Sunday, September 30, 2012


1919 PARKIN’ IN PARKIN

Maybe I will do a little update tonight.

About a week ago I embarked on an unplanned road trip.

For a while now I have seen lots of my street friends live in their vans and stuff- and I always wanted to give it a shot.

Now- I’m cheating a bit- by staying at my mom’s house for a few nights- but on the road- I lived in the van.

It’s not that hard to be honest- the rest stops on the interstates are great- clean- and safe.

I was kidding my buddy earlier- I told him that the drive [from TX. To N.J.] was great- cheap.

But as soon as I hit Jersey- the toll system cost me more cash [around 30] and time [geez- having to stop multiple times- before getting off!] than the entire trip combined!

But all in all it was an okay drive.


I was detoured just outside of Little Rock- Ark.

I blew a fan belt- it was so loud I thought the transmission fell out!

I realized it was the belt- and had to drive to the closest exit and get off.


I wound up in a small rural town named Parkin.

To my surprise the town shop was able to get the parts and install them- at half the cost that pep- boys charged in the past![this water pump has a history].

As I spent half the day in Parkin- I walked around- took some pics- and made the best of it.

As I ‘interviewed’ my mechanic- I asked him what the town was like.

He was a young- White kid.


He said ‘It’s nice here- but the NIGGERS ARE NIGGERS.’

Unquote.

I then walked around- and talked to the Black people in the area.

They were real nice.


I picked up the Arkansas paper.

The top story was the local hero- who looked just like one of Jeff Foxworthy’s Red Neck’s.


He was on the front page because he made his annual trip to NYC to protest the Iranian president.

Yeah- he started making this his cause about 10 years ago.


This time- as he was standing outside the U.N.- he saw the Iranian security guys walking right by him.

They were protecting some top diplomat- and the Arkansan thru a punch- and hit the guy!


As I read this story- while ‘parked’ in Parkin- I had to laugh.


The guy said ‘as they walked by- I thought the guy was Ahmidinejab’.

Yeah- he was proud- grinning ear to ear.


They asked him how he got involved with this cause- he has an on-line web site and he leads a group who regularly protest the Iranian leaders desire for Nukes.

He told the reporter that his wife died of cancer about 10 years ago- and he needed something to keep his mind occupied.


Yeah- Foxworthy would have loved it.


All in all my day [half day] was well spent- lessons learned- prejudice revealed- and hospitality shown to me- by a nice Black owner of the local beauty salon [her name was Shea].


Yeah- I learned some stuff in while parked- in Parkin.

Note- Do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. Thanks- John. Don’t forget to scroll down on the timeline [Facebook] - I have posted lots.







Thursday, September 27, 2012


1918- MALE GAY PROSTITUTE?

Let’s pick up a little from the last post or 2.

The other day at the mission I had an old friend- who I haven’t talked to in a while- just show up.

We hung out for a little while- and he told me how ‘so and so’ burned him real bad.

Burned- he ‘screwed him over’ type of thing.

I heard the story- and of course I was mad at the other friend.


Yet- my other friend was not around- so I tried to let it drop.


But- to be honest- it bothered me for a couple of days.


Then I saw his girlfriend- and she did the same thing.

Now- at one point I actually laughed- because my friend- who I have known for 20 years- is what you would call a classic case of being Homophobic.

That is- whenever he has a problem with someone- he most of the time accuses them of either being gay- or- a homosexual/lesbian prostitute [as in if the simple accusation of prostitute isn’t enough].

Now- because I know this friend well- I take it with a grain of salt.


But- I did tell my wife a few days ago ‘you know my friend ‘so and so’ I mean he has the classic case of Homophobia.’

He just had an argument with his girlfriend- and sure enough- he tells me he thinks she’s hiding something- he thinks she might be a secret lesbian prostitute.

So- as I’m talking to his girlfriend- without revealing the accusation- she tells me ‘you know John- he is totally gay- he is a repressed homosexual- he does not know how to please a woman…’

On and on- about him being a closet homosexual.

Now- first off- I have gay friends- I help gay friends- so this post is not about being gay.

But I laughed because my 2 friends- who both have issues- also resort to this accusation- about one another.


I told my friend one day that years ago- as kids [maybe 16?] me and a friend were going to do a stupid thing.

We went to the local park late at night [Hudson County Park to my friends from N.J.]

And we were going to rob and beat up a gay person.

We recruited a local drunk from the area- he was about 30 years old.


We told him the plan- and we went.


We never carried it out- though my other friend did just get out of prison in N.J. - for another very serious crime.

Yet I told it to my friend because he was bringing up past attitudes about gay people and for some reason this came up.

He tells me years later ‘John- you might be a repressed homosexual- because you told me you guys tried to mug a gay guy’.

So- that’s my friend.


Purpose- lesson?

In reality some of the street guys are indeed male prostitutes.

Many are addicted to drugs- and they do make money this way.


I don’t see them in that light- one of the guys has been with us these past few weeks- and we have had discussions about the Lord and he was with us when we prayed for my friend in the hospital- so he was around us the whole time.

Which I felt was good for him- to spend the day doing things that were positive.

Even though I had to laugh when my friend’s girlfriend dropped the accusation- during the talk she also shared about her experiences.

How she was not looking for a relationship- she is an older lady- and a Christian.

But she met my friend- she thought he was a good looking guy- and one thing lead to the next.

I told her ‘gee- I would like to agree with you that so and so is a good looking guy- but the way you guys throw around the ‘gay male prostitute’ thing- I better not say anything.’

I was tempted to ‘disown’ my buddy for a few days- you know- having various people all volunteer to tell me bad stuff about him.

But instead I chose to brush it off- maybe some accusations are true- maybe not.

I don’t know all the facts about each person’s situation.


But I’m glad I shrugged it off- because it was the same week that I was told that this friend sees me as his mentor- that he can’t stop saying good things about me- which I had no idea he looked up to me that much.

He is about 5 years older than me- and he often speaks bad about brother Rey- a street preacher who helps the poor.

So- all in all- I’m glad I stuck with him.


Hopefully I’ll see him today- he was stranded last week- and I’m not sure if he made it back to town.

Pray for people- I know a few of the guys do resort to bad stuff when they need cash.

Some of the girls are indeed prostitutes- they don’t hide it- many of them are real friends- they are nice people- who are involved with lifestyles that are not good- lifestyles they do need to change- I make no excuses about that.


But do your best to not let what others might say effect you- it would have been bad if I ‘dumped’ my buddy because of what I heard- and later found out that he held me in high esteem.

It would have hurt him.

Note- Do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. Thanks- John. Don’t forget to scroll down on the timeline [Facebook] - I have posted lots.







Wednesday, September 26, 2012


1917 MENTOR?

Went down to the mission yesterday.

I saw Julie- Dirk’s girlfriend.

I usually don’t see her at the mission- and when I do- she’s always with Dirk.


At first I wasn’t sure it was her- but as she walked by I asked ‘aren’t you Julie’.

Yeah- it was her.


If you remember- I wrote a post about them both going to one of the national parks here in Texas.


It’s called the Angelina national forest.


Over the years Dirk has told me lots about how much he loves being there.


It’s kind of a ‘second’ [or 3rd?] home away from home.


Dirk spends most of the year living here in his van.

Every so often he goes home to Michigan to see family.

And sometimes he stops at the national forest for a few weeks- he knows the locals- older retired guys who he plays cards with and stuff.


He has told me how he loves to hunt for arrow heads along the banks of the river.


Okay- I asked Julie where Dirk was.


She told me ‘I left him there’.

They got in a fight- over the arrow heads!

Yeah- every morning Dirk would get up and take Julie arrow head hunting.

So she told me she bought a few books in town and one morning wanted to read.

Dirk went hunting for the heads.


He came back- found something and was all excited- he tried to show it to her or something and she was into the book.

One thing led to the next- they got in a fight- and she drove back to Corpus [about a 600 mile drive by the way].

He has no ride back.

I knew from the start that they were going to get into a fight- I just didn’t think she would leave the guy.


I think that’s why she was down at the mission- sort of waiting to see if he makes it back.



I mean I did have to laugh- as I talked with Julie I told her I thought something like this would happen.



I do want to mention something that will sound self serving- buts it’s the second or 3rd time Julie has told me this- and to be honest it surprised me.


Julie tells me that Dirk is always talking about me- that he sees me as his ‘mentor’ and that he has nonstop praise for me.

I find it ‘funny’ because Dirk usually has nothing good to say about anyone- to be honest.

Many times he has put down the other ‘street’ preachers who work in the area.

I have had to defend Brother Rey- a street preacher- many times.


But being she brought it up again- I want to simply say a few words.


I have known Dirk for many years- and he realizes that me getting with the guys- often taking them out to eat- just being friends with the homeless.

He knows that this is ‘ministry’ to me.

Now- when you become friends with people- of course- over time- they will learn stuff- you will talk about God- and many times the guys have questions- things they might have heard as kids.

Misconceptions about God- things that have hindered them from believing- and often times it’s a simple explanation that clears it up.


So- I guess after knowing Dirk all these years- he has come to see me as a sort of mentor.


I have Henry sleeping in the living room right now- we hung out most of the day- I cooked some simple stuff last night and let him crash on the couch.


I have started doing this at least once a week- I see it as a way to contribute a little more- without it costing a lot of money.


Henry is a football nut- he knows the sport like I used to follow boxing.

Over the years at the fire house the guys realized I was a boxing fanatic.

I would usually know who would win the fight- and when they had a question about some rule- they would ask.

I had a laugh one day- I was upstairs watching the fights- they were down in the main room- I guess they put it on as well.


James- one of the guys- came up to ask ‘what’s it mean when they say- no 3 knockdown rule’.

I told him ‘that means you can’t knock the other guy down- more than 3 times’.

Actually- it means you don’t stop the fight if the other guy goes down 3 times in 1 round.


Some states have this rule- they think it prevents a fighter from getting hurt too much.

But in some cases maybe one of the knockdowns is a fluke- then a guy might lose a fight when he really wasn’t hurt.



So- being Henry is a football nut- you guessed it- we watched the bad call in the game the other night.


I think it was Green Bay and Seattle.

It made the news because the NFL has the replacement ref’s in the game- the regular guys are locked out over a dispute about their contract.

Henry could not get over the amount of coverage- I mean I had ESPN on for 4-5 hours at the house.

I finally told Henry ‘man- I’m gonna catch some news’.

Yeah- it was on the world news too!

Obama and Romney and all the politicians had to have their say.

I’m just waiting for the Al-Qaeda statement.


So- we watched the play- around a hundred times thru out the day.



In a little while Henry will get up- we will head out to some area- maybe go visit my friends in Bishop/Kingsville- it’s been a while and I probably should see them.


It really doesn’t take much to do this- I read John chapter 15 earlier.

Jesus says the most important thing is to love your brother.

That he showed us that to lay our lives down for another- to sacrifice your time- money- etc.

That this is the heart of the matter.


It doesn’t take much- and your friends will never forget.

Note- Do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. Thanks- John. Don’t forget to scroll down on the timeline [Facebook] - I have posted lots.







Tuesday, September 25, 2012


1916 WHO IS JOHN GALT?

Over the weekend- my habit is now to watch a couple of documentaries from Netflix.

I always got into them- but with the Rocu thing- I can start a few at a time- and then pick up right where I left off.


I’m watching the Cosmos- Carl Sagan [excellent by the way].

Just started Greek Civilization- narrated by one of my favorite actors- Liam Nessen.

And I caught a short one on Ayn Rand- the now famous author of Atlas Shrugged.


I have never read any of Rand's stuff- she is a novelist- and I don’t read them.

But- she is also a philosopher- the founder of the system called Objectivism.

And her works and thought are more known right now because a movie was made about the book- Atlas Shrugged.


Rand taught a system that said mans main purpose in life is the pursuit of his/her own happiness.

Now- she was not a strict Hedonist- she also taught that man should be productive- should be a contributing member of society- and should be free to excel- to ‘make it’ without the state making the rich guy feel bad about it.

Yes- back to the 99 versus the 1.

As you can see- that’s why her work has made it back into the collective consciousness at this point in time.


The other day we went to see my friend John at the hospital- I took Henry [John Henry], John from Arlington- Andy- and of course myself.

The day before we went to the bookstore- and I met father John- a nice Catholic Priest.

The guys were calling John [from Arlington] Joe.

I told Henry 'no- his name is John’.

Henry quipped ‘too many John’s’

In Rand’s work- she tells the fictional story of John Galt [who is John Galt? This sign pops up every so often]

Galt is the leader of the ‘productive’ class in society- the thinkers- producers- etc.

These noble ones rebel against what they see as an all encroaching Entitlement society- a ‘world’ that keeps blaming them for the ills of man.

Eventually these productive people have had enough- and they withdraw from the world and start their own world- based on the principles of Objectivism.

‘Every man for himself’ type of thing.

There is one line in the book- where you have this image of Atlas [the man who has the world on his shoulders].

He is bowing and bending and struggling under this Entitlement world.

The ‘have nots’ keep seeing the ‘haves’ as the cause for their problems.


The more pressure put on Atlas- does not seem to appease the Entitlement class.

So- he shrugs- and walks away.


A couple of years ago when we did a short history of Philosophy- I never covered Rand.

Why?

She never came up in any of the stuff I was reading at the time.


Rand was a Russian American who came to the states in the early 20th century.

She saw the rise of Communism in her homeland- and she believed that the U.S. was in danger of going down the same road.

She lived to see the presidency of FDR- and his creating of what we call the Entitlement society.


But Rand- like other thinkers of her day- also rejected Faith and Religion [Marx].

She believed that Reason was enough to establish morality- and build an adequate Ethical society.

To be honest- Ayn was wrong about this.

But- because she angered the Left with her capitalist thought- and the Right with her anti God ideas- well she would alienate not just the 47% [Romney’s gaff] but both ‘47’s’.

Thus- Rand never came up on the radar when I was studying philosophy.

I have not read the book- but from what I picked up on line- I can see how Christians would indeed have a hard time with Objectivism.


In scripture- we don’t see ‘statism’ per se- but we do see a sort of collective ideal.

In the books of Acts we see the early believers selling their goods and giving to those in need.

We read many-many portions of the bible that speak about helping the less fortunate.

Yet- the argument is ‘should the state force man to do this’.

The state- govt. - according to scripture- has the right to tax.


Rand’s argument [and others] is ‘fine- but don’t demean me because I am one of the producers- don’t demonize those in society who are holding the system up’.

Rand did not teach that you should never help another- but she rejected the govt. forcing you to do it.

In Ayn’s Utopia- the John Galt’s of the world withdraw- they take their toys and go home.

From a biblical perspective- we are indeed our brother’s keeper.

That does not mean we encourage people to be non productive- to live off the wealth of others.

But we see the goal of our lives as more than seeking happiness- more than pursuing the Dream.

No- we often give things up- material things- in order to pursue a more just society.

In our World- Atlas doesn’t shrug.

Note- Do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. Thanks- John. Don’t forget to scroll down on the timeline [Facebook] - I have posted lots.







Monday, September 24, 2012



1915 DIARY OF A MAD MAN?

Read a news article yesterday morning.

It was the State Dept. blasting CNN for an ‘unconscionable’ [yikes!] report on the ‘private journal’ of the dead U.S. ambassador who was killed in the Benghazi attack.

If you just read the headline- it seems as if CNN were the bad boys [and girls] and the U.S. govt. were most holy.

But- as you read- you realize- once again- that what should have been one of the biggest news stories of the year- has become a non issue because of political propaganda- by the media networks themselves [minus CNN].

Okay- the story.

The last few days you have read more than one post by me- about the reality that the Libyan govt. - and our ambassador himself- have told our govt that they were in danger- that the security of the embassy in Benghazi was not good.

Then- you had the U.S. kill a top Al Qaeda guy- with a drone- and Al Qaeda said they would seek revenge.

Now- the last year- because of the political campaign- you have had the Obama team talk much about the death of Bin laden- and a sort of ‘boasting’ about how many Al Qaeda guys we are killing.

In a few weeks a movie is coming out- probably timed in co-ordination with the Obama campaign [though they deny it] that is going to glorify the killing of Bin Laden.

Why all the glorying?

The reality of politics is you focus on what you think the candidates strength is- and one of the strengths of the president is seen to be his policy on killing Al Qaeda guys.


Okay- now- if you simply put 2 and 2 together- is it possible that the killing of Stevens [our ambassador in Libya] was a direct retaliation- by Al Qaeda- for all this darn bragging we are doing about killing their guys?

Of course it’s possible- and more than likely a reason why they killed him.


Then why would the media- and the Obama administration push the initial story line that this killing was nothing more than outrage about a movie ad- on line?

Because if the fact is- that we were warned- over and over again- that our security was bad.

And- that Al Qaeda were growing tired of our bragging about all the drone killings.


If this were [is] the case- then not only did you just lose one of the main strengths of your campaign [if you’re a Dem].


But you also might have ‘provoked’ the killing- by all the bragging.

See?

Okay- why the feigned outrage by the state dept?


CNN found the journal of the slain ambassador- and in the journal he wrote that he- as well as the Libyan govt. - all feared an attack.

They warned the state dept. - over and over again- that this might happen.

And it did.


The State dept. was basically outed for their failure.

And in response- they said that CNN ‘broke its pledge’ to the family by releasing this info.

The state dept said CNN took evidence form a ‘crime scene’ [the journal] and shamelessly spread it around.

The State dept. called this ‘disgusting’.

The truth is- CNN- who in my view have done the best reporting on this story- read what the ambassador himself feared- and they backed it up with interviews from other people who knew Steven’s.

They then reported- only on-line [not like the top news story of the other night- the Romney gaff].

That the ambassador feared that the security that the state dept. was providing was inadequate.



This story should have been reported- much more in my view- because it shows that the U.S. govt. dropped the ball- after many warnings.


It would be like finding a journal in the World Trade towers that said – ‘we have been warning Bush that this would happen!’

This is a big news story- yet the response of the state dept is that CNN shamelessly revealed the secrets of a dead man- and also ruined a ‘crime scene’.


These are stories I see all the time- both in the print media- and on the tube.


Many have debated whether or not the news media actually coordinate with the Obama people [actually a report just showed that a govt. person emailed a group- Media matters- and this ‘non profit’ group contacted the major networks- and they ran the story on the news that night].

I don’t know how ‘planned’ this type of bias is.

But- you can see it exists.

The point I want to make is when you have an important story like this- one in which it’s quite possible that the ongoing bragging about killing Bin Laden might be actually leading to counter killings of our people.

Then we need to ask ‘should we keep bragging’.


When the Muslim ‘world’ rose up in anger- according to the Obama people- because of a video that might have antagonized them.

The Obama people condemned the video- and did all they could to discourage the release or making of any other movies that might incite violence.


Then if this is so- should the American movie makers release the Bin Laden movie [that portrays the President in a favorable light]?


When I read the above article about CNN’s ‘reprehensible act’- at first I thought they really did a terrible thing [just by reading the headline].

But as I read- they simply reported- what should have been a big story- in a minor way [on-line].

Don’t be fooled- this happens all the time- we live in a day where the blogging community- and the free on line news sources can now ‘correct’ it- but there are many who will never read the correction.

Note- Do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. Thanks- John. Don’t forget to scroll down on the timeline [Facebook] - I have posted lots.







Friday, September 21, 2012


1914 TOP STORY- OF THE WORLD?

Posted a few pics from our visit with John David yesterday.

He’s doing better- but they wanted to re open him up- and do another procedure [heart].

He prayed about it- and wants to avoid going under the knife again.



I was at the mission during the day- and I saw David’s brothers- Huey and Andy.

They wanted a ride to the hospital to see their brother- I was more than happy to take them.


I do want to stay in touch with David- and do the halfway house thing with him.


But- as we were at the mission- sure enough someone called the cops.

Why?

We didn’t know.

So a couple of cars came down- and they were looking for some guys.

Huey just took off- told us to pick him up around the block.

Then we [I] put 2 and 2 together- it seems like he was going to sell some drugs to another guy- and somehow they must have been heard by the mission people.

That’s what is seemed like to us.


So I told Andy ‘look- I told your brother the other day [Huey] not to be carrying stuff with him when he’s in my vehicle’.

I was mad that he ruined his chance to visit his brother- he did get prepared to see him [he was cleaned up this day].


So- we saw Huey a few blocks away- he tried to get in my van- I told him forget it- you got the cops chasing you- your in all types of trouble- we don’t need that.

We left him there.


So- we went and visited David.


I met Jackie there for the second time.


That’s John David’s girl.


They told me the story how they met.


Jackie was living in another state and she saw John David being interviewed on CNN.

Yeah- he told me about this a couple of years ago.


He started his first half way house at his sons apt- and somehow the word got out- and CNN did a nice story about it.

So- Jackie- a drug addict [who still struggles] saw it and said ‘If I can get to this home- he can help me’.

So- she made it to Texas and knocked on the door.


John David had no home for girls- but he took her in.

They became a couple- and that’s how they met.




His son eventually lost the apartment they were using [it actually was a facility that was already set up like a halfway house- what a ‘coincidence’.]

And since then John David has been looking for another house.


But- he needed the heart surgery for a while- and he figured he’d finally get it out of the way.


All in all we had a good day- I had John [my new friend with the little dog] - Henry- Andy with me for the day.


We came back to the house and had a good fellowship time.



Let me mention a little news as we end the week.


The other day I caught the world ‘news’ on all 3 stations [abc- nbc- cbs].

The top story on all 3 staions was the Romney ‘hidden’ video.

Okay- I saw the stupid thing when it first came out.

Big story?

Not really.

A story?

I guess it should have been a one day thing- I mean you have these silly things pop up on both sides.

You had the Obama thing a couple of years back ‘clinging to their God and guns’.

So- they all do this.

But- it was maybe 4-5 days later- and the world news- all 3 stations- had this as the top news story- well- of ‘the world’.

I couldn’t believe it.

So- I channel surfed some cable shows- and came back to the main news.

They still had the video of Romney- parsing each word he said- showing the video with the captions- 9 to 10 minutes into the top news story.


I mean this is so bad- it is not even funny anymore.

‘John- what’s wrong with this?

Well- a story like this should be a one- maybe 2 day thing.

And it should have never been top coverage- on a very busy news week.


What should the top story have been?

Regardless of who you back [Romney- Obama].

The top story should have been the fact that the Libyan govt. has come out and publicly said they warned the U.S. that they can’t provide security for the embassy in Benghazi.

You basically have [had] a public disagreement between the White House and the Libyan president.

And by all accounts- it looks like the Libyan guy was telling the truth.

Now- politics aside- this is very important.


Did the U.S. [whether Obama- Bush- Clinton- anyone in charge] drop the ball on the protecting of our ambassador in Libya?

And- the top story of the protests breaking out in the Arab world- against the U.S.

Okay- the news did of course cover this- but when you have real hard news like this- then you don’t run a 10 minute top story about a stupid hidden gaff from anyone- Romney- Obama- anyone.

And of course the other ‘top story’ was the topless pics of Kate Middleton- I mean on the world news?

This is not world news- maybe Enquirer type stuff- but not world news- that deserved coverage on all the news channels- as a top news story.


These examples shows you how bankrupt our media has become.


I do watch/listen to both sides [right/left] and frankly both sides of the aisle do this.


I told my friend the other day- I hear the radio guys every week- and because I comment about stuff like this I try and hear as many as I can [Rush- Hannity- etc.]

Sometimes I catch the whole show- 3 hours.

But there are times where for 3 hours- all you get is a constant drumbeat of anti Obama.

Okay- I have criticized the guy- lots.

But if you have no constructive thing to say- for 3 hours- then what are you accomplishing?

So- that’s the scoop.


I’ll try and add a few notes to last night’s pics- and hope you guys have a good weekend.

Please continue to for John David- he looked much better yesterday- but he needs prayer- thanks so much.

John.

Note- Do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. Thanks- John. Don’t forget to scroll down on the timeline [Facebook] - I have posted lots.







Thursday, September 20, 2012


1913 FATHER JOHN

We did another ‘all nighter’ last night.

Now- to my old partying buddies- not that.

I got with Henry yesterday- a street bro. - and we hit the Half Price book store [his and my favorite spot] bought a bunch of books- and came back to the Casa.

I BBQ’ed a bunch of stuff [will post the pics- on Face Book- for those who read these from the Blog].

And we had a good fellowship.

I gave Henry the choice of what channel he wanted on all night [the guy’s crash in the living room- so whatever they want to leave on the tube- I set it for them.  I would let them choose themselves- but I have a bunch of remotes- and I don’t want them waking me up ‘John- the TV wont work’ type of thing].

So Henry picked the classic country- geez- I had no idea?

Okay- at the bookstore we spent at least an hour- I can spend 2 hours just going thru the books- I have before.

In one of the isles- Catholic cubby type thing- I met a nice Christian brother.

Sometimes I’ll give my card with the web site on it- most people at the bookstore are readers [ya think?]

As I offered him my card- he told me – ‘yes- I am a reader of Christian stuff- I’m a Catholic priest’.

I told father John that’s great- I have many Catholic readers- and even a few priests/pastors who read my stuff.


We had a really good conversation- I do dialogue well with priests.

I have studied Catholic theology- history- the whole 9 yards.

And I told John- if anything- I get more complaints that I’m ‘too catholic’ than the other way around.


I will try and visit John- he runs a Catholic retreat here in C.C.- I know the exact spot- it’s a huge building right off the highway.

It’s a big ‘dome’ type structure- with a Gold top.

He told me ‘no- it’s not a mosque’.

For years that’s exactly what I thought it was.

I will make a visit to father John’s place- he invited me to do lunch.


Anyway- Henry is still crashed out on the couch- we will hit the mission a little later- and maybe check up on John David- my friend in the hospital.

I’m looking forward to him getting out [he had open heart surgery last week].

I’m going to partner with David in setting up a halfway house- that’s his dream/calling.

All in all we had a good day- I will post the pics right after this post.


There are some news stories that I could cover- but maybe I’ll do that tomorrow.

Enjoy the day- pray for the brothers I mentioned yesterday- and for all my friends- they do [we all do] need prayer- thanks.

Note- Do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. Thanks- John. Don’t forget to scroll down on the timeline [Facebook] - I have posted lots.







Wednesday, September 19, 2012


1912 A RIVER RUNS THRU IT

Been going down to the mission the last few days.

Haven’t seen Dirks van- was asking around- ‘has anyone seen him’?

As I was standing there- my cell rang- it was Dirk!

He wanted to let me know that he and Julie- his girl- were at the state park in the Angelina forest.

It’s in Texas- he has told me about this spot many times over the years.

It’s one of his favorites- another place where he ‘lives’ for a part of the year.

He has collected arrow heads from the lake- Sam Rayburn [?]- He gave me a nice one many years ago- still have it.


I was glad to have gotten the call- I have maybe gotten 4 calls from Dirk in 25 years.

It was strange- I had just prayed for him in the morning- I thought maybe he got arrested- you know the guys park the vans all over- maybe it was one of those towing deals.

But he was happy- he had wanted to do this trip with Julie for months- to show her this part of his life- where he feels he’s not simply a ‘homeless guy’.

To be honest- I was surprised she took the trip [in her R.V.]


They were arguing a lot recently- and Julie really is a strong believer.

It’s funny- when I’m with Dirk- he shows me all the text messages she sends- verses and all- he ‘uses’ me to find ‘counter verses’ –you know- she’ll be fighting with him- send him a verse- and he wants one to send back- in retaliation.


For a few days he was asking me ‘hey John- where’s that verse about not eating the communion meal when you’re a sinner’?

Now- I told him it was in 1st Corinthians- chapter 11.

He asked me a bunch of times.


He wanted to quote it to her- because she took communion at the church- and he was telling her- well- that she’s a ‘sinner’.

So- I see him one day and he asks again- he remembered I told him Corinthians- so he read- right up to chapter 9 or so- just looking for it.


I looked in chapter 11- sure enough it’s in there.


So- that’s the extent of Dirks bible reading [to be honest- you would not think the guys even read the bible- some are regular readers- and are actually good Christians.  Henry is just one example].


Yesterday I posted a couple of pics.

The sign?

One of the guys was standing in the rain one day- he got up under the sign- and crawled in!

Yea- it has a lot of room- I thought you would like to see it.

The other picture is John- who I posted about last.

The little dog- a new girl who had the pup- thought the pup was cute.


And the guy in the hat- William.


William is a new comer- nice guy- we became friends over the last few weeks.


He was a welder for 35 years- has kids- is married- and when he retired he told his wife he wanted to travel- not just sit home and be a grandpa.


So he bought a van and has been seeing ‘the world’ [the U.S. - maybe Mexico].


He spent a few months on the beaches of Key West [Fla.]

Hemmingway’s land [the author].

He showed me a bunch of pics form Arkansas- where he lived for many years.

Great shots of catching trout in a river that ran right thru his back yard.

Kinda reminded me of the movie ‘A River runs thru it’.

Yeah- William is a nice guy.

He noticed a staff I have been using- writing on it and stuff.

He asked what I was carving- I told him just some bible verses.

Yeah- he knows this is ministry for me.

William is the type that seems like he would not listen- or usually talk- to someone who was talking about the Lord.


But we have become friends- and just in simple conversation- it does come up.


I want to ask you guys to pray for a few friends of mine.

Please pray for Brother Rey- he’s a street preacher who has had lots of physical problems the last few months.

Also pray for John David.

He’s my friend who had open heart surgery- he’s still recovering- and its tuff.


I told David that I will help him set up the half way house.

When he first told me about it- a couple of years ago now- I felt the Lord wanted me to help him.

I kinda dropped the ball to be honest.

But I took a look at the 2 story house he’s interested in- and God willing- in the next year you will be seeing pictures of us fixing it up and all.

David believes it’s his calling- I think it just might be.

See you later.

God bless you all.

Note- Do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. Thanks- John. Don’t forget to scroll down on the timeline [Facebook] - I have posted lots.