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"THOSE WHO LIVE IN HUMAN EFFORT WILL ALWAYS BE JEALOUS OF THOSE WHO LIVE IN DIVINE PROMISE." SOLD-OUT TO CHRIST FIRST, AMERICA A CLOSE SECOND!

Profile Information

Hometown:

Tremont, Illinois

Relationship Status:

Married

About Me:

My real name is Rudy Reynolds, and MY ATTITUDE MATCHES MY BLOOD TYPE, "B POSITIVE".

Mon, 06 Jun 2005, "REMEMBER NOAH"

I was in my prayer time after work one night, did my praise and worship, ascribing worth to one who is beyond worth as we know it, with my feeble attempt, even, in tongues, and then He spoke to me as I took time to listen. You might get something out of this, too, concerning something in your life now, in the past, or in the future. "Remember Noah?"
Yes, Lord.
"Remember how people made fun of him and did not listen to him and the vision I gave him, and would not believe in what he was doing? Some said they would believe it when they saw it, and just ignored it or watched from afar, unsure, and not wanting to commit or help. The work would have gone faster, and there was plenty of room on the ark, but they wouldn't believe. Watch the people. Watch your family members, even. If they are willing to pitch in and believe with you now, there is room for them; those scoffers and are skeptics, even family, will be pounding on the hull when the waters start to rise and your vision takes off. I will seal the door to them, and they will only watch you go from afar, as the water rises around them to engulf them. This will not be your fault; do not let your compassion overcome you. They are choosing their way and not mine as they scoff and actually ridicule me. Just you do what I will have you to do, and I will take care of the rest. Watch the people around you, and even watch your family, there will be a separation of the sheep from the goats. Watch the people around you, for those who support you from the beginning, and stay with you to the fruition, they will stay to the end, but some will begin and fall away from supporting you. Watch the people and let them fall where they will as you do what you must. I am with you. That is all you need, and I will bring others alongside of my choosing."

THERE HAVE BEEN TIMES WHERE I SHOULD NOT HAVE COME OUT ALIVE, BUT I CAME OUT WITHOUT EVEN A SCAR, EXCEPT WHEN I GOT STABBED, (STRICTLY AND SOLELY BY THE GRACE AND PROTECTION OF MY LORD AND HIS GUARDIAN ANGELS!) SUCH AS THE EXPLOSION IN MY HAND

WHICH SET OFF ANOTHER EXPLOSION AGAINST MY CHEST, AND NONE OF THE THREE OF US WHO WERE BURNED BY IT HAD EVEN A SCAR. WE COULD HAVE HAD EYE DAMAGE, AND I SHOULD NOT HAVE MY RIGHT HAND, LET ALONE HALF MY CHEST! I HAVE BEEN THROUGH FIVE TORNADOES; ONCE OUTSIDE WITH WHATEVER COVER I COULD FIND, ONCE IN A CAR AT NIGHT WITH POWER LINES FALLING DOWN AROUND US AND BALLS OF FIRE BOUNCING ACROSS THE FIELDS. I DO NOT FEAR TORNADOES. I RESPECT THEM, YES, FEAR THEM, NO. I DO NOT PANIC, FOR I HAVE FACED DEATH AND DISMEMBERMENT TOO MANY TIMES, AND IT SEEMS I AM FEARLESS, BUT IT IS GOD WITHIN ME.

I HAD A JOB ONCE WHERE I WORE SPECIAL GLOVES, AND WROTE ON MINE (WHERE OTHERS WROTE THEIR NAMES FOR IDENTIFICATION IF SOMETHING WENT WRONG), "HO KA HAY." A GUY ASKED ME WHAT THAT MEANT, AND I TOLD HIM IT MEANT "IT IS A GOOD DAY TO DIE." HE CALLED ME CRAZY BECAUSE 'IT IS NEVER A GOOD DAY TO DIE.' I TOLD HIM, "FOR ME TO LIVE IS CHRIST, FOR ME TO DIE IS GAIN." HE WALKED AWAY SHAKING HIS HEAD, BUT IT OPENED THE DOOR TO WITNESS TO MANY OF MY CO-WORKERS IN HOT SITUATIONS, AS WE ARE ALL TO LIVE A TESTIMONY MORE THAN WE ARE TO PREACH IT. OUR LIVES WE LIVE MAY BE THE ONLY BIBLE THEY EVER READ, AND WE ARE BEING WATCHED CLOSELY, BY OTHERS AND BY GOD.

THIS IS THE HOUSE THAT I GREW UP, AND UP, AND UP IN:

THIS IS ME IN THE 4TH GRADE. I WAS NOT ALWAYS AS GOOD LOOKING AS I AM NOW, AS YOU CAN SEE.

BUT THIS IS MY LONG LOST TWIN

I GREW UP UN-CHURCHED UNTIL I WAS 13 YEARS OLD. I WAS AN ILLINOIS FARM BOY, & THE ONLY OF THREE SONS WHO LOVED THE FARM. WE GREW SOME CRAZY THINGS, AND EVEN SOME CANNIBALISTIC HOGS!

I GOT VERY INVOLVED IN THE MENNONITE CHURCH,

FROM WHEN I COMMITTED MY LIFE TO CHRIST JUNE 25, 1970, AND JOINED FIRST MENNONITE CHURCH OF MORTON UNTIL I WAS MARRIED.

I SERVED IN SUNDAY SCHOOL, VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL, CHURCH DRAMAS,

MENNONITE DISASTER SERVICE, CLEANING UP FLOODS AND TORNADOES,

MENNONITE RELIEF SALES, AND AS A CAMP COUNSELOR AT CAMP MENNO HAVEN, TISKILWA, IL.

I HEARD THE CALL TO BECOME A PREACHER DURING THE SUMMER OF '77, AT CAMP, BUT THAT DID NOT COME TO PASS UNTIL THE SPRING OF '06. HOWSOMEEVER, I DID NOT TURN FROM THE CALL, AND THOSE YEARS WERE ALL FOR TRAINING AND LEARNING, BEFORE TAKING THE BIG LEAP,

EVEN BEFORE BIBLE SCHOOL.

MY DAUGHTER, RASCHELLE,

OFTEN SAYS, "THINGS HAPPEN FOR A REASON," AND I AGREE, BECAUSE LIFE'S EXPERIENCES ARE SO THAT WE CAN TELL PEOPLE WE HAVE BEEN THERE, DONE THAT, MAY NOT HAVE HAD THE MONEY TO BUY THE T-SHIRT, BUT WE UNDERSTAND, AND KNOW THAT GOD CAN, AND WILL, BRING YOU THROUGH.

IN THIS, WE CAN ATTEST TO HOMELESSNESS,

JOBLESSNESS,

A HOSTAGE SITUATION, CARLESS-NESS, BEING DISOWNED AND DISINHERITED,

ORPHANED OR ADOPTED, RELATED TO A HOMOSEXUAL WHO DIED WITH A.I.D.S.,

MY PARENTS DID NOT WANT ME TO MARRY MARCIA AND THEY GAVE US A LOT OF GRIEF, SO WE ELOPED ON MARCH 21, 1981. THERE WERE PROPHECIES ABOUT US MEETING AND MARRYING WHICH WERE FULFILLED IN SO DOING, BUT ONE THING LED TO ANOTHER AND I WAS LEGALLY REMOVED FROM THE WILL, DISOWNED AND DISINHERITED. WHEN WE WENT AHEAD WITH 'THE BIG WEDDING' PLANS, WE SENT THEM AN INVITATION, WHICH THEY DID NOT COME FOR, ON JULY 11, 1981.

ON 2 SEPARATE OCCASSIONS, WE VISITED SOME OF MY FRIENDS, AND THEY SAID, "WELL, YOU DON'T LOOK DEAD TO ME!" WHEN ASKED WHO WAS TELLING THEM I WAS DEAD, THEY SAID THAT MY MOM WAS. MY DAD WENT ALONG WITH THE LIE, AS DID MY HOMO BROTHER, OUT IN CALIFORNIA, (WHOSE HUSBANDS THEY WOULD ACCEPT INTO THEIR HOUSE BUT WOULD NOT ACCEPT MY WIFE). I WAS THE BABY, AND THE WORKHORSE OF THE FAMILY, AND I GUESS THEY COULDN'T HANDLE THAT I HAD MARRIED 'A HOLY-ROLLER GIRL' WHO WAS OLDER THAN ME. WHEN THEY SAID THEY COULD NOT ACCEPT HER, I TOLD THEM IF THEY COULDN'T, THEY COULDN'T ACCEPT ME EITHER. THEY SAID, "SO BE IT." I SAID, "SO BE IT." THIS LAST COMMUNICATION WAS IN 1988.

IN DECEMBER OF 2000, WHILE IN FIRST YEAR OF VICTORY BIBLE INSTITUTE, A CLASSMATE FOUND OUT ABOUT MY FAMILY SITUATION AND LOCATED MY OLDEST BROTHER IN ST. LOUIS, MO, USING THE INTERNET. I WROTE A VERY SHORT, ULTRA-DIFFICULT LETTER, A FEW LINES, AND A FEW LINES WERE WHAT I GOT BACK, FOR HE WAS UNDER ORDERS NOT TO CONTACT ME. I HAD NEVER SEEN MY NIECE AT THAT POINT, AND HAD ONLY SEEN MY NEPHEW, 9 MONTHS YOUNGER THAN MY DAUGHTER, ONCE. THE LETTERS GREW, AND FINALLY, IN AUGUST OF 2001, HE TOLD ME, IN 2 TYPED LINES OF A LETTER, ABOUT THE LOSS OF 40% OF MY FAMILY 5 YEARS AFTER THE PASSING OF MY BROTHER, WHOM I HAD NOT SEEN SINCE BEFORE MY OLDEST BROTHER WAS MARRIED IN 1980, AND 4 YEARS AFTER THE PASSING OF MY DAD. HE ALSO WROTE THAT MY MOM HAD ALZHEIMER'S AND WAS IN A NURSING HOME JUST BLOCKS FROM HIS HOUSE.

IN FEBRUARY OF 2003, WE WENT TO VISIT MY BROTHER IN ST. LOUIS, AND HE HAD TO GO SEE MOM. HE ASKED IF WE WANTED TO GO. I RELUCTANTLY SAID YES, MARCIA ADAMANTLY SAID NO, AND RASCHELLE SHYLY DECLINED, NOT HAVING ANY MEMORY OF THE WOMAN. MOM DID NOT REMEMBER ANYTHING BAD, SO WE HAD A DECENT VISIT. I STARTED WORKING AT O.R.U. IN MARCH, 2003,

AND MY CAR BROKE DOWN IN APRIL, SO I WALKED TO WORK AND WALMART FOR GROCERIES, AND WE WALKED TO CHURCH (OR BUMMED RIDES) FOR 7 WEEKS. ON SUNDAY, JUNE 1, 2003, THE MORNING MARCIA WROTE IN HER CHURCH NOTEBOOK THANKING GOD "FOR OUR NEW S.U.V.," MOM DIED IN HER SLEEP AND I HAD TO GET AN ADVANCE FROM WORK TO RENT A CAR TO GO TO THE FUNERAL THAT WEDNESDAY.

AT THE FUNERAL, WHEN I THOUGHT EVERYBODY HAD LEFT THE ROOM, I PLAYED 'TURKEY IN THE STRAW' ON MY HARMONICA AND SAID, "FOR THE GOOD TIMES," TURNED AROUND AND THERE WAS MY FAMILY, HARLEY'S FAMILY AND THE PRIEST, STARING AT ME LIKE I WAS WEIRD OR SOMETHING. LATER, HARLEY SAID, "YOU KNOW YOU WERE DISOWNED AND TAKEN OUT OF THE WILL, RIGHT?" I SAID, YES. HE SAID HE WAS "THE EXECUTOR, WE ARE THE ONLY 2 LEFT," HE DID "NOT CARE WHAT THE WILL SAID, WE WERE GOING TO SPLIT EVERYTHING." I THOUGHT, "AW, SHUCKS!" SO, ON JUNE 7TH, WE WERE DRIVING A BRAND NEW 2003 FORD EXCURSION TO CHURCH WHICH GOD HAD GOTTEN A DOOZY OF A DEAL, A 3-WEEK-OLD 'EMPLOYEE SALE' SIGN FOR $8000 OFF. WE SAW IT, SO THEY HAD TO HONOR IT! I ALSO PAID A WHOLE YEAR'S TUITION AT V.B.I., WHICH SAVED $600, AND MUCH, MUCH MORE.

THUS GOD GAVE ME THE INHERITANCE, ANYWAY, AND THOSE WHO SAID I WAS DEAD ARE NOW DEAD, THEMSELVES, AND I AM STILL HERE, BECAUSE "NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST ME WILL PROSPER AND ALL WHO RISE AGAINST ME WILL FALL", AND "TOUCH NOT MINE ANOINTED!" HE WILL GIVE THE WEALTH OF THE WICKED TO HIS PEOPLE!

SO MUCH FOR THAT RABBIT TRAIL...BACK TO WHAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT; OUR MANY EXPERIENCES GOD WANTS US TO USE TO TELL OTHERS WE KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT, SUCH AS...

BEING A VICTIM OF A VIOLENT CRIME (stabbing),

FYI: IT TOOK 2 PEOPLE WITH KNIVES TO DO IT! I DID NOT KNOW ONE HAD A KNIFE UNTIL I HEARD IT OPEN. IT WAS AIMED FOR MY CHEST BUT I BLOCKED IT WITH MY ARM AND THEN PERSUADED THEM TO LEAVE MY DRIVEWAY.

AND MUCH MORE.

GOD TAKES THAT WHICH WAS MEANT FOR EVIL AND MAKES IT GOOD, AND BRINGS US THROUGH, FOR YEA, THOUGH WE WALK through THE VALLEY...YOU DON'T CAMP OUT THERE, AND HE'S NO RESPECTER OF PERSONS, SO WHAT HE'S DONE FOR OTHERS, HE'LL DO FOR YOU! JESUS HAS ALREADY GIVEN US THE VICTORY! WE JUST HAVE TO WALK INTO IT, WHICH MAY TAKE A LITTLE EFFORT ON OUR PART. HE DID NOT PROMISE US AN ESCALATOR OR ELEVATOR, WE MAY HAVE TO TAKE THE STEPS.

I'VE BEEN A ROYAL RANGER COMMANDER IN SC, '84-89,

MT '89-92, IL '92-98, CO'98-99, AND OK '99 TO '08. NOW, I'M BACK IN MT!

I ALWAYS SAY "I DON'T HAVE ANY SONS, BUT I HAVE BOYS IN FIVE STATES!" I'VE BEEN ON DISTRICT STAFF IN IL AND SC, AND AM F.C.F. SINCE '87, WILDERNESS F.C.F. SINCE '96.

I LIKE PRIMITIVE SURVIVAL, (IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING, IT'S NOT "ROUGHING IT.")

WITH MY MOTTO: "I'VE EATEN WORMS, I WILL TO SURVIVE."

MAKE A FIRE OUT OF WATER
I HAVE A COUPLE FRIENDS/CO-WORKERS WHO ARE STUDYING AT O.R.U. FOR THEIR DOCTORATES OF DIVINITY SO THEY CAN BE CHAPLAINS IN THE MILITARY, AND ONE DAY I TOLD THEM BOTH THEY COULD RAZZLE-DAZZLE THE TROOPS AT BIVOUAC SOME TIME BY TELLING THEM THEY COULD MAKE A FIRE USING WATER. SEEMS ODD, DOESN'T IT? BUT I COULD MAKE A LOT OF MONEY LETTING PEOPLE BET AGAINST THAT PROBABILITY, AND THEN PROVING IT TO THEM. YOU SEE, IN SURVIVAL TRAINING, NOT IN THE ARMED FORCES SURVIVAL HANDBOOK, EITHER, I LEARNED THAT IF THE WEATHER IS SUNNY, AND YOU NEED A FIRE AND HAVE NO OTHER MEANS OF STARTING A FIRE, YOU CAN, INDEED, START A FIRE USING JUST A DROP OF WATER. YOU GET A DROP OF WATER ON THE END OF A PINE NEEDLE AND USE IT JUST LIKE A MAGNIFYING GLASS TO FOCUS THE SUNLIGHT ONTO THE PROPER TINDER TO IGNITE A FIRE. IT REALLY WORKS! IF YOU CAN USE A MAGNIFYING GLASS TO START A FIRE, YOU CAN USE A DROP OF WATER TO START A FIRE. WHY AM I TELLING YOU THAT? ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF MY ODD WAY OF TAKING A THING OF NATURE AND MAKING A SERMONETTE OUT OF IT. (I DON'T KNOW IF YOU GET TIRED OF THAT, BUT THAT'S HOW GOD GIVES THINGS TO ME.)

JESUS IS THE SON, THE LIGHT, AND THE WAY. IN ORDER TO SURVIVE, YOU HAVE TO FIND A WAY AND FIRE IS A TYPE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. ANOTHER TYPE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS WATER. WATER HELPS YOU FOCUS THE light, KEEP YOUR FOCUS ON JESUS, AND YOU WILL GET AFIRE (I INTENDED NOT TO SPACE BETWEEN "A" AND "FIRE")! HE USES THE SIMPLE TO CONFOUND THE WISE. FIRE IS AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT OF SURVIVAL. THE LIGHT OF THE SON (SUN) GIVES YOU THE POWER TO FOCUS ENERGY SO YOU CAN BE ON FIRE, A LIGHT UNTO THE WORLD. TAKE THAT AND RUN WITH IT HOWEVER YOU WANT TO, OR TOSS IT OUT, BUT I'LL BET YOU THAT IT WORKS, JUST AS MUCH AS STARTING A FIRE WITH WATER WORKS, THOUGH IT MAY SEEM IMPOSSIBLE UNTIL YOU TRY IT.

I HAVE WORKED FOUNDRIES, ASSEMBLY LINES, BEEN AN E.M.T.,

HEAVY EQUIPMENT OPERATOR,

PLUMBER,

SHERIFF'S CORPORAL,

HUNTING GUIDE, MULE PACKER,

TRAPPER AND TRACKER,

LANDSCAPER, AUTOMOTIVE INTERIOR REPAIRMAN, GRILL COOK, AND A LOT MORE. YOU'RE EITHER LEARNING AND GROWING OR YOU'RE DYING.

On October 30, 2005, I was walking my dog, Princess, in the park across the street from my abode. In this park is a persimmon tree, and Princess has developed a craving for persimmons, of all things, and I help her find them on the ground and ask her if she wants "that persimmon." If she does, she eats it, and sometimes shakes her head, but enjoys the fruit. She enjoys them so much, she has learned the word 'persimmon' to the point that she can be in our living room and we ask where the persimmons are and she will look around the floor for persimmons, and even begin to salivate. When I am with my dog, I am often communing with God and He has used her or her actions or something else many times to give me little lessons or even complete sermons. On this particular day, I was laughing at how she is with persimmons, shaking her head if they are not well-done, so to speak. My spirit heard the Holy Spirit say that is how we should be, like her, when we hear or speak the Word. She looks for it to be there or come to pass, expectantly to the point of salivating for it. He said that is what He means when He says "Whatsoever you ask in my name BELIEVING THAT YOU RECEIVE... ." The emphasis is not on the asking, but on the believing, to the point of expectation so that our mind and spirit salivate for the fruit of the Word we speak, as in "according to my word," and we would see much more accomplished, many more blessings, healings, miracles, victories, etc., if we believed as strongly as Princess believes she will find persimmons when we say that word. How much more powerful is His Word, but do we have the same response in our spirits? When we say the Word and believe it to be fruitful, the devil will definitely believe it, so let's believe the Word we say to the point of salivating for the fruition of it and watch what happens!!!

WE FINISHED VICTORY BIBLE INSTITUTE IN TULSA, OK, IN '04.

WE TOOK A TRIP BACK TO MT TO 'SPY OUT THE LAND' IN '06,

AND HAD A GOOD TIME, MADE EXCELLENT CONTACTS,

AND WE CAME BACK, FOR GOOD, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, SEPTEMBER OF '07, TO START MINISTERING TO THE RESERVATIONS, TO START A FACTORY FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF AN INVENTION GOD GAVE ME IN JULY '99,

WHICH WILL HELP ALLEVIATE THE 70-80% UNEMPLOYMENT ON ONE RESERVATION, AND TO SPONSOR INDIANS TO V.B.I. SO THAT THEY CAN COME BACK AND PREACH TO THEIR OWN BETTER THAN WE CAN. WE WILL START RELIEF CENTERS NEAR EACH OF THE THREE GROUPINGS OF RESERVATIONS, PIONEER A COWBOY CHURCH IN CENTRAL MT, OUT OF WHICH TO MINISTER TO THE LIVESTOCK INDUSTRY, SUCH AS RODEOS, STOCKYARDS, AND SHOWS.

WE WILL HAVE A DUDE-TYPE RANCH FOR TROUBLED YOUTH, TIRED MINISTERS, MINISTERS WHO NEED RESTORED, AND FOR ITINERATING MISSIONARIES WHO NEED A PLACE TO STAY (FREE, WITH A 'VACATION' ATMOSPHERE).
YOUTH (especially of incarcerated parents) AND INDIANS WILL ALSO BE TAUGHT MARKETABLE JOB SKILLS AND WORK ETHICS IN A CHRISTIAN FAMILY-STYLE ATMOSPHERE AT THE RANCH.

WE WILL ALSO DO JAIL AND PRISON MINISTRY,

SHORT-TERM OVERSEAS MISSIONS, EVANGELISM, AND STREET MINISTRY. THIS VISION IS BIGGER THAN US, WE CANNOT DO IT, WE COULD NOT HAVE EVEN DREAMED IT UP WITHOUT GOD, BUT MY GOD IS A BIG GOD, WHO IS MORE THAN ENOUGH!!!

I AVAILABLE TO PREACH EVANGELISTICALLY, AND TO SPREAD THE VISION WE HAVE HAD SINCE 1990, WHICH IS COMING TO FRUITION VERY SOON. I LIKE TO LAUGH, AND MAKE PEOPLE LAUGH, WHILE PREACHING SIMPLE, PARABLE-LIKE SERMONS THAT GET DOWN TO THE NITTY-GRITTY, BECAUSE THE CHURCH MUST BE WITHOUT SPOT OR WRINKLE OR THE 'REACHING THE ENDS OF THE EARTH' IS WASTING OUR, AND GOD'S, TIME. I STEP ON MY OWN TOES WHILE I PREACH THE TRUTH AND PROSPERITY THROUGH REPENTANCE,WHICH IS THE WORD OF GOD, WITH SIGNS AND WONDERS FOLLOWING AS HE CONFIRMS HIS WORD THROUGH ME, AND MY WIFE, IN SEVERAL GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. I CAN BE CONTACTED PERSONALLY THROUGH:

montanasaskwach@minister.com.

OR MESSAGE ME AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT PHONE CALLS.

On 01-03-05, I was walking my Alaskan Malamute, Princess, in Graham Park, across the street from my home in Tulsa, and as we rounded the east end of the tennis courts, I looked up in a tree and saw a bald eagle in the top of the tree. That's why there were no squirrels out that day, which I usually allowed Princess to chase. As I stood directly under the eagle in the tree, looking straight up at the majestic emblem of our and many other nations, and Indian nations, awed that I have seen one this close in the wild, I thanked God that He allowed me to see it.

Princess and I were the only visible moving things in the foggy park except the eagle and a police cruiser set up as a speed trap for the school zone over by the road. I wanted to tell someone so people would not think me crazier than normal when I told them I saw a bald eagle so far from the nesting area over at Sand Springs, so we started walking toward the police car, but as we approached, I turned and looked to make sure it was visible from there, and it had gone elsewhere, so we silently headed back to the tree to make sure my eagle had flown. I know enough that I know I had not been seeing things, for I had seen the white head turning almost entirely around with that majestic curved beak, had seen it ruffle its feathers and stretch and spread the white tail feathers and saw the white legs and the talons, and it was not a turkey or a buzzard. I thanked God again for letting me see it, whether anybody would believe me about a bald eagle this far into Tulsa or not.

Walking back to the house, I was praying, and in a seemingly audible voice that confirmed that I had seen, indeed, a bald eagle, that voice said, "That was a bald eagle. They fly higher than any other bird, but this one was resting. Flying so high is easy, once they get there, but many times they must fly through storms, turbulences, up-drafts and vacuums before they can soar, and then must come down through the same to get where the nourishment and growth are. You are like that eagle. You have fought the storms and rough times and have soared high and fought the storms and rough times again, and now you need to rest so you can take off again, rising up like an eagle. It is good that you saw the eagle this morning, and stood in awe of it, but it is not just a symbol of what you said, for I used it long before the nations and the Indians noticed it, and it is a symbol of those who diligently seek Me and desire to serve Me and obey Me, and you will rest in the treetops before soaring again to the great work that is before you that will make others stand with their chins on their chests in awe, and they will be attracted to you and the work you are doing, as you are the eagle and the power and majesty and talents it represents to so many, with silent strength. It was there for YOU, not to share, although that is your heart. WE know it was there, it WAS real, and not a vision or dream, but it was YOUR eagle, one of many you will see, and you had love for it and joy at seeing it, and peace as you looked up at it, and you will rise up as an eagle and others will be comforted and know peace in Me through you. So, begin your rest, stretch a little, and prepare for flight. Mark this day and know I AM with you, preen and lose feathers and look around you. The time of flight and the path to take will become clear, not foggy, to you. Then SOAR away to what I have made ready, the blue sunny skies above the foggy mists in which you are now enveloped."

I thought some others of you might be encouraged by this. The scripture says in Jeremiah that those who wait upon (or serve) the Lord will renew their strength, they shall mount up AS (not 'like') eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."

Don't be weary while waiting on or serving Him in the capacity in which you are, you may be in a reserve unit waiting to fill a breech in the front line, but the time will come when He calls you to the front and the fight is on. At the police academy, they told us there would be 98% sheer boredom on the job, and 2% sheer terror, and they were right. The main thing is, are you ready at all times for that 2% when you are called into action? Be instant in season and out. How quick is the twinkling of an eye, when the trumpet shall sound? I am ready, (and I don't say that just as the Royal Ranger motto, either,) are you?

HE'S JUST LOOKING FOR WILLING VESSELS. ARE YOU UP TO IT?

THE ARMY OF GOD IS THE ONLY ARMY SINCE NAPOLEON THAT, INSTEAD OF ROTATING FRONT LINE TROOPS OUT FOR SOME R+R, WE PUSH THEM ASIDE WHEN THEY ARE OLD, WEARY, WOUNDED, OR FALLEN, OR WE JUST PLAIN EXECUTE THEM. NO! WE NEED TO RESTORE AND REVITALIZE THE EXPERIENCED WARRIORS

AND GET THEM BACK ON THE FRONT LINES WHERE THEY CAN DO EXPLOITS FOR GOD AS THEY ARE ACCUSTOMED. HE'S NOT DONE WITH ME, YET, AND HE'S NOT DONE WITH YOU!!! AS I HAVE 'EXAMPLED', I HAVE FACED DEATH AND DISMEMBERMENT MANY TIMES, AND EACH TIME MY FAMILY HAS BEEN DOING SOMETHING FOR GOD, LIKE ADOPTION, BIBLE SCHOOL, MISSION TRIP, ETC., THE ENEMY HAS LITERALLY TRIED TO KILL ONE OR ALL OF US, WITH THE STABBING, BEING SIDESWIPED BY A LOADED SEMI ON A BRIDGE WITH ONLY 9" MORE WIDTH THAN THE WIDTH OF BOTH VEHICLES, STALLED ON A TRAIN TRACK WITH A MILE-LONG AMMUNITION TRAIN

BEARING DOWN ON US, ALTITUDE SICKNESS AND BLOOD PRESSURE PROBLEMS AT 9000 FEET AND NOT ALLOWED OFF THE MOUNTAIN, AND SO ON. BUT HE HAS A PLAN FOR OUR LIVES, FOR YOUR LIFE, AND HE WILL NOT LET THE ENEMY DESTROY YOU IF YOU KEEP FAITH AND FOCUS ON HIM AND NOT THE WIND AND THE WAVES! HE WON'T LET YOU GO UNDER! HE TOLD US TO GO AND PREACH AND MAKE DISCIPLES, NOT GO AND SINK! HE DOES NOT CALL THE PREPARED, HE PREPARES THE CALLED, AND IF YOU GET RID OF YOUR "STINKIN' THINKIN'" AND DON'T LET YOUR MOUTH HANG YOU, YOU WILL DO EXPLOITS FOR HIM, AND HE WILL SAY "WELL DONE, THOU GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT." TOO MANY OF US JUST WANT TO BE FAITHFUL SERVANTS AND SPEND TIME IN THE PEWS AT HIS FEET ADORING HIM, BUT THE GOOD SERVANT IS OUT THERE DOING THE FATHER'S BUSINESS, WITH EMPHASIS ON THE SERVANT, NOT ON THE FAITHFUL OR GOOD. OUR OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS IS AS FILTHY {MENSTRUAL} RAGS. JESUS WAS BAPTIZED IN WATER WHEN HE WAS 30 YEARS OLD. WHO ARE WE TO THINK INFANT BAPTISM WILL GET US THROUGH? JESUS RECEIVED THE FILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT BEFORE HE STARTED MINISTERING, WHO ARE WE TO THINK WE CAN MINISTER GREATER THINGS THAN HE DID WITHOUT THE FULLNESS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WITH THE EVIDENCE OF SPEAKING IN TONGUES? JESUS PRAYED TO HIS FATHER OFTEN, GETTING AWAY TO THE MOUNTAINS TO DO IT MOST OF THE TIME, BUT GOING OFTEN TO THE SYNAGOGUE (CHURCH), SO WHO ARE WE TO THINK WE CAN DO OTHERWISE? WE HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF THOSE WE WIN FOR THE KINGDOM, OUR VETERAN MINISTERS, AND OUR FRONT-LINE FIGHTERS AGAINST DARKNESS. WE MUST GET OUT AND BE ABOUT THE FATHER'S BUSINESS TO USHER IN THE RETURN OF JESUS. I DON'T APPRECIATE PEOPLE SAYING, "I JUST WISH HE WOULD COME AND GET US OUT OF HERE." GET OUT AND DO SOMETHING TO CAUSE IT!!! THERE ARE PEOPLE DYING AND GOING TO HELL BECAUSE YOU ARE LAZY AND NOT TELLING THEM ABOUT JESUS, AND THAT'S WHY HE IS NOT RETURNING! HE WISHES THAT NONE SHOULD PERISH. HE DID NOT JUST WANT IT TO STOP WITH YOU HEARING! THAT IS SO SELFISH!!! GO, AND ALSO FEED THE SHEEP, IF YOU LOVE HIM. BOTH WERE NOT SUGGESTIONS, THEY WERE COMMANDS. HELLO?

Website:

http://ourchurch.com/member/r/rmrministries

Favorite Music:

THE LILACS OF BELGRADE:

WE GOT 1-3 INCHES OF SNOW JUNE 11TH THIS YEAR, AND IT PRETTY MUCH DID OUR LILACS IN IF THEY WERE NOT SHELTERED FROM THE WET HUGE FLAKES, BUT I TOOK PICTURES OF THE SNOW ON THE LILACS. THE AROMA REMAINED FOR SEVERAL DAYS AFTERWARD, AND WE STILL ENJOYED THEM, BUT NOT AS LONG AS WE COULD HAVE. WELCOME TO THE MOUNTAINS, WHERE I HAVE BEEN SNOWED UPON IN EVERY MONTH OF THE CALENDAR. AND THEY SAY GLOBAL WARMING?

MY BLOODLINE:

THE REYNOLDS AND THE DOWNEYS,

THE HURLEYS

OF ALL THE CELEBRITIES I HAVE WORKED WITH, ONE STICKS IN MY MIND ABOVE THE OTHERS. ONE DAY I WAS WORKING SECURITY AT THE BACK DOOR OF THE ARENA BEFORE THE SHOW, AND THIS LITTLE GUY WITH LONG, DARK HAIR TO THE SHOULDERS, WEARING IVORY BERMUDA SHORTS AND A WHITE T-SHIRT AND SNEAKERS CAME OUT AND STOOD TALKING WITH ME ABOUT THE ROCK FORMATIONS. WE WERE STANDING SHOULDER TO ELBOW WHEN MY RELIEF CAME ALONG, SO I COULD GO TAKE MY POSITION IN FRONT OF THE STAGE, MY BACK ACTUALLY AGAINST THE FRONT OF THE STAGE, BUT AS I WENT TO GO INSIDE, THE LITTLE LONG HAIRED GUY SAID, AS HE POINTED SKY-WARD, "DOESN'T THAT LOOK LIKE SKY KING'S AIRPLANE?"

I TURNED AND LOOKED, AND SURE ENOUGH IT DID, AND I VERBALLY AGREED. THE YOUNGER RELIEF MAN ASKED WHO SKY KING WAS, SO THIS LONG-HAIR AND I HAD TO EXPLAIN, AND THEN I WENT IN TO ASSUME MY POST. AS THE LIGHTS WENT OUT AND THE CROWD BECAME EXCITED, I TURNED TO LOOK, KNOWING THE STAR OF THE SHOW HAD MADE HIS APPEARANCE, AND LO, THERE ON THE STAGE WITH ELECTRIC GUITAR IN HAND, WAS THE LONG-HAIR, BUT NOW DRESSED IN A SHINY BLACK FANCY OUTFIT INSTEAD OF BERMUDA SHORTS, T SHIRT AND SNEAKERS. IT WAS NONE OTHER THAN B.J. THOMAS, HIMSELF, WHO HAD STOOD SHOULDER TO ELBOW WITH THIS LOWLY SECURITY OFFICER OUTSIDE, TALKING ABOUT ROCKS AND SKY KING'S AIRPLANE. HE HAS BEEN MY FAVORITE CELEBRITY EVER SINCE THEN. GOD BLESS AND SAVE HIM IF HE ISN'T ALREADY SAVED!

Being born again transforms you into someone who didn't exist before. What you receive as a Christian isn't the point, it's who you become as a Christian.
It's not what you do as a Christian that determines who you are, rather, it's who you are that determines what you do. Understanding your identity IN Christ is absolutely essential to your success at living the Christian life.
Next to a knowledge OF God--a knowledge of who YOU ARE is by far the most important truth you can possess. Take your stand as a child of God IN Christ. Thank God for giving you this gracious and unwarranted position.
"If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come".2 Corinthians 5:17.

MY MUSIC IS: OLD COUNTRY WESTERN OF THE HEE HAW ERA AND BEFORE,SUCH AS THE STATLER BROTHERS, ROY CLARK, JOHNNY CASH, TOM T. HALL, EDDIE ARNOLD, WAYLON AND WILLIE, CHARLIE PRIDE, AND SO ON,

ALSO THE 50s AND 60s DOO-WOP,

BALLADS

AND OLD HYMNS, QUARTET GOSPEL, THE HARMONICATS,

BLUE GRASS, GOSPEL, AND APPALACHIAN. MY GRANDFATHER WAS IN A BIG BAND IN THE 20s, PLAYING ALL STRINGED INSTRUMENTS AND THE SLIDE WHISTLE BY EAR, AND I HAVE SOME OF HIS TEST RECORDS AND OLDIES FROM THAT ERA WITH SOME HANK WILLIAMS, SR., AND SUCH-LIKE.

Favorite TV Shows:

JOIN THE BOYCOTT!!!JOIN THE BOYCOTT!!!

SHE ACCEPTED HER OSCAR, SHE SAID PEOPLE THANK JESUS FOR THIS, WELL, JESUS HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH HER GETTING IT, SUCK THIS, JESUS, THIS IS NOW HER GOD. I, AND MANY OTHERS, ARE BOYCOTTING ANYTHING SHE ACTS IN OR ADVERTISES, HENCEFORTH. CAN YOU IMAGINE IF SHE HAD SAID THAT ABOUT MOHAMMED?

ONLY IN AMERICA!
"All of my life I've felt privileged to have had good friends around me, privileged to have been able to do the kind of work I know and love the best, and to have been born in a country whose immense beauty and grandeur are matched only by the greatness of her people.

"For a number of years I have tried to express a deep and profound love for these things; to be able to say what I feel in my heart. And, now, in this book, I've had the chance to do so.

"I know most of you feel the same as I do about some of her imperfections, but sometimes that's good. Especially if it gets us working together to make things better. It seems to me we often take too much for granted, and have a tendency to forget "The Good Things" about America."

"My hope and prayer is that everyone know and love our country for what she really is and what she stands for. May we nurture her strengths and strengthen her weaknesses so that she will always be a "Land of the Free, and Home of the Brave."

Sincerely,
John Wayne

HEAR HIM SAY: You ask ME "Why I Love Her"?

Well, I think it's pretty well explained with the words and music, but we can dwell a little more on it.

"From the mountains"

(and we sure have them). The Adirondacks, the Catskills, the Cascades and the Great Smokies. The Grand Tetons, the Bitterroots, the Allegheny and the Blue Ridge. And let's not forget our Spanish sisters, the Sierra Madres and the Sierra Nevadas, and of course the big daddy of them all, the Rockies. No one in a lifetime could explore them all and I can't help but think of a few lines from a great song by Bob Nolan that the "Sons of the Pioneers" sing.

The desert breeze that brushed my hair,
The leaf that fell from who knows where,
The scent of wild flowers in the air,
Is just the touch of God's hand.

"To the prairie."

Well, if you look westward from a Kansas prairie along about evening, you'll be amazed at what God can do with a sunset. Take a slow ride through Nebraska, or stand in a field of tall Iowa corn, or sample the cheeses of Wisconsin. Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Ohio are names and places that spring from some of the richest soil in our known world.

Rivers like the Ohio and wide Missouri funnel their waters into the mighty Mississippi, which in turn, carries much of the bountiful prairie harvest to a needy world. Then there are rivers like the Cumberland, the Osage, the Platte. The settlements that sprung into cities because of rivers such as those are a pulsating heart of America: St. Louis, St. Paul, Natchez, Omaha, Louisville and New Orleans. Their names are a part of our heritage and they grow stronger with each passing year.

"To the oceans, white with foam."

The Oregon Coast--unforgettable---awe-inspiring during a winter storm; Massachusetts, with its Marblehead and Martha's Vineyard, and how about rip-roaring, always-moving New York City? The Eastern shore, with Delaware and its apple orchards, makes you wish you were a kid again. The pine forests of North Carolina and the southern peaches of Georgia, it seems to me they still set beauty standards all over the world.

Watch a Hawaiian island sunrise from the old Lahaina Inn or Maui. Go ahead! Dream of old whalers and island kings! In this country you're free to go any place you want to go, from the Florida Keys to Alaska, from Hawaii to Maine; Americans move freely within her border and there's no one going to stop you.

Sure you have to pay your dues--but walleyed pike are waiting for you in Minnesota; backpacking for free in Washington, and watermelons ripe and juicy in Mississippi. Dig for oysters in Maryland or go after steelhead in Idaho. Try shooting the rapids on the Colorado or picking blueberries in Maine.

Try your country on for size. It's free and it's a big order. I've been doing it for years and I can never get enough of America.

"America, America, God shed his grace on thee..."

You ask me Why I Lover Her? Well, give me time and I'll explain.

Have you see a Kansas sunset or an Arizona rain?
Have you drifted on a bayou down Louisiana way?
Have you watched a cold fog drifting over San Francisco Bay?
Have you heard a bobwhite calling in the Carolina pines,
Or heard the bellow of a diesel at the Appalachia mines?
Does the call of Niagara thrill you when you hear her waters roar?
Do you look with awe and wonder at her Massachusetts shore,
where men who braved a hard new world first stepped on Plymounth's rock?
And do you think of them when you stroll along a New York City dock?
Have you seen a snowflake drifting in the Rockies, way up high?
Have you seen the sun come blazing down from a bright Nevada sky?
Do you hail to the Columbia as she rushes to the sea,or bow your head at Gettysburg, at our struggle to be free?
Have you seen the mighty Tetons?
Have you watched an eagle soar?
Have you seen the Mississippi roll along Missouri's shore?[br]Have you felt a chill at Michigan when on a winter's day,
her waters rage along the shore in thunderous display?
Does the word "Aloha" make you warm?
Do you stare in disbelief
when you see the surf come roaring in at Waimea Reef?
From Alaska's cold to the Everglades,
from the Rio Grande to Maine,
my heart cries out, my pulse runs fast
at the might of her domain.

You ask me Why I Love Her?
I've a million reasons why:
My Beautiful America,
beneath God's wide, wide sky.

"And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea."

THE HYPHEN

The hyphen, Webster's Dictionary defines, is a symbol used to divide a compound word or a single word. So it seems to me that when a man calls himself an "Afro-American," a "Mexican-American," "Italian-American, an "Irish-American," "Jewish-American," What he's sayin' is, "I'm a divided- American."

Well, we all came from other places,
different creeds and different races,
to form a nation...to become as one.
Yet, look at the harm a line has done--
a simple little line, and yet
as divisive as a line can get.

A crooked cross the Nazis flew,
and the Russian hammer and sickle too--
time bombs in the lives of man;
but none of these could ever fan
the flames of hatred faster than
the HYPHEN.

The Russian hammer built a wall
that locks men's hearts from freedom's call.
A crooked cross flew overhead
above twenty million tragic dead--
among them men from this great nation,
who died for freedom's preservation.

A HYPHEN is a line that's small;
it can be a bridge or be a wall.
A bridge can save you lots of time;
a wall, you always have to climb.
The road to liberty lies true.
The HYPHEN's use is up to you.
Used as a bridge, it can span
all the differences of man.
Being free in mind and soul
should be our most important goal.

If you use the HYPHEN as a wall,
you'll make your life mean...and small.

An American is a special breed,
whose people came to her in need.
They came to her that they might find
a world where they'd have peace of mind,
where men are equal...and something more--
Stand taller than they stood before.
So you be wise in your decision,
and that little line won't cause division.
Let's join hands with one another...
for in this land, each man's your brother.
United we stand...divided we fall.
We're Americans...and that says it all.

AMERICANS

What makes the word "AMERICA" ring with a sound that brightens the air? It's people, HER people, who have done their "own thing" with blood, sweat, tears, and a prayer.

Louis Armstrong on a golden trumpet, and Marian Anderson singing "The Lord's Prayer"; The savage power of Jack Dempsey, and the quiet pride of Jesse Owens; Merle Haggard singing "Okie from Muskogee," and Chet Atkins pickin' a guitar; Bing Crosby at Christmastime, and Charles Lindbergh crossing the Atlantic alone; a sharecroppers's son, an immigrant boy, a hobo who rode all the rails, the magic guitar of an ol' country boy, a lone eagle who pioneered trails; Sandy Koufax staring down at a batter, while Willie Mays chants his "Say hey!"

Maria Tallchief gliding in Swan Lake, while Fred Astaire dances on gossamer wings; Billy Graham bringing God to millions, and Jonas Salk bringing hope to the world; Mahalia Jackson closing her eyes in devotion, and Johnny Cash singing at the White House!

What makes the word "AMERICA" ring with a sound that brightens the air? It's people, her people, who have done their "own thing" with blood, sweat, tears, and a prayer. Willie Shoemaker booting Swaps home, while Eddie Arcaro wins the Triple Crown on Citation; Arnie Palmer winning the Open, while Eddy Arnold is winning hearts; Tom Harmon threading the field for Michigan, while Bob Morrison plays his heart out for Troy; Kate Smith singing "God Bless America." and Irving Berlin, who wrote it!

Then there are those, unheralded, whose dedication to our country is strong and true: the builders of America--those who make her factories hum, the loggers of her great forests, the men who labor deep in her mines and the man who works with his hands. The farmer who toils from dawn to dusk, and those who carry her bountiful yield to all the states of our Union. The railroaders, our merchant sailors, the airline pilots, and those modern knights of the road...the truck drivers.

These, and others like them, have earned their rights to walk proudly...with the knowledge that their goals were acheived through honest toil and in the spirit of harmony found in The People...working together...in this great land.

What makes the word "AMERICA" ring with a sound that brightens the air? It's people, her people, who have done their "own thing" with blood, sweat, tears, and a prayer.

EVERYONE knows by now that AMERICA is made up of every race, color and creed under the sun. The inscription on the base of the Statue of Liberty is for real: "From her beacon-hand flows world-wide welcome." Each succeeding wave of immigrants had a tough row to hoe, that's for sure! When the potato famine of 1846 devastated Ireland, thousands of Irishmen flocked to our shores. They were greeted by signs in Boston, Philadelphia and New York that spelled out the message that "no Irish Catholics need apply", yet those men fanned out across the nation in search of honest toil. And yet, a descendant of those Irishmen became the thirty-fifth President of the United States.

Our country stands today as the world's oldest living Republic. We are the greatest sociological experiment that the world has ever known. If we fail our trust, Democracy fails. Like Ireland, the Middle East has long been divided by ancient hatreds, hatreds that have no place on our shores. Religious wars and fierce idealogical conflicts should never be a part of America. People came to her to escape religious and political persecution. Sure, we've had our problems. What family doesn't? But they haven't stopped us. The total divisiveness that has burdened many other nations hasn't caught on here. We have our disagreements, but let some other country step on our tail and they'll find out how quickly Americans become united. (I ADD LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENED AFTER 09-11-01!!!)

Each day that goes by seems to make us gel a little more. Maybe it's because each group of people who came here has given us their tastes in food and in music, their skills in art and designs and the customs of their lands. But, more importantly, they brought with them an intense desire for freedom.

Where else in the world can you get a good hamburger sandwich, a cheese blintz, a taco or some real lasagne all in the same block? And what would an early morning call or a cold mountain location be like without some good hot coffee topped off with some Danish pastry or German strudel? Where else in the world can you get Chopin etudes, Dixieland jazz or Country music just by twisting your radio dials? It's hard to remember that bluegrass fiddling is a direct descendant of Scottish bagpipes. And give credit to Peter Tchaikovsky when you hear "Tonight We Love." It is his music.

So bring your recipe for good Irish stew with you, but leave bigotry and hatred behind. Sing and dance to the balalaika but bring no walls with you. Praise God anyway you so desire. Just allow your neighbor the same right, for each person you see has the same needs that you do. We all want respect, concern, and, yes, love. When we all tear down walls of bigotry and prejudice and live in real harmony with ourselves and others, then we'll all say "I am an American," pure and simple. And "The HYPHEN" will no longer apply to any of us.

When that day comes, the world can count on us for another ten thousand years, for we'll be a brighter, a stronger and an undivided America.

Personally, I am in love with my country. Someone asked me a long time ago as to what I wanted for my daughters, and my answer was quick and to the point: "I want them to get a good start in life." I tried to give all of my children the values that some people today call old fashioned, but most of all I want them to love their country. It's my prayer that they will never have to lift their hands to defend it but I want them to have a profound respect for those who have.

I have now watched the first four grow into adulthood. (ONE OF THEM HUGGED RUDY) They went to school, learned their lessons well and learned to adjust, to get along with other people. It is a deep satisfaction to me that they all love America. I watched them grow from childhood to adolescence and then into maturity. The thread that has run through all of their lives is the thread of responsibility. It has made them resolute and independent. They love their country and I love them all the more because they do.
In the latter 1930's a man named Adolf Hitler proclaimed that the Germans were the "master race" and would eventually rule the world. On a warm June night in 1938 a sharecropper's son who had made his way from the fields of Alabama to Madison Square Garden gave Americans a thrill lost forever to those who missed that night. That boy was Joseph Louis Barrow, the Brown Bomber. He stepped into the ring against the pride of the German Army, and in less than three minutes he destroyed Hitler's myth forever. And the free world went wild.

Israel Baline came to America from Russia and no one really noticed that fact until he changed his name to Irving Berlin. It seems like he's been here forever. There's one thing we know for sure, his songs will be.

Fabens, Texas, brought a young man into the world in August of 1931. He didn't grow too much physically but he sure has topped his world in stature. Right now he's had about seven thousand winners in throughbred racing. My! Mother Shoemaker, you must be proud of your young son Willy.

America has so much talent running around loose that name dropping is easy. Who can forget the long range clutch passing of Johnny Unitas, the sandlot kid from Pittsburg? How many people, would you say, hum a Cole Porter tune at one time or another? What American lives who never heard of John Denver or Frank Sinatra?

I look back on December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor. Our Pacific Fleet was destroyed, our Air Force reduced to rubble. The call went out to all of us to get busy, to roll up our shirt-sleeves and get things moving. Our factories poured out in less than two years the most formidable fleet and the biggest Air Force in the world. And all of this came about because of the men and women of America working together in a common cause. Unheralded people, your friends and neighbors who may never have stepped on a concert stage or thrown a touchdown pass, but they built a monument to the awesome latent strength of America, and Hitler's and Hirohito's legions were destroyed.

All across our land are people who dedicate their lives to decency and compassion. Whenever a catastrophe strikes anywhere in the world, it seems that our people are among the first to send aid to the unfortunate victims of that catastrophe.

The farmers who drive their tractors along endless rows of cornfields or run giant wheat threshers across miles of golden grain work selflessly and in so doing strengthen our nation.

Millions of road miles pass under the wheels of our giant trucking industry and these drivers feel innately that they belong to America and America belongs to them. The people who work in and on Her soil are wedded to Her and they love Her.

In my fifty years of picture-making, I have been what some people might term a "star." Well, for my money, the stars in my crown are the people who lit the sets, groomed the stock, took the pictures and, in general, put the whole dad-blamed show on the road. People made me a star with blood, sweat and tears! And when it was needed, a prayer!

FACE THE FLAG, SON!

Face the Flag of stars and bars,
Of red and white and blue,
A flag that guarantees the rights
For men like me and you.

Face the Flag, son! Read what's written there--
The history, the progress and the heritage we share.
Our flag reflects the past, son,
but stands for so much more,
And in this Age of Aquarius,
it still flies in the fore.
It leads the forward movement,
shared by all mankind,
To learn...to love...
to live with peace of mind;
To learn the mysteries of space,
as well as those of earth;
To love each man for what he is,
regardless of his birth;
To live without the fear of reprisal for belief;
To ease the tensions of a world that cries out for relief.

Face the Flag of stars and bars,
Of red and white and blue,
A flag that guarantees the rights
For men like me and you.

Face the Flag, son! Take a good long look.
What you're seeing now can't be found in a history book.
It's the present and the future, son.
It's being written now,
And you're the one to write it,
but the flag can show you how.
Do you know what it stands for?
What its makers meant?
To think...to speak...the privilege of dissent;
To think our leaders might be wrong...
to stand and tell them so.
These are the things that other men
under other flags will never know.
But responsibility...that's the cross
that free men must bear,
And if you don't accept that,
then freedom won't there.

Face the Flag of stars and bars,
Of red and white and blue,
A flag that guarantees the rights
For men like me and you.

Face the Flag, son, and face reality.
Our strengths and our freedoms are based in unity.
The flag is but a symbol, son,
of the world's greatest nation,
And as long as it keeps flying,
there's cause for celebration.
So do what you've got to do,
but always keep in mind,
A lot of people believe in peace...
but there are the other kind.
If we want to keep these freedoms,
we may have to fight again.
God forbid, but if we do,
let's always fight to win,
For the fate of a loser is futile
and it's bare: No love, no peace...
just misery and despair.
Face the Flag, son...and thank God it's still there .

THE SYMBOL

There is a fad that springs up now and then in America, of considering it fashionable to deplore our flag as just a symbol.

Well, that's absolutely right: it is a symbol.

The only fault that I can find with the pseudointellectuals who therefore discount it is that they live by symbols and apparently aren't even aware of it.

I would like to ask them a few questions. For example, why do they stop their cars when they see a red light at an intersection? It's just a symbol! The answer is obvious. The least unpleasant thing that could result from doing otherwise would be for a patrolman to give them a ticket. The God-awful end result could be a screeching, tearing, rending crash that might end with life ebbing cruelly from broken bodies. It's just a symbol, that red light, but it's wiser to pay attention to that symbol, now isn't it?

A driver going down a steep mountain road might look up to see a sign posted with lines on it depicting a dangerous curve ahead. Does that driver slow to take that curve? You bet he does. He pays attention to that symbol because it could mean life or death to him if he doesn't.

To go a step further, let's concentrate on a single dot called a period. It's always important but it can become explosive. If you should promise to pay a man $500 a week on a written contract and your secretary puts the dot in the wrong place, it could be disastrous for either party providing that they signed on the dotted line.

Think then of the symbol we call "Old Glory."

It came into being by an enactment of the fifteenth Congress in 1818. Rather than go into the purely physical aspects of our flag, I will try to point out what each segment of it means in heraldry and apply it to real life situations.

RED is generally accepted to denote hardiness and valor. Washington's troops at Valley Forge surely lived up to that description just as surely as did Jedediah Smith and Joseph Walker when they penetrated the vast mountain ranges of the West, and so did the people who followed.

Acts of great courage are heavily pronounced in the annals of America and they most certainly didn't always take place on the field of battle. Yet, because of the fact that World War II, the Korean War and the war in Vietnam are fresh in the minds of America, there is scarcely an American who somehow, somewhere, is not acquainted with a person who once again had proved American mettle under great stress. Remember the symbol.

The RED stripes on our flag represent ALL of America. They represent us from the dreadful winter at Valley Forge to the present and into the future. America, that is, all of us, expects courage and valor from one another. It is a proud symbol, and one that future generations will revere.

The WHITE stripes, in actuality, represent purity and innocence. Surely the symbolism of this isn't lost on us. Despite the very real problems created by our human natures, our massive goal has always been the pursuit of justice, equality and personal happiness. To this end the often ponderous wheels of American jurisprudence seek our every avenue of truth, and the American people have often asked openly if the expenditures of millions of dollars to prosecute a test case is worth the money. Emphatically yes. The search is for all of us, and since those white stripes are gazed upon by millions of Americans every day, let them remember that they symbolize our constant trust to guard truth and justice vigilantly. Truth and justice that seek to be a shield for every American to carry into his daily life.

A symbol? Yes, but a powerful, moving force in the constant drive toward a better world.

In the upper left-hand corner, there is a block of BLUE emblazoned with fifty WHITE stars. Technically it is called the Union; it symbolized the union of two or more peoples, incorporating their ideas and districts.

Let's look at it from its real standpoint and realize that each one of those STARS represents millions of Americans and that somewhere in those millions is the name you answer to. No need to pick out a single star and say, "Hey, that's for me." Those stars represent all fifty states collectively and our founders did this with a stroke of genius.

Our Union does unite two or more peoples or districts. It unites fifty districts and over two-hundred-fifty million people. When you stand up and salute our flag or fly it from your home, your boat or your place of business, you are saying, "I'm grateful to be a member of that biggest Union of all, the United States of America."

The color BLUE represents vigilance and perseverance, and most certainly since revolutionary days we have epitomized those words.

So, in bundling it all together we have a symbol, a symbol that for two hundred years has signified honor, valor, justice, responsibility, perseverance, hardiness and commonwealth. That symbol has been the banner that millions of Americans have marched and sailed and flown with into the maws of death. They have been proud of that symbol, and in turn it has slowly and patiently nurtured their common good to the extent that America stands head and shoulders over most of the world.

Yes, face the flag. It is most emphatically your flag. It has been at Iwo-jima, and at the Maine; it has flown against the enemy in the Coral Sea and soared high in the sky above Nazi guns. Yet, it flies peacefully above every court house in the nation and stands quietly at Arlington.

It is your flag, the symbol of unity, strength and honor toward you and toward your fellow Americans.

Yes, face the flag, and thank God it's still there.

We hear a lot about war,
Or hurricanes that hit our shore.
We hear a lot about hard times
And a good deal more about the crimes
That make the front pages of our news.
But all that does is sing the blues...
About America!

Now, what of The Good things in our lives--
About the men who love their wives,
Who take their kids when they go fishin',
And spend their workin' days just wishin'
To make things better?
A fireman who climbs a tree
And sets a litten kitten free.
A policeman who helps you cross the avenue.
A man who stops when you've broken down
And asks if you need a lift to town,
Or simply says, "Friend, what can I do?"
Have you stopped at a grocery store
And watched a kid who's bit off more
Than his five- or ten-cent piece can chew?
He needs just two cents or three
To get that soda pop, you see!
And you get that feelin':
"Why not?" And you come through.
[center]And how about on a Sunday morning,
The sun's up high and the day is borning,
And church bells break the stillness in the sky,
And all your neighbors and your friends
Climb in the family car again
And go to church, and never question "Why?"
[center]Then you look at the U.S.A.,
The folks at work, their kids at play,
And lookin' back, you see how hard they've tried
To keep this country free and strong.
And somehow you've known all along,
The answer's here! Right in your own backyard!
[center]For as long as you believe in love...
in faith...hope...and God above,
The future of this land of ours is strong.
And most of us feel just that way,
And that's the truth! So let us say,
"America...can't be so very wrong!"

It's no real chore for me to write about "The Good Things" of America, although I wondered for quite a while as to why it was so hard to start. Then it came to me loud and clear. There are so many good things about America, I found myself trying to eliminate hundreds of them that I might at least not write a book on the subject. It was then that I decided to dwell upon facets of America that in each case covers a sea of individual "Good Things."

Therefore, I suppose that my number one topic should be my job. It's the one thing that takes up most of my time. It's something I'm grateful for because it's a job that I love to do. If any youngster should ask me for some advice on that subject, I'd have to tell him that he must first find out what he really wants to do with his life. Take a long hard look and make darn sure that it's what you really, really want. Then jump in feet first and give it all you have. The chances are that you'll succeed, for success is not measured in your wealth but in your worth. A person who is eager to go to his job every day is a happy man, and that's success. Once you've made up your mind about that life work, you'll find that these United States have every tool in the world to help you along.

The major factor is our free-enterprise system. Under that system you are free to pursue whatever career suits you and you have fifty states to find it in. Yes, a "Good Thing" in our country is that right to decide what you want to do with your life and where you want to do it. Free enterprise means, "do your own thing," and if you really put your heart and soul in it, you'll have a pretty fair shot at the good life. In many parts of the world, even though you may be a national of a particular country, you have to have visas to travel in your own nation. One of our "Good Things" lies in the fact that although we solidly back states' rights in America, every citizen can be as much at home in one state as he can be in any other. A Texan can't get by pretending that he's from New York but he can live there with the same total rights any New Yorker has. A Minnesotan doesn't speak with a Mississippi drawl, but he can move to Tupelo and not create a single wave.

Yes, in America we all savor our native state and often take for granted our unassailable right to work and live in any of the others. For we basically share our entire nation together and that's another of "The Good Things" of America.

Our country thrives on change. In nature nothing is permanent. So it stands to reason that as laws change, ideologies and mores change so that society changes and that is good. When America moves slowly to a change of long duration, that change has to be for the good of the majority. If it isn't we just want to alter that situation, our representatives start paying attention. No guns or bombs or Army coups. Just the biggest and best weapon of them all, our right to vote. X's on paper. The ballot box, a "Good Thing."

Let's take a look at our religious beliefs. While the majority of Americans embrace Christianity, every religion of the world has found its way to our shores. Certainly we have our share of fanatics but the preponderance of Americans have a deep rooted respect for the beliefs of their fellow man. After all, was not one of our Founding Fathers' prime considerations freedom from persecution and freedom of religion? Here all the world's religions have gathered under the vast canopy of America's skies to live and to let live in harmony. In my opinion that's a mighty "Good Thing."

Under the umbrella of all of these "Good Things" an American can live an exciting and a full life. You may vote for whom you want, pray to whatever deity pleases you, work at whatever trade or profession you really desire and live in a country that affords you every type of terrain found in the world. Day after day in America, people enjoy the good life. It's solid and it's real. There's so much here it's easy to take it for granted and to become alarmed at the headlines that shout out disasters in bold print. Just remember that the bad news makes up less than two percent of our nation's activities. The other ninety-eight percent, a man towing a stranger's car to a garage, a neighbor caring for a sick child or a minister making a call to a dying parishioner in a driving rain doesn't make the headlines because it won't sell papers. But the "Good Things," we have them, here in America.

THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS--ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.

"I pledge allegiance to the flag"!

What do those words mean to you? To me they say, "Thank you, America, for your strength, your courage and your freedom...which has been a beacon to the world for two hundred years."

"Of the United States of America"!

Whose bright stars are fifty states...each bearing its own stamp of individuality. People...two hundred million strong...people who have come to her from all corners of the earth.

"And to the republic for which it stands"!

A land of laws...with an ingenious system of checks and balances that allows no man to become a tyrant...and lets no group prevail...if their power is not tempered with a real concern for the governed...A land where the right of dissent and of free speech is jealously guarded...where the ballot box is the sword...and the people its wielder.

"One nation under God"!

A land where freedom of worship is a cornerstone of her being...A land graced with temples and churches, synagogues and altars that rise in profusion to embrace all the religions of the world.

"Indivisible"!

A land forged by the hot steel of raw courage...and formed forever...by the awful crucible of civil war.

"With liberty"!

Where man in pursuit of an honest life will not be denied his chance...where her citizens move freely within her vast borders without hindrance or fear...A land brimming with opportunity...where freedom of choice is the guide for all.

"And justice"!

The courts of our land are open to all. Its wheels of justice grind for all causes...all people. They look to every avenue for justice...every concern of the law...and they temper their reasoning with mercy...

"FOR ALL!"!

I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG...OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA...AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS...ONE NATION UNDER GOD...INDIVISIBLE...WITH LIBERTY...AND JUSTICE...FOR ALL.

I can well remember as a little boy standing up in my classroom every morning and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Shucks, I didn't know and I didn't care that the pledge was first published in 1892 and that it was the result of a dream to have "a flag in every school." All I knew at the time was that for some dog-gone reason I had to hide my feelings from my classmates. The inner excitement that took over me when I clasped my hand over my heart and said "I pledge allegiance" was so great I just couldn't share it with anybody. All that I knew then was that somehow, mysteriously, I belonged. I belonged to something far too profound for my young mind to comprehend. But, I belonged. As I grew older, the mystery began to unfold. I wasn't just talking about some nebulous place a long way off, I was talking about the ground I was standing on. Ground that stretched from California to my Iowa homeland and beyond.

When I was five years old, my parents moved from Winterset, Iowa, to Lancaster, California. Imagine a five-year-old from the flat plains of Iowa being plunked down in a land that had huge mountains looming over its western rim and that stretched for hundreds of miles eastward--The Mojave Desert. On to Glendale--high school--became involved in dramatics, football. My horizons widened, so did my love and yes my awe of my country. When I was sixteen I had a really personal feeling about a change that occurred in the "Pledge" at that time. It originally read, "I pledge allegiance to my flag': in 1923 the National Flag Conference changed that to read, "I pledge allegiance to the flag." At sixteen I sort of took it personally that my flag had been deleted, until I realized that it really does belong to all of us.

Now, after having traveled extensively throughout the world, every word of that Pledge is precious to me. For hidden in its simplicity there lies a tremendous power. For our Republic stands for the innate dignity of all mankind, and our one nation, which became the United States of America at the hideous cost of the Civil War, is under God. We are indivisible and ever since 1776 all the world is aware of our hunger for individual liberty and our thirst for justice.

The next time you say those words, let your mind wander back to those days when you stood in your classrooms and recited the Pledge of Allegiance, for they were your first real commitment to your nation. Your first real step toward a bright new world.

WHY ARE YOU MARCHING?

Why Are You Marching, Son?
I'd really like to know!
Is it because of Valley Forge,
or perhaps the Alamo?
Or, "One if by land--two if by sea,"
A trumpet's call...the will to be free?
And what of a man who stood straight and tall,
Who wept silent tears when he saw brave men fall?
No matter--no difference--the blue or the gray,
all were his brothers...how often he'd pray.
And what of Antietam--that now peaceful stream
where the water, blood-red, glittered and gleamed?
Appomattox...Chickamauga..Vicksburg...Bull Run...
Cumberland...Gettysburg...and then Washington.
Why Are You Marching, Son?

In Flanders Fields, how proud were they
Whose forms beneath the poppies lay.
Men who saw Verdun...
And died at the Marne...Soissons...
And those who tried the fearful foe at Chateau-Thierry,
Who fought and bled...
whose hearts grew weary,
But in whose minds one thought kept churning--
That the torch of liberty keep burning.

Why Are You Marching, Son?
The planes swarmed in, and the rising sun
Glowed fiercely on the evil done
To men whose blood runs
through our veins,
Men who died, and whose remains
Life forever locked in waters deep.
Now, is it right that they should sleep
While the warm sea laps at a twisted hull
And see the torch of liberty grow dull?
Anzio...Cassino...and the Po!
St. Mere Eglise...Le Mans...St. Lo!
Gardelegen...Buchenwald...
On and on the roll is called!

And why?...Why Are You Marching, Son?
Bugles shrilled in the frozen night,
And at first dawn, the awful sight
Of seas of men...row after row,
Left to die on blood-stained snow!
Pusan...Pyongyang...Suwan...Kyongju!
And blood-red ran the swift Yalu!

In South Vietnam the big guns roared,
And once again we fought a war
To honor a pledge our nation gave
To help that little country save
Her people from the certainty
That she'd be ruled by tyranny.

No matter where the big guns roar,
Our fighting men, like those before,
Take the torch we all hold dear
And face freedom's enemies without fear.
Our fathers died from sea to sea,
And blessed the torch of liberty. Why?...

WHY
ARE
YOU MARCHING,
SON?

That's a pretty potent question and can be answered on both sides of the fence. So when you ask it of a young rebel, he may come back with answers that run the gamut from political corruption to social unrest. I think that a certain amount of questioning of our nation's direction and purpose is healthful, and I for one respect young people for wanting to effect change. If they don't mind however, I'd kind of like to ask them where they intend to go.

If you march wildly because you want social reform and have no plan to better the social conditions that already exist, it might be better to stay home. It seems to me that a whole lot of our marches of the sixties have sure discovered that the political process of America, encompassing in its purpose the search for the best common good for all of us, may be slow and a bit tedious, but most effective in the long run.

Now if you take up arms and march for your country when she calls on you, that's a whole new ballgame. To me it means that you've already accepted the belief that your nation is on the right track for you and that you want to keep it there.

Maybe we've had "right" wars and "wrong" wars in our two-hundred-year history, and even now it's only conjectural to say how they will be evaluated a thousand years from now. But I can't help feel for example that our country wouldn't be worth much today if we would have sat back on December 7, 1941, and said, "Ah shucks, maybe we should see it from their viewpoint." And so we marched again, just as we'd done at Valley Forge and at Belleau Wood. The millions of Americans who were transformed from fuzzy cheeked youths into formidable fighting men, marched to preserve their country and preserve it they did. I just wish that our dissenters would recognize a darned interesting point. America didn't keep up that huge army of civilian soldiers, but in remarkably quick time returned them to civilian life. We marched when we had to and then quit marching.

Again, I'd like to ask those dissenters to think about a thing called honor. You can't put it in a sandwich and you can't hold it in your hand. You either have it or you don't and you, alone, are the one who knows. If you think it's honorable to question a commitment made by your Government to a foreign power, that's certainly your business. All I ask of you is don't consider that young boy who is fighting for you in some faraway land either a fool or a patsy. In my book, no matter how you may look at it, I feel that he's making it possible for the rest of us to enjoy the luxury of deciding to which tune we will march.

TAPS

It was July in Virginia. The scent of the dogwood and the laurel lay heavy on the land, While the burgeoning fruit of the peach and the apple marked the full sway of summer. For seven fateful days, the trees, the flowers...Yes, the very ground itself...Had shuddered under the roar of cannon...The bark of howitzers...and the crackling of a legion of rifles.

Now, all was silent. The sledgehammer blows of Robert E. Lee and "Stonewall" Jackson Had mauled the Army of the Potomac...And yet that army was not destroyed. Seven thousand men had fallen in that dreadful week...and the savagery of the conflict Was grimly evident in the river of wounded...that wound through the green hills.

Now, a new sound drifted in the soft evening sky. For Colonel Dan Butterfield, a courageous and able soldier, was also a man of music. To honor his fallen comrades, he had composed a simple and heartrending melody.

On July second, in the year 1862, its strains floated over the graves that scarred the dark Virginia earth.

It has been more than a hundred years since that sound was born...but these notes have never died away. Every night of the year, throughout the world, fighting men of America, From the North and the South, the East and the West, close their eyes in sleep to its call. And in each of their hearts...there glows a fierce surge of pride.

"Fading light...falling night...
Trumpet calls as the sun sinks in flight.
Sleep in peace, comrades dear...
God is near."

Ever since the "Seven Day Battle" of the Civil War, "Taps" has been a part of the American way of life. The word alone became a standard and it still lingers very much on the American scene.

In my picture-making, I've done a lot of shows where the Cavalry would bed down for the night in a desert outpost. Even in a movie the sound of that lone bugle would send a shiver through me. It's funny what just a few notes can do. I've listened to some pretty complicated music in my day and some of it certainly left its impressions on me, but that simple uncomplicated strain called "Taps" tells a story that's too big for one lifetime.

How many of our heroes have gone to their final rest to its call? Heralded men whose names were household words and the unheralded, known only to God. When you spin that tune our for over a century of time a lot of history rides on those notes. The Union's Colonel Dan Butterfield had to be a genius, for he sat down in the heat of battle, scribbled the notes down on paper and handed them to his bugler. The rest is history. Some men work for months on end putting down thousands of notes on reams of paper and unfortunately end up in obscurity. Colonel Butterfield, wanting simply to express his compassion and love for his men, captured that feeling forever with just a few notes. It seems to me that when those notes ring out, it is a melody for all Americans."

center>CLINT EASTWOOD WESTERNS,

JIMMY STEWART

AND THE LIKE, DON KNOTTS AND TIM CONWAY,

THE THREE STOOGES,

MARX BROTHERS,

JERRY LEWIS,

BUGS BUNNY AND ALL THOSE VIOLENT SHOWS. TIM ALLEN, SOME OF ROBIN WILLIAMS, JONATHON WINTERS, RED SKELTON, HOGANS HEROES, M*A*S*H, F- TROOP,

AND ALL THE OLD WESTERN SERRIES THAT SHOWED WEEKLY, LIKE WAGON TRAIN AND RAWHIDE, GUNSMOKE,

BONANZA, BIG VALLEY, DEATH VALLEY DAYS, 12 OCLOCK HIGH AND COMBAT. WALT DISNEY MOVIES LIKE JOHNNY SHILOH, KILROY, FOLLOW ME BOYS AND OTHER FRED MACMURRAY MOVIES, JEREMIAH JOHNSON AND GENTLE BEN, HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARIES, ETC.

Interests

BIBLE, HUNTING. FISHING, CANOEING, CAMPING, WHITTLING, LIVING HISTORY, READIN', WRITIN', NO 'RITHMATIC, HARMONICA, RIDIN', MALAMUTES, SWIMMING, NATURE

THE GROWTH RINGS OF A TREE

A co-worker and friend at Oral Roberts University Department of Public Safety told me on 08-26-07: "Whereas the growth rings on the cross-section of a tree trunk reveals its age, so likewise does every circle of your life denote a complete cycle of all your thoughts, words, and deeds towards your greater growth. And just as each ring represents the memories and experiences and history of that tree, and history may be told by studying those rings, so, too, then, does every circle complete a record of all your life's memories and experiences which have all led to your greater growth." --Ed Marr, speaker and author, azuwere@godtube.com

Montana-Bigfoot's Photos

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Montana-Bigfoot's Blog

FARMER'S SON CONFUSED IN SUNDAY SCHOOL

One Sunday morning just before Christmas, a little boy in Sunday School Class was very confused about the birth of Jesus. He was a farmer's son, and even was getting angry in his confused state. Trying to calm him down, the teacher asked him why he did not believe Jesus was born on Christmas Day? "Well, teacher, he wasn't born because he was hatched! You said, yourself, that Mary laid him in a manger!"(THIS IS A RUDY REYNOLDS ORIGINAL!!!)

Posted on January 2, 2009 at 9:30pm —

ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!HEAR YE HEAR YE!!!

I'M GONNA BE A GRANDPA IN FEBRUARY!!!

Posted on December 14, 2008 at 11:30am — 1 Comment

MY THANKSGIVING DINNER

As we approach the day of the year that finds more firemen in America's kitchens (mine included, a few years ago), here is a poem I found appropriate for the occasion. Hope you can picture it as I did, and enjoy your dinner...from a plate!!!

THE TURKEY POPPED OUT OF THE OVEN

The turkey popped out of the oven
And rocketed through the air;
It knocked every plate off the table
And partly demolished a chair!
It ricocheted into a corner
And burst with a deafening boom,
Then splattered all over… Continue

Posted on November 25, 2008 at 9:32am —

WINTER IS UPON US HERE, HOW 'BOUT WHERE YOU ARE?

WELL!!! On June 11, 2008, with the lilacs, crab apples, and other trees abloom, it snowed about 6" here in Belgrade, MT, the day before Marcia's birthday. We had taken pictures of the lilacs of Belgrade, and on this particular June day, I went out and took pictures of snow on the lilacs of Belgrade. Now, October 11, 2008, 4 months to the day after our last snow of 'the winter of '07', if you will (JUNE?), we got our first snow accumulation of the winter of '08. Before that storm passe… Continue

Posted on October 13, 2008 at 10:52am —

ONE MOMENT HERE, NEXT MOMENT IN ETERNITY

Monday, October 6th, 2008, two YOUNG co-workers were coming back from Bozeman to Belgrade on their day off, traveling I-90 westbound about 1815 hours (6:15 P.M.) and were passed by a BMW going at a high rate of speed. That vehicle then passed a car in front of my acquaintances that had a lone female occupant, and it immediately barely missed colliding with her as it veered sharply off the right shoulder, went through the ditch and a fence, and over an embankment into a gravel pit… Continue

Posted on October 10, 2008 at 12:42pm —