One Lucky White Man

The gorgeous and soon to be married Callie Toms wondered aloud on her Facebook status earlier in the week what God has planned for her.

I responded to her comment with this; “A loving husband, at least seven kids, tons of dirty diapers to change, tons of dirty clothes to wash, a lot of baseball games, soccer games and football games, a few tears, a ton of laughs.... and a wonderful life. God has it all figured out.... all you have to do is walk in it!”

If I could give a piece of advice to this stunningly beautiful soon to be bride as she walks in God’s plan I would make it simple.

Enjoy each moment.

Enjoy the engagement. Enjoy the wedding festivities. Enjoy the wedding. Leave your daddy behind on your honeymoon. Enjoy being a brand new bride. Enjoy the time you have before you have kids. Enjoy the time when your kids, all seven of them, are little. Enjoy them when they get bigger. Enjoy them when they go through the stage when it’s not cool to hang out with mom. Enjoy the time when they get older and love hanging out with mom.

Enjoy your parents while you have them. One day you will want to have another conversation and another hug and it will be impossible to do so.

Enjoy the sunshine life gives you. But never push away from the rain. One day you will look back and realize you needed both to become the person you will become.

You have incredible parents and family. But you had absolutely nothing to do with them becoming your parents and family. God did that for you. You didn’t earn it. You didn’t deserve. God just chose to do it. And He has extended His grace to you.

In fact you have been a recipient of God’s incredible grace all your life.

Unmerited favor.

Please know, as perfect as your Justin is to you today and as much as you are head over heels in love with him, he won’t do it right all the time. Count on that.


But just as God extended His grace to you all your life, you extend that same grace to him. In fact, extending the same grace you have received is the key to a wonderful marriage and it is the key to a fulfilled life.

And if that doesn’t work, call your daddy.

In just eleven weeks from today, you will become Mrs. Justin Beatty. I know you will be one beautiful bride.

I also know that Justin Beatty is one lucky white man.

They Chose Him

(Warner Robins, GA) This in an incredible video taken from a security camera inside a local Waffle House I have eaten in numerous times. It's taken at about 2AM a few nights ago.

You hear the waitress desperately calling for help as the fight breaks out.

In the unruly crowd you will see a large man wearing dark clothes with a black stocking cap. He is 6”2” and weighs about 350. His blood alcohol was .48 which happens to be six times the legal driving limit.

By the way, they checked his blood alcohol during the autopsy a few hours after the fight. You will hear the gunshots in the background.

The shots came from two policemen who had arrived on the scene in the parking lot. They were forced to make a quick judgment.

Them or him.

They chose him.

Can't say that I blame them either.

Watch video.

Sexual Matters

I have mentioned here several times about our church life group we meet with on Sunday nights. The group is made up of a group of young married couples… and then there are old folks like my wife and me and our pastor and his wife.

We are not really old but we are not as good as we once were – but we are as good once as we ever were.

We have a lot of fun eating and enjoying each other’s company and building lasting friendships. Hopefully some of these young folks will at least visit Kathy and me in the nursing home one of these days.

But we also discuss biblical truths.

The lesson last night included a discussion from 1 Corinthians 7: 3-5. When you get through reading this go find a Bible and read those verses. In case you don’t, Paul is suggesting for husbands and wives to look after each other’s sexual needs. He even goes on to talk about not withholding your body from each other unless you agree and then only for a certain time.

For some of you that means at least wait until the six o’clock news is over.

Paul insinuates that if you don’t look after that need, someone else may look after it for you.

Anyway, we had fun discussing such sexual matters with these young married folks. Such topics are great for small groups and are important for young married folks. After our discussion, I told them all to go home and do it.

I was thinking today this situation we are in with the economy is great for marriages. If you can’t afford to go out to eat you can certainly afford to stay home and cuddle. And it’s much more fun to stay home and cuddle.

To prove my point, I read recently that condom sales were up 5% in the fourth quarter of 2008 and were up 6% in January of 2009.

At the rate we are going, sales may be up 25% by summer.

And the divorce rate will be down by 25%.

On second thought - turn you computer off, dim the lights, put on some soft music, grab a Trojan and go give your body away to your spouse.

You can read those Bible verses later.

Infatuated

By far, the most read blog I ever posted is entitled, “The State Line Mob and Buford Pusser.” I know that because I have software that shows how many come to this blog and how they got here. For example, if someone goes to a search engine like Google and types in “Buford Pusser” or “State Line Mob” and comes to that article, I can see it. I don’t know who they are or where they are but I can see their path to getting here (pic is of Towhead White).

Incredibly, I continue to see folks every week coming from a search engine directly to the State Line Mob article I posted here. Evidently there are a lot of folks infatuated with the story of Buford Pusser and the State Line Mob.

And I have to tell you, the more I learn about that story, the more infatuated I become.


I was in Corinth MS this past week and as I have before, I continued to ask questions of the local folks who knew such notorious Corinth characters such as Towhead White, Jack & Louise Hathcock, Pee Wee Walker, Tommy Bivens, Junior Smith, Nimbo Price and Emma Drewry. And I also asked questions about such infamous places as the Shamrock Motel and Restaurant, the Plantation Club, Theresa’s Truck Stop, the Rustic Inn, the El-Ray Motel and Drewry’s Steakhouse ("mean as a snake" Louise Hathcock pictured here).

Since my first visit to Corinth, I have re-watched the 1973 hit movie, “Walking Tall” and I have read the book, “The State Line Mob” by W. R. Morris. This week I picked up a couple of other books entitled, “Tommy and Me” by Barbara Drewry and “Walking On” by Dwana Pusser. Barbara was the niece of wild woman Emma Drewry and Dwana is Buford Pusser’s daughter. Although both have inside perspectives of this amazing saga, their accounts of the facts are somewhat different.

For you folks investigating, researching and curious, I will give you a few more details about this incredible story:

1. The El-Ray Motel, where the infamous gangster Towhead White was riddled with bullets in 1969, is still standing on Hwy 45 south of Corinth. Towhead White was on the FBI’s list of the most dangerous criminals in the US. Some think Towhead, although in prison at the time, masterminded the ambush that killed Pauline Pusser and left Buford for dead. And some people think Buford Pusser had Towhead killed that night to even the score.
2. Drewry’s Steakhouse, which sits next door to the El-Ray, also still stands. After reading Barbara’s book this weekend, I now know there is also a lot of history that took place at that steakhouse.
3. Up to now, I thought Louise Hathcock, the madam of the infamous Shamrock Motel, was killed by Buford Pusser in self defense. Author Barbara Drewry Bivins thought otherwise.


4. Tommy Bivens is the only man that ever beat the snot out of Towhead White. Now I’m confused as to if he beat him up before Towhead shot him or afterwards. Either way it all happened the same night.
5. Tommy Bivens shot and killed Nimbo Price at Tommy’s house. Tommy calmly called the police and said, “I just shot Nimbo.”
6. Jack Hathcock had Pee Wee Walker killed.
7. Louise Hathcock shot and killed her husband Jack.
8. Emma Drewry had a habit of grabbing men in the crotch at Theresa’s Truck Stop which she and her husband owned and operated.
9. Although there are conflicting opinions about the heroics of the legendary Buford Pusser, it is a fact that he jailed more than 7,500 hundred people during his six year tenure as sheriff of McNairy County.
10. Pusser was stabbed seven times and shot eight times during his tenure as Sheriff.
11. Buford Pusser was killed in an automobile accident in 1974. His daughter, Dwana, in her new book “Walking On” is convinced the wreck was not an accident.

For you folks out there with inside knowledge about the story of the State Line Mob and Buford Pusser, I welcome your comments. Or if you have questions or other comments about this incredible story, I welcome those as well.

For you younger folks who have no idea what I’m talking about, watch the first “Walking Tall” movie starring Joe Don Baker. Then come back and read my blogs.

You just might become infatuated too.

Hot Dog!

While Meme was taking a shower on this cool Saturday morning, little Taylor and her Papa decided to take a leisurely stroll through our neighborhood to find the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. Meme had gotten a call from a friend who said the vehicle had been sighted in our neighborhood.

Actually on the first attempt we couldn’t find the famous wienermobile, so we had to go back to get Meme to get better directions. And this time we took Meme with us.

And as you can see, we found it.




Not only did Taylor have a huge smile, she also learned a new song this morning.

Oh I’d love to be an Oscar Meyer Wiener.
That is what I’d truly like to be.
‘Cause if I were an Oscar Mayer Wiener.
Everyone would be in love with me.

I’m glad I’m not an Oscar Meyer Wiener.
That is what I’d never want to be.
Cause if I were an Oscar Meyer Wiener.
There would soon be nothing left of me.

We dropped Taylor off at her other grandparents around lunchtime and her Meme and Papa headed straight to the Nu Way Wiener restaurant and filled ourselves up with the best wieners in the land.

Oh the power of advertising.

And what a great Saturday morning.

Hot Dog!

Conspicuously Absent

“Ryan Richardson didn’t blur racial lines – he erased them.”

Those were the words of Jerry Walls, pastor of Southside Baptist Church of Warner Robins, GA, as he eulogized 19 year old Ryan Kimes-Richardson today in one of the most impressive funeral services I’ve ever attended.

And trust me - I’ve attended more than a few.

I began to get impressed on Monday evening when my wife and I attended the visitation at the church.

Okay, I was more than impressed. I was blown away.

I was blown away because there was at least a two hour wait in a line to get to Ryan’s parents. I was blown away because so many teenagers stood in that two hour line for the opportunity to hug the parents of their obviously beloved friend. I was blown away because I saw so many tears. And I was blown away because of the strength of Ryan’s heartbroken parents.

And I was blown away because about 98% of the hundreds of folks who had gathered were Caucasian.

And Ryan happens to be an African American.

I couldn’t help but wonder where the media was for this one. It seems we hear so much of racial tension and discord, especially in southern places like middle Georgia. I can tell you racial tension was conspicuously absent at the celebration of this young man’s life.

There was also not a dry eye among the 1,000 or so folks who were in attendance at the funeral service today.

My friend and pastor Jerry Walls did a masterful job mixing humor with the heaviness of the moment. Ryan lived life to the fullest and he left many fun memories with all those who knew him and loved him. Jerry also did a masterful job reminding the throngs of teenagers in attendance who were leaning on his every word that none of us are promised our next breath.

On Friday morning, Ryan’s mom sent him to mail a package and find a job. Ryan, in his usual jovial way, danced with his mom in the kitchen before he left.

In a few hours, as our pastor so eloquently said today from the pulpit, “Ryan was dancing before Jesus.”

Among other scriptures, the pastor quoted Proverbs 18:24: “A man that has friends must show himself friendly.”

Ryan Kimes-Richardson made a ton of friends in his short 19 years on earth.

Everyone who attended the funeral service was humbled today as we celebrated this incredible young man’s life. Ryan’s presence and the impact he had on all who knew him were evident to all.

But racial lines were conspicuously absent.

Broken Hearts

Southside Baptist Church in Warner Robins GA is a large one - at least when you compare it to other churches I have attended in my life. I would think there will be over 2,000 people in attendance on any given Sunday morning. The congregation is made up of folks from all walks of life and I think that is why I was attracted to it in the first place when we first moved here.

But in spite of the numbers and the diversity, the church is a close knit family for several reasons I won't go into here. But at least one of the reasons for the family atmosphere that has been brought to my attention lately is through the use of technology such as Facebook. To my knowledge, Jesus never mentioned Facebook in the scriptures but I’m sure he would have if the people in those days had access. Nowadays, church members regularly post wall messages to each other, post prayer concerns, browse pictures others have posted and basically get to know each other through the power of Facebook.

This weekend the close knit family at Southside took a hit. One of those hits that gets you right in the pit of your stomach when you are not sure if you are having trouble breathing or about to throw up.

Or both.


One of Southside’s finest young men, Ryan Kimes- Richardson, was killed in an automobile accident on Friday afternoon. He was only 19 years old and had his whole life ahead of him. Or so we thought.

Among those Ryan left behind are his wonderful parents, Joe and Felicia Richardson. Joe is a Lt. Colonel in the US Air Force. Felicia is one of the most gifted singers I have ever heard sing. They are people of great faith who have raised and are raising their children to be people of great faith.

Right now Joe and Felicia are being forced to depend on the faith of others, such as their friends and their church family at Southside, to get them through the most painful experience life can offer – the death of a precious child.


If you are a praying person, I would ask you to pray for the Richardson family. What better way could I use the technology of the internet than to get other folks in different parts of the United States and the world sharing someone else’s burden.

If you want to get connected to this special young man, go to Ryan's Facebook wall and read the comments his friends are leaving there. You may even want to post a message there of your own.

One of these days in the not so distant future, Joe and Felicia will read all the messages. Their tears will increase as they read every word.

But take it from this lifelong undertaker; God has a way of using our tears and the love and support of others to mend broken hearts.

And in spite of the Richardson's great faith and the certain knowledge that their son is now in heaven, the Richardson's hearts are broken on this Valentine weekend.

And my heart breaks with theirs.

Guaranteed Smile

I'm sure most you have seen this before but it won't hurt to watch again.. and lord knows we could all use a reason to smile.

And this will make you do that. Guaranteed smile.

Economic Stimulus

Big Ed is Definitely Smiling

The word “retire” is a scary word. If you look it up you will find definitions that use such phrases as “to withdraw or go away” and even “to withdraw from business because of age.”

Scary stuff.

I do know that if a person is fortunate he will have several milestones in his life. There is graduation from high school, graduation from college, marriage, children, promotion at work, grandchildren, certain birthdays and anniversaries…. and retirement.

After that the next big milestone is the visitation. The one where people bring fried chicken and tater salad and talk about how natural he looks and what a good guy he was.


Incredibly, my brother retired recently. He withdrew from business because of age. This brother is only two years older than me. Our mama used to dress us alike when we were kids. We fought like cats and dogs as we grew up and became best friends when we became adults.

It’s just hard for me to believe that George Goddard is old enough to retire. Good lord life went by in a hurry.

If I may say so myself, George has accomplished a lot in his life. He has been a registered Pharmacist for about 35 years. He actually worked as a pharmacist for a few of those years but spent most of his career as a pharmaceutical representative. He has a home in an Atlanta suburb and a second home on top of a beautiful mountain in North Carolina. He has money in the bank and used to have money in the stock market. Unlike most of us, he is able to retire. And he earned it.


But George will be quick to tell you his greatest accomplishments have to do with his family. George and Jaye got married about 20 years ago. It was a second marriage for both. George not only became a husband to Jaye but he became a daddy to her five year old son named Mitch the day they got married. When Mitch became of age, he paid George the greatest compliment he could possibly ever pay him when he changed his last name to Goddard. (Mitch is pictured in center with white shirt).

Mitch is about to graduate from the University of Mississippi. He drove six hours this past weekend from Oxford to Atlanta to surprise George and be a part of his retirement party. Mitch took the microphone and in an emotionally charged moment, talked about the impact George has had on his life.



George sent the link to the video below to me after his retirement party with these words:

“This is the song that Mitch was speaking of on Saturday night at my retirement party. For once, I was truly humbled. If I died today, I would feel like my life was worthwhile, but I hope I live a lot longer and I envision myself as the older guy in this video. One day I will be with Mitch when he has a child. Big Ed (our dad) is smiling! I didn't have to read about being a father in a book. I had one hell of an example."

No doubt about it - Big Ed is definitely smiling.

George I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to the retirement party but I promise to make it to the visitation. In the meantime, enjoy your retirement. And I have feeling you will.

The rest of you can click here to see the video.

Hilarious

If you need a laugh - this is your day. Enjoy!

Our Weekend

I rushed home from the office Friday afternoon, packed a suitcase, met up with my wife and we headed to Atlanta to spend the weekend.

My first goal was to get Kathy to a church in Marietta by 7PM where she would meet our daughter in law for a women’s conference being led by Priscilla Shirer. As you might expect, we got stuck in traffic in downtown Atlanta but we made it anyway.

I dropped her off at the church and drove to the other side of Atlanta. My oldest son and I had dinner together while the ladies were at the conference. We not only had a great dinner but we also had a great discussion. It’s an incredible moment when you realize that the son you helped bring into the world has become an adult and has a life of his own. I know I already knew that but it is a great feeling and it was a great night.

Saturday morning the ladies went back to the conference and David and I went out and ate a big breakfast and spent time in a couple of electronic stores. Neither of us bought anything but it was another morning of daddy and son hanging out.

We met the girls at mid afternoon at a movie theater and saw a not so good movie. I’ve seen worse but this one was slow moving and one I sure won’t bother to buy or rent when it comes out on DVD.


We then regrouped and the four of us went out to eat. Afterwards we headed to their church and joined about 1000 of their closest friends for an event called Married Life Live. It was an incredible Valentine Party that included a great band with great music – the kind of music that will give a man the urge to move a little closer to his wife. There was also a lot of laughter and even featured a special video appearance by Jeff Foxworthy. And at the end we left with something to think about. This church is about to kick off the Big 6 Date Experiment in an effort to get married couples to spend more quality time with each other. What a great event and what an honor to be invited to such an event by our son and daughter in law.

After that we went back to their house and watched another movie called Fireproof. This one was definitely worth watching. If you are married or thinking about getting married, you should do yourself a favor and buy it. You might also want to stop by the tissue department and pick up a couple of boxes before you leave the store.

We got up this morning and went back to church for their 9AM Sunday service. I have written about North Point Community Church before so I won’t go into all that again but I’ll just say it is past incredible. Andy Stanley, one of the best communicators on the planet, was so good that the topic of his 30 minute talk was the topic of the conversation between my wife and me for 2 hours as we drove home.

We did interrupt that conversation for a bit though when we stopped at Buckner’s Restaurant in Jackson, GA and sat down at a real down home eating establishment that features the best fried chicken this side of the Mississippi. As usually happens when I stop by this very popular eating establishment, we ran into some friends who had the same Sunday lunchtime idea.

After we arrived back in Warner Robins, we picked up our little doggie at the Endless Love Pet Palace where she had been pampered during the weekend in a private suite with her very own flat screen television. She acted like she was glad to see us but I’m not sure why.

After we left the pet palace, we called our middle son and daughter in law and told them we were having “Taylor” withdrawals. Tami felt sorry for us and dropped our little grandbaby girl off for a visit with her Meme and Papa.



I’m sure you would not be surprised to know I took a few pictures in the backyard on this beautiful Sunday afternoon. After the three of us took a Sunday afternoon nap, we left for our church Life Group gathering. We ate again and afterwards while the lesson was being discussed, I stretched out on the floor and played with my little Taylor.

About 8:30PM we dropped Taylor off at her house and made it home just in time to watch the Grammy’s and write this blog.

That was our weekend.

And I don’t know when I’ve had a better one.

Dreams Do Come True

“You’re always saving me Lucas.”

Just in case you missed it, that line was delivered by the gorgeous Hannah Kasulka on Monday’s night episode of “One Tree Hill.” Not only did she deliver that line but she and her line were used in the promo’s leading up to the show last night.

Hannah, who grew up in Macon, is now a senior at Georgia Tech. Hannah has been a model since she was knee high to a grasshopper. She has done print ads for such companies as Rich’s, Jezebel Magazine, Goody’s, Vow Magazine and T.S. Outfitters.

As you can see, she also used to sit on my lap when she was a baby.

In addition to her obvious beauty, Hannah is also very talented. I watched her since she was a little girl performing in dance shows and dance competitions. Although I am biased, I always thought she stood out and was better than most of the others.

This girl can do anything. And it would not surprise me if last night was the first among many times we will see her delivering lines in television and film.

She has dreamed about such things all her life.

And dreams do come true.

Check out article in Macon Telegraph.

Mr. Doubletalk

Many years ago a doubletalk artist came to Reynolds, GA to speak to the Kiwanis Club annual banquet. Just in case you don’t know, “doubletalk” is the art of using nonsense syllables along with recognizable words in rapid patter. In other words, the listener does not have a clue what in the heck the double talker is talking about.

I was not at that event but the stories of that night are still told today by the folks who were there or by the children of the folks who were there.

The speaker came to town under a fictitious name and was introduced as an expert in growing the economies of small communities (or something like that). Club secretary Cat Brady was trying to take notes on the content of the speech for the monthly newsletter. She was helpless and quickly gave up. A few caught on and started laughing. Others got upset because they thought the ones who were laughing were making fun of the guest speaker.

And some of those who were upset never even knew they had been had.

I have wondered for several years if the speaker that night was Durwood Fincher from Macon, GA as he was beginning his entertainment career and before he became nationally known as “Mr. Doubletalk.”

When my friend, Ed Grisamore, told me some time ago he was about to write a book about Durwood Fincher, I knew there had to be a lot of funny stories to tell.

I was right. I read the book this week.

I knew I would laugh and my goodness I did. Several times I laughed out loud. But I was not expecting the story of Mr. Doubletalk to make me cry.

It did.

And I was not expecting to be inspired.

I was.

The way I see it any book that can make me laugh and cry and inspire me to live at a higher level is well worth the time to read it.

I could relate to the story of Durwood Fincher on several levels. As a humorist and motivational speaker who has been on the circuit for a number of years myself, I could certainly relate to the behind the scenes stories. When Ed wrote of an event at the Golf Hall of Fame Village in St. Augustine, I smiled. And when he mentioned the Plantation at Amelia Island I smiled again. I’ve spoken at both of those places and have stories of my own.

And when I read of Durwood’s connection to the little Bibb Manufacturing Company village in Macon called Payne City, I could relate as well. On the outskirts of my hometown of Reynolds was a mill village called Taylor’s Mill owned by the same company. Not only do I have numerous lifelong friends who grew up in that village, but I know many who did very well in life who came from there. And on top of that, I married the daughter of a lady who grew up working in a similar cotton mill in Thomaston. I spent many Christmas days at my wife’s grandparent’s house right in the middle of that little mill village in Thomaston.

Like Durwood, none of my Taylor’s Mill friends or my wife’s family would trade their growing up years in those mill villages for all the tea in china.

Durwood Fincher is a funny man - a gifted and hilariously funny man. But after reading Ed Grisamore’s book about him, I now realize he is much more than that.

Durwood has baffled and entertained crowds for many years. You may have seen him on national stages such as Candid Camera, Regis and Kathy Lee, and the Today Show. He has earned the title of “Mr. Doubletalk.” And he has made a lot of money in the process.

But he never forgot his roots. And he never forgot the lessons he learned from the folks who shaped his life.

Ed Grisamore did a masterful job telling his story.

You can order a copy of "Once You Step in Elephant Manure You're in the Circus Forever," by clicking on the link.

Order it and read it. You’ll be glad you did.