I knew he was in desperate need… I got a call today to assist a young man traveling through Granbury who was without a vehicle, out of money, and hungry. I had a pretty idea that he was legitimate. In fact, I knew he was desperate. He showed up in the lobby at the police department late this afternoon. People that have something to hide don’t frequent the police department for any reason. As I interviewed him, he inhaled the…
My short term memory is really lacking. I misplace my keys at least once a day. My glasses are seldom put in the same place in the evening before bedtime. When I leave for working early in the morning, I am notorious about leaving my cell phone at home. I have told Jan that such events occur because I am thinking about the theory of relativity and pondering some aspect of metaphysics.She claims attributes the daily search and rescue missions…
Our friends Joe and Elaine Pruett were in from San Antonio this weekend. Joe and Elaine just recently moved back to the states, after a lengthy stint in Guadalajara. Their Hispanic neighbors in San Antonio are quite shocked to hear their three fair skinned boys speaking flawless Spanish. I asked Elaine today: What do you miss the most about Guadalajara right now? I think they miss a lot of things about it actually. She told me that she misses having…
Someone called the police. I really don’t know why. Several patrol cars suddenly descended on the dark parking lot, where we had gathered. The year was 1978. I was participating in a high school debate tournament in Odessa the night the cops showed up. To be more precise, I was in the parking lot of the hotel where we were staying. A group of us decided that evening to play toga football in the parking area adjacent to our rooms….
Why bother? Why bother packing up a group of professionals and willing volunteers to go travel to Northern Mexico for a medical mission trip. It is a complete waste of time and energy. I have been told that it really does not make any difference. When we come home, the poverty many of the people face will still pervade cities and rural areas alike. We are not going to change anything on a permanent basis. Why bother? I have been…
October is rapidly approaching. Most schools have been in session since late August. As the leaves on the trees start to turn golden and auburn, educators everywhere are already starting to feel a little weary. The paperwork never ends. There are helicopter parents hovering over their children and making sure their little darlings are being adequately prepared for Harvard in the third grade. High school teachers are trying to motivate kids who are already on their own. Mom and dad…
Having a Christian Service Center to serve the needs of Granbury has been a dream since 2006. For several years now the church that I serve has distributed food to those in need twice a week. There are months when hundreds of families are touched through this effort. Several years ago a group at church had the vision to distribute good used clothing and furniture. This area of service would be of particular benefit to those who had lost homes…
The lyrics to a Daughtry song caught my attention, as I was heading home for lunch today. The title of the song is: Call Your Name. It falls into the “breakup” song genre.I am not really into breakup songs, but this one actually has pretty compelling lyrics. One line reads as follows: There’s gotta be a better way for me to say what’s on my heart without leaving scars. Is there? I prided myself for years on being blunt. I…
It seems that every non-profit agency in our community hosts an annual golf scramble as a means of raising funds for their particular service. That is fine with me. What a great excuse to play golf! This morning I got together with a few of the police officers and put together a scramble of our own. Our motives for such an event were not as lofty. We just went out to have fun. The scramble format makes for a great…
I have spent a lot of time visiting people in several area hospitals over the past several weeks. All of them were surrounded by family and close friends. However, I could not help but notice very elderly people in the Intensive Care Unit and in semi-private rooms who appeared to have no one outside of the hospital staff attending to their needs. Some of them appeared so frail and vulnerable. Where are their loved ones? I thought to myself. I…