"I got overwhelmed by the magnitude of the celebrity culture in America. My background is as a news journalist, and newsrooms in the US are shrinking - investigation teams are being terminated or shrunk on newspapers all around the country. The one aspect that's expanded is coverage of celebrity culture." ~ Carl Hiaasen

It's one of those Friday's again. Happy. Happy. Happy. As they say over Louisiana way in the Ducky Dynasty world. I welcome you to this particular Friday, here on this 18th day of July, 2014. The last few weeks have been dominated by a discussion of King James. No. Not the Bible version. It is King James as in LeBron James, the NBA Superstar. For several weeks the sports world was frozen while they awaited the King's decision as to where he would play next. When that decision came, bells and whistles, lights, cameras, billboards, and the presses were all engaged in wall to wall coverage. Here's how important this story was. A live interview with key congressional folks was underway on CNN. The subject was the plans for doing something about the immigration crisis on our southern border. Suddenly, the reporter stopped the interview and announced that the network had to immediately join the latest report concerning LeBron James. I kid you not. This is the world we are living in. It is all about priorities and what really matters. Right? Oh, by the way, in case you missed it, LeBron decided to go home, back to his Cleveland, Ohio roots, and will have to live off a long term contract that will pay him in excess of $20 million per year. I do hope he will be able to manage.

They are playing many of the old Christmas programs on the satellite radio station that plays episodes from yesteryear. It's their old time radio Christmas in July celebration. The other day I was on my way home when Bing Crosby's Christmas program from December 20, 1953 came on. One of the things that always gets your attention is the use of many sacred Christmas hymns on these older programs. They make it clear about the Reason for the Season. Sure, there were plenty of the traditional fun songs too. For me, it was somewhat of a mixed feeling as I thought about that program. It was broadcast just days before we celebrated our last Christmas with our dad as he left this life and us on January 2, 1954. I know he used to listen to the radio. I have this image in my mind of him sitting in the kitchen area at a small table listening. He may have listened to that very program. At any rate, none of us would have ever thought that our lives were to be forever altered as 1953 gave way to 1954. Even as a 7 year old kid I remembered noticing how that while our world abruptly stopped, everything else seemed to go on as if nothing had happened. Today, no matter how hard I try, I can only catch snippets of scenes from that Christmas and I now know that what happened soon after is the reason my recollections are so hard to come by. It was still a neat thing to contemplate as I made my way home. (I also found that particular Bing Crosby program on YouTube, you can find it by searching: "Bing Crosby Christmas Show 1953".)

Wouldn't it be better if I would just not ever think about those things or maybe just switch the station when a memory like that hits? That's a reasonable response but for me it's an indelible part of the fabric of my life. The 'who I am' is defined by the whole story and that includes the good, the not so good, and the really bad stuff too. Hey, he was my daddy and I suppose those blank spaces will always be a part of my unfinished biography. The good news is that while I might delve into the past, I am aware that my life counts most in the here and now. I also know that God has provided His grace into my life and that particular good news overlays all the other stuff. I find it interesting that a 30 minute program on the radio that was played 60 years ago can stimulate that kind of heart searching response. It, however, doesn't make me wonder about myself. I can assure you I gave up on that one a long time ago. I do ask that you mention a prayer for those who are busy about the Lord's business on the Del Rio mission trip supported by our local fellowship of believers. Until next week, I'll do my best to enjoy my Saturday, and to fully participate in the services celebrating Lord Day's Sunday. I recommend the same to each one. May God bless. Amen.  ....More later.