Happy 14th Birthday Alexander Benjamin!

It's Wednesday, September 18, 2019, and it's another day where we pause to wish our grandson, Alexander Benjamin, a happy happy 14th birthday. Fourteen seems impossible but time marches on. I well remember keeping him when he was little. My mom nicknamed him Butterball because he was so 'healthy'. I used to send her an email from Butterball telling about his day along with photos and she was thrilled. Now he is a young man and every day can be a challenge as he deals with some health-related issues. He has not always had an easy road to travel, but, he has hung in there. This boy possesses some tremendous talents and abilities and we thank God for him and pray for God's blessings in his life. Happy Birthday, Alex, we love you! MiMi and Poppy.

I was trying to remember what I was up to when I was 14 years old. I was 16 when I met and started dating my future wife, and at 17, I graduated high school and 18, when I married, therefore, I would like to think maybe I was, at 14, on a fast track to maturity. Dream on. Based on some fuzzy images from my recollection storage unit, I most likely was focused on, along with those I ran with, mostly mischief. I might like to call them childhood pranks or boys will be boys, but, the truth is the truth. Many of the things I participated in were flat out wrong. Siphoning gas out of someone's vehicle so we could go joyriding, that, my friend, is stealing. Taking watermelons out of someone's field, the same thing, stealing. Standing in front of the Church house and agreeing with the rightful owners that anyone who would do that are sorry lowdown scoundrels, well, that's not only hypocritical but, about as deceptive as it gets. Other things I did were not in that category. All night fishing and camping trips. Working with my grandfather. Enjoying our family and the great cooks who prepared our meals. On January 18, 1964, on a Saturday evening, I attended services at New Hope Baptist Church. I can assure you, I didn't go there for any spiritual reasons. That was my girlfriend's Church and her dad was the pastor. I likely was mostly thinking about going to the drive-in for a hamburger basket after the service and spending time with her. They finished the music and her dad got up to preach. He preached a message of salvation and God spoke to me that night. At the end, he gave an invitation, and there I went, down to the front, tears rolling down my cheeks. God changed my life that night and it would be wonderful if I could say I've never let Him down. I've failed Him too many times to count, but, I am here to say He has never failed me. Amen and Amen.

I think I'm glad that kids don't grow up as fast these days. It would depend on the reasons why they don't seem to mature as fast as kids did back in the day. I realize that 'back in the day' is a relative term and it means different things to different generations. My story seems to be very much out of sync compared to modern times, however, it didn't seem that way in the environment in which we lived back in our day. I tell people that when my wife's dad handed her off to me, it became my responsibility to finish raising her. Truth is, we both had a lot of learning to do. One thing is clear, without God's help we would not have made it for these nearly 55 years. Ours is not one of those 'get married, live happily ever after' stories. We've had our struggles, difficulties, and challenges. We know the sting of heartache and pain. Yet, I look back and can honestly say, I love my wife and thank God for us having this long run together. Now we are officially in our twilight years, (whatever that means), and, we still need each other and God to help us to make it, one day at a time. We still rub each other the wrong way from time to time and yes, we still know how to fuss and fight. We certainly don't do it very often, which, I might add, is a good thing. Sometimes we forget why we were upset in the first place. Old people. Are we something or what? May God bless us all. Amen. .....More later.