RRN Online Volume 488

October 08 '05

Volume 488

Wrath Of God What About Katrina

There are folks who really believe that the destruction of the casino industry along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, caused by Hurricane Katrina, was the work of an angry god, but not just any god, and certainly not that of a wind god or hurricane god. No, the only god, at least in my mind, capable of wreaking such havoc is the one the ancient Hebrews worshiped as Jehovah, the God who so loved the world that He sent His Son to die for our sins, the God believed by Christians worldwide to have created the universe and all that’s within it, the God who calls Himself "I Am," for His existence is past, present, and future. It is this God and this God alone who has the power to speak the heavens into existence, to calm a raging sea with only His spoken word, and to transcend time and space. Only a fool would doubt God’s ability to destroy mortals and the things mortals make with their own hands. Only a fool says in his heart, "There is no God."

There have been folks wishing the wrath of God upon the casino industry, ever since the first casino located in Biloxi, MS, in 1992. The father of a former coworker once remarked, "I’d like to see God send a hurricane and wipe out all the casinos." Those words reflected my own thoughts at the time. I, along with a lot of others, voted to keep our state free of legalized gambling in the early nineties. I opposed gambling then, and I oppose gambling today. Regardless how much one hears concerning how great gaming has been for the state’s economy, one doesn’t have to scratch very far below the surface to find the depth of human suffering caused by legalized gambling.

I have family members, friends, and coworkers who have gambled at casinos, characterizing their actions as mere entertainment, much as I would ascribe going to a concert or a movie. I know of hoards of Christians who don’t think any more of dining at a casino than they would in eating at a fast food restaurant. The same could be said of the many who attend theatrical and musical performances at casinos. They don’t equate casino dining and casino entertainment with casino gaming, nor do they recognize their food dollars and entertainment dollars help support the gaming industry.

The corporation that employs me has held meetings in the facilities of certain casinos, and on two occasions I have been required to attend a business meeting on casino property. I would certainly have preferred to have met at a different location, but I didn’t have a say in the matter. One of those meeting was on the Gulf Coast, and I can assure the reader, I wasn’t wishing for a hurricane at the time.

In Bible times, God destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because of the sinfulness of their inhabitants. Hurricane Katrina may well have been a similar manifestation of the wrath of God due to the sins of the people of Mississippi in their alignment with the gaming industry. Personally, I cannot, with certainty, attribute the destruction of the casinos to the hand of God. Though in my mind, such punishment would be appropriate for the transgression cited, I can’t speak for God.

Christians may debate whether or not God’s intervention was active or permissive (willfully sending the Hurricane or merely allowing nature to take its course), but Christians will agree that God is surely working to bring about good in the lives of those who know Him and were victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Mississippi may have become too dependent upon the tax revenues collected from the gaming industry for her own good. Both legislative bodies of the state of Mississippi have passed recent legislation, which the governor is sure to sign, allowing casinos to be located on land, as opposed to requiring the casino itself be on water. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me in light of the stipulation that the casino must be within 800 feet of the Gulf. I would think a floating casino capable of detaching itself from the shore would be more sensible. Thus, when a hurricane threatened, the casino could move out into the Gulf. But, on second thought, that might be a more expensive undertaking, as a casino on a barge is not as seaworthy as a cruise ship. I’m sure the casino industry lobbied for the legislation that profited them the most.

I think it’s fair to say if the recent hurricane was truly sent by God, then rebuilding the casinos less than the length of three football fields from the coastline won’t offer them much protection, should God elect to send another hurricane their way. The legislature may be able to limit where casinos are erected, but if God chooses to destroy them, they won’t be safe anywhere.

Rainy Rita Huskison's Hospitality

The worst of the trailer bands of wind and rain associated with Hurricane Rita to arrive in Pontotoc did so about the time I needed to leave for church on a recent Sunday morning. As I stepped from my garage into the downpour, I regretted not replacing the umbrella I "loaned" to Sister Sarah, earlier this year. It sported a Mississippi State logo and was one that no one claimed following a backyard fish fry a couple of years ago. Of course, my umbrella was in the back seat of my car, doing me little good as I scrambled to get inside the car and out of the rain.

While I totally disagree with the mandate of our church leaders requesting public parking spaces near the church be left vacant for visitors, young mothers, and the elderly, I find myself acquiescing while grumbling each time I pass over a perfectly good parking space that’s not likely to be used by any of the above if not already filled twenty minutes before the church service begins. The reason for the request, we were told, arose due to a shortage of parking spaces caused by new construction. And, I imagine, it’s a request that will remain in effect long after the construction is complete, as such things, like their government-program counterparts, tend to become perpetual once implemented. Because of the mandate, I normally park in the gravel and grass area behind the former office of Dr. Patterson, or at least I do, whenever both entrances are not blocked.

The wind and rain seemed to be even harder, as I sat in my car behind the old office building waiting for the slightest hint of a break before braving the elements once more. Realizing, I might be waiting for a while, I gave up on the notion of "riding out the storm" and decided to get out and get to my post to greet whoever else was foolish enough to show up on such a terrible day.

Greeting from the sidewalk level was out of the question, but the narrow porch leading to the north door offered enough shelter from the blowing rain to make an umbrella unnecessary. Amazingly, the heavy rain subsided about ten minutes before the second church service, which made it nice for latecomers arriving and those leaving from Bible Study who had attended the early service.

Seeing my cousin, Neal Huskison, exiting the north door, I presumed he was on his way home. However, he was merely checking on the current weather conditions.

"If you’ve got lunch going, I’ll stop by to see you in a little while," I stated, thinking Neal was leaving.

"Come on," he responded. "Virginia’s got a big pot of soup. There’s enough to feed eight or nine people."

"Thanks," I added.

While I was only half-heartedly inviting myself to lunch and originally gave little thought to actually accepting Neal’s enthusiastic invitation, the more I thought about it the better it sounded. Barbara had made a trip to the grocery on Saturday and though we were loaded with plenty of food in the refrigerator, we had not begun a meal before leaving for church.

Because the worship service had started before I was finished with my greeting responsibilities, Barbara and I didn’t have a chance to discuss Neal’s invitation. I made my way to where Barbara was seated during the "fellowship of greeting" portion of the service. A woman and her small child were sitting beside Barbara. Barbara introduced me to Jolene and Justin Black.

Jolene’s house in Chalmette was flooded when the levees failed in New Orleans. She and her husband and younger son had evacuated earlier to the Louisiana residence of a relative, but ended up driving to Pontotoc to stay with another relative. Someone had given Barbara’s name to Jolene as a contact for help with temporary shelter. Barbara then put her in contact with Marlin and Heather Duff who graciously allowed the Blacks to use their basement apartment. Heather had called Barbara early Sunday morning to ask about Sunday School classes for the Blacks. I was aware of the conversation but was not expecting to meet the evacuees Sunday morning.

At the close of the service, I heard Barbara and Jolene discussing lunch possibilities. Barbara turned to ask if I minded her inviting the Blacks to lunch at our house. I explained that the Huskisons were possibly expecting us, based on my conversation with Neal, and there would be plenty of soup for all of us. So, it was quickly decided, and we left in separate automobiles for the Huskisons. I arrived first and rang the doorbell.

Virginia answered the door and was mildly bewildered to hear me say, "Hi Virginia, Neal said y’all had plenty of soup and for us to come over. Is it okay if I bring a couple of more folks, too?"

I further explained, as she asked me inside, that part of a family of evacuees would be joining us and further told her what little I knew about the situation. I never once worried that Virginia might get stressed over any unexpected company at mealtime. Some folks might, but not Virginia. Instead, she simply shifted to a higher gear. Neal, on the other hand, decided his couch-potato outfit needed to be changed and hastily disappeared into a backroom before returning in more presentable attire.

Virginia lifted the lid on the pot of chicken soup and said it might need more water.

"It looks like a thick stew, so extra water is fine with me. I like my soup thin, anyway," I shared, offering to help.

By the time Barbara, Jolene, and Justin arrived, Virginia was making cornbread.

Virginia showed Justin, a five-year old, her stash of grandchildren-toys and he amused himself as the adults chit-chatted and cooked.

Later Barbara asked me to go and get some chicken nuggets and fries for Justin, whom we learned was a particular eater. I was almost to the car when Barbara called out to suggest I pick up the food from McDonalds rather than digging something out of our freezer. Returning from my trip to McDonalds, I noticed Virginia had something else on the stovetop.

"Now, what are you cooking?" I quizzed.

"I just want to make a lemon sauce for the pound cake," she explained.

I didn’t know there was a pound cake, but it sounded good, especially one served with lemon sauce.

In no time the meal was ready, and once the food was blessed, everyone found a seat at the kitchen table. Justin was happy to eat his chicken nuggets and fries without any condiments. His mom produced from her purse a plastic container of juice.

"I keep one in my purse at all times," she stated. "Justin won’t drink water, only apple juice. There are only five foods that he will eat: waffles, bacon, chicken nuggets, fries, and steak.

Somehow, I managed to squelch the urge to speak the oft-repeated words of my father, "Son, if you get hungry enough, you’ll eat most anything."

"He won’t eat the waffles if his dad fixes them," Jolene continued. "They’re Eggo frozen waffles, heated in the toaster, but he can tell the difference."

Again, I resisted the impulse to chide Justin, and turning my attention to my bowl of soup, asked Neal about the bottle of hot sauce between the two of us.

"I like it in my soup," he answered.

As I begin pouring some into my bowl, Neal cautioned, "That’s plenty, unless you like it real hot."

About halfway through the bowl, I wished he had stopped me sooner. I looked at the label but didn’t recognize it. It didn’t have much information besides the brand name and a phone number. I should have written it down, for I can’t remember anything but "Pappy." Since it’s made and sold locally, I need to contact the producer to suggest he also provide the phone number to the hospital just in case someone pours too much of it on their food.

Neal, Virginia, Barbara, and I were grateful for the opportunity to visit with an evacuee and learn about her hopes for the future. Jolene’s husband, Jimmy, will soon be returning to work. His company will provide temporary housing for its workers. Meanwhile, they have decided to have their flooded home bulldozed. They plan to build a new house on property they own nearby. The Blacks plan to move a mobile home onto the property in the near future and hope to return to Chalmette by Thanksgiving. Besides, Justin, the couple have two adult children, one of whom enrolled in an art institute in South Carolina this fall.

Barbara and I remain grateful for the hospitality shown by Neal and Virginia which made an otherwise dreary Sunday afternoon quite pleasurable.

Bodock Beau Bubba Hang Glides

Hang gliding is a dangerous sport for thrill-seekers, and depending on where one glides, the sport can take have unintended consequences.

In rural north Alabama you don't see too many people hang-gliding. But, Bubba decides to save up and get a hang-glider. He takes it to the highest cliff and gets ready to take flight. He takes off running and reaches the edge--into the wind he goes!

Meanwhile, Maw and Paw Hicks were sittin' on the porch swing talkin’ bout the good ol’ days when maw spots the biggest bird she ever seen!

"Look at the size of that bird, Paw!" she exclaims.

Paw raises up," Git my gun, Maw."

She runs into the house, brings out his pump shotgun. He takes careful aim. BANG ...BANG ....BANG ..... BANG! The monster-sized bird continues to sail silently over the tree tops.

"I think ya missed him, Paw," she says.

"Yeah," he replies, "but at least he let go of Bubba!"

Submitted by Ken Gaillard

Live and Learn

Psychiatry students were in their Emotional Extremes class.

"Let's set some parameters," the professor said.

"What's the opposite of joy?" he asked one student.

"Sadness," he replied.

"The opposite of depression?" he asked another student.

"Elation," he replied.

"The opposite of woe?" the professor asked a young woman from Texas.

The Texan replied, "Sir, I believe that would be giddyup."

The Usual Suspects

Two nuns, a penguin, a man with a parrot on his shoulder, and a giraffe walk into a bar. The bartender says, "What is this? Some kind of joke?"

The nurse said to the doctor, "There's an invisible man in the waiting room." The doctor replied, "Tell him I can't see him now."

How do you turn a duck into a soul singer? Put it in the microwave until it's Bill Withers.

I saw two dogs walk over to a parking meter. One said to the other, "How do you like that? Pay toilets."

Do you know about the two TV antennas that got married? The wedding was terrible, but the reception was terrific.

Do you know what you get when you play a country song backward? You get your job back, you get your house back, your wife back, your truck back ...

Home