–Louis L’Amour  (North to the Rails)

 

Pard, come on in an’ pour yurself a cup.  The ol’ rheumatize is actin’ up lately.  Still able to mosey out to make the coffee as I knew yuh’d be comin’ by.  Strong enough for yuh today?  Hmmm, I wonder if I made it a little stronger I could use it as a liniment?  Someone said that my coffee was strong enough to remove a tattoo, so if’n that’s true it oughta work if I rub it into the hip joint.  Couldn’t do no harm, and might do some good.

       My Mom had a cup given to her by one of her bosses.  Inside, on the bottom, was written, “cup’s empty, back to work.”  Now, I think everyone should have a coffeebreak durin’ the day, but my mercy some linger over that cup like it’s Methusaleh’s gold.  By the time they get ’round to drinkin’ it the nectar is cold, and cold coffee…

       I’ve also watch those same folk linger just so they don’t have to get back to work.  That cup just seems to grab them an’ hold them back from gettin’ done what needs to be done.  Yuh know the good Lord gave us this day to be makin’ somethin’ of it.  He gave us the time so we could be gettin’ the chores done.  We aren’t to be lingerin’ ’round the pot, or the drinkin’ fountain, or sittin’ in the lounge when there’s work to be did.

       For sure that cup of whatever it is that some of them drink, cinos and the like, ain’t gonna be keepin’ them from meetin’ with the Lord.  We need to be ready to meet Him, and we need to be takin’ our work to Him.  He has saved us by His blood so that we can be doin’ His biddin’ here on earth until He calls us up yonder.  So, there’s no problem with us takin’ a few minutes to enjoy each others’ company, to enjoy the flavor of strong coffee, and to help the President solve his problems.  Thing is, he won’t listen to us.  Why, I bet, he drinks cinos, for sure he sugars and creams his coffee.  Ptui!  Lands sake, no wonder we have troubles.

       Pard, yuh be ridin’ wary.  The enemy is out there, just a-waitin’.  Don’t think for a minute that all the junk that is goin’ on is just physical.  No siree, there’s a spiritual element to it as well.  Some of it downright demonic.  Now, checkin’ yur cinch, that’s just something yuh should naturally do.  If’n yuh don’t and yuh fall on yur head there’s no one to blame but yurself–not the horse, not the saddle, not the cinch.

      Vaya con Dios.

                         –D.C. Adkisson (Winter of the Wolves)

Take a sip, and listen to this.  It was 1973, Annie and I were moving from Panama City, Florida to Colorado Springs.  I had a Ford Maverick and was pulling a trailer.  We were beat, worn out, and almost frazzled–and that’s the truth, Pard.  We started lookin’ for a place to spend the night an’ there was nothin’!  Found out there was all kinds of doin’s in Dallas and no rooms were available.  Finally, we find one room at a motel in Gainesville, Texas.  It was a suite.  We looked at each other, as we were as poor as church mice, but we were both tired and needed to sleep a few hours.  Oh, the cost–$26.00.  Pard, I don’t if’n it’s progress, but things have sure ‘nough changed.

       Go ahead, finish that cup an’ I’ll pour yuh another.  Pard, since I mentioned “progress,” can’t the people see that we’re progressin’ down the wrong road in this country?  There seems to be more and more evil than ever, an’ I tell yuh, it’s because we have forsaken God and His moral code.  Listen, with all the lawlessness that is aboundin’ I think goes to show yuh that the time of the Lord is drawin’ near.  Ol’ slewfoot will bring more evil and lawlessness until the time that the Man of Lawlessness is let loose on this world.  Pard, that’s gonna be a terrible day.

       That day will be like turnin’ the wolves from the pit loose on the world.  There’ll be terrible sufferin’ and sorrow.  Terror will strike deep.  Sorry, Pard, let me take a long swaller.  Whew, that burned all the way down to my gizzard.  I never thought of it before, but progress is bein’ made every day–progress toward our heavenly home.  The world is goin’ one direction, but those that belong to Christ are headin’ in another.  Yuh better be sure yuh have yur spiritual cinch tight for the day of His appearin’ is near.

      Vaya con Dios.

                    –C. Wayne Winkle  (Gideon Parnell:  The Beginning)

 

Welcome, Pard.  I was a-wonderin’ if yuh were goin’ to be stoppin’ by this mornin’.  Speakin’ of wonderin’, my mind sure does a heap of it.  The ol’ mind is like a river flowin’ with wonder; uh, really more like a small creek tricklin’ over the rocks, but it’s still wonderin’.  Ha, right now yur probably wonderin’ if I’m ever goin’ to pour yuh a cup of coffee.  Comin’ right up, and yuh don’t have to wonder if it’s strong enough.

       Pard, I wonder ’bout lots of things.  I wonder about the arrogant fools that serve as bureaucrats, then I wonder at the fools who elect them.  I wonder how God can allow their arrogance and immorality go unchecked, then that causes me to wonder about His longsuffering and love.  I wonder about the grace He offers, then I wonder about those who spurn that grace.  I wonder about whether Adam missed walking with God more than he missed Eden.  I wonder whether Adam and Eve ever repented.

       I wonder about the aroma of a grilled steak and its flavor, then I wonder how God can make something that tastes good like cabbage and broccoli have an odor when its cooked.  Pard, I even wonder about the pesky mosquito.  Why did God make it, what good does it do?  I wonder if in His omniscience He knew that Adam would sin and He already had the mosquito ready when he did.  I wonder about pesky flies that always seem to show up when I eat a melon.

       Sometimes I scratch my head wonderin’.  Why do some people act so foolishly when they drive?  Don’t they know they are takin’ the lives of others in their hands and their own, then I wonder if they even care.  I wonder how evil seems to be growin’.  I wonder about the depth of God’s amazin’ grace.  Pard, I even wonder about you, and whether or not yuh check yur cinch.  I wonder about time and eternity.

       But let me tell yuh, Pard.  There’s some things I don’t wonder about.  Take this coffee for instance.  I don’t wonder whether or not its strong enough or if’n it makes my gizzard take delight in it.  I don’t wonder whether or not I’ll like Annie’s pie–that’s a given.  I don’t wonder about the love of God, nor that He will not take care of me for I know that He will.  I wonder if yuh think I’m off my rocker, but then I don’t really care.  In fact, I like to sit in my rocker, peer out in the woods an’ take up wonderin’ some more.

       Well, one thing we don’t have to wonder about–the coffeepot’s empty.  I know that means yuh’ll be headin’ on down the road.  Yuh be havin’ a good week, and don’t worry if’n the shelves at the grocery aren’t full, God will supply yur needs.

       Vaya con Dios.

                       –Louis L’Amour  (Conagher)

 

Be right with you, Pard.  I’ve just been thinkin’ and ponderin’ about things and people.  One of my ol’ saddle pards passed over the Great Divide.  He and I shared many a cup of coffee together and spent many a time jawin’ with each other.  Yuh know, we say we’re goin’ to pay our last respects, but that’s not true.  If’n they’re real friends we’ll go on respectin’, reflectin’, and rememberin’ them.

       Help me out, Pard.  Let’s lift our cups up high in ‘membrance of the memories of all our friends an’ family no longer around us.  They may not have passed on, but they are no longer a major influencin’ factor in yur life, though they once were.  People come and go an’ that’s the purpose of God.  Providence makes sure that there are those around us for a time and season.  They may last only a year or they may be there for several.  Others yuh lose touch with, but that’s not sayin’ they weren’t important in yur life at one time.  So here’s to all the friends and family that have touched me.  Ahhh, glad I made it strong this mornin’ for their memory.

       This here cup I’m holdin’ this mornin’ reminds me of my Mom and her family.  It came from the ol’ Jones’ Cafe in Boulder.  Foolishness that a cup filled with coffee can hold memories as well as a delicious brew?  Nah, memories come in all sorts of sizes, flavors, and aromas.  We don’t get stuck livin’ in the memory, but hopefully it makes us smile and remember.  I just received a note yesterday and it brought a smile and memory.  It’s nice to receive notes from those who helped yuh along the way, or maybe those yuh helped.

       Yuh be havin’ a good week.  Hope yuh enjoyed the coffee and don’t get so busy yuh forget to tighten yur cinch.  Be ridin’ easy…and wary, keepin’ yur eyes upon the eastern skies.

         Vaya con Dios.