Thank You, Cornbread

How do you pay tribute to a little boy you have never met? Young Bronner Burgess, 2 1/2 year-old son of Rick and Sherri Burgess drowned Saturday evening in the family pool. What does that have to do with me? Why would I write about it? Bronner (nicknamed Cornbread) is the son of Rick of the Rick and Bubba radio show. It affects me because I am one of countless thousands that enjoy listening to the show for several reasons. One reason is that the guys are just plain, simple, southern, uneducated fun. But not ignorant fun. Their humor is always with a perspective of living in God's sight and attempting to glorify Him. Those two ingredients, genuine humor and a Christian perspective on life make listening to the show enjoyable and allows me to proclaim myself a fan without embarrassment. I do not have any inside connection but rather am just like the many thousands who have come to feel like family to Rick, Bubba, Speedy, and Don Juan, as well as their families.

On Sunday evening I received a cell phone call from my daughter, Laura, just after our small group finished our Bible study. This is unusual for several reasons. I do not carry my cell phone to the Bible study most days and often forget to turn it back on when I do carry it. When she told me that Rick's son had drowned, it felt like a member of my family had suffered a great loss. That is difficult to explain if you are not part of the Rick and Bubba army. Rick was in Tennessee speaking as an ambassador for Jesus when the accident occurred. Bronner slipped out of the house while mom (Sherri) took a shower and somehow fell into the pool. This morning I listened as Bubba and Speedy soldiered on with the show. Their message was right on target and powerful; 1] Don't let the evil one have a foothold with doubt, guilt, and accusations and 2]

Use this terrible time to communicate faith and the need to "set your house in order". Rick is scheduled to speak at his son's memorial service tomorrow at 2 p.m. The testimony of this group of Godly men is powerful. You don't ever wish for a tragedy such as this and the pain will be present for a long time. But still, the tragedy offers the opportunity to demonstrate faith in a way that good times could never provide. The short life, sudden death, and the response to it by the family have served as inspiration to me, as it has to thousands more and will continue to for years. These sudden events will make Rick a more powerful ambassador for Christ the rest of his life. Thank you, Cornbread. You can run and jump without restrictions in your new home. Swing your light saber with reckless abandon. Mom and Dad will be there soon. And I look forward to meeting you in person.

Mountains or Beaches?

Where do you prefer to vacation? Do you like the sun and crowds at the beach or the cool shade and solitude of the mountains? Both can be nice and I have enjoyed trips to the beach. But my preference is usually for the place with the fewest people per square mile. Theme parks and tourist towns are interesting--once. Don't get me wrong-- I love people and socializing. I just do not care to be around thousands of strangers who have left manners and civility at home. So, I prefer the mountains as a place to return year after year. I am very thankful that every member of three generations of my family gather at Vogel State Park each summer for a week (more or less) to relax and catch up on "who we are becoming". Friends have asked me what we did for a week. It is difficult to explain. Lots of time is spent just sitting on the deck of the cabin sipping coffee and sharing life events or comparing opinions on current events. I said that I would not eat as much this time, but I did--Laura's blog has proof of the peanut butter and cornbread snack. For the first time, I did not take a single picture. My 35 milimeter camera seems so old fashioned when so many of the family is snapping with digitals and uploading to the two laptops that made the trip. It is pretty cool that they can upload and share with a zip drive so that all the pictures are instantly on both laptops. I used to be so proud to have 2 or 3 rolls developed one hour after returning home! I appreciate the technology and the instant gratification. More than that, I appreciate the chance to slow down and appreciate God's creation--even the early morning crows. I am also thankful for Baron and Lindsay who married into our family and use vacation time to join our pedestrian pace. They are young and energetic and would probably like to go more and do more, as would Helen, Laura, and Mark. These two pictures were nabbed from my brother's facebook where he chose to show the world my lack of grace and abundance of body mass. I share them to show 1) that you can make fun wherever you are, 2) old people do not have to sit on the porch all the time, 3) it is o.k. to allow people to laugh at you. I could probably explain away the unflattering parts of the ski picture, but the climbing picture just looks like an old, overweight monkey. Is that a honky-tonk bedonka-donk? Thanks, Keith. Your shutter timing is impeccable.