Month: November 2024

The Saga of Miles Forrest

by Ira Paine, Posted on
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  — 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)
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     Charlie had found no paperwork regarding a will or his daughter.  Mostly it was ledgers concerning the store, invoices, statements, and other such things.  There was a picture of his wife and Agatha taken some time before the mother had died.  For the life of me, I can’t remember her name.  I didn’t know them well when the epidemic swept through. 
     He pronounced that the Peabodys could move in.  And with their few possessions it wouldn’t take them long.  They didn’t need furniture since Martin’s was already in the apartment.  As soon as they could start working and making money they would be able to feed themselves on a better diet than just beans, then warmed up beans and if they were fortunate, eggs from the widows.
     Marshall Peabody was a little concerned about doing his community chores.  Lucas said he would cut wood for the widows and Darnelle and Mateo said that Alejo was old enough to do most of the other work.  He wasn’t a carpenter, but he could repair things such as chicken coops, chop wood, clean up around the town so that was a relief to Marshall.
     The very next day, I went by to find the store open.  Lois was dusting off the shelves and items on the shelves.  Marshall was doing inventory and acquainting himself with the products.  When I came in he laughed, “First time I’ll be able to come home from work looking half human.”
     The miners up in Silverton that worked in the larger mines made a decent salary, but much of it went to pay rent for the company houses.  Those that didn’t waste their money on booze had to pay exorbitant prices for food.  It was really much like the sharecropping system–go broke, stay broke, die broke.
     Lois ran over to me to give a large hug.  With tears in her eyes, she just repeated, “Thank you,” over and over.  Standing back and wiping the tears away, she said, “That nice young girl, Miss Foster, said she would come by and show us how to set up ledgers and order.  Then after we’d been working a month or so, she come by to see how things we going and help organize better.”
     “Darnelle is a good girl,” I replied.  “I don’t know much about storekeepin’, but Molly and I’ll help in any way we can.”
     As I left the store, the thought struck me.  “Darnelle isn’t a girl any longer.  In fact, she is in her upper twenties.  I just don’t figure how some guy hasn’t swept her up and married her.”  Then I laughed as I walked getting strange looks from a couple of people on the street.  “Course Darnelle might have a say in the matter.”
     Entering the diner, I saw Mateo sitting with Doc.  Mateo doesn’t come by to make himself at home like Charlie and Doc does.  He is friendly, but stays busy working the streets.  In fact, it’s hard to find him in the office sitting down doing the paperwork that comes with the job.
     I grabbed a cup and filled it before sitting.  Molly was in the kitchen having a meeting with Marta and Emelda while Lola was wiping down tables.  Doc started right up with the conversation.  “Heard that we’re having beef this year for Thanksgiving.  I don’t know why you don’t go out and get a few turkeys.”
     “Nothin’ from Grizz?” I asked.  Grizz usually showed up around this time with elk and venison for the dinner, but we hadn’t heard a word from him this year.
     Mateo was shaking his head.  “Lots can happen traveling alone, especially in those mountains.”
     Both Doc and I nodded our heads, then I began to drink my coffee.  “Molly was telling us that Cecil Thompson and Bert Winfield would supply the diner with beef for the dinner.  Emelda’s eyes lit up when she heard; she wants to make menudo and barbacoa.”
     “Cecil said that he’d sent his cook, Reese Donovan over to bbq the steer along with a couple of cowboys to help him,” Doc informed me.  “He further stated that he might send his whole crew into town for the feast.  That along with the miners and townsfolk that come by could mean quite a crowd.”
     I smiled, finished my coffee, then pointed with cup in my hand at Mateo.  “Our illustrious marshal should be able to handle them readily enough.”
     “I thought I heard you in here,” came the voice of Molly walking towards me with a piece of pumpkin pie in her hand.  “Figured you might want a taste.”
     Just as I was ready to take a bite, there was the sound of gunfire across town.  Mateo glanced at me, then took off towards the sound.  I thrust a large piece of pie in my mouth and followed after him with Doc on my coattail.
     Lola came to Molly.  “What could have that been?”

 

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

All a man could do was go on; but I had found that many a problem is settled if a man just keeps a-going.”
                    –Louis L’Amour  (Killoe)

       “Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the LORD upholds him with His hand.”
                    –Psalm 37:24 (NKJV)
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               “The root of all steadfastness is in consecration to God.”
                         –Alexander MacLaren

Most people want a “good life.”  But what is that in reality?  No matter how much God wills it, good doesn’t happen in the midst of turmoil and trouble unless the person also wills it; the right attitude must prevail. (Wood)  In this psalm of ascent, Psalm 129, the travelers are two-thirds of the way up to Jerusalem.  They are realizing that it is not an easy trek and that there are no shortcuts or easy solutions.  One writer calls it “long obedience.”  That’s life–long obedience, a lifestyle of endurance.

          1 — “Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth,” let Israel now say–
          2 — “Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth; yet they have not prevailed against me.
          3 — The plowers plowed on my back; they made their furrows long.”
          4 — The LORD is righteous; He has cut in pieces the cords of the wicked.
          5 — Let all those who hate Zion be put to shame and turned back.
          6 — Let them be as the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up,
          7 — With which the reaper does not fill his hand, nor he who binds sheaves, his arms.
          8 — Neither let those who pass by them say, “The blessings of the LORD be upon you; we bless you in the name of the LORD!”  (NKJV)

     When I read this Psalm, I think of the words of the hymn by Esther Kerr Rusthoi:
                    Oft times the day seems long, our trials hard to bear;
                    We’re tempted to complain,
                    To murmur and despair…
                    It will be worth it all, when we see Jesus;
                    Life’s trials will seem so small, when we see Christ;
                    One glimpse of His dear face, all sorrows will erase,
                    So bravely run the race till we see Christ.
At times it seems like it is a battle for survival, and, in fact, it is.  Endurance, steadfastness, keep plodding onward.  Steven Lawson writes, “Resilience marks the determined drive of God’s people to be faithful to God’s calling.  An overcoming perseverance causes them to bounce back from defeat.  The person who trusts God may be knocked down but never knocked out.”  Get up, dust yourself off, and continue the journey.  Lawson continues, “Christianity is not the subtraction of all problems but the addition of God’s grace to overcome those problems.”  
     Look at the agony of the psalmist:  “My back is covered with cuts, as if a farmer had plowed long furrows.” (NLT)  Don’t despair my friend if that seems to be your cause.  Keep your focus on the journey ahead; keep your eyes upon Jesus.  There may be real or spiritual lashes upon your back inflicted by the hand of the enemy.  Deep welts that cause pain, but…now verse 4:  the Lord is on the scene.  He cuts the cords, He stops the swinging of the whip, He soothes the wounds that have been inflicted.  I recall the words of Paul, “We are pressured in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9, HCSB)
     Focus, attitude, and fortitude are required if we are to finish our trek.  The road is often hard, the obstacles may be many.  There may be foes along the way, the devil may be doing his best to hinder our progress.  However, the Lord is with us.  We must trust, we must have the attitude that we will make it.  As the old missionary Charles Greenaway often said, “We may not look like much when we enter heaven’s gates, but we’re going to make it.”  Then all will be worth it all!
                    “Thou are my hiding place, thou shalt
                    From trouble keep me free;
                    Thou with songs of deliverance,
                    About shalt compass me.”
                              –Old Scottish Psalter

Coffee Percs

by Ira Paine, Posted on

He took the offered chair, saw the steaming cup of coffee, and lifted it to his lips and took a long draught. ‘Ummm, that’s good coffee!’” 

                    –B.N. Rundell  (The Trail to Retaliation)
 
Pard, missin’ yur smilin’ face this mornin’.  I left the door open, so go on in an’ make yurself a pot.  The missus and I are out in the Hill Country for a weddin’, won’t be back ’til tomorrow.
     Whoopdi-ay, I see where some folks are runnin’ scared.  Maybe this time something will get done up there in the Marble City.  For shore, they need to get rid of that wokeness in the military.  That’s a sham and a shame that nonsense goin’ on with our military.  Yep, those top generals should be losin’ their jobs.  Wish ol’ Krulak was around, or some of the others of days gone by.
     Pard, I’m tellin’ yuh that it’s gonna be a hum-dinger those first hundred days of office.  The President’s gonna show ’em how the cow eats the cabbage.  An’ Pard, he’ll do it with a smile on his face but with a firm hand.  Get rid of some of that graff and smugness of some of those there politicians.  
     What’s that yuh say?  Nope, nary a one.  Come on Pard, yuh know that them Hollywood sort and entertainers are mostly gab.  Run their mouths but when it’s time to put up an’ follow through with what they said, ha.  Do yuh really think they’d leave the good ol’ USA?  Be better off if some of them would hit the road, that’s for shore.  
     Don’t be lettin’ this day go without mentionin’ Grandma’s birthday.  She was a determined person, possibly the strongest person I’ve known.  An’ could she cook, why the onliest one that could beat her would be my darlin’ Annie.  Side by side there’d be no match agin them.  She’s up in glory, possibly helpin’ out gettin’ that Marriage Supper ready.  The irony of Grandma was that she always kept the coffeepot ready for company even though she wouldn’t touch the stuff her ownself.  When yuh sit yurself down at that table in the sky, be shore yuh get some of Grandma’s dumplin’s or a bite of her pie.
     Listen, since I ain’t ’round to be checkin’ on yuh, yuh be shore to do things right.  Don’t get lax just ’cause yuh think better days are ahead.  Might not be that way, so stay alert, an’ Pard, don’t go ridin’ off without checkin’ yur cinch.  Why I reckon I’ve checked mine a time or two already on this trip.
       Vaya con Dios.

 

Echoes From the Campfire

by Ira Paine, Posted on

Art comes from the man, not the material. The man of mastery, of genius, not only meets but exceeds the standards of excellence; he sets higher standards, opens new ground, and that man is an artist be he writer, painter, grave digger, bull-fighter or bronc rider.”

                    –William Crawford  (The Bronc Rider)

       “But just as you excel in everything, in faith, speaking, knowledge, and in all earnestness and in the love we inspired in you, see that you also excel in this gracious work.”
                    –2 Corinthians 8:7 (NASB)
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When I taught my classes, I wanted my students to excel.  What that means is that I wanted them to work to the best of their abilities.  Not perfection, for that is impossible, but excellence within their capacity.  It thrilled me to see someone go beyond expectation.  If they did what was required of them to the best of their ability they were a success in my mind.  I often think of John Wooden’s definition of success:  “Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”
     God gives us opportunities to excel for His glory.  He wants us to be successful in life and in our endeavors.  However, the key is to work for His glory, for the Kingdom of God, and not for selfish reasons or vainglory.  Paul tells us, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.” (Philippians 2:3, NKJV)  I like the way J.B. Phillips translates the first part of this verse, “Never act from motives of rivalry or personal vanity…”
     To excel for Christ we must use our abilities, gifts, and talents appropriately.  Never waste what has been given to us, never boast about what we are doing for the kingdom, but go onward and upward with a steadfastness that makes sure the job gets done and Christ receives the glory.  To hide our talents and gifts is a sin.  To deny them might even be worse.  We are to face life with the assuredness that God is with us.  Chaplain John R. Ellis states, “We have two ways of facing life:  the way of fear and the way of faith.  Life consists of a long series of problems that require decisions–both personal and professional.”  To meet those problems and to do it properly we must train, and use the gifts/talents that we have been given.
     I recall the story of the spies sent into Canaan by Moses.  They saw the land, the difficulties, the problems that might lie ahead.  You know the story, ten came back in fear, doubting their ability and more important doubting their God.  Two men understood–Joshua and Caleb.  “Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, ‘Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.'” (Numbers 13:30, NKJV)  They understood what it would mean.  They knew that to take the land they would have to excel, but they also understood that God would go with them.
     Each of us, when problems arise, have the ability to find a satisfactory solution.  Sometimes that solution is within us because of the gifts, talents, and abilities that God has given us.  Sometimes we must reach out to Him for a solution for it is beyond our ability.  Either way–there is a solution.  Someone rightly said, “There are no problems.  There are only opportunities to excel!”  With God on our side, let us continue the daily walk with Him looking for ways to use our God-given abilities to excel for His glory.