The swing was the best playground equipment invented. It was the way Tarzan got around in the jungle. The principle of “centrifical” force, swinging from a certain point, doesn’t exist. What? How about the tether ball, the merry go round, or even the teeter totter? What about the sling David used to kill Goliath? As …
This term came from the railroad days of the 19th century. At the critical moment, the switchman was needed to switch the track and change the course of the train. Waiting for that critical moment was the boring part of the job. Staying awake was also part of the job. I can identify with this. …
Did you ever run away from home? Many young people have. When things get overwhelming at home, the thought might cross our mind. Adults can also run away from home. One New Year’s Eve, just before midnight, I received a desperate phone call. As a young pastor of a small church, I had organized a …
Has anyone ever spit in your face? In these “Covid days” it might actually be a crime. I’m not talking about someone that sprays when they talk, but intentionally spitting. Years ago this issue arose (pun intended). It happened on my school bus. I sat in the driver’s seat watching the students board the bus …
This is where the rubber meets the road. The first automobile accident in America allegedly took place in Ohio City, Ohio in 1891 (from “Ohio History Central”, an Ohio history website run by the Historical Society, Ohio History Connection). Accurate or not, car crashes are certainly bound to happen. In Bible times, this was not …
This is a phrase seldom, if ever, heard anymore. The days of the true “service station” are gone. There may still be some places where an attendant will put gas in your tank while you sit in the car. Gas stations once had an air hose and water hose right by the gas pump. The …
In 1857, the rule that required nine innings in a baseball game was established. Though every run was important in adding up to the total score, the ninth-inning runs got the attention. This is where the drama heated up. In God’s “game,” the ninth hour is the big showdown. The ninth hour begins at 3:00 …
When I was a teenager, the Junior-Senior Banquet was our church’s replacement for the Senior Prom. Seated at the fancy table waiting for our food, I noticed the candles in little tin glass holders. Being a junior, and wanting to call attention to myself (little man syndrome), I said, “I bet I can put that …
A man in prison is biding time. He is aware of his captivity. It is no life. He thinks about the past. He thinks about the future. The present is nothing more than marking off another day on the calendar. You don’t have to be in prison to live this kind of life. Pain, depression, …
Of course that would be the devil. Jesus said to the Pharisees in John 8:44, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a …
