Brothers!

Yesterday, I was leaving the hospital after visiting with June, one of the members here who is to undergoing tests to see if she needs surgery. After visiting and praying with June, I made may way down the stairs toward the exit. As I was leaving, Rhonda B and her daughter Olivia were leaving the hospital as well. Olivia had her tonsils removed - she was not very talkative. I also saw two brothers Bryant (age 12) and Colin (age 9) sitting in the vending area. Bryant and my son attend school together (since kindergarten) and the visit our congregation during VBS and through the year when they are spending the night with friends who attend with us. Colin was in my wife's 1st Grade class a couple of years ago. I have visited with the Grandmother when she was in the hospital. Why do I share this background? Let me quote our conversation at the hospital yesterday.

"Hey, guys" I said, "what brings you to the hospital?" I thought maybe their mom, dad, or Granny might be there for tests, surgery, etc.

"Granny's visiting a friend upstairs and we are with her 'cause mom and dad are at work." Bryant said.

Colin spoke up, "Bryant, shut up! We are not supposed to talk to strangers." I looked at Colin to remind him who I was, only to see him grinning ear to ear before he added, "and no one's stranger than Mr. McCown!"

Brothers! Boys! Kids! Whatever happened to respecting your elders? Actually, I felt complimented that a couple of boys were comfortable enough with me to tease.

Have a great day!

Turning Point

May 15, 1974 was a turning point in my life. That Wednesday literally changed not only the summer of my seventh year, but when combined with the day and weeks that followed played a major impact on making me who I am. The anniversary of that day came and went this past Friday, I spent a few moments reflecting on that day. I wanted to share my reflections with you.

That mid-week day started out like any other school day. My brother, Doug, and I finished our breakfast (either cereal or a pop-tart along with a glass of milk or juice) and headed out the door. Mom stayed at the house taking care of my baby brother, so we walked as we did everyday to wait for our ride to school. Coach Rick Bird was our ride to school. Rick was the preacher's son and was soon to marry one of my Bible Class teachers at church, they had asked me to be their ring bearer.

Two weeks of school remained before summer break. That summer had great promise. We were going to travel out West, we were going to see the Grand Canyon and maybe California. We had even talked about an excursion into the southern part of Canada. We were also getting a Color TV! Summer was beckoning, but we had to endure the last few days of school before all those magical moments of Summer could come true.

While we waited for Coach Bird, we played our usual games: floating leaves in the street gutters, bouncing loose road gravel down the road or splashing them in a puddle, or watching ants scurry to work to rebuild a foot-sized section of their anthill. Doug was looking for something to float or toss when he found a treasure – a steel ring – not a shower curtain ring mind you, this was one solid piece that rang when you dropped in on the concrete curb. After investigating it, he asked if I wanted it. The ring was cool, but if Doug who was 5 years older and a wise 13 year old wanted it, I was not going to fight him for it (at least not before school). I said, “No.”

What happened next set up a chain of events that neither Doug nor I will ever forget. He decided that the ring was of little value and checked out its aerodynamics by tossing it as far as he could across the road into the yard on the other side. I could not believe he did not want such I treasure! Now I wanted it. After a short altercation on the seemingly invalid point of my originally not wanting it, Doug said, “If you want it that bad, go get it!' I did. I looked both ways, crossed the road and went after my treasure. After looking and not seeing it, I looked at my brother for help. He said something about going to miss our ride, so I started back across the road. Here is where my memory gets a little fuzzy I recall this in slow motion. I looked to the left – no cars. I looked to the right – two cars, the last a little red hatchback. I took off, forgetting to look back to the left. That was my mistake. A mistake that would change my summer, my family's summer, and ultimately much of my life.

To be continued . . . tune in tomorrow.

Scott