God Bless The Weary Pilgrim

God bless the weary pilgrim whose journey never ends. May he rest eternally in the arms of God. - The Notorious Meddler Nov. 25, 2010.

As weary pilgrim, now at rest

Hugs with delight his silent nest

His wasted limbs now lie full soft

That mirey steps have trodden oft

Blesses himself to think upon

His dangers past, and travails done

The burnIng sun no more shall heat

Nor stormy rains on him shall beat

The briars and thorns no more shall scratch

Nor hungry wolves at him shall catch
He erring paths no more shall tread

Nor wild fruits eat instead of bread

For waters cold he doth not long

For thirst no more shall parch his tongue

No rugged stones his feet shall gall

Nor stumps nor rocks cause him to fall

All cares and fears he bids farewell

And means in safety now to dwell

A pilgrim I, on earth perplexed

With Sins, with cares and sorrows vext

By age and pains brought to decay

And my clay house mold'ring away

Oh, how I long to be at rest

And soar on high among the blest

This body shall in silence sleep

Mine eyes no more shall ever weep

No fainting fits shall me assail

Nor grinding pains my body frail

With cares and fears ne'er cumb'red be

Nor losses know, nor sorrows see

What though my flesh shall there consume

It is the bed Christ did perfume

And when a few years shall be gone

This mortal shall be clothed upon

A corrupt carcass down it lies

A glorious bodyu it shall rise

In weakness and dishonour sown

In power 'tis raised by Christ alone

Then soul and body shall unite

And of their Maker have the sight

Such lasting joys shall there behold

As ear ne'er heard nor tongue e'er told

Lord make me ready for that day

Then come, dear Bridegroom, come away

Anne Bradstreet - Aug. 31, 1669

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

The Notorious Meddler

Ronnie's Apple Cake

"Thanksgiving is more than eating, Chuck. You heard what Linus was saying out there. Those early Pilgrims were thankful for what had happened to them, and we should be thankful, too. We should just be thankful for being together. I think that's what they mean by Thanksgiving, Charlie Brown." (Marcie, from A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving) 

Why do we celebrate Thanksgiving Day?

My kids think of it as a long weekend away from school. A lot of people look at it as the start of the Christmas shopping season. For me, it is a special time to reflect on the many things I am thankful for. One special thing I am thankful for this year is Ronnie's Apple Cake and all that it allows me to remember. You see, Ronnie's Apple Cake is more than just a dessert...it is a door that leads to a time in my life that holds many wonderful memories. Memories of my family, when we were all there...together as one. It was a special time in my life.

Ronnie's Apple Cake was not always known as Ronnie's Apple Cake. Originally, it was just known as the delicious apple cake that mom baked. I am not sure how many pieces of that cake I ate from the time I was a youngster until I reached the age of 21, but it was a lot. We all loved it, but Ronnie, my brother, man he loved it more than any of us, and he let it be known that it was his favorite dessert. That was fine by me. I didn't mind who asked her to bake it, as long as she did. Only later did it matter which child asked her to bake it the most. You see, that apple cake was the very last thing Ronnie would ever eat of my mom's cooking and baking as he sat down at the kitchen table on the afternoon of May 6, 1981. At 5:30 a.m. the following morning, we found him dead of a car accident just five-tenths of a mile from home. No long after Ronnie's death, mom announced that she could no longer bare to bake another apple cake again and that was the end of it. We understood. Never again would anyone ask her to bake that apple cake and that was the end of it.

"Isn't it peculiar, Charlie Brown, how some traditions just slowly fade away" (Lucy, from A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.)

President Dwight David Eisenhower once said, "There's no tragedy in life like the death of a child. Things never get back to the way they were." Things have never really gotten back to the way they were for us following Ronnie's death in 1981, but one day recently - 29 years, 5 months and 3 days later to be exact - one very nice memory came back. It was Sunday, and after Church my son, J.D., and I drove to mom's house for lunch. I wasn't expecting to see mom's apple cake sitting there on the food bar, but there it was. Naturally, as soon as I saw it a ton of memories came flooding back as I recalled that time in my life when things were the way they used to be. I never expected things to remain the same after Ronnie's death, but who would expect that after such a tragedy? I am not really sure as to when exactly it happened, but somehow, over the years, I managed to put that part of my life in its special place in my mind, as I struggled to go on with my life.

Standing there, staring down at the apple cake I said, "Wow, you baked that apple cake!" Mom had forgotten about it, because she said she had found the recipe but did not know why she had not baked it. I reminded her it was Ronnie's favorite dessert and that after his death, she had said she could no longer bake it. She just said "Yeah," and that was it. It was nice to sit there and enjoy something I once thought to be the best thing I had ever tasted. 29 years, 5 months and 3 days. That is how long it had been since I had eaten that cake. The best part was that I was able to remember something my brother had loved so much during his short life. That day, I renamed mom's apple cake, Ronnie's Apple Cake.

As I write this, Thanksgiving Day is almost here. As Governor William Bradford of the Pilgrim Colony once said, it is a time to render Thanksgiving to the Almighty God for all His blessings. This year, as we always do, my family will gather together to enjoy one another in food and fellowship, and I look forward to it. I have witnessed many Thanksgiving Day's in my life and I have many blessings to be thankful for, including Ronnie's Apple Cake and all that it now means to me.

For those of you who are curious as to why my brother loved that apple cake so much, here is the recipe. I hope you will enjoy it as much as he did.

Ronnie's Apple Cake

Ingredients:
3 cups diced apples

1 1/2 cups of oil

2 cups sugar

3 eggs well beaten

3 cups self-rising flour

1 tp cinnamon

1 tp vanilla

1 cup raisins or nuts (mix well)
optional -1 cup powdered sugar
and 1/2 cup of milk for a glaze

Instructions:

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to one hour

Another Hill (And Sometimes A Mountain)

I have spent almost the entire day listening to this song and it has blessed me tremendously.  The words speak volumes to me and I just wanted to share it with you. I hope it touches you as much as it has touched me today.  Thanks.  nm

I've been scorned by a neighbor whom I treasured

I've been deceived by a friend I held dear

So many times I've just wanted to give up

Then I remember my Lord is right here

chorus

Another hill and sometimes a mountain

Another road with rocks to hurt my feet

But when He walks along beside me

I can make it, there'll be no retreat

Well I questioned the loss of a loved one

I wondered why it had happened to me

But through prayer I found the answer

It was all so plain to see

chorus

I’m so glad that I learned to trust Him

His promise to me He will keep

I have no fear of tomorrow

For the Shepherd takes good care of His sheep

chorus

The singer is Donald J. Shockey.

O Brave Warrior

Today is Veteran's Day, an opportunity for Americans to thank the 24.9 million military veterans who have served our country as a member of the armed forces. So, on this day, I pause to pay tribute to you, O brave warrior.

General Douglas MacArthur once said, "The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war." Many members of my own family, past and present, have served this great nation of ours, from the American Revolution to Desert Storm. Some had to travel far from home leaving their families behind. Some suffered the shedding of their own blood, while at least two never made it back home. Another died at home protecting his family and community. All were grateful to serve their country because they believed in the one thing that none of us should ever take for granted - freedom. I am thankful to you, O brave warrior, because you were willing to do whatever it takes so that I can enjoy the freedoms I have in America today.

Singer Ysabella Brave said, "You don't get very far in life without having to be brave an awful lot. Because we all have our frightening moments and difficult trials and we don't have much of a choice but to get through 'em, and it takes a lot of bravery to do that. The most important thing about bravery is this - It's not about not being scared - it's about being scared and doing it anyway - that's bravery.

You don't have to look far to see that America truly is the home of the brave. I pray that she will always remain the land of the free, so that those who sacrificed in whatever way will not have done so in vain. I am proud of you, O brave warrior, past and present. Long may the flag of freedom fly in your honor. Happy Veteran's Day!

It Has Always Been...

It has always been the soldier not the reporter who has given us Freedom of the press

It has always been the soldier not the poet who has given us Freedom of speech

It is the soldier not the campus organizer who has given us the Freedom to demonstrate

It is the soldier who salutes the flag who serves under the flag whose coffin is draped by the flag who allows the protesters to burn the flag!

It is the soldier... It has always been the soldier!

--Unknown

HAPPY VETERANS DAY!
 
 
 
 

Creature Feature

Between 1970 and 1973, also known as my pre-teen into early teen years, I couldn't wait for 10:30 p.m. on Saturday night. That is when Creature Feature aired on channel 4, WSMV, in Nashville. At exactly 10:30, an announcer would come on and say,

"Each of us carries upon his shoulders this bony sarcophagus, the grinning face of death. Within it resides the human brain, encompassing within its pulsating grey mass the totality of the cosmic consciousness. What a delicate instrument; capable of thoughts of inexpressible beauty, but often enslaved in mindless terrors by monstrous horrors that the mind cannot fathom, and indeed, horrors that may not exist except within the bony confines of the human brain box. This is Creature Feature... exploring the realms of the unknown. And now, from deep within the catacombs beneath our studios, here is your master of terrormonies, Sir Cecil Creape."

Sir Cecil (pronounced ses-cil) Creape was creepy. As the announcer was introducing the show, Sir Cecil would descend from a stone staircase to the sounds of water dripping ever so slowly. When he finally reached the floor of his dungeon, in an unmistakable droll, Sir Cecil would say, "Did someone call?" Then he would look into the camera and say, "Oh, there you are!" 

The dungeon, that was supposedly deep beneath the studios of Channel 4, had rock walls and a large bookshelf, on which rested a few books, a skull, and a framed picture of Floyd Kephart, political analyst in Nashville during the seventies. For some reason the protrayer of Sir Cecil (Whom I will reveal in a minute) thought it was funny to have a picture of Floyd on the mantle, and would refer to Floyd from time to time with such jokes as "Suffering Kepharts," or "That is almost as frightening as Floyd Kephart!"

Sir Cecil was an odd looking character; a short, round little fellow, bald on top with just a bit of hair on the sides. He wore a dark blue cape with a huge purple collar and a chain mail tunic. He had a hump back and walked in a slow, lurching style. He had a large scar across his forehead and wore a monocle in one eye. He wore a set of deformed teeth and always carried a strange looking lamp in one hand

Sir Cecil Creape was actually Russ McCown, a film editor for WSMV. He had a long history of camera work and film editing - In fact, he was the person who shot the very first color commercial in Nashville in 1956. Russ got the name of Sir Cecil from Cecil B. DeMille, the lgreat actor/director of such movies as "The Ten Commandments." He later described his character as a cross between the Hunchback of Notre Dame and Oliver Hardy.

Something else I discovered later on is that one of the main writers of the show was Pat Sajack, star of Wheel of Fortune. Sajack was an announcer and part-time weatherman at WSMV during my childhood.

Wait, I hear the steady drip, drip, drip, drip of water.

"Did someone call?"
 
(Below are a two Creature Feature segments.  I hope they creep you out just like they did me when I was a child.)
 

 
 

Psalm 63

My soul thirsteth for thee

My flesh longeth for thee

In a dry and thirsty land where no water stands

I will seek thee

To see thy power

To see thy glory

To know your love is the lovingkind

I will praise thee

And I will bless thee while I live

I will lift up my hands in thy name

I will lift up my hands in thy name

In a dry and thirsty land where no water stands

I will see thee

The Road To Burkesville

For those of you who do not know, for the past several weeks, road crews have been busy rebuilding that portion of Highway 1590 here at the radio station in preparation for the by-pass that is being built around town. That part of the road has been closed while the work is being done, and one of the detour routes is the Old Burkesville Road. The Old Burkesville Road was built nearly 200 years ago, so it was not built with today's traffic in mind, and it was definitely not built to handle the amount of traffic that has had to travel the road the past few weeks.

The Old Burkesville Road is one of the oldest roads in the county. Just prior to the year 1800, the third family to settle in here was the Wood family. They had moved from Virginia to North Carolina after the American Revolution, and now they were headed to a new area in Kentucky that had just opened for settlements east of the Green River. The Wood family chose to settle at Stockton's Valley, where they quickly established themselves as leaders in the community. They helped organize the first Church in the valley, Clear Fork Baptist Church. William Wood was the town surveyor and its sheriff. The Church minutes of 1813 state that William's brother, Samuel, was appointed overseer of the Burkesville Road from Robert Davis’ to the county line. That area of the community was known as Wood's Gap back then. A portion of the road that Samuel Wood helped build later became known as Wood Street. It still bears that name today.

When more automobiles began using the road, and when trucks hauling goods and services got bigger, the need arose to build a bigger road, and so around 1931, nearly 100 years later, the Burkesville Road, as we know it today, was built.

What's In A Name?

There is an old proverb that says 'good men must die, but death cannot kill their names.'

When we chose the name Marina for my daughter, I was a little skeptical at first because of all the marina's where I live, but she IS Marina and I could not imagine her name being anything else. Most people are named after their ancestors. My great-great-grandfather was George Washington Boles.  His cousin was Abraham Lincoln Boles. My great-grandfather was Ulysses S. Frost.  His nickname was Grant.

When I was born, my dad wanted to name me Roy Rogers Speck. "I think NOT," said my mom.  I am glad, too. Sorry Roy, but a lifetime of always being serenaded with "Happy trails to you until we meet again," would have been a little too much. Western TV shows were popular back then, so it could have been worse. He could have wanted to name me Zorro or Festus.

I used to tease my son, Elijah, by telling him that we almost named him Michael Jackson Speck. Although he would never admit it, for a few moments he actually believed me.

For the past several months, I have been keeping up with Rand Paul of Bowling Green. He is a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Kentucky and he has become very popular.  Fox and CNN are always talking about him and I have been thinking that, IF he wins the election, I might drop the Y from my first name, totally ditch my last name and start using my middle name. So, it would be RAND RAY.

I said I MIGHT. I didn't say that I would.



HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN!!

A Moment Worth Remembering

Life is not measured by the amount of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.

I was walking across the parking lot at the grocery store the other afternoon when, above the hustle and bustle of the busy street that lay behind me...above the noise of the shoppers walking to and fro the store in front of me, suddenly I heard the small voice of a child saying my name over and over! I looked toward the store in front of me and saw nothing. I looked toward the street behind me and saw nothing, I looked to my left and still NOTHING!

For a second I thought that perhaps I had only imagined I had heard a childs voice calling out to me, but when I looked to my right I saw it. Across the street, in the playground area of the elementary school, were what looked to be at least a hundred kids enjoying recess, and right in the midst of all those children I saw an arm lifted toward the sky. The hand that was attached to the arm was waving frantically and it was then that I realized the voice that was saying my name belonged to none other than my 9-year-old niece, Chrissy. My first thought was, "My, what great eye sight you have!" My second thought was, "My, what a great set of lungs you have!" Better to love me with, I decided, as I held up both my arms and frantically waved back to her just like she was waving to me. I smiled as I turned to walk toward the store, wiping away a couple of tears as I went inside.  

Italian poet and novelist Cesare Pavese once wrote, "We do not remember days, we remember moments. This was one of those moments. Unexpected but pleasurable.

Thanks for the 'shout out,' Chrissy!

Let It Be

In the spring of my 4th grade school year, I bought the newest album by the hottest rock and roll group in the world. I was totally swept away by the sixth song on side A. I liked the song so much that I immediately sat down at the piano and taught myself to play it. I was 10-years-old.

The next day, I walked into music class, sat down at the piano and performed the song in front of the entire class. No sooner had I begun to sing and play the song, a girl came running up to the piano and stood there watching me. I couldn't help but turn my attention toward her. Her eyes were bright and her smile was wide, and it made me very nervous. Then as the song played on, I realized I had found something unique that I could do and the girls would like. It inspired me to want to do more, and I did. I had discovered a way to get girls' attention. I realized that if doing something that came so easy and was so much fun and attracted the attention of girls, that is what I wanted to do.

The song was Let It Be by the Beatles. The album, of the same name, was released on May 8, 1970, shortly after the group's announced break-up. It was to become the Beatles' twelfth and final studio album.

I can remember the TV reporting that some of the Beatles' members were unhappy with one another, specifically John and Paul. The rehearsals and recording sessions for the Let It Be album did not run smoothly. At one point during the sessions, George walked out and quit the group after severely arguing with both John and Paul, only to be coaxed back some days later.

If you are not a student of the Beatles history and you hear Let It Be for the first time, you might think it is a pop song with religious influence, but it is not. As a matter of fact, John hated the song because he thought the public would perceive it as a religious song. He made sure that Maggie Mae, a song about a London prostitute, appeared on the album right after Let It Be. Paul's mother, Mary, had died when he was just 14. He claims that during all the turmoil the Beatles were going through, she came to him in a dream and it inspired him to write the song, Let It Be. Several years later, he explained it this way: "One night during this tense time I had a dream I saw my mum, who'd been dead ten years or so. And it was great to see her because that's a wonderful thing about dreams, you actually are reunited with that person for a second... In the dream she said, 'It'll be alright.' I'm not sure if she used the words 'Let it be' but that was the gist of her advice, it was 'Don't worry too much, it will turn out okay.'
I will never forget that day in my 4th grade music class when I sang and played Let It Be. and the way it affected both myself and that girl, but mostly myself.

LET IT BE!

When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me

Speaking words of wisdom, let it be

And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me

Speaking words of wisdom, let it be

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be

Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree

There will be an answer, let it be

For though they may be parted there is still a chance that they will see

There will be an answer. let it be

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be

Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light that shines on me

Shine until tomorrow, let it be

I wake up to the sound of music, mother Mary comes to me

Speaking words of wisdom, let it be

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be

Whisper words of wisdom, let it be