What a weekend of jubilation, elation and celebration over the rescue of those nine miners. Too bad that nine of those 55 whales beached at Cape Cod were unable to survive despite all the human intervention. Though we've learned our kinship to all earth's creatures, the priority is still our fellow man. Whales do possess larger brains than us and even have a sort of language that links them together. Yet we alone are in the image or the Creator according to Scripture. So the lives of those coal miners preserved by our experts was the biggest news by far. It even seemed to me like a little rebuttal to 9/11, America's greatest single catastrophe. And the nine all sounded like GOD fearing Oklahomans the way they gave thanks to the Almighty for sparing their lives. Yet it already appears that the glory will be replaced with legal hassles just as it has in NYC. Even the OKC bombing aftermath is still making headlines over victim compensation out of those millions allotted by Congress. A lawyer from St.Louis enlisted the aid of a newspaper executive from Quincy IL to get 100 families into a class action law suit for their share. But as the deal came unravelled, the newsman sues the big lawyer for money he spent lining them up. On and on things go in the courts where legal fees can eat up so much of any settlements and the glory fades away.
I saw an old movie the other day starring Earl Flynn, one of my boyhood heroes. It was about George Armstrong Custer and the battle of Little Bighorn up north. It evoked memories of a large painting my grandmother Hightower kept on the wall of her dining room of Custer's last stand. He was a glorious figure to her. And the old movie confirmed that once popular view. Still, the big issue was Custer's betrayal of the Indians first, then again in order to regain his post of command he led a suicide mission to attack them with the cavalry he had trained and who gave him their allegiance. He added betrayal of his brigade to how he'd done the Indians, all to gain "honor" in the eyes of Americans. Seemed to me like a suicide bomber's motivation nowadays. (Another one this morning in Jerusalem, but fortunately only killing himself). Custer knew his picture would be in many dining rooms and parlors when he used his horsemen much the same as that Light Brigade of English fame in Britian's Crimean War against Russia was sacrificed. It was the very best of British cavalry and was sent to attack the Cossac canon fortifications armed only with sabers, a setup for disaster: "Theirs not to make reply. Not though the soldier knew someone had blundered. Theirs not to reason, why. Their's but to do and die. Into the valley of death rode the six hundred." Alfred Lord Tennison painted it all so gloriously in his poem: "When can their glory fade? Oh the wild charge they made. All the world wondered. Honor the Light Brigade! Honor the charge they made! Noble six hundred." Phooey!!. It captivated me when I was young, but not any more. Glory is in the rescue instead; in the risk to save lives rather than destroy them. Isn't that a lot closer to the Lord's words: "The son of man is came not to destroy men's lives, but to save them." And everyone sees that the miracle in that coal mine was Providential, especially the timing along with delays. Even the 77 hours it took are symbolic to me.
Can you believe it? Jim Traficant says he may run for president from prison. Guess he doesn't know that inmates can't vote (nor run either). So I'd say Trafi-can't. Also hear that Al Sharpton's saying that he may run too, since he's been out of jail several weeks. Oddity get lots of attention, but votes? I sure hope not. Still, Traficant got one vote in Congress didn't he? And remember whose it was, Gary Condit"s. Come Lord Jesus ASAP.
One of the Pauls Valley people I enjoy seeing around town is Bill Humphrey. He's a very busy fellow who had to take some time out in the hospital in recent years. In fact, I thought he was back in again until I read Tuesday's front page, "Humphrey Lobbies in Washington D.C. for Pension Reform." Wow, the guy never slows down. In view of the losses by employees of Enron and Worldcom, such reform is truly essential. He said "For years we have lobbied our representatives in Congress." Also of interest to me was the ten years he'd served in Nicaragua with our diplomatic corp, which must have been before their Sandenista revolution in '79. When I was down there in '85 on a fact finding mission of the Oklahoma Conference of Churches, it was a totally Marxist place. I was the only one in our large delegation of delegation who refused to sign a resolution to then president Reagan critical of U.S. policy. Remember the Contras in Central America who were trying to overthrow Communism in Nicaragua back then? Hope to visit with Bill sometime about recollections from down there. Would also like to learn of his stay in Turkey, a land so pivotal between the west and the east.
I see that there's five fellows seeking the office of sheriff. That's amazing after the report from the present interim who listed all the problems facing that office for lack of funds. It was published right after the vote on a county tax failed so miserably. Yet still these five guys want to wear that badge just as as many gals are candidates for county treasurer and handle the money. Guns or gravy, is that a gender difference? Maybe so. But a savvy sheriff is needed to tote the gun so that we won't have more stories like Barry Porterfield's "Illegal Search Leads to Dropped Charges." All the police efforts become futile when defense lawyers discover faults in law enforcement procedure. Seems that brains count even more than bullets in these days of such court sophistication.
The old two story house at Ash and Bardley that was demolished a month or so back was a childhood landmark for me. Now the site is cleared and clean looking. But my friend Ralph Andrews Jr. lived there and I have such happy recollections of that time in the early thirties. His dad was a mail carrier and his mother was Nina Bea. His grandmother was there too, and we called her Mrs.Andrews. The Gibsons, Joe Bailey and Warren Lindsey,lived across on the west side of Ash. But they were my older brother's age. We lived at 403 N.Walnut with my grandmother Hightower. Since I go up Walnut each day to deliver a paper, memories keep alive. Ralph and I dug up the corner of the front yard making roads to push our toy cars. Gram was so patient. But I remember her rage the day a couple of stray dogs got hung up copulating in the front yard. She beat them with a broom trying to break up the disgraceful spectacle. I felt pity for them while not understanding her anger, who had always been so kind. Seems a throng of spectators gathered before it ended. Little could I imagine then as a four year old that someday humans would openly engage in such behavior. Denver has it on TV now attempting to shame the Johns that go to the prostitutes there. Oh that Gram could just swing that broom with such fury today across America, though her body's been in PV's cemetery since 1968.
What a crowd we had for Rotary at the Bosa Center Friday noon. Our new president, Tony Leddy, has arranged for our first meeting of each month to be there where we'll have so much room to grow. He announced that three new members would be inducted next month. But we've lost two long time regulars, Port Schnorenberg and Joe Colley. Both have dropped out of weekly activity for now. Yet the club keeps growing and Tony is off to a good start as our leader. I sat next to Rex Fryer, June's husband. I hadn't known his job so I listened when Ferlin Trayler asked about it. He said "Well I don't often say so, but I'm the psychologist at SORC." I popped off with "O watch out for the shrink!" He answered "See why I don't tell?" Me and my mouth. That's why I prefer writing in my old age. You can go back and edit it before going to press. Shalom/Salaam