Chicago Group Young Men And Women
It seems that every group of volunteers is unique, and this year we’ve seen a variety of volunteers within the ranks of the Catholic faith. Bishop Dwenger High School in Ft. Wayne, Indiana sent their third group of students during Spring Break. Archbishop Mueller, an all boys’ high school, provided volunteers just about a month ago. In prior years, groups representing certain apostolic churches in Illinois and Methodist ministers from Ohio and Illinois have added to the variety and uniqueness of the volunteers. Habitat for Humanity does not discriminate when selecting a family with which to partner in building a house, and Habitat for Humanity accepts volunteers across the divides of race, sex, and religion. That more Catholics find their way from northern states to Pontotoc should come as no surprise. After all, Catholics represent a majority in the North, while Baptists represent a majority in the South. Twelve young adults and their, only slightly, older leader spent a full week in Pontotoc, working and sightseeing. They arrived on the night of the Saturday that Barbara and I attended a gospel music concert in Birmingham, and they did not leave until the following Saturday morning. Saturday: Linda Thomas and her granddaughter, Katie fed the volunteers at By Faith Baptist Church, where they were met by Habitat’s building supervisor, Brother Joe Steen. The next day, the volunteers toured Oxford and the campus of Ole Miss. Sunday: Barbara and I met the group at By Faith Baptist Church on Sunday evening and accompanied them to Cairo Baptist Church, near Ecru, Mississippi. We attended a six-o’clock worship service and joined with members of the host church for a fellowship meal following the service. The pastor, Bro. Bill Dowdy, promoted member/visitor interaction by insisting that members pair with visitors in order to enter the fellowship hall. The plan worked to perfection with visitors serving as the "ticket" for admission. Members without a ticket were admitted last. Home cooked meats, vegetables, and desserts were enjoyed by everyone. Conversation was lively as members and visitors exchanged questions and answers concerning family and community. It was dusk before we left. Monday: A men’s Sunday School class, The Renegades, at First Baptist Church, grilled hamburgers for the group. Afterwards, Bill Jackson escorted the group to the Sanctuary to view the beautiful stained glass windows while there was still sufficient sunlight to illumine the north windows. I was out of town that night, but I’m told the group was impressed with both the meal and the Sanctuary. Tuesday: Pearla Ferguson’s Ladies Sunday School class invited the volunteers to the old fellowship hall at West Heights Baptist Church and treated the group to a dinner of home cooking that included sliced ham, sliced turkey, potato salad, and coleslaw. Various desserts only added to the enjoyment of the evening meal. Barbara and I were present, too, and by day’s end I could remember the names of all the volunteers and their leader, six men and eight women. Wednesday: Oak Hill Baptist Church, north of Pontotoc, opened their doors and hearts to the young folks from Chicago. The volunteers were fed hamburgers, with baked beans and potato salad, along with homemade cakes, pies, cobblers, and freezer ice cream. The group accepted the pastor’s invitation to stay for the church’s regular Wednesday night service. The message dealt with allowing God to remove the baggage that clutters our lives. Following the message the pastor asked all the visitors to stand. He then instructed the congregation to volunteer individually to spend a few minutes in prayer with each visitor. Ideally, one or two church members would pick a visitor, move to a quiet area of the building, and pray for the specific needs as shared by the visitor in the group. The whole process took less than fifteen minutes. Afterwards, everyone assembled in the prayer garden for a closing prayer. It was an emotionally moving experience. Thursday: Another ladies class from West Heights Baptist Church fed the group of volunteers at By Faith Baptist Church. Tiny Tutor and members of her Sunday School class treated all of us to a meal of pulled pork barbeque sandwiches and hot dogs. Of course, there were plenty of desserts, too. After the meal and the departure of the Sunday School class members, Barbara and I invited the volunteers to our house for homemade freezer ice cream. We encouraged them to sightsee both inside and outside our main house, but warned them not to enter the guesthouse as Jason didn’t have time to tidy up the place before they arrived. I was happy to demonstrate the heirloom Victrola and played a couple of old records for them, one by Jimmie Rodgers and one by Gene Autry. Several of them leafed through the back issues of Ridge Rider News and a few read aloud selections from Bodock Beau they found humorous. Thursday was the last work day for the volunteers, and they spent Friday visiting a furniture factory in Ecru, the fruit orchard at Cherry Creek, the Pontotoc Museum, and Elvis’s birthplace in Tupelo. They didn’t vote on their favorite activity, and I didn’t ask them what activity they enjoyed the most, but I noted they talked more about the fruit orchard than the rest. Ray Stark gave them a tour of his orchard and encouraged them to pick some of the tree-ripened peaches, which they did quite happily. Riding in the back of Ray’s pickup, picking peaches, seeing the various crops, listening to Ray, and having their questions answered, all contributed to their day’s enjoyment. Oh, they told me what impressed them at the museum and the factory, but I don’t believe even Elvis held his own up against the likes of Ray Stark. Friday night: Wanda Davis and members of her Sunday School Class from First Baptist Church fed the volunteers at By Faith. The fried chicken came from KFC, but the vegetables were all home cooked, as were the desserts. As with each previous night I had been with the group from Chicago, they readily socialized with their hosts to a greater degree than I normally witness from visiting volunteer groups. Their willingness to "fit in" could be attributed to their maturity level, but I suspect the hospitality of their hosts and the open arms and hearts they found in Pontotoc and Pontotoc County also contributed. I didn’t get around to learning last names while the group was here, save for one or two. I also didn’t retain a lot of what I learned about each one’s background, loves and aspirations, but here’s a sentence or two about each of them. The Men: Dave – He’s a high school English Teacher, who found true love on the Internet. He will marry his beloved this July in Ft. Worth, Texas. Tom – Tom works in marketing for the Chicago Tribune, which may account for his strong interest in RRN. Ed – I saw Ed sitting outside By Faith one evening strumming a guitar. I discovered he’s a musician/ songwriter and has posted some of his music on a website at http://www.myspace.com/edduffymusic John – I found John to be a friendly and jolly volunteer, especially for an engineer. Jeff – Chemistry majors sometimes fool me. Jeff doesn’t look the part of a research chemist, but he has his sights set on being one. Jason – Perhaps the youngest of the group, Jason graduated college this spring and will be moving into the city this fall. The Women: Jenene – Jenene works for Charis Ministries and was the leader of the group. Karen – She’s a consultant, though I don’t recall her specialty. I recall she mentioned having traveled to Malaysia. Shiela – She works as a massage therapist, but looks like she just stepped off the set of a TV drama series. Sheila and a friend, Anna, have created a line of skin care products (www.annabskincare.com). She plans to marry in early November. She was overheard talking to her fiancé on a cell phone, saying, "I want to live in Pontotoc." Lana – Lana operates a hair, nail and tanning salon. She’s a single mom with a teenage son. She gave Brother Joe a much needed haircut. Kristine – Physically speaking, Kristine was the runt of the litter among the volunteers. She came to the U.S. from the Philippines on a visa and hopes to obtain a green card and eventually become a U.S. citizen. She works in real estate. Rebecca – Rebecca works for one of the area universities as an administrative assistant. Melissa – Melissa may be too pretty to be a financial investment advisor for Morningstar Inc., and yes, she has some of her money in investments. Lisa – Lisa is employed as a high school guidance counselor. Throughout the week, the volunteers kept a running list of "lessons learned" posted on a "chalkboard." Lisa was to have emailed me a copy, but I’ve not received it. Though there were perhaps twenty something lessons learned, I remember but a couple. One was a practical lesson, "Don’t pet the wasps." Another stated, "Catholics are people, too, and so are Baptists." Catholics and Baptists definitely have theological differences, but that’s not to say the divide between the two is so great that interaction cannot take place. Habitat for Humanity not only helps provide folks with simple, decent, affordable housing, Habitat also helps break the barriers that separate and segregate us from those who aren’t like us. The experiences of the Chicago Group and the ones whom they met throughout their recent stay in Pontotoc bear testimony to power of God’s love to work miracles in the lives of His children. For a limited time, pictures of this group at work and soaking up the hospitality of the folks in Pontotoc may be viewed at following link: http://bellsouthpwp.net/r/r/rrnews/Charis
New Glasses Editor Is Now Stylish I am told that most people, who have never needed eyeglasses, realize the need for them around the age of forty. I was a late bloomer. According to the records of Dr. Terry Wood, I purchased my first pair of prescription eyewear in 1989, at the ripe old age of forty-seven, perhaps forty-eight. Relying on my memory, I would have guessed the year as 1995, for I was still teaching an adult couple’s class in Sunday School, something I did faithfully until 1996. While, I was wrong about the date of my first eyeglasses, I distinctly remember how I discovered I needed glasses. In preparing to teach the Sunday School class, I studied approximately six to eight hours each week, often squeezing in study time during TV commercials while sitting in a recliner in the den. It was there I realized I had difficulty refocusing on the text in my hand after viewing the TV screen some twelve feet away. Knowing my propensity for avoiding doctors, even eye doctors, I waited several weeks before getting an appointment with Dr. Wood. "You’ve made it longer than average without glasses, but you definitely need them now," Terry concluded. "I think you’ll like the bifocals with progressive lens." My wife helped me select a pair of frames, that suited the both of us, and a few days later my first pair of glasses had arrived. After Terry tweaked the fit a bit, I began wearing them all day, every day, for work and for play. I’ve known people who only wore their glasses for reading, but I felt I’d have less trouble keeping up with my glasses if they were resting on my nose. During the next few years, I had to have the magnification of the lens upgraded two or three times, but I always kept the same frames. In recent years, Terry had to replace a broken earpiece with one that was a less than perfect match, but it saved me buying new frames. Besides, nobody ever offered, "Did you know one earpiece doesn’t match the other one." Does anyone else find it strange that folks ask such a question? Surely the person asking the question is aware of the other’s knowledge. It’s like asking someone who’s obviously balding, "Do you know you’re losing your hair?" My eyesight has remained relatively stable since 1994, the last time Terry upgraded the lens. However, this past year, I noticed increasing difficulty in reading fine print. Thus, on one of the days I was off work preparing for the fish fry, I stopped by the doctor’s office to make an appointment. Again, Barbara was along to help me choose a pair of frames at the time of the appointment. She felt I needed a more stylish pair, something smaller than my old pair. Terry explained that the narrow frames would be limiting with respect to the reading and might require more in moving my head up and down or left and right. "There’s less room for me to work with," he explained. "And, you may find yourself looking under the frames, but you’ll soon adjust.
I told Barbara I was going to make a game out of who would be first to notice my new look. "I’m going to give a crisp dollar bill to the first person who comments on my new glasses." I qualified the remark to exclude family members, as some of them knew I had new ones ordered. I received my new glasses on a Tuesday afternoon, but no one noticed them all week, not even at church. Meanwhile the crispness of the dollar faded. As I stopped to check on Miss Cubell Young the following week, I had no sooner sat down than she remarked, "You’ve got some new glasses." Springing to my feet to grab my billfold startled her. "What in the world’s wrong?" she asked. "Not a thing," I assured her, "I just have something for you. Here’s you a dollar for noticing." "I’m gonna put this one up and keep it," she declared. The following Saturday, Barbara and I ran into Dena Kimbrell in the grocery store. After saying hi, the next thing she said was, "You’ve got new glasses!" Dena was a Bennett before she married, and like her older sister, Kim Goslin, she doesn’t let a lot get by her. "Well, aren’t you observant?" I prodded. "You’re only the second person to notice, so here take this dollar." There hasn’t been a third winner, but I’m still willing to give away a dollar to the next person who notices my glasses, and I’ll rely upon his or her honesty in not having read this article or heard it from a friend. I’m sorry, but subscribers to RRN are automatically disqualified as potential winners. But, it’s okay to comment when you see me.
Bodock Beau A Bad Fireworks Display
David Letterman: "Top Signs You're At A Bad Fireworks Display": It starts
at noon; It's just a couple of guys yelling, "Ka-Boom!"; Fireworks form a
colorful image of CNN personality Larry King; You're handed a program and
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Pontotoc County Habitat for Humanity
recently hosted another group of volunteer workers from out of state. The
volunteers, all from Chicago, were sponsored by Charis Ministries, which
targets young men and women in their twenties and thirties, teaching them
the value of Christian service and encouraging personal spiritual growth.
Charis is a Catholic ministry associated with the Jesuit order.
The frames Barbara and I decided
on are definitely more stylish than my old ones. They are smaller than I
might have selected on my own, but I like the fact that my eyebrows are now
visible. (You know, eyebrows are points of interest on men as well as women.)
