Who Needs Jesus?
This morning in church, Pastor Kerry, preached to us about the demon possessed man that Jesus ministered to in the New Testament.
‘When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!’ For Jesus had said to him, Come out of this man, you impure spirit!’
‘Then Jesus asked him, ‘What is your name?’
‘My name is legion,’ he replied, ‘for we are many.’ And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.’
‘A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus, ‘Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.’ He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.’ Mark 5: 6-11 NIV
As Pastor Kerry went on to explain, whether you believe in demons or not…the people of Jesus time did.
Today we are surrounded with the homeless and the hungry and the forgotten of society. They sit outside our restaurants and hotels and upscale businesses…and they seek a few coins for bread and substance to live another day.
The Gadarene man was certainly shunned by those who passed him by! I can see him sitting on the ground and uttering bizarre epithets as the middle class and wealthy of his town passed him by. He no doubt cursed and spit and stunk with the odor of not washing and the outlook of a brain on fire!
Jesus did not pass him by! The man was naked and he lived in the tombs…according to the scripture.
A homeless woman attended our church for quite some time. I talked with her, from time to time, and during one of our conversations she asked me if I was a rabbi? When replied that I was not she then inquired if I was a minister…and I answered no.
I saw her outside one of our local supermarkets and she was bending over to pick up something that she had dropped. When she looked at me…I said, ‘hi how are you?’
The lady responded, ‘F— You,’ and I proceeded on my way. Now did I think that this lady that I had attended church with for a few years had suddenly decided to hate me…no I did not. I considered that I would not want to fight the battles that she was engaged in!
I believe that humanity is all connected. We are members of the same family! It is a bit like the comic of the four people in a row boat and the two in the front of the boat rejoicing that the hole in the boat is in the back!
Each of us lives our short lives in different states of economic and societal status. So often we do not comprehend the suffering that caused members of our family to be homeless and suffering and looking up with a pleading stare…for Jesus to pass by our way!
‘I Must Tell Jesus’ Crystal Lewis
‘I must tell Jesus’
‘I must tell Jesus’
‘I cannot bear these burdens alone’
‘I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus’
‘In my distress he kindly will help me.’
‘He ever loves and cares for his own’
And, so, perhaps the first face that I will see when death shuts my earthly eyes will be that homeless woman…welcoming me and asking to show me around!
Note: Photos of the Gadarene man and Jesus are courtesy of Google.
Marionettes!
Please follow thejazzmanblog.home.blog if you want to continue to follow the adventures of Billy Bump!
It was a stormy day in Sauk Village! Billy Bump had not slept well though the night. He had watched his favorite television show, The Twilight Zone, and had experienced a nightmare based on the scary episode. The thirty minute program was titled, The Ventriloquist, and it’s theme stuck with him!
The, Ventriloquist, was about a ventriloquist and his dummy being extraordinarily successful in their Las Vegas programs. The key to their success was the total immersive experience of listening to the ventriloquist ask the dummy, sitting on his knee with his wooden legs and feet lifeless on the lap of his master, questions and the wooden figure… appearing to speak extemporaneously without aid from his human counterpart!
As the show progressed it was increasingly apparent that the puppet was the boss and the human was the servant! A chilling scene at the end of episode was the dummy asking…
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Future Author of the Year
Please enjoy a great Jonathon Brooks short story!
I invite you to enjoy this flash fiction story of mine.
The boy received an old typewriter in honor of his twelfth birthday. He thought it to be the coolest present in the entire universe! This epic gift was from the 1940’s. Young Charles knew his older brother would have green jealous eyes and Charles did not give a hoot or a holler. Older brother could have his green envy monster and he would have his glorious typing machine from 46.
So the young author began plotting his first short story draft. There might be aliens or dinosaurs or or spacemen or space ladies or a mysterious volcano erupting in his home town. The possibilities were infinite! No one could stop the boy from pressing the keys and pressing on. The typewriter was a dream come true for Charles.
Young Charles had boyhood thoughts in his dreams and on his…
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Harry Loved Frankenstein!
Another entry from the Jazzman!
Harry Hayes had never seen a monster that he did not like! He was Billy’s cousin and several years older than him. His avocation and calling was to research the science fiction and monster movies of the 1950’s and the 60’s.
Harry had several magazines that were devoted to the horror movies of the day. He could speak extemporaneously regarding the make up and prosthetics that the actors used in various movies, such as; Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Creature From the Black Lagoon. He began collecting Monster Masks. Or rather…Monster Masks and Monster Hands! They aligned the walls of his bedroom and some cost upwards of $100 or more.
Harry modeled these, semi-profesional masks for Billy Bump and his buddy, Carl. Carl thought that they were fascinating and began, regularly, asking Billy when they could go over to Harry’s house to look at his masks?
Now, Billy considered the masks…
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A Trip To The Fair!
Another Billy Bump adventure on thejazzmanblog.home.blog
Finally the long awaited summer holiday from school had arrived! Billy had been wiling away the hours at three primary haunts; the Orpheum theatre, Pounds Hollow swimming hole, or the Pool Hall.
Billy also enjoyed visiting his buddy Carl and playing cowboys with Carl’s Daniel Boone action figure and, the new army action figure, G.I. Joe. Although Billy thought that the Daniel Boone figure was the coolest…Carl insisted on playing with the image of the television actor, Fess Parker, exclusively.
During that summer Billy’s mom’s friend, Francis, asked her if Billy could spend some time with her son Johnny and travel to Clarksville, Tennessee with them for an overnight stay. Johnny was an only child, as was Billy, and Francis was a single mother. Rumor had it that for a price Francis would be a gentleman’s friend for a night…when he was lonely and needed company. These thoughts were a…
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Good Management Requires Hard Discussions!
‘Management By Walking Around,’ was popular in the 1980’s. I became a manager of a large housekeeping department in the 80’s. The bedrock principle of the theory was that the, ‘best supervision takes place where the work is being done.’
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I set my cap to talk with and bond with everyone that was in my department, which had over 400 people at that time!
My staff was a group of nine foreman, who each managed five or more Sub-Foreman and their custodial crews which were made up of Building Service Worker I’s and student custodial staff. We were responsible for the cleaning of almost 200 university buildings which included two satellite areas.
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I was amazed at the openess of the people that I spoke with! I did not have the feeling that they were speaking to me with a hidden agenda or that they were misleading me. I had worked alongside of many of them, just a few months before!
During my discussions, that were unhurried and substantive, I discovered a plethora of oversights that management had failed to address! Some were easily fixed and some were major policy change needs!
I had staff tell me that it appeared that I and the Superintendent, I was the assistant superintendent, were hell bent on assuring that the department was contracted out! I had others tell me of illness in their family…and chronic illnesses that they were battling. Others told me that, at times, they became so stressed that they had considered suicide!
Our student staff told me of their experiences at Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale…and how that their custodial crew colleagues were some of the first, or perhaps only, representatives of the university that had shown an interest in them. Our international students, of which we had many, told me of their home and their culture and the loneliness that they felt…so far away from home!
I discovered that some of our Sub-Foreman had been incorrect in the management of their student staff and that some had terminated them…without cause! I discovered that my perspective was, vastly, different than some of my Foreman regarding certain individuals and that bias had clouded their managerial judgement.
As I spoke with my, precious, colleagues…I found that the majority of them lived and died for their SIU job! They loved the students of our campus…they loved the faculty and staff…and they loved and treated the buildings that they were responsible for like their own home!
My friends and colleagues did not want to see me every day…but they appreciated that I was not only available to everyone of them…but that I would hear their concerns and act upon issues that needed to be addressed!
I have come away from many meetings with my tail between my legs and wondering how I could have been so inept as to not have known what was going on with a trusted technician that was being bullied or abused or teated shabbily!
A member of the university community berated me for nearly an hour as to the poor management style that I had and a basket full of concerns that she had regarding the cleanliness of her building. She ended the conversation by extolling me that, ‘I could be better!’
I told the irate customer that I agreed with her and that I was going to hang up the phone and proceed to work on the project that she suggested.
Support of my mangers did not equal, no matter what wrong that they had perpetrated on their staff, was alright with me, but it mean’t unwavering support as long as they were seeking the two goals of my management doctrine…always treat you colleagues with respect and dignity….and produce clean university buildings!
Many managers and administrators and supervisors are in a hurry to ‘lower the boom’ on their transgressing staff. My motto was that if we err let us err on the side of mercy!
Perspective
Another entry from the Jazzman!
‘A particular attitude toward or way of regarding a point of view.’
‘synonyms – outlook, view, viewpoint, point of view, standpoint, position, stand, stance, angle, slant, attitude’ Google
Elmer Woden had been a mean little kid! He was the type of child that tied firecrackers to cats tails. When the cat ran in abject fear…Elmer felt emboldened and a bit of a giant, compared to the hysterical cat!
When Elmer achieved his full height he measured, from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet, four feet and 9 and one half inches. His favorite comedian/actor was Danny DeVito. Elmer told his assistant, Bill Bump, that he had taken, ‘so much shit from people that now that he had some authority…he was going to dish it out to all who crossed him!’
Elmer had his fans and his friends…and they received the ‘plum’ job assignments while others…
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Roller Coaster!
‘Life is amazing. And then it is awful. And then it is amazing again. And in between the amazing and the awful its ordinary and mundane and routine. Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary. Thats just living heartbreaking, soul healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life. And it’s breathtakingly beautiful.’ LR Knost
Photo by Min An on Pexels.com
Last Friday Mary Jane and I enjoyed a wonderful visit with Jim and Laura, who have been our good friends for many years!
I heard from a former classmate yesterday and it was a pleasure to chat with her on Facebook and I thought of the first time we met…the first day of first grade!
We made our annual trek to Cape Girardeau, Missouri to eat a Father’s Day lunch at Katie O’ Ferrels. I had a delicious beef sandwich!
Aaron bought me an, old cast iron, bank for Father’s Day and Jonathon purchased a Swiss Army knife, for me, with a picture of the Eiffel Tower on it!
Mary Jane got me a pin of the flag of Israel and American flag combined!
As the Brooks men and I enjoyed a Father’s Day beer this afternoon, I was shocked to have our bartender purchase my beer for me! I was pleasantly surprised and humbled by her gracious gesture!
My brother Brock, wished me a happy Father’s Day!
My brother-in-law Ron, withed me a happy Father’s Day!
My buddy Ryan, wished me a happy Father’s Day!
I was speaking with my friend of many years, and we agreed that there are tremendous truths contained within the few lines of the quote by L.R. Knost.
Being well on the road to 62, I reflect on the many times that I have lived the, ‘awful and ordinary,’ and it seemed that it would never end!
Awful is not hard to understand. You know that you are going through a crisis that could be your health or the health of your loved ones! It could also be the loss of a job or financial insecurity. It could be the dissolution of a relationship that, up until that time, your life was based upon.
Awful can be a supervisor or ‘boss’ who is picking on you. The boss is a bully and they take joy in facilitating your misery!
The ‘awful’ has always compelled me to call on God for help and mercy…and wisdom to understand the Creator’s plan for me?
The ‘ordinary’ is more subtle and lulling in its complacency.
So many of our days are carbon copies of the day before and a good barometer of the day to come.
As the ‘ordinary’ days of our life pass by, ever so swiftly, it is easy to grasp on to many things that seem to be a constant and unchangeable! When I was employed at Southern Illinois University @ Carbondale it appeared certain to me that I would be working there for all of my life. The idea that I would eventually become old enough to retire…seemed like a fairy tale to me!
I have been retired eight and one half years!
Ordinary days melt together in our memory! Their sameness obscures their beauty! When our children are young we believe that the joy of parenting will last forever. When we experience our first wedding anniversary or our fifth…we think…look what we have done!
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The miracle of this life’s walk, that we are all taking together, is that every day is another piece of the puzzle. Each day has a specific reason and purpose and if we can be given the grace to understand that guardian angels are walking with us and that we should savor and dwell upon every small gift that life brings us…. we understand that it’s tapestry is sewn from the majestic thread of countless small gifts that make up this roller coaster ride that we call life!
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Majestic Maine!
We have returned from another Maine adventure!
After landing at Portland we drove our, Ford Fusion, rental to the Ocean Point Inn and Resorts at about 9:00 pm. As we passed a little, ocean front cabin called Seaward, Mary Jane announced that it was the cabin that we would be staying in for the week.
The main offices for the Resort were just a few steps away from our cabin and we checked in and purchased some Whoopi Pies, a Maine desert delicacy, and some Blueberry soda.
There is a different tempo to life in Maine! Mainers are laid back and welcoming of guests. The breakfast, that was included in the price of the lodgings had the most wonderful Scotch Eggs and crisp bacon accompanied by hash brown potatoes that were to die for!
We visited several little towns during our stay including; Bath, Camden, Freeport which is the home of the renowned clothier, L.L. Bean and their signature store.
As we were pursuing the art galleries and speciality stores in Bath we encountered the, ‘Town Cryer,’ who had the most distinct Maine accent that I have ever heard! He had been given some placards of notice to distribute to the businesses throughout the community and when the owner of the gallery that we met him in, asked if she could have both the large placard as well as the small one…he unhesitatingly announced that she could not as he had been instructed to only leave one per business establishment!
There was a, relatively, new Brewery in Bath…and we decided that we must sample it’s product! The nicest waitress served us and I swear that she admired the, younger, Brooks men!
In Camden we enjoyed a delicious seafood meal on the dock adjoining the restaurant that we were eating. I had the most wonderful fried oysters, as did Aaron, while Mary Jane relished the fried clams!
As we were enjoying our wonderful seafood, an oarsman passed by and loudly announced that he was late to lunch and he must hurry!
I have often considering relocating to Maine…if it was not for the bitter winters! When I asked a art gallery owner how the winters were in Maine, as she was a transplant from central Illinois forty years ago…she said that twenty years ago it was nothing unusual for Bath to receive two feet of snow that lingered throughout the winter and for them to have at least a couple of weeks with temperatures below zero.
The captivating allure of Maine has a siren song that keeps drawing me back!
Double Indemnity
Today’s chapter in the adventures’ of Billy Bump!
Carl had been Billy’s friend since the first day of first grade. He was happy when he discovered that another student in the class had the same last name. Carl had been adopted and it was comforting to him to meet a Bump that was his age.
Carl’s dad was a brick mason and a dark brown, from the sun, and swarthy man. He was a kind man who loved Carl and was happy that he had found a friend.
Velma, Carl’s mom, dotted on her son. She bought him a guitar and he was learning to play it from a Chet Atkins guitar tutorial. Carl was getting proficient in guitar!
Mrs. Bump enjoyed, what in that day, were called soap operas. She referred to them as, ‘her stories.’ Mrs. Bump never missed her stories!
The other Bumps, Carl and Carol and Velma, attended the Social Brethren Church in Paris…
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