavorable lie silent. How could it be otherwise when the only avenues of publicity are controlled by the advertisers?" he wrote.
 

I'm the happiest little woman In all this little town

And my merry laugh and singing
Takes the place of sigh and frown

For JOHN HAS QUIT HIS DRINKING
And is like himself once more

And the world is just a paradise
With such happiness in store

One particularly heartless swindle that was operated mostly through newspapers, which also meant the United States Post Office, for over 50 years, finally came to an end in August of 1935, when the Postmaster General declared that the Dr. J.W. Haines Company, The Golden Specific Company, of Cincinnati, Ohio was engaged in conducting a scheme for obtaining money through the mail by means of false and fraudulent pretenses. In this scheme, mothers, wives and sisters were led to believe that they could cure their loved ones of the drink habit by the secret administration of the Haines Golden Treatment. Some 18 years earlier, in 1917, The Journal of the American Medical Association had denounced Haines Golden Treatment as 'a cruel humbug,' claiming that no cases of drunkenness was cured by such means. As it turned out, the Golden Treatment was nothing more than a mixture of milk sugar and starch, capsicum and a minute amount of ipecac.

Sadly, the advertisements did not pray on the alcoholic, but rather the family members, and apparently it was effective. Check out the ad copy below.

Even though Haines Golden Treatment was declared a fraud, most people remained convinced the product was the real deal.  When he died, Dr. Haines was eulogized as one of the people who invented a cure for drunkards.

The Night There Were Zombies In My Backyard

Last night, I dreamed I fought zombies in the backyard of my old home place.  I was killing them left and right with a sling blade that some strange person had given me.  And, then one of the zombies' blood spilled on me and I became one.  Why do things that are going good sometimes go bad? I wish I knew the answer to that.  Suddenly, this feels like a Bob Dylan song.  All I know is there were these zombies in my backyard and I had a sling blade and I was killing them and then I became one.  After I turned into a zombie I woke up.  I guess zombies don't dream.  There were a couple of other people who were helping me kill the zombies.  I don't know who they were or how they got there.  All I know is I am glad they helped.  Killing zombies is hard work. My pastor says dreams like this happen when I eat too much pizza before I go to bed, but have you ever dreamed you fought zombies with a sling blade in your back yard and then became a zombie?  It was downright creepy.

These Are The Times That Try Men's Souls

Author Thomas Paine was the first person to publicly advocate that America should seek to be an independent nation, free from tyranny.  His ‘how to’ pamphlet, known as Common Sense, sold 100,000 copies, a best-seller among the two-million people in the American British colonies. It challenged the authority of the royal monarchy and inspired the people of America into a revolution.

“The sun never shined on a cause of greater worth,” he said.

While the people in the American British colonies were fed up with King George, Paine wrote: “But where, say some, is the king of America?  I’ll tell you Friend, he reigns above...

...yet that we may not appear to be defective even in earthly honors, let a day be solemnly set apart for proclaiming the charter; let it be brought forth placed on the divine law, the word of God; let a crown be placed thereon, by which the world may know, that so far as we approve of monarchy, that in America the law is king. For as in absolute governments the king is law, so in free countries the law ought to be king; and there ought to be no other.”

“These are the times that try men’s souls,” said Paine in The Crisis. “Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered, yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated.”

Paine became known as 'Father of the American Revolution.'

AND INDEPENDENCE DAY WAS BORN!

On July 4, 1981, President Ronald Reagan wrote, “Let the Fourth of July always be a reminder that here in this land, for the first time, it was decided that man is born with certain God-given rights; that government is only a convenience created and managed by the people, with no powers of its own except those voluntarily granted to it by the people.”

God Bless America!

A Penny From Heaven

It was Winston Churchill who said we make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.

This is a story about giving.

How often do we stop to say thank you for the little things in life? We see them every day. We feel them. We touch them. We hear them. We welcome them. They surround us. They help us. They are everywhere. We should thank them more often because, if you stop and think about it, those little things are real treasures beyond compare. Blue skies, new moons and raindrops, mentioned in Bing Crosby's 1936 song, are all pennies from Heaven, but there are so many more. For instance, my cousin, Emily. She is a penny from Heaven. I found this out the other day when she gave up one of her kidneys so that her aunt might live a more enjoyable life. Wow! Talk about a treasure given and received! Emily did it. Her brother said she was his hero. She is mine, too.

Something happened to Emily after she donated her kidney. I am older than she is so I have known her my entire life. She has always been full of joy, but after the transplant Emily came back home with a cup so full it is overflowing. I mean, it really shows big time. God has blessed her beyond measure and I am certain she would tell you He has blessed her even way, way beyond that!

The aunt's fortune fell in the form of a penny from Heaven called Emily. But, Emily's version is that donating the kidney evoked every emotion, above all thankfulness, within herself. In her words, "To the Creator, Healer, and Prayer Answerer, for my family whom I love beyond words and to my friends who are by far more than I deserve!" On Facebook, she quoted lyrics from the Chris Tomlin song:

"I will lift my eyes in the darkest night for I know my Savior reigns; And though the storms may come, I am holding on to the Rock I cling. How can I keep from singing Your praise? I know I am loved by the King, and it makes my heart want to sing!"

Donating a kidney is certainly no little thing. It's huge. It's more than huge, whatever that word is. It has to be one of the reasons why God put Emily on this earth. He knew her before she was born. That is pretty overwhelming. Her brother said Emily gave someone a second chance at enjoying life to its fullest. Buzz and Dolly Dimple would be so proud. She is a treasure, a penny from Heaven.

We all love you, Emily. Very much.

If you want the things you love

You must have showers

So when you hear it thunder

Don't run under a tree

There'll be pennies from heaven for you and me

To Honor A Hero

"I just sent one of my officers home. He was my S-2 (Intelligence Officer), Lt. Garlin M. Conner, who is from Aaron, Kentucky. I'm really proud of Lt. Conner. He probably will call you and, if he does, he may not sound like a soldier, will sound like any good old country boy, but, to my way of seeing, he's one of the outstanding soldiers of this war, if not THE outstanding. He was a Sergeant until July and now is a First Lieutenant. He has the D.S.C., which could have been, I believe, a Congressional Medal of Honor but, he was heading home and we wanted to get him what he deserved before he left. He has a Silver Star with 4 clusters, a Bronze Star, Purple Heart with 6 clusters and is in for a French medal. On this last push, within two weeks he earned the D.S.C., a cluster to his Silver Star and a Bronze Star. I've never seen a man with as much courage and ability as he has. I usually don't brag much on my officers but, this is one officer nobody could brag enough about and do him justice; he's a real soldier."

The above was written by former Lt. Col. (later Major General) Lloyd B. Ramsey, while commanding the 3rd. bn., 3rd Div., 7th Inf., 7th Army, a few days after a WWII assault where Murl Conner of Aaron, Kentucky ran 400 yards, through the impact area of an intense concentration of enemy artillery fire near Houssen, France, to direct friendly artillery on a force of six Mark VI tanks and tank destroyers, followed by 600 fanatical German infantrymen, which was assaulting in full fury the spearhead position held by his battalion. Along the way, he unreeled a spool of telephone wire, disregarded shells which exploded 25 yards from him and set up an observation post which he manned for more than three hours during the intense fighting. It was on that date, January 24, 1945 at 0800 hours, that Lt. Garlin Murl Conner was individually credited with stopping more than 150 Germans, destroying all the tanks and completely disintegrating the powerful enemy assault force and preventing heavy loss of life in his own outfit.

Lt. Conner served in the same 3rd Infantry Division as Audie Murphy, who has always been recognized as America's most decorated hero of all wars. That honor should have gone to Conner. The Medal of Honor would have given Conner one more award than Murphy, thus making him America's most decorated hero of all wars. But sadly, Lt. Conner was never awarded the Medal of Honor for his act of heroism. Due to the heat of the battle that day, the commanding officer did not take the time to do the necessary paperwork.

Richard Chilton of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, served with the 11th Airborne Division in Korea and with Israeli paratroopers during Desert Storm. While researching the war records of his uncle, Gordon Roberts, who was killed shortly after the landing at Anzio Italy, one name kept coming up -- Murl Conner. Gordon Roberts was a member of Murl Conner's platoon. One by one, each of the over 300 veterans of the 7th Infantry Regiment spoke of Lt. Conner's heroic efforts. Chilton was so moved by the many eyewitness accounts of Lt. Conner's courage and sacrifice that he began seeking the Medal of Honor for the Clinton County man, who died in 1998. Lt. Conner's selfless acts of bravery, Chilton insists, should place him in the company of Sgt. Alvin York, who lived just down the road from Murl Conner at Pall Mall, and of Audie Murphy, who served in the same division as Conner but who earned one less Silver Star for gallantry than Lt. Conner's four. York and Murphy both received the Medal of Honor. Murphy received his MOH two days after Lt. Conner's act of heroism.

Many of Lt. Conner's battle records were lost. The records that do exist officially document that Murtl Conner repeatedly risked his life under enemy fire to capture and disable numerous enemy positions with grim ferocity, as one of his commanders wrote. You see, for three hours, Lt. Conner lay in a shallow ditch as "wave after wave of German infantry" surged toward him, at times to within five yards of his position. As the last all-out German assault swept forward, he ordered his artillery to concentrate on his own position, resolved to die if necessary to halt the enemy. Friendly shells exploded within five yards of him, blanketing his position but Lt. Conner continued to direct artillery fire on the assault elements swarming around him until the German attack was shattered and broken.

Lt. Conner was wounded at least seven times during 29 months of nearly continuous combat service, but he refused to accept Purple Hearts for most of the wounds. He was given a battlefield commission to second lieutenant after only three months of fighting. Many of his fellow infantrymen told Chilton they often watched in amazement as Conner repeatedly risked his life to save others. They said Lt. Conner frequently volunteered to take the point on the most dangerous patrols. And one officer remembered that when volunteers were requested for an especially dangerous night mission into enemy territory, Lt. Conner was the only one who reported to the commander's tent. "Where are the rest?" the commander asked. "I'm it," Lt. Conner replied. Murl Conner came home to Clinton County after the war and spent the rest of his life farming and raising a family. He died at age 79.

Because of Chilton's tireless efforts, on January 8, 2003, Kentucky Congressman Ed Whitfield introduced H.R. 327 in the 108th Congress, authorizing the President to award a Medal of Honor posthumously to Lt. Conner. However, it is yet to be done. I realize this story has been written about several times since Chilton began his campaign. I have written of it several times myself and even if I had never known Murl Conner, I would still be pushing for the nation's highest honor to be awarded him and I will gladly write and rewrite this story as long as it takes, because it is the right thing to do. To me, this story will never grow old. I believe what Richard Chilton once said - "I do not have the option to give up as long as someone will listen. Awarding Lt. Garlin Murl Conner the medal of honor is just something that has to be done." He was, after all, one of the great heroes of World War II.

In the photo above, taken on February 10, 1945, Lt. General Alexander M. Patch is seen awarding Lt. Garlin Murl Conner the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism for his actions on January 24, 1945 near Houssen, France.

Two Wolves

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.  He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.  One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.  The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith." The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"  The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

That First Decoration Day

Memorial Day marks the beginning of the summer vacation season. Where I live, it means lots of tourists from now until Labor Day. When I think of Memorial Day, I think about the men and women who have paid the ultimate price on the battlefield protecting our freedom as americans.  I think about the beautiful and serene Bolestown Cemetery, where lies the remains of many of my ancestors from before and after the civil war.  My great, great, great, great grandfather, James Boles, is buried there. He was a revolutionary war soldier, who fought in the battle of Kings Mountain. His son, my great, great, great grandfather, John Boles, is also buried there beside his wife, Matilda. He was a Union soldier in the service of Tinker Dave Beaty's Independent Scouts. She was Tinker Dave's sister. John's son, George, my great great grandfather, was also a member of Tinker Dave's group, as was his brother Robert. They were not killed during the war, but no doubt witnessed a few skirmishes where soldiers or civilians were killed.


Decoration Day, as it was first known, was first enacted to honor fallen Union soldiers of the civil war. One of the earliest known observances happened after former slaves had converted a mass grave at the former Washington Race Course, now Hampton Park, in Charleston, South Carolina, into a cemetery. The race course had been used as a temporary Confederate prison camp. When the hostilities ended, the former slaves exhumed the bodies and reinterred them properly. They built a fence around the graveyard and declared it a Union graveyard. On May 1, 1865, a crowd of up to ten thousand people, mainly african-americans, marched to the location for sermons, singing, and a picnic. It was the first Decoration Day.

Sleep, comrades, sleep and rest

On this Field of the Grounded Arms
Where foes no more molest

Nor sentry's shot alarms

Ye have slept on the ground before

And started to your feet

At the cannon's sudden roar

Or the drum's redoubling beat

But in this camp of Death

No sound your slumber breaks

Here is no fevered breath

No wound that bleeds and aches

All is repose and peace

Untrampled lies the sod

The shouts of battle cease

It is the Truce of God

Rest, comrades, rest and sleep
The thoughts of men shall be

As sentinels to keep

Your rest from danger free

Your silent tents of green

We deck with fragrant flowers

Yours has the suffering been

The memory shall be ours

Decoration Day - by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Barter

Life has loveliness to sell

All beautiful and splendid things

Blue waves whitened on a cliff

Soaring fire that sways and sings

And children's faces looking up

Holding wonder like a cup

Life has loveliness to sell

Music like a curve of gold

Scent of pine trees in the rain

Eyes that love you, arms that hold

And for your spirit's still delight

Holy thoughts that star the night

Spend all you have for loveliness

Buy it and never count the cost

For one white singing hour of peace

Count many a year of strife well lost

And for a breath of ectasy

Give all you have been, or could be

(Sara Teasdale, 1917) 

Middle Tennessee Red Cross Chapters - Donate - Support Your Red Cross

(A flooded Grand Ole Opry House)

The American Red Cross continues its relief efforts for residents displaced by recent flooding across Middle and West Tennessee and is currently operating 17 emergency shelters throughout the region.  My friend, Erin, who works at HMG Nashville says shelters are at capacity, people are unaccounted for and many homes are under water.  Middle Tennessee is in a water conservation emergency.  Much of Nashville's economic base is threatened.  

Monday, Red Cross mass care officials distributed approximately 3,200 meals and over 10,000 snack items to shelter clients in Nashville and an additional 600 to shelters in outlying areas.  Since Saturday, approximately 7,500 meals have been distributed to shelter residents in the immediate Nashville area.   WSMV-TV Channel 4 will broadcast 'Working 4 You: Flood Relief with Vince Gill and Friends (including Steve Wariner) this Thursday night in prime time from 7 to 10pm.  All proceeds will benefit the Salvation Army, Red Cross and Second Harvest Food Bank.  Naomi Judd and Phil Vassar will also be performing, along with several others.  

Text 'REDCROSS' to 90999 to donate $10 to disaster relief.

Middle Tennessee Red Cross Chapters - Donate - Support Your Red Cross

How High's The Water, Mama?

8.2 inches of rain in two days.  It's been a long time since I've seen this much rain in so little time.  The mayor of one Tennessee town called it historical.  Last night, for me and my boys, it was more like -- hysterical.

We went up the road in the daylight hours, drove through the water on our road with no problem.  We returned 90 minutes later in the dark.  It never dawned on me that the level would rise so fast.  I realized it when my car stalled halfway into the knee-deep water,  I was able to back up and thought we would be able to get out of it.  That's when the water grabbed ahold of my car and swept it into a nearby ditch, almost flipping the automobile over on its side. We were able to exit the vehicle with little trouble, although Elijah literally had to "stand up" on the passenger side door and climb out.  That's how sideways the car was in the high water.

Then we had to wade through the knee-deep water in the pouring rain.  We were up until midnight bailing water from the floorboard.

We made it without any injuries and that is all that matters.  The water continued to rise on our road and this morning we had a small lake in front of our home.

But, as it goes, anytime you think you have it bad, you don't have to look too far to find someone else who has it worse than you.  17 people lost their lives in the region during the rains and the flooding that ensued.  While we are thankful that we were spared, our hearts go out to the families of those 17 people.

My mama always taught me that good things come from adversity if we put our faith in the Lord. We couldn't see much good in the flood waters when they were causing us to have to leave home, but when the water went down, we found that it had washed a load of rich black bottom dirt across our land. The following year we had the best cotton crop we'd ever had.

I remember hearing:

How high's the water, mama?  Two feet high and risin'

How high's the water, papa? Two feet high and risin'

We can make it to the road in a homemade boat. That's the only thing we got left that'll float.  It's already over all the wheat and the oats, two feet high and risin'

How high's the water, mama?  Three feet high and risin'

How high's the water, papa? Three feet high and risin'