View from a Hearse

The Dog Poo of Life

2011-10-12T20:35:00.002-04:00

Bubbles Mountain, located in Acadia National Forest in Maine, is 872 feet tall and is for most folks an easy hike to get to the top. But for me at least - it did take some effort.

I was told it would take 20 minutes to get to the top. That was probably close to being accurate. The goal was to hike to the top and enjoy the spectacular view and to discover the mountain top experience.

There were six of us that climbed the mountain. The trail was rocky and a little treacherous and for much of the way we had to go in single file. Treacherous in that some of the path was straight up and a fellow my age could easily sprain an ankle or break a leg or even a neck. The people with me were in the same boat.

But we reached our goal, the top of the mountain. It was definitely a gorgeous sight and there was at bit of accomplishment that we all made it up in spite of the obstacles. The mountain top experience was real but it was temporary. We spent a few minutes looking around and taking pictures and then it was time to head back down the mountain which was someone easier than the trip up.

Just as the end was in sight and our little excursion was almost done and we were walking out of woods - a not so funny thing happened.

I stepped in a big pile of dog poo. That could only happen to me.

I made an attempt to scrape it off my shoes before I joined my five companions in our vehicle but the shoes were not dog poo friendly. The treads were new and deep and dog poo was in every tread. And the odor I brought with me was not appreciated by the other folks in the car.

I finally got back to the hotel and tried to clean the shoes. I got most of it out of the not so dog poo friendly shoes but not all of it. A little bit of dog poo goes a long way - so I put the shoes in a bag and sealed it up. A couple of nights later I got the equipment I needed to clean the shoes and I was back in service with my not so dog poo friendly Nike’s.

Now to the point.

Life is an incredible journey. The mountain top experiences are wonderful but the prize is always in the journey. Sometimes there is dog poo in our path. We surely want to avoid it if possible but sometimes we just step in it. We are negatively affected and the people around us are negatively affected. And it can take some time to get over it.

The choice we have is to not let the dog poo of life rob us from the beauty of the journey.

It is definitely a choice we make.

A Very Good Dog Tired

2011-10-10T12:41:00.001-04:00

I’m not sure where to begin writing about our travels up and down the coast of Maine this past week but there are several story lines. Although the vacation had been planned for months, it could not have come at a better time for my wife and a couple of her siblings. The funeral service for their mother was held a few days before we began our little journey. The only missing link was that the youngest sibling and her hubby were not able to make it.

We flew into Boston about a week ago, rented a Suburban and after a few hours in downtown Boston, the six of us headed north. We have laughed a lot. A whole lot. And I have eaten more lobster and blueberry pie in one week than I had my entire first 57 years.

The scenery was breathtaking and although each night’s stay was planned, if we saw something that caught our eye, we pulled over and enjoyed it.

As in all of our journeys, if we just take the time to look, there are life lessons that jump out at us along the way.

I couldn’t help but notice it took effort to get to the most beautiful sights. Whether it was the hike we took up south Bubbles mountain, the treacherous and very long walk on the rocks to get to to Breakwater Lighthouse, the hour line we stood in for the best lobster roll in Maine or breaking and pulling the final shell off the delicious lobster, you find the best only after much effort.

Just as in life.

As time permits, I will write about some of our experiences. I’m sure I will mention such things as Lynn almost breaking her leg, Kathy dropping her phone in the toilet, the little “witch is in” desk clerk that turned out not to be a witch after all and the importance of having “dog friendly’ shoes when you hike up a mountain.

And there were all the places we ate and the ratings we gave them. Who knows - some of you may want to try some of the places as well. Maybe I can help.

Then there is the agony of waiting outside all the little shops with other men from across the country as the ladies browse and shop inside.

Additionally there are over 800 pictures - and video footage to boot - so there is a video tribute of this trip that must be done.

Although we don’t have the luxury to do so, this was a vacation where you need another vacation to recuperate. We are all dog tired.

Kinda like the “dog tired” when we arrived at the top of the mountain and saw the incredible view of God’s creation.

A very good dog tired.

My (almost) Very Own Hannah Kasulka

2011-09-01T18:04:00.002-04:00

Thank goodness for technology such as TiVo and DVR. I will definitely be utilizing my DVR Saturday night at 8pm. There is a huge conflict on my television calendar.

The Georgia Bulldogs will kick-off the 2011 season against Boise (as in Idaho) State. I plan to watch every play like I have for past 39 years since I began my secondary and other important worldly education in Athens. The game could be very ugly or very pretty. Nobody knows for sure.

And at the same time a movie will be showing on NBC called, "Game Time: Tackling the Past." I happen to know the outcome of this one will be pretty. Not just pretty because I have read the reviews but pretty because my (almost) very own Hannah Kasulka will be playing the role of cheerleader Allie Jacobs.

And I happen to know Hannah is pretty - as in "drop dead gorgeous” pretty. I hope you will excuse my “undertaker” lingo.

I've been at most of Hannah's important life events. I was there at her birth 23 years ago. I said a few words at her baby dedication a few months later. I think I was close by when she took her first steps. I even introduced her to a large banquet crowd when she was a little girl when she ran across the stage and jumped in my arms. There have been more than a few dance recitals I attended as she was growing up. I closely followed her modeling career and would whisper to whoever was next to me, “I know this girl,” when I would see her picture in magazines. I smiled when she graduated with honors from high school and beamed with pride a few years after that when she graduated a semester early again with honors with a Business Management degree from Georgia Tech.

I have known since she was a child and said many times to whoever would listen, "This girl was born to be somebody."

I was not at all surprised when my (almost) very own Hannah Kasulka left everybody and everything familiar after her college graduation and moved alone across the country to LA to pursue her dream in acting. And I smiled again when a talent agency quickly picked her up and I began to see her get a TV role or two or three along the way. In fact she has just shot another movie that will be coming to the big screen soon entitled, “What To Expect When You Are Expecting” starring Cameron Diaz.

But in the mean time, as Hannah’s acting career is ramping up, Saturday September 3rd is a big night for me. At 8PM the 2011 edition of my very own Georgia Bulldogs will be debuting on ESPN and at the same time my (almost) very own Hannah Kasulka will be debuting as Allie Jacobs on NBC.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, I am planning on watching both.

God's Gift

2011-08-20T21:39:00.002-04:00

Tonight we went to see the movie, "The Help." To say I was moved by the story would be an understatement. Next to my parents, the person who had the most influence on me than any other person on earth was a lady that would be called "The Help." As I look back, I can tell you she was not the help.

She was God's gift.

Below is an excerpt from my book, "View From a Hearse."

-------------------------------------------------

As were most southern towns in the early sixties, Reynolds was very segregated. Not only did the blacks and whites go to different schools and different churches, but they also went to different restrooms. I vividly remember seeing signs on restroom doors plainly stating “Whites Only.” Crooks Restaurant, which was a typical southern family restaurant, changed its name to “Crooks Private Dining Club” when the desegregation laws came into existence. When you got to the front door, Mr. Crook would look to see who you were and he would hit a buzzer that would unlock the door to let you in. There were two waiting rooms at the hospital. The front room was for the whites. The blacks had to come through the alley to a back waiting room. The main wing of the hospital was for white patients. The back wing was for the black patients. The blacks lived in two different sections of town called “bottoms.” The section across the railroad tracks was called the “Big Bottom.” On the south side of town there was a settlement called “Goddard’s Bottom.” My great-grandfather owned that land at one time. Many of the white families had maids. It was not unusual to see a white housewife driving through town with her maid sitting in the back seat by herself on the way to work. The maids cooked, washed, cleaned, and kept the kids. When the family sat down to eat a meal, the maid would eat by herself after the family had finished, and many times they would drink out of a mason jar instead of using the regular glasses. Many younger readers will have a hard time believing all that, but trust me, it is the truth.

Now you need to understand, as bad as all that may seem, there was an upside for the black community. Many of these ladies were uneducated and untrained and had no way of making a living except for working as domestic workers in these homes. The black men who did not have a job would work in the “white folks,” yards. They would usually be fed on a picnic table outside, and they would drink out of mason jars too.

We had a maid who worked at our house. Her name was Jessie Mae King. She waited on us hand and foot as long as I can remember. She cooked the best fried chicken and hoe-cake cornbread I have ever eaten, and her beef stew could cause a fight at the table.

Jessie lived in a literal shack in Goddard’s Bottom. Her husband died at a young age, and Jessie was left to raise four children alone. They had no running water, and their bathroom was an outhouse located in the yard. Their only heat came from the wood they burned in their stove. Their house consisted of two rooms. One room is where they all slept, and the other room was a little kitchen. There were no monthly welfare checks in those days. Their only income was whatever Jessie earned working at our house. The clothes they wore were hand-me-downs that we gave them. Most of their meals came from leftovers at our house.

The interesting thing is that her children all became very productive members of society. Her oldest son had a career in the military. The two girls moved to California and became very successful. Her youngest son, Billy, married and stayed in Reynolds to look after his mom.

Daddy was determined to help get Jessie and Billy out of that shack. In the early seventies his determination paid off. Jessie and Billy and his family moved into a brand new three-bedroom house, complete with running water, restrooms, and central heat and air. If anyone ever deserved a new house, it was Jessie Mae King.

Jessie was always a very important part of our family. She had full authority to discipline us and all the other kids that were in and out of our house. And she did. She would break a branch off a tree in the back yard, and make a switch, and she would wear us out with it when we disobeyed her.

Every time there was thunder and lightning, Jessie would make us all sit still and be quiet. She would always say, “The Lord is talking – we better listen.” Whenever we got sick, Jessie would be right there tending to us and making sure we got better. And she would always pray for us.

I always believed Jessie had a direct line to God. She had a child-like faith, and I kind of think God smiled on that. If any of us had a real need, we would always get Jessie to pray. She did not have much education, but she had more wisdom than any person I have ever known.

I never saw Jessie get angry. I never heard her say an unkind word about anyone. I never saw her lose her patience, and she was never rude. Jessie kept no record of wrongs and never tried to get her way. She found no delight in evil, but always rejoiced in the truth.

Jessie will never receive accolades from this world for what she accomplished in life. She does not have a place on her wall where she hangs her diplomas and certificates of achievement. She never had any money in the bank and never even drove an automobile.

The truth is she spent her life on earth serving our family.

I have a strong feeling our family will spend an eternity serving her in heaven.

(From View From a Hearse, 2005)

The Gift of Friendship

2011-08-18T22:45:00.000-04:00

I’m not sure how many conversations started with these words last Saturday but I can tell you there were many...

“Do you remember when....”

Billy Bell, Jimmy Childre, Jr, Will Crawley and I have tons of shared memories. Beginning life together some 57 years ago, we all grew up together in Reynolds, Ga. We went to Sunday School and church together.... and got in trouble together. We went through school together and sat in the same classrooms together. We played baseball together. And basketball. And golf. And anything else we could think of to play.

Our parents were friends. Our grandparents were friends. Our dogs and cats even knew each other. We were fortunate enough to be influenced by the same incredible folks during the most formative years of our lives.

Although we don’t see each other often, our friendship has only become stronger through the years. The truth is it is next to impossible not to be friends with others who share so many memories and have so much in common.

The conversations pick right up from the last time we saw each other. The words flow easy, the smiles are not forced and the laughs come often.

Appropriately, the stated purpose of our get together was to spend the day at the PGA Championship near Atlanta and watch a little golf. Appropriate because we all spent many hours together for many years playing golf on our little 9 hole course in our little town.

Many years ago, a young man from Tennessee moved to Reynolds for a few years to manage our golf course. A lot of our memories at that course include Howard Catron.

Our friendship with Howard never ended either. He and a friend drove over five hours from Tennessee to join us for the day at the tournament.

I suppose there are some days that end and you breathe a sigh of relief and thank God it’s over.

There are other days you wish would never end. But when the great days do end, and they always do, you lie down at night and whisper a prayer of thanksgiving for the gift you have been given.

In this instance - the gift of lifelong friendships.

Customer Service

2011-08-11T22:58:00.000-04:00

Our land line phone is not working. After running the traps, I decided I better call MCI to talk to someone to get them to fix it.

At least that was my plan.

I called the 800 number and got the dreaded recording. For at least 10 minutes, I listened to a computer voice and did what it told me to do. I punched in account numbers and phone numbers. I said and repeated what they asked me to say to the computer.

Computers are knowledgeable and all but they can be pretty cold.

Finally I got a person on the phone. I’m not sure if he was from China or in China but I am very certain he was not from here.

It was very difficult for him to understand me, bless his heart. And I was having a similar challenge. He asked me questions most of which I had no idea of the question much less the answer. I asked him a few questions that he didn’t seem to know the answer to either.

Finally after about 30 minutes of us talking without a much needed interpreter, he told me he would have a serviceman right out to fix it... absolutely no later than August 17th.

I looked at the calendar on my watch. “Did you just say August 17th? That’s like a week away.”

“Absolutely,” I think he said. He seemed to be very proud of his efficiency and wonderful customer service.

I hung up the phone thinking about the customer service we gave folks at our grocery store in Reynolds when I was growing up. Ladies would call the store and give us their order that could sometimes be 3 or 4 pages long and ask us to charge it to their account. I would get a buggy, fill their order, deliver the groceries to their house and put the cold stuff in the fridge and the frozen stuff in the freezer. Sometimes they would even ask me to open a coca cola for them as they sat in their easy chair watching television.

We didn’t charge extra for that service either. Neither did our competitor.

Talk about the good life.

I’m sure somebody from MCI or their contractor will eventually come out and get our land line phone fixed so we will be able to communicate with the outside world.

In the meantime if you need me, I guess you will have to text me, tweet me or post me up on Facebook.

Faith and Laughter

2011-08-09T22:14:00.005-04:00

When we were kids, she prohibited her children from playing golf on Sunday or swimming on Sunday or participating in a cake walk any day of the week. Playing marbles was also on the “can’t do” list.

Playing marbles for keeps was gambling and so was the cake walk at the annual Halloween carnival at the school, even if they were raising money for a good cause. Sunday was a day that should be kept holy and evidently golfing and swimming were forms of unholy exercise.

Alcohol was from the devil himself and we didn’t even have the rubbing variety in our house. We always had an ample supply of Witch Hazel . I suppose the word “alcohol” was written in very small letters so it made it okay.

My oldest brother tells the story of the first time he went in a movie theater. He was convinced he would be doomed to eternal damnation for just walking in the door.

We went to church on Sunday morning, Sunday evening and Wednesday nights. Not many kids showed up on Wednesday nights at the Reynolds United Methodist Church besides us and maybe Don and Hazel’s children.

I have many memories as a kid walking down the hall at our house and looking in the living room and seeing her on her knees with her very worn King James in her hands.

On most nights before we went to bed, we would gather in our parents room. Someone would read the Bible out loud and we would take turns praying out loud. On the nights we did not gather in the bedroom as a family, she would come in our rooms and pray with each of us. And for each of us.

As we got older, she got free from the legalism. Maybe having a house full of non-legalistic kids helped prod her along but I know it was more than that. We eventually played golf on Sunday afternoons and even took some Sabbath swims in the neighbors pool.

But thankfully she never got free from the Bible study and the praying.

I am convinced my mother’s prayers kept me alive a few times late at night during my formative years when my stupid actions were pushing the life envelope.

I also have vivid memories as a kid of getting tucked in at night by my mom with a house full of my parents’ friends at our house and going to sleep to the sound of laughter.

I learned during those nights that laughter is even better than a rainy night when it’s time to go to sleep.

She never missed a baseball game or a basketball game or any other event in which her children were participating. She even became an Atlanta Braves fan and a Georgia Bulldog fan.

Because her children were fans.

As I grew into an adult, she became more than a mom. She was my friend and she was my confidant. She became the grandmother of my children. And my wife’s best friend.

A couple of days before she died she wanted to tell us something. I had to bend over her hospital bed and put my ear right next to her lips to hear her very weak voice. I’ll never forget what she said.

“The Braves won last night.”

All we could do is shake our heads and smile.

Eighteen years ago today, Naia Gonzalez Goddard, left her earthly home and entered into rest for eternity with her creator, who she served with her whole heart all her adult life.

She left us here to fend for ourselves.

But she left us a gift. Actually a couple of gifts come to mind.

Faith and laughter.

I don’t know if the Braves really won that night or not. But I am convinced of this one thing.

She won.

Red, Ed, Red, Fred and Ted

2011-08-08T21:55:00.006-04:00

For you Facebook folks, there is a rage going on where folks are creating pages like, “You know you are from Reynolds, Ga if....” People who grew up in or lived in the towns are posting memories and pictures of the good ole’ days of years gone by.

From some posts I’ve read, the good ole’ days happened after I had seen better days. For others, the good ole’ days happened before I was born. And then there are some who post memories of the good ole’ days that were the good ole’ days for me as well.

If you happen to be my age and happen to have your retirement tied up in the stock market in a 401K, today was a day that would make you look back and long for the good ole’ days of two weeks ago. You could almost feel the sky falling today as the Dow plunged 630 points.

Some believe this crash is self-inflicted. From other perspectives, it was just a matter of time.

But everybody has a perspective.

Which brings me to a post I read tonight on the “You know you are from Reynolds if...” page. My friend Ed Swearingen posted about his memories of 3 hour breakfasts’ at Choes Restaurant in Reynolds. There was a group of men who were regulars at the restaurant who met every morning to eat and solve the world’s problems and to talk politics.

John (Red) Owen, the owner of the restaurant, held the daily court. Ed Swearingen, our local Republican activist and later founder of the Silver Dollar Raceway, was the youngest of the group. Then there was Red Windham, a local policeman and Fred McElmurray, a local businessman. Last but not least was Ted Parks, a local farmer and retired civil servant.

Ed’s daughter, Anne, joined them one morning when she was a little girl. Later that day someone asked her who she had breakfast with at the restaurant. Her answer was one for the ages:

“I ate with Red, Ed, Red, Fred and Ted.

These guys understood the issues of the day and had formed opinions about each issue. And they did not mind expressing those opinions even if they did not always agree.

I couldn’t help but wonder tonight what Red, Ed, Red, Fred, and Ted’s conversation would have been if they were having breakfast in the morning after the Wall Street crash today. Or what their conversation would have been during the debacle last week in Congress.

If we could get this Gang of Five back together, I’m sure they could come up with a solution to our country’s problems so we could bring back the good ole’ days.

Yep, we need Red, Fred, Ted, Red and Ed.

Bad.

Sorry I couldn't find a picture of Fred.

We Need It All (The Good Life)

2011-07-26T22:34:00.001-04:00

Last week I visited a friend who has a terminal illness and was given six months to live a couple of months ago. I got news from a another friend whose child is in the hospital in another state after very serious surgery - separated by hundreds of miles from the rest of their family. I heard from another friend who is fighting for his life. I know of another person who was just terminated from his job and another who just lost her mother.

I read the news and I see our country is in a royal mess financially with a political system that appears to be broken - in that a course of action cannot be agreed upon.

I could go on and on... and so can you.

And we’re talking about the good life? Exactly where is the good life in all that?

And then I read a line from an email from another friend: “You cannot have a good life if you are not willing to have a tough day.”

My friend is right.

We would never know what joy is if we never experienced heartache. We would not know how great laughter is if we never cried. We would never know what it is like to feel great if we never felt awful. We would never know what hope is if we never felt hopeless. We would never understand freedom unless we understand bondage. We would not know what it is like to be well if we were never sick.

And we would never know how precious life is if we never experienced death.

I am absolutely certain that “the good life” is not a life filled only with good days but a life filled with good and bad days.

So many “good” things happen during the bad days. Sometimes we have to get past the bad times and look back to see the good but I am convinced we will find it if we look.

God speaks this truth on a regular basis. We have daytime. We have night. We have sunshine. We have rain.

To survive and thrive, we need it all.

We’re talking about the good life.

Living Intentionally ( The Good Life)

2011-07-20T18:42:00.004-04:00

As I mentioned on the last post, I have decided to write about “the good life” here for a while. Maybe it will take me two posts to do that but then again it could take fifty. As I also mentioned, I sure would like feedback and input from you as you consider “the good life” with me.

Actually I have a reason for writing about this besides the fact I was asked to be interviewed about the subject. I just meet too many folks who either hate their life or – at the least, don’t like it a whole lot. Some seem to be so looking forward to the “after life” that they run over folks in their current life in their search. Others live as if all that matters is what happens in the next minute or day. And others don’t seem to care about either.

I got an email last night from a friend who quoted her Facebook post for me: “Perhaps a good life is a compilation of good days – today was a good day, made special by many people. Thank you all for contributing to my good life.”

I think she is on to something.

The people thing.

I am absolutely (almost) certain that people are put in our lives for a reason. That surely includes our family, lifelong friends, bosses, pastors, teachers, business associates, customers and new friends. But I also think it includes those folks like the young girl who is waiting our table or the guy that is shining our shoes or even the nurse that is taking our blood pressure.

For instance I met a retired couple in the checkout line today at a local cafeteria and ended up having a 30 minute conversation with him in the parking lot standing by my car. I really don't believe that meeting was an accident.

Maybe a big piece of the “good life” is living intentionally and in the moment as we relate to people – giving them an opportunity to impact our lives and making it better - and giving us the opportunity to make theirs better.

Today was a good day. Kathy and I had an appointment at the courthouse and were sworn in as temporary guardians for Kylee. She has been living with us for a couple of months and will live with us during her senior year in high school. We made it official today. Kylee’s parents were transferred to another state and she wanted to finish her last year of high school with her friends.

We raised our hands. Intentionally.

She is with us for a season and a reason. And we are already having a blast.

We’re talking about the good life.

The Good Life

2011-07-17T23:10:00.001-04:00

A friend contacted me recently who is writing a book about the “Good Life.” He is interviewing various folks who will bring different perspectives to his subject. Although I have not talked to him yet, his question has caused me to think.

What in the world is the “good life?”

I’m quite sure the good life is not based on someone having more money than they can spend, because I’ve known too many independently wealthy people who hate their life.

I am also quite sure the good life is not about reaching a certain status socially, educationally or even in the business world because I know too many people who climb those ladders only to find more emptiness at every rung.

The good life can’t be a life free of problems and pain because I know we learn too much about life from the problems and pain.

Nobody would live the good life if it is based on always making the right choices because none of us do it right all the time.

I am certain that I was born into a family that produced an environment that was very conducive of the good life and I know some are not as fortunate but I’m not sure living the good life is based on what others in your life do or do not do.

I’m not sure I even really know what my perspective is as I think about the good life for my friend as he researches for his book. But in the next few (maybe more than a few) posts here I will give it a shot.

Please bear with me. I will post as I have time and there seems not to be a lot of that available for me these days. I also understand that what I post here will be only my perspective. I certainly don’t have credentials for such a task.

But if gray hair and a lot of passionate living counts for anything, then please stay tuned.

I also would love to hear your opinions and have your input as I air this out. You can comment here or email me at goddardrb54@gmail.com.

We’re talking about the good life.

Olga!

2011-07-15T22:33:00.002-04:00

I think I have a natural affinity for Spanish folks. My mother’s grandfather, a Spaniard named Manuel Gonzalez, was the first known settler of Fort Myers Florida. I suppose that means I have Spanish blood flowing through my veins. Thus the natural aforementioned affinity.

When I first met Olga Piehler in Cincinnati several years ago, I knew there was more to her than I was seeing. Although I have been in business meetings with Olga many times since I first met her, I never took the time to find out the story behind my Spanish friend and business associate.

Until this past week.

Not surprisingly, I discovered Olga has faced a few mountains in her life. From my vantage point, the greatest folks I’ve ever met are the folks that have been knocked down a few times along the journey and have chosen to keep plodding along.

The truth is, Olga was born with a mountain to climb. She came in the world about 10 weeks early and her family was not even sure she would make it out of the hospital. Exceptionally smart, this little Spanish girl was speaking in sentences while most little girls her age were learning to say “mommy.” But her body had not quite caught up with her conversations. She vividly remembers her self esteem taking a hit at a very young age when one particular grown-up thought she was a midget.

When she was 8 years old, Olga was practicing “handstands” in her dining room and her leg went through the glass door. The doctors were worried she would never walk again. Olga was worried she would get in trouble for breaking the glass door. The door was fixed in quick fashion and after a very long recovery , Olga learned to walk again.

The summer before her senior year in high school, Olga learned about an opportunity to become an exchange student in America. She moved from Spain to Wisconsin for her last year in high school and to live with a family she had never met.

She could not speak a word of English. I would say that would be another mountain.

Olga graduated from the English speaking high school and was offered a full scholarship to an American college. She didn’t take a single test to be admitted. They just met her and wanted her in their college and gave her a free ride. Olga had already met her future husband so the decision to stay in America for college was not that difficult for her, although much more difficult for her family back in Spain. Her freshman year in college, Olga came in third place in a oratory competition. Not bad for a gal who couldn’t speak a word of English a year earlier.

Olga went on to get her Master’s degree in Psychology, graduating with honors - but she wanted more. Her husband Mike supported her decision to move to Australia for a couple of years to pursue her doctorate at one of the best universities in the world in her field.

She quickly found herself in Australia facing another mountain. She was in the middle of her studies on September 11, 2001, the day the world stopped turning. For maybe the first time in her life, Olga was afraid. She was by herself on the other side of the world and like everyone else, had no idea what the future would hold.

So she decided to end her pursuit of her doctorate to come home, which was now Cincinnati. When she returned, this resilient young lady started looking for a job. But finding a job commensurate with her education was difficult. She was hired as a temporary file clerk at the office where her husband worked.

And that is when I met this obviously over qualified file clerk named Olga who had just taken another self esteem hit.

But as you might imagine, Olga quickly moved up at her husband’s work place. She now is a mommy of two and, when not in the office at work or spending time with her hubby and girls, she trains and shares her new technical expertise and skills with other professionals all over the country. These are skills and expertise she knew nothing about when she was hired as a file clerk several years ago.

Olga’s story is an incredible story of courage, tenacity and the human spirit. At 36, Olga’s story is just beginning. But she unknowingly reminded me that no material has ever been invented by man as resilient as the human spirit.

I just knew there was a story behind my Spanish friend the first day I met her. And even if there wasn’t, it would have been okay anyway.

You know I have an affinity for Spanish folks.

Reasons

2011-02-12T21:10:00.003-05:00

My mother in law has been a patient in our local hospital since last Tuesday. Her oldest daughter, Lynn, came down from Rome, GA that same day and never left her hospital room for the next five days, except when I dragged her out to eat a couple of times at night.

She left to go back home today.

There are other things going on as well. My wife’s brother’s father in law passed away on Thursday night in Atlanta. My wife’s other sister is nursing her husband back to health who has been diagnosed with pneumonia.

Kathy (my wife) moved in the hospital this morning to replace her sister. Although I am going home to sleep in my own bed tonight, I will leave Kathy at the hospital tonight with her mom.

Today my wife and I have been together all day with her mom in her hospital room. Tomorrow is shaping up to be a very similar day.

What in the world do you do in a hospital room all day?

First, you bring your computer. In fact you need at least one computer for each person. I’m very thankful this hospital has free wireless internet. The old way of passing time doing crossword puzzles from the newspaper never did work for me.

We used some wonderful Apple technology and I-Chatted with our kids in Atlanta. We were able to see and talk to our kids and our 15 month old grand baby and even got to see our 1 week old grand baby. All done effortlessly from the comfort of Room 233 of the Houston County Medical Center.

We easily kept up with all our friends on Facebook. We knew our friend was out of gas on Hwy 96 and her husband was not happy. And we knew other friends were with their little girl at the Pig Show in Perry.... and I could go on and on. And the the number of texts today was exponentially higher than normal.

I should tell you about the couple of hours I spent finding pictures of my mother in law taken as far back as 8 years ago. I’m glad I uploaded them to places like Shutterfly and Snapfish as I took them. Those pictures caused us to smile and reminisce and remember much better times for her. As some of you know, she is a gorgeous lady and was even more gorgeous several years ago. We had fun sharing a few of those pictures with some of the nurses and technicians who came in and out of her room today.

I should also tell you about one special Registered Nurse by the name of Faye. She used to be a home health nurse and it didn’t take us long to realize we have been in some of the same homes back in Taylor County. It also didn’t take us long to realize she is a wonderful and very competent nurse. She went home tonight with copies of both my books. I’ll go home tonight thankful I had the opportunity to meet Faye and very thankful there are folks in the world like her who look after folks we love.

And then I should tell you about Jazzmine, a Patient Care Technician who just applied to nursing school. If I was a betting man, I would bet she will be at the top of her class. Jazzmine has a difficult job and one that I could not do. But she does it effortlessly and very well and with much class. If I had not been here today, I would have missed out on meeting her and appreciating what the Jazzmines of the world do everyday.

Okay I will also tell you about my trip to Walmart. As much as I hate to go to Walmart, when you sit in a hospital all day, you look for reasons to go there. My wife needed some cough drops so I quickly volunteered to go to Walmart to get her some. As I was getting close to the cough drop section, I heard someone call my name. I turned and realized it was Latillia. I learned Latillia is now employed with Hospice. When I last saw her, it was a couple of years ago and she was employed as a Caregiver at an assisted living facility and looked after my mother in law. Her first question to me? “How is Mrs. Irene?”

I told her she was in the hospital but hopefully she would be released to go back to the nursing home soon.

If I had more time I would have told her that Mrs. Irene is in the sunset of her life. She is not the same person I have known so well for the past 40 years. Her disease is brutal - not as brutal on her, I believe, as it is on her children. Only God knows how long she will live or how long we will live for that matter. But we know for certain God has a reason for all of this.

And most likely more than one reason.

We may not know those reasons for a while and maybe will never know all the reasons this side of heaven.

But I am very convinced one of the reasons is so God could use folks like Faye and Jazzmine and Latillia to impact our lives.

He has.

And they have.

Another Papa Production

2011-02-07T23:34:00.002-05:00

Allie Grace Goddard from Bruce Goddard on Vimeo.

He Can Do Anything

2011-02-04T20:44:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago I picked up the remote and turned my television on just as the Golden Globes was going off air.

I heard a remark that made the hair stand on the back of my neck. In fact I asked my wife if I heard what I thought I heard. I went online the next day and found his closing comment was making waves all over the internet.

Rickey Gervais’ closing comment was, and I quote, “I would like to thank God for making me an atheist.”

I understand the man is a comedian and he was making an attempt to be funny. He was poking fun at all the folks who receive awards by thanking God. I am one of those folks that can find humor in most anything but I found absolutely no humor in his comment. I did read about him the next day and found that he really is an atheist and seems to be very proud of it.

We do live in a free country and Mr. Gervais certainly has the right to be an atheist.

But since it is a free country I also have the right to say what I think about his comment. Instead of doing that, I’ll let you read what I think straight out of the Good Book for yourself. Psalm 14:1 is a bible verse I learned many years ago in Sunday school.

I thought about ole’ Rickey and Psalm 14:1 again when I was introduced to little Allie Grace Goddard this morning. My daughter in law, Holly, gave birth to her at 9:11AM today.

She’s got her daddy’s nose and her mama’s mouth. And she already has this Papa’s heart.

How can anyone look at a brand new baby and say there is no God? As a result of an act of love, a human being grows from a seed connecting with an egg, is nurtured in the mother’s womb and arrives on the scene as a person with characteristics of the parents.

And the grandparents.

I don’t think I have ever heard a man exactly explain all that.

I was reminded again today that there really is a God and He still performs miracles.

I saw Him today.

And I saw a miracle.

That means there is hope for all of us, no matter what we face or how high the mountains are in front of us.

If He can do what He did today, He really can do anything.

I Got Some Oceanfront Property in Arizona

2011-01-29T17:39:00.007-05:00

When you have been married to the same woman for almost 34 years, you run out of ideas for unique birthday gifts.

Through an email advertisement a few weeks ago, I saw that the King and Queen of Country would be doing a concert in Jacksonville on my wife’s birthday weekend. I bought four tickets.

On the spot. Before I got up from my chair.

Although we had never been to a country concert I thought it would be a blast. We invited a couple to go with us, who happened to be the pastor of our church and his wife. He immediately accepted my invitation.

On the spot. Before he got up from his chair.

I was impressed that my pastor was wearing an authentic cowboy hat when we picked them up Thursday night and headed out to Jacksonville. I love “men of the cloth” who are not afraid to have a little fun.

When we arrived a little early at the arena in Jacksonville, a large crowd was lined up waiting for the doors to open. When we finally got in the arena, we quickly found ourselves in another line to purchase some memorabilia in the form of tee shirts or caps or whatever one buys at such events.

I struck up a conversation with a young lady standing next to me in line who came to the concert alone. Nicole told me she was a HUGE Reba fan and this was her 10th time seeing her in concert. She loves King George as well, but she actually got to meet Reba a few years ago backstage. Nicole said she literally passed out when she walked out the door after meeting Reba. Nicole said her husband opted out of this concert. He is not into country music at all. Not sure if he is aware, but his wife IS into country music. Big time. If I were a marriage counselor, I would suggest he join his wife next time the King and Queen of Country come to town.

Just sayin'.

To the say the crowd went crazy when Reba came on the stage would be an understatement. Everybody seem to know every word to every song.

When you have won 7 Top Female Vocalist Awards from the Academy of Country Music and 12 Favorite Country Female Artist awards and have 35 Number 1 Singles, people tend to know the lyrics of the songs you sing. None got the crowd going anymore than the lyrics of this song, “Tell Me Why I Haven’t Heard From You.”

Well back in 1876 an ol' boy named Bell
Invented a contraption that we know so well
By the 1950's they're in everybodys home
it's a crazy little thing they call a telephone
Now there's one in every corner, in the back of every bar
You can get one in your
briefcase, on a plane or in your car.
So tell me why, haven't I, heard from you
Tell me why, haven't I, heard from you
I said now darlin', honey, what is your excuse
Why haven't I heard from you.

I couldn't help but wonder if Nicole's husband would be singing that song to his wife in the not too distant future.

George Strait and the "Ace in the Hole" band came out sometime after 9:30PM with a completely different show. Different band. Different style. Actually there were three different bands performing. Leanne Womack open the show, then Reba, then King George.

King George also rocked the house. Here is a singing cowboy that has amassed 57 Number 1 hits. And they knew the lyrics to his songs too.

During one particular love song, a young couple sitting a few rows in front of us immediately stood up and embraced and caressed each other. They never let go until the song was over. Then they sat back down quietly and were not even holding hands. I’m not sure if that was the song they had sung at their wedding or it was playing when they first consummated their relationship - but one thing is for sure. It was their song.

We watched the crowd as much as the professional entertainers.

It was close to midnight when we finally got in the car. We all agreed we did not enjoy the concert at all. The entertainment was lousy and overall, it was a rather boring evening.

And now if you'll buy that...

I got some ocean front property in Arizona. From my front porch you can see the sea. I got some ocean front property in Arizona. If you'll buy that, I'll throw the golden gate in free.

At Last I See the Light

2011-01-23T21:06:00.000-05:00

“At last I see the light. And it’s like the fog has lifted.”

I thought it happened when we became parents but I now realize I was too busy trying to make a living and rushing around juggling all the balls young parents do.

“All those years chasing down a daydream. All those years living in a blur.”

The world begins to look much different when seen from the eyes of folks like me who have less years ahead of them than behind them. There is a place in life when the dream chasing slows down and the world, from your perspective, somehow shifts.

And it’s a good thing.

The baton is passed. Your children become the parents you were in what seems like only a short time ago.

Birthday parties for little grand baby girls make a Papa think... and smile.. and feel good inside... and make videos so the special moments can be visited again and again.

This one is for all the Papa’s and Meme’s out there.

And for our little Tangled princess we call Taylor who is now 4 years old.

Taylor's 4th Birthday from Bruce Goddard on Vimeo.

Wearing the Wrong Shoes

2011-01-16T21:36:00.005-05:00

You have to understand, I pack a bag almost every week of my life. I pack quickly and lightly and since I’ve had so much practice, I thought I was fairly good at it.

Until this weekend.

I wanted to attend the funeral of a friend and colleague in Rome GA on Saturday. Since we have family in Rome, my wife joined me on the trip and we decided to make a weekend out of it.

I happened to look in my duffle bag late Friday night after arriving in Rome and before going to bed and for some reason pulled out my shoes I was planning to wear the next day. I quickly realized I was not a very good packer after all.

My shoes didn’t exactly match each other. And they both were made for the right foot. I was fortunate I noticed this on the night before the 2PM funeral the next day.

I had a dilemma. It was not a life changing dilemma nor was it was one of life and death consequences. In the big scheme of things, it was a small dilemma.

But I had to make a decision.

I thought finding a pair of #14 shoes to purchase Saturday morning in Rome would be next to impossible. Nobody ever has my size. I usually have to order my shoes, for goodness sakes. My wife suggested for me to wear my casual brown loafers with my dark business suit.

No way was I going to do that.

I actually thought seriously about wearing the two right footed shoes that were both black and didn’t match to the funeral. Who would notice my shoes anyway?

I tried them on and walked a few steps.

Those few “practice” steps were as awkward steps as I have ever taken. It was uncomfortable to me and would be completely uncomfortable to anyone who would see me.

My wheels were turning when I got in bed.

I was wondering how many people are walking through life wearing the wrong shoes - as in not using their God given gifts to do what He created them to do.

I am convinced we are all created for a purpose and have been gifted in different ways. When we don’t develop and use those gifts - our walk through life is very awkward for us and just as awkward to those in our life.

Like wearing shoes that don’t match and a right footed shoe on the left foot.

But when we figure out those gifts, allow them to be developed and begin to use them for the good of others, our walk through life is normal and comfortable.

As comfortable as wearing a left shoe and right shoe that fit and match.

It is very important then, that we identify and develop our God given gifts and do everything in our power to help others in our life to do the same.

By the way, I found a shoe store Saturday morning. Incredibly, they had two pairs of #14 black dress shoes. They were not pretty but I bought a pair and wore them to the funeral. I plan on leaving them in the box in the trunk of my car just in case I ever do that again.

Thankfully I found another pair of shoes when I got home tonight that matched exactly the mismatched shoes I packed in my bag.

Silver Lining

2011-01-11T21:04:00.008-05:00

In 2007, I wrote an article here entitled “To Everything There is a Season.” I was in Nashville when I wrote the article and I remember it as being one of those very difficult days that life as a way of bringing us.

My wife’s mom spent her first night in an Assisted Living Facility that night. We knew we were beginning a journey but we had no way of knowing what was ahead of us or what we would experience as we walked down this path.

And we had no idea of the people we would meet along the way.

It would be an understatement to say in the past three years and four months our family has experienced a lot. After spending over two years in the assisted living facility, her children had to make another difficult decision. She had to be moved to a nursing home facility where she could get more individual care.

Alzheimer’s is a devastating disease. And the pain of the heart watching someone you love suffering from that disease is an agonizing pain.

But the clouds of life not only usher in rain and storm but they also can add color to our sky. Every cloud has its silver lining.

When my wife and I were visiting her mom tonight, the silver lining was in plain view to us in the form of Doris Barrett. Folks who extend loving care to Alzheimer’s patients are very special folks. And they are really special when the patient they are caring for is your mother or mother in law or grandmother or sister. Our facility has more than a few special folks on their payroll and you get to know them when you are in and out so often.

Doris never had the opportunity to finish high school. She promised herself early on that her four children would be educated.

All four of her children received college degrees.

I should tell you that Doris has worked two jobs since 1977 to help make that happen. Her current schedule calls for her to begin at 6AM at another facility. She gets off at 2PM. She begins at our facility at 3PM and gets off at 11PM.

That doesn't leave a lot of television time for Doris.

I should also tell you she has worked at the same two facilities for those 34 years.

Doris’ oldest daughter died suddenly a few years ago of a massive stroke. She was 41 years old. Doris has experienced the pain of the loss of child to which some of you reading this can relate.

I can’t.

But what I can relate to is that somehow in the scheme of things, God saw fit to allow this incredible human being to be one of our caregivers.

By the way, when she cares for our loved one - she cares for us.

In the midst of all the clouds, she has added color to our sky. And she has added color to my mother in law’s sky.

Thank God for the silver lining.

Marching Orders

2011-01-09T17:03:00.011-05:00

There are so many stories. And so many memories.

He was an entrepreneur and could do most anything. He worked hard and worked long hours and did whatever it took to provide for this family. In a very small town, he ran small businesses and put all four of his children through college. He would see that as one of his greatest accomplishments.

He loved God and was involved in and supported his local church. He was civic minded and loved his town as much as anyone who ever lived there.

He was a giver. He gave of his God-given gifts and talents. He gave to those in need. He invested his life in his family and his children were well equipped to be successful in life.

When he was a young man and a certain fellow was suspected of stealing a garden hoe from the store, he gladly took matters in his own hands. Back in those days everyone didn’t call the police when a crime was committed. This “much of a man” young man found the thief later that day walking in the city park. I’m not sure how hard he hit the thief between the eyes but I do know the man doing the hitting was missing one little round knob known as a “knuckle” on his right hand the rest of his life. I also know he got the garden hoe back.

There are several memories at the beach, at his wife’s objection, of him teaching his sons and son’s friend to play poker. The game was “strip poker.” The boys didn’t know he was dealing off the bottom of the deck. The boys learned in the long run how to play poker that would make them a little money later in life. They learned in the short run what it was like to be buck naked by the end of the game while the dealer had not taken as much as a shoe off.

When he was with friends at the Kiwanis Convention in NYC and realized Lyndon Johnson was at whatever event they were attending, he made his way (with friends in tow) through the crowd to meet the well known public servant. He was telling folks as they worked their way through the crowd that he was with the secret service. The crowd moved out of his way. He came back with a personal autograph of the sitting Vice President of the United States.

He did not keep it a secret when he found out he had to give himself an enema the night before a scheduled medical procedure. All the neighbors brought such things as garden hoses and large jars of Vasoline to the house the night before. It was the first “Enema Party” I ever heard about. I have never heard of such a party since.

I can still see him as the very large bride with big feet dressed in drag in the local Womanless Wedding pageants held to raise money for local charities. There was one “groom” who was much smaller and thinner and could not handle a poke in the ribs. When this ‘groom’ got poked he would jump and scream. He poked him all the way down the aisle in the make believe wedding. Everyone thought the “groom” was acting. He wasn’t. And everybody howled.

I can see him filling out fishing licenses for fisherman who didn’t have a good command of the English language who were purchasing their license at the store. He would always ask them in completing the application, “Where is your domicile?” And I remember the funny expressions on their faces.

I remember one Friday noon when he was in charge of the local Kiwanis program. HIs wife’s cousin from Florida, dressed in a business suit, was sitting at the head table with him. Everyone assumed his guest would be the program and at the appropriate time, he actually began introducing him as the guest speaker. What the Kiwanians did not know was the real program was the man who was dressed in coveralls working on the gas heater in the back of the room. In fact, the “heater repairman” was beating on the heater so loud that nobody could hear the “program” introduction. Some of the concerned Kiwanians got up from their seat to stop the rude repairman - only to find out it was a set up. The “repairman” was actually a casket salesman who was there to present the program. When the salesman finally got to the podium in his coveralls, the prepared speech was nothing more than one joke after another. Maybe the best Kiwanis luncheon ever.

...unless it was the day the Methodist preacher had the program which consisted of a slide show presentation of his recent trip to the Holy land. What the preacher did not know was a few of his Holy land slides had been replaced by slides of “scantily clad” women. That may have been the best Kiwanis program ever. The good-natured preacher accused him of the prank -although I think the slides belonged to another local prankster.

He was always kissing and hugging all the ladies in town until the day he patted (who he thought was the local preacher’s wife) a lady on the fanny as she was leaning over the frozen food counter. “ I am so sorry, I thought you were the preacher’s wife” should have been inscribed on his grave marker. It was the most classic quote that ever came out his mouth when the startled stranger jumped up and turned around to see who in the world had “patted” her on the butt.

.... actually maybe his most classic quote was when the lady was standing in front of his meat market with a chicken fryer held to her nose. Him: “Frances, what in the world are you doing? The Lady smelling the wrong end of a chicken: “I’m checking to be sure this chicken is fresh!!” He started to walk away and then stopped in his tracks and turned around and replied, “Frances, do you think you could pass that test?”

Maybe the quote about the preacher’s wife would have been more appropriate for his grave marker.

I also remember his words to his youngest son when he was heading to college for the first time a few weeks before the son turned 18, over 38 years ago. (The dad is pictured here later in life with John, his fourth grandson). As the mother was giving other more spiritual advice, his advice was much simpler and to the point.

“Give ‘em hell, son.”

He was not trying to be rude and meant nothing disrespectful. But believe me, the son heard what he was saying very loud and clear. He was giving him marching orders. He wanted him to go out in the world and take what he had learned living under his roof and do whatever it took to be a winner in this life and to make a difference in his world. And he wanted him to have fun doing it.

He was my dad. And I was his youngest son. I was very blessed to have Ed Goddard in my life for the first almost 40 years of my life. I have also been blessed to have all the memories the last 17 years since his death.

He died 17 years ago today, by the way. And I can still hear his marching orders.

I hear them every day of my life.

Mama Nell and the Local Church

2011-01-07T22:09:00.004-05:00

I went home today - as in Reynolds, Georgia home.

Sometimes I have the opportunity to attend funerals of folks I have known all my life. Many times it is impossible because of my travel or other commitments. Today was a possibility. And like a magnet, I was drawn to the 11AM funeral service of Mrs. Nell Wainwright held at the Reynolds United Methodist Church.

To be sure, I have attended a ton of funerals at the Reynolds Methodist Church. In fact I grew up in that church and I attended a ton of other services there. I haven’t been there in a while and I can tell you when I walked in this morning, I was almost stunned by its beauty. And I was flooded with memories.

I was also listening to every word said today celebrating the life of a very dear lady who was loved by..... everyone.

Mama Nell was the matriarch of a very prominent farming family in Reynolds. Her husband, Walter, started from humble beginnings and made something of himself. As my lifelong friend Chuck Byrd said so well today in the eulogy, his success was because of two words.

Hard work.

Walter and Mama Nell raised children - who raised more children - who made something of themselves. And they utilized those same two words in doing it.

Hard work.

Not only did the Wainwrights make something of themselves, but their peach operation had (and still has) a huge financial impact on the county. As I was reminded today, I can remember many a day when I was a kid, peach workers paying for their groceries at our store with dimes.. or quarters.. or whatever the workers were paid for picking a basket of peaches at the time.

So not only did they make a living for themselves, the Wainwrights also contributed in a big way to other folks, including my family, making a living in our community.

But as the Wainwright children (and later the grandchildren) were doing great stuff like “working hard” and having great impact on our county, Mama Nell was the equalizer.

She was the glue that held the entire enterprise together. I have a feeling her prayers over the years for her family had as much to do with their success as those two words on which they built their business.

The minister today spoke of Mama Nell’s love for the church and specifically, the Reynolds United Methodist Church.

He went on to talk about the importance of the local church in a community. And the importance of supporting it - as Mama Nell did.

It hit me that just as Mama Nell was to her family, the local church is the equalizer in a community. It is a place that allows us the opportunity to take our focus off our selves and our pursuit of temporal success to focus on the really important stuff.

I couldn’t help but wonder today what the little town of Reynolds would have been like if those two churches that sit in the park never had folks like Mama Nell's consistent support and were never in business and never in a position to influence the community.

And I am quite certain the Wainwright family has wondered where they would be if not for the influence of Mama Nell.

Alive and Well but Lost the Accent

2011-01-03T21:05:00.011-05:00

Several months ago I was traveling in Maine and came upon an article about a Goddard being the founder of a local funeral home in Rumford, ME. It got my attention and I was reminded that my family came to Georgia in the early 1800’s from Massachusetts.

It took us a little over 200 years, but we've pretty much lost the New England accent.

I know my folks came from there because my great great grandfather is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon, GA. The city of Macon erected a monument to memorialize James Goddard long before his son moved to Reynolds to start a business. He was a local Macon merchant and river boat captain and the fact that he was from Athol MA is inscribed on that monument. I’ve seen it many times.

Anyway I discovered I was only a couple of hundred miles away from Athol when I was in Rumford and I knew I would be much closer than that when I visited New Hampshire in the then near future.

So a few months later in August, and after I had done a little genealogical research, I stayed an extra day in New England to search for my roots. My co-worker dropped me off at Logan International Airport in Boston and I rented a car and headed out through the tunnels of Boston.

I’ll have to admit there was at least a couple of moments I wondered what in the heck I was doing. I was in rush hour traffic and pouring down rain by myself driving through and out of Boston. I had invited my two brothers to meet me there but they came up with pretty good excuses as to why they could not join me.

But I am a hard-headed guy and I wanted to see where I came from.

Athol is located about 85 miles west of Boston. I found a hotel for the night somewhere on the outskirts of Boston and struck out for Athol the next morning.

Not only did I visit the beautiful city of Athol, but I also visited with some local folks. I was not surprised that the Goddard name is rather common there. It was a surreal experience walking around the city of Athol and knowing my ancestors grew up and made a living there many years ago before moving to Georgia.

That evening , I drove back toward Boston to Cambridge MA and checked in another hotel. I had a noon flight out of Boston so I went to bed knowing I needed to find “The Old Burying Ground” at Harvard University rather quickly the next morning. I knew from my research that my first ancestors born in the United States were buried there.

The next morning, I found the old cemetery. I walked around in the cemetery for at least an hour. Being an undertaker that has had to find a few graves before, I knew if they were buried at that cemetery, there was a fighting chance I would find the grave.

But I almost gave up. The markers were hard to read. I felt positive that Benjamin and Mary Goddard were buried there because I had seen it in my genealogical research. At least I gave it a shot.

I was about to leave and decided to look at one more section. Incredibly I saw the name Goddard on a marker... and another Goddard.

And then I saw the graves I had come to see. My great, great, great, great, great, great grandparents.

I am quite sure I am the only Goddard to come from Georgia to visit Athol. And I am also positive I am the only Goddard from Georgia to visit our ancestor’s graves at the Old Burying Ground in Cambridge.

But I found the graves. And I even said a few things to them. I know they couldn’t hear me but I could hear me. I told them how thankful I am that their parents chose to come to America.

And though at least some of us have lost the accent, their descendants are still alive and well.

Below is a 6 minute video I put together of my findings. I produced this video for my siblings and our kids and for kids to come.

But if you want to watch, you sure can.

Athol Mass from Bruce Goddard on Vimeo.

Tweets and Updates - Top 25 in 2010

2011-01-01T12:22:00.008-05:00

2010 for me will always be remembered as the year of social media. Facebook and Twitter became a way of life for me in 2010. I have an Ipad, an I Phone 4, Blackberry, IPad, Macbook Air, I Mac and a PC.

I am always connected to cyberspace. It only takes a minute to pull a device out of my pocket and check the latest tweets from my “short list” or the latest updates from my Facebook friends.

Never have I been more in touch with people in my life, past and present, as I was in 2010. Birthdays have taken on a new meaning. A birthday on Facebook is a happening. You get “wall posts” wishing you birthday happiness from folks you haven’t thought about in a while. But you also get to give birthday wishes to people you care about. No way would that happen in this big way in the pre-social medial days.

By the way, if you are not on Facebook you are behind the times and sliding down the slippery slope to be out of touch completely. Once upon a time, there were people who saw no need for electricity. There are over 500 Million active users of Facebook, which was just launched in 2004. That equates to 161% of the entire population of the United States.

Twitter, although a long way from being as large as Facebook, is growing at a rate of 6.2 million users per month or 2 or 3 users per second.

US Postal mail took a backseat to email several years ago. Email has now taken a backseat to social media. Folks on FB and Twitter rarely send personal emails anymore. Real time correspondence is a way of life now.

A month or so ago, my brother and his wife were rear-ended one evening while waiting to turn in their subdivision. Jaye, my sister in law, called her son Mitch on her cell phone a minute or two after they were hit. Mitch “tweeted” that his dad and mom had been in an accident and he was headed to the scene. I saw the tweet and called my brother to see if they were okay. I called him within a few minutes of the accident and I was 100 miles away.

His first comment was, “How in the world did you know this happened?” My answer was simple. The power of social media.

During news breaking events, I turn to Twitter to get real-time insight into what is really going on. Just go to the "Trending Topic" and you hear what everybody is saying about whatever is is going on. And most of the time the news you get is better and faster that the major news outlets.

Social media is definitely powerful. But it is also a lot of fun.

To that end, I thought I would share some of my favorite “tweets” and “status updates” from 2010. Actually the list is from two people. And the tweets and updates come from only the last three months of 2010.

Debi Nagy is a school administrator in Butler, GA , a Facebook friend and a real life friend. Her updates always make me smile and most of the time laugh out loud. (LOL for you non users).

Mitch Goddard is my nephew. Although he is on Facebook as well, the twits he tweets for all his tweeps to enjoy are incredible. He is, what I would call, a master tweeter.

So here it is.

My list of the top 25 updates and top 25 tweets from two of my favorite media socialites - from the last 3 months of 2010.

Enjoy!

Debi’s FB Status Updates (Top 25)

25. The bad news...Pretty sure I broke my toe while shopping in Birmingham this afternoon. The good news...Had a great day of shopping with my sister-in law, Fran. Loved ANTHROPOLOGIE. The good news...Bought another pair of boots - The bad news...Left foot is too sore to put them on. The good news...Bought 2 more Christmas presents today. The bad news...spent way too much money. The good news... I have a job.

24. Thought of the day: Just because you're alone in your car does not mean others can't see you picking your nose.

23. A good reason for liking winter...the shoppers at Walmart are covering up more of their bare flesh at this time of year.

22. Dear Santa,
  Stop watching me!!!

21. Dear Santa, 
Let's just say mistakes were made...

20. Dear Santa, 
You have no proof.

19. Today's weight loss tip: Use generous amount of Superglue as lip gloss.

18. Today I am officially considered to be brunette. See what happens when I get time on my hands?

17. The difference between a fact and an opinion is quite simple. An opinion is what you think, a fact is what I think.

16. I am thankful for my home, my husband, my two wonderful sons, my job, my clothes, and for my 8:30 appointment at the hair salon tomorrow.

15. Did you ever have a day when you just could not stop eating? Well I have three of those days in a row.

14. Today's thought: You know you're getting older when "Happy Hour" is a nap.

13. Today's wisdom...We start in Diapers we end in Diapers... Try not to get too hung up on the crap in the middle...

12. Sometimes the problem is your underwear.

11. Ever notice how many people you meet in a day are either over-medicated or under-medicated? haha

10. The bad thing about staying up late is that I need 4 meals per day instead of only 3. Off to the kitchen....

9.. will never get down to her original weight--I mean 6 pounds 2 oz. just isn't realistic!

8. Home from class. Same poop. Different diaper.

7. Today's cooking tip: Don't cook bacon naked.

6. The best part about Halloween is that people think the screams coming from our house are "part of the fun."

5. Put on your Mr. Rogers sweater, because it's going to be a wonderful day in the neighborhood!

4. wonders why some people spend their life at the complaint department.

3. Was going to the gym but decided to lie down with a package of Pepperidge Farm white chocolate macadamia nut cookies instead. Anyone got a problem with that?

2. Just got back from the gym. Thought I worked my butt off, looked back. Its still there.

1. Today's thought: I signed up for an exercise class and was told to wear loose fitting clothing. If I HAD any loose fitting clothing, I wouldn't have signed up to begin with.

Mitch’s Twitter Tweets for his Tweeps. (Top 25)

25. I’ve had so many save the date magnets on my fridge the last year that a compass doesn't function properly in the kitchen anymore

24. Just ran 5 miles on the treadmill and my mom is now making shrimp and grits..I cant win.. Im more frustrated than an Amish Electrician

23. In Krystals. Only one here. No one else even in parking lot. "Sir don't forget to take your # to the table. Don't want to mix up ur order"??

22. Don't you hate when you butt dial someone you really never meant to call again? you just pray they don’t call back...

21. I know she’s older than me by like 50 yrs but id marry that woman tomorrow..Paula Deen Goddard..sounds good

20. Elizabeth Hurley getting divorced bc of alleged affair with cricket player..btw...where do I sign up for cricket lessons???

19. its been 3 days since Maria Sharapova got engaged..she still hasn't called me to say sorry or give an explanation..maybe today

18. Taking time off for 2 weeks starting next Monday.. That means this week will be busier than a funeral home fan in July

17. I witnessed a grown man at lunch put his cup under each variety of soda at the fountain today mixing it all..I did that at 5..grow up dude

16. Willie Nelson arrested because he possessed marijuana...In other breaking news the male and female anatomies are different

15. Was writing a sympathy card & my words were genius. Then I realized I was writing the lyrics to "hold my hand" by Hootie & the blowfish.

14. Do people with multiple personalities have multiple twitter accounts??...I think someone like that would be interesting to follow...

13. Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?

12. If you are overweight please don't wear tight clothes that are too small for you. Sincerely, Mitchell C. Goddard

11. picking up dry cleaning..I love how the little lady always calls me " midder mitchson"

10. It's so cold in Atlanta that the local flasher was caught "describing" himself to women...

9. Laundry is all fun and games until you throw a $150 sweater in the dryer...I may actually have to consider marriage now..

8. Pulling for utah over Boise state. Have no idea why. I care for neither

7. every group of friends eventually has a Yoko Ono...a gf that breaks up the band..changing your buddy and distancing him from the group

6. "Money doesn't buy happiness? It buys a wave runner. Ever seen a sad person on a wave runner" - Daniel Tosh

5. For the record I suck at bowling but if I was good at bowling I'd be a loser. So catch 22

4. does everyone's office have that one weird person thats just out there?? that everyone talks about?? If you said no you may be that person..

3. Is it bad that I jumped up like I'd won bingo when they called my order number at zaxbys?

2. Just heard an awful husband wife fight at the gas stations...the kids were in the car..even I was embarrassed..reason 7,870 I'm a picky dater

1. I'd like to know the series of events leading up to the first guy discovering cows had milk in them

My Year in Review - 2010

2010-12-30T11:17:00.008-05:00

Usually this time of year I give you my blog year in review, where I remind you of certain blogs and bestow some year-end awards from my travels. Since I haven’t blogged much at all in 2010, I thought it would be fun to bestow a few awards from places or people I definitely would have written about had I been blogging.

2010 was a very busy year for me but I did stop to smell the roses along the way.

The "way", by the way, consisted of a whole lot of traveling - including about 40 round trip air trips and another 30,000 miles or so in my car.

Let’s see - I made six trips to New York City, five on business and one wonderful weekend with my wife to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Speaking of NY and business trips, I also visited Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester, Binghamton, Cooperstown and many other upstate NY towns in between.

I visited the great state of Texas seven times. That means I had fourteen rides and interesting conversations with Jim Toney, my friend and driver in Houston for the past six years or so.

Then there were four trips to Indiana, three trips to Maine, three to Ohio, a couple to New Hampshire, Michigan, Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina, Florida, Pennsylvania and Virginia. I also made a trip to Colorado, West Virginia, Vermont, and Illinois. And there were many windshield miles traveling in Georgia.

I also found myself in Massachusetts (not on business)and took a day off to find the graves of my ancestors. That story deserves a blog on its own and it will get what it deserves.

I had a lot of early mornings, late nights, airport time, relationship building time and meetings and more meetings. But not much writing time.

The traveling for 2010 ended for me on Thursday December 2nd, when I stepped in a hole on our deck and almost broke my neck. That rhymed, didn’t it? I actually am one day short of a month removed from that accident and still not over it.

But the accident has given me time to count trips, reflect and more importantly, share some roses I smelled along the way.

So here are a few “roses” I would have blogged about had I been blogging in 2010...and the resulting awards.

QUALITY TIME OF THE YEAR: Most definitely that happened in April when my three adult sons and I spent the weekend at Lake Oconee, GA to play golf and be together. Just me and my three boys. The weather ended up not too good for golf but perfect for father-son fellowship. We played golf anyway, reminisced about days long gone, laughed a lot, ate well and I was reminded how proud I am of all three of my sons.

CHILL BUMP MOMENT OF THE YEAR: Hands down this was the moment I walked up to Bryant the Shoeshine Man at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta and gave him a copy of “The Legacy of Eulan Brown.” He said he remembered the conversation we had months earlier when he was shining my shoes, but he had no idea his story was now published in a book. I knew at that moment the book was worth all the effort. When I walked away, Bryant had tears in his eyes. I had chill bumps running up and down my spine... and most importantly of all, a new friend.

BEST TOWN OF THE YEAR: Keene NH is a beautiful town and I was not even there when the leaves were changing or during their huge annual pumpkin festival. The downtown area is full of stores and restaurants that are bustling with business. The buildings are well maintained and not even close to what you see in most downtowns were buildings are falling apart and shopping takes place in malls and strip malls outside of town. My visit was like a trip back in time to the sixties and it felt good. Really good. I also discovered it is perfectly legal for ladies to go to the park at 2PM on Wednesday and get topless. I was there on a Wednesday and I made sure to ride by the city park but nobody was there but me. I was told it was too cold to be topless that time of year. Hopefully I can go back in the summer months one day.

MOST BEAUTIFUL SIGHT OF THE YEAR: This is a tie. I cannot choose between the two but I asked my co-worker to stop the car when we were driving through Orono ME so I could take a picture of the Stillwater River. Orono is home of the University of Maine. I learned that the Stillwater River is a branch of the Penobscot River. I was reminded that day that God really is a genius. Always has been.

The other breathtaking award winning sight was when I stood on the bridge and looked at Niagara Falls. I was in Buffalo on business but I could not leave without making the drive out to this true wonder of the world. I had never been there. And maybe I’ll never go back. But it is one beautiful example of God’s incredible creation. Simply amazing.

MOST QUAINT TOWN OF THE YEAR: This has to be Townshend VT. Although we had to actually drive on a dirt road to get there, it didn’t take me but a moment to realize I was in the make believe town of Redbud, from Chevy Chase’s movie, “Funny Farm.” I recognized the familiar places from the movie that was filmed there. I’m not sure what people do there to make a living but it may be a great place to retire. I know that because not many people die there. I also received the movie as a Christmas gift.

WEDDINGS OF THE YEAR: There were three. All were different and all were beautiful. The first took place in early May in a beautiful setting in the north Georgia mountains. The daughter of a life long friend married the son of a life long friend. I helped officiate at the wedding. I am not legal (an ordained minister also participated) but I have actually done several of these in my life - probably the number is in double digits. Doing weddings is not my thing but sometimes you just step up and do what you have been honored to be asked to do for folks that mean a whole lot to you.

The second wedding was another wedding for the ages. My niece , my sister’s daughter, was married in Charleston. There is no way i can describe the elegance of this wedding and the surrounding festivities. Since I can’t describe it, you can click here to see a highlight video of the festivities. For you who like beautiful weddings, it will be worth six minutes of your time to see it.

The last and 3rd wedding I attended was for a nephew, my wife’s sister’s son. This was a smaller affair but a real spiritual experience. To see a man and woman come together from different parts of the country and to see a family from Connecticut come together with a family from Georgia - well it was just a special thing. Although the two families are from different parts of the country, they share a common bond. The bond is their faith and if there was ever a marriage built on a solid foundation, it would be this one.

BEST RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR: Raffaele Restaurant in NYC wins that award. This Italian restaurant located on 1st Street beats them all. The atmosphere was incredible and the food was past incredible. There are real benefits to hanging with true New Yorkers. They definitely know the places to eat. If you are in NYC, I recommend you making it your business to eat there.

BREATHTAKING MEAL OF THE YEAR: We had dinner on the outside patio of the Otesaga Resort Hotel overlooking Blackbird Bay in Cooperstown NY. My brother and I visited Cooperstown years ago and visited the Baseball Hall of Fame. But we missed this. I’m sure the meal was good that night but I really don’t remember the food. What I do remember is the view and the overwhelming reminder of God’s handiwork.

IBS MOMENT OF THE YEAR: Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a dreaded disease that most don’t like to talk about. I have suffered from it for years and I could write a book on my experiences brought about by my calamities from IBS. But the experience on the night of Dec 1 may top them all. I landed in Atlanta about 10PM. I was upgraded on the flight back from Maine and they fed me well on the return flight - including a chicken sandwich and a bowl of fruit. When I came off the plane I had one thing on my mind - and that was to get to the Men’s room. I evidently passed a restroom right after my gate because it took me a while to find one. I was not running through the airport but I was walking briskly. I was really in a difficult place when I finally entered the restroom. I ran into a stall, pulling my suitcase in the stall with me and closed the door. Maybe you’ve never done it but it’s not easy to fit a 6’5” man and a suitcase in a restroom stall. I dropped my pants and was about to sit down when I looked down to realize the seat was wet ...and not with water. I jumped up, turned around and grabbed some paper and proceeded to wipe the toilet seat. I’m not sure how it happened but I do know it happened very fast. I couldn’t help it. You IBS sufferers will understand. I crapped on my suitcase.

LONG WEEKEND OF THE YEAR: My wife and I celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary in New York City in early July. We stayed at the famous Waldorf Astoria on Park Avenue in the middle of Manhattan. The hotel is not what it once was but neither are we. But we had a blast. We went to several Broadway shows and ate at all the places highly recommended to us. Extravagant? Maybe. But when you have been married to an extravagant lady for 33 years, one weekend of extravagancy is a small price to pay.

PLEASANT SURPRISE OF THE YEAR: This happened at our family beach trip in St Augustine FL in June. One of our daughter in laws was nauseated one morning and our oldest son decided to go to the drug store to get a pregnancy test. Although she hadn’t studied for this particular pop quiz, she passed anyway. We later discovered that Anna Kate will have a little sister. God willing, Holly will present the newest addition to our family in early February. It doesn’t get much pleasanter than that.

FAVORITE NIGHT OF THE YEAR: Most definitely it was Friday night. That was not only the night I knew I would be home with my wife from wherever I was traveling, but it was also “Taylor” night at our house. Our granddaughter, Taylor, spends the night with us every Friday night. It is a standing date. And it is a day I look forward to every week. We are well aware there will be a time when spending the night with her Papa and Meme won’t be at the top of Taylor’s list of things to do. But right now it is. And we are seizing those moments and creating memories for a little girl that might just last her a lifetime.

EULAN BROWN AWARD: This goes to a lady I met in Keene, NH by the name of Cassandra McNabb. Cassandra not only works full time as a funeral director but she is blind. She wins the Eulan Brown Award because she has chosen to overcome the obstacles in her life that would keep her in the ditch and keep her from moving forward with life. And yes, she will get a plaque from me that will be worthy to hang on her wall ...for others to see.

PROUDEST MOMENT OF THE YEAR: As a fourth generation funeral director, I could not have been more proud when my middle son, John, passed his national boards and became a fifth generation Goddard in the funeral profession. Edward A. Goddard, George H. Goddard, Edward M. Goddard all had to fidget a little in their graves. John’s Uncle Mac and this dad beamed with pride. We threw him a party and presented John with a framed picture consisting of six Goddard undertakers. John’s portrait was included in that framed picture.

GREATEST LESSON OF THE YEAR: I learned this lesson again on Thursday morning December 2. In one moment I was laughing and talking on the phone. The next moment I was lying on our deck and having trouble getting my breath. It was a very hard fall for a 56 year old man. I was reminded a few hours later that our circumstances can change on a dime. One minute I was fine. The next I couldn’t get myself off the bed and could not even take a step.

The lesson is to refuse to take the blessings I enjoy today for granted. Everything may change at a blink of an eye. My real opportunity is to enjoy the moment while it is mine.

And that, my friend, is exactly what I intend to do and it is one of the greatest lessons of life.

I wish you all a one day at a time, moment by moment, prosperous life in 2011.

Come, Gone and Captured

2010-12-28T21:08:00.000-05:00

Christmas 2010 has come and gone. When you are our age, the Christmas gatherings get more and more important each year. This year we had all three of our boys and their wives and our two grandbaby girls at our house on Christmas day.

If life gets better than that, I don’t think I’ve been there.

The weekend before Christmas, we spent time with some of Kathy’s family here. The day after Christmas, we went over to my sister’s in Milledgeville GA for the Goddard gathering.

The good news for generations to come is I captured the weekend on a short video. The bad news for you blog readers is I saved it for generations to come on this blog and you get to view it.

If you want.

Christmas has come, gone and has now been captured.

Forever.

Goddard Christmas 2010 from Bruce Goddard on Vimeo.

Christmas Memories

2010-12-16T21:51:00.001-05:00

It is easy for me to get teary eyed this time of year listening to Christmas music. Songs like “Chestnut Roasting on an Open Fire” and “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” sure do make me think of my parents and wonderful times of the past.

There is no way I can begin to tell you how fortunate I was to have parents like I had. The Christmas season somehow causes me to appreciate them a little extra.

When I was a kid, I worked at my daddy’s store. That would be the store that sold “everything from Evinrude motors to hoop cheese.” Christmas Eve was the busiest day of the year. Not only were the townspeople buying groceries the day before Christmas but they would also come by to pick up their “Santa Claus” they either had on “layaway” or had just left at the store to hide from their kids. We had tons of bicycles, wagons, guns, fishing equipment and who knows what else at the store waiting to be picked up.

We tried to close by 6PM but we never got out of there by then. When we did close, we would head home and then as a family go to the Reynolds Methodist Church to take communion. All the families in the church did the same. The church was open for several hours on Christmas Eve and the minister would stay there to serve families as they came in. There would usually be another family taking communion when we arrived. We would sit in the pews in silence and wait for the other family to finish. We would quietly hug the family leaving, wish them a Merry Christmas and then our family, as a group would kneel at the alter and take communion.

Actually this tradition continued long after I was a kid. Our family took communion together at the Methodist church every year until my parents died.

After the brief communion service, we would head home and have a feast. I’m not talking about a meat and three either. It was a feast. My mama was a very talented lady and cooking was one of her best talents.

My lord she could cook.

We had fun eating too. As you might imagine, we would carry on a little foolishness at the table.

After the meal ( the crowd got bigger and bigger as grandchildren came on the scene), we would gather in the living room to open presents.

Then the stories would begin. Goddard men would sit in front of a Goddard wife, not necessarily his wife, so their head could get scratched.

In later years, grandchildren would be mesmerized by the stories. Goddard men getting their head scratched or shoulders rubbed while telling stories.

People pay me good money to tell those stories these days.

My mom and dad had stories of their own. But as they got older, they mainly just sat back, listened and laughed at the people they had created.

I think the best memories of my life are from Christmas’ past.

I love meeting folks. I am very fortunate to have so many friends and I love every one of them. I love what I get to do everyday to make a living, I love all the speaking engagements.

But nothing, and I mean nothing compares to the time I get to spend with my family,

During the next two weeks, I plan on doing a lot of that.

I hope you do the same.

Enjoy the Moment

2010-12-05T22:03:00.006-05:00

I flew in from Portland ME last Wednesday evening from a relatively short business trip. I won’t tell you what happened in the Atlanta airport when I landed about 9PM but I will tell you it has been safely placed in my IBS toolbox to be used at the appointed time.

My sweet wife was awake when I finally arrived home about midnight. She laughed at my latest story. She hears all my stories before they go public.

Well, at least most of them.

I had noticed when I was driving home the indicator “indicated” I had low tire pressure in my right front tire. My plan was to stop on the way to the office Thursday morning to get the tire checked.

My plans got changed.

As usual, I had several phone conversations before I left the house that morning. In fact, I kept talking and listening on my cell phone as I was getting ready to walk out of the house. When I let our little dog out the back door, I noticed a stray dog on our back porch. My first thought was our gate could be open so I followed our “Lucy” and the stray dog out onto the deck. Just wanted to make sure Lucy was safe and secure in our fenced in backyard before I left for the office.

A few seconds later I was dazed, lying on the deck in agony having trouble getting my breath and looking for my cell phone so I could call 911.

My goodness things can change in a moment.

When we moved into this house in 2003, there was a tree in the middle of our deck. We eventually had the tree removed and had planned eventually on having the hole in our deck covered. For some stupid reason, we never did.

But we will now.

I was not texting and driving (that is illegal) but I was talking and walking and looking ahead at the gate where the two dogs were headed so I could see if it was open. I stepped right into the hole on the deck that is about 4 feet off the ground.

Not a smart thing for a 56 year old gray headed fellow to do. Or anybody else for that matter.

Since Thursday I have been to a Med Stop and an Orthopedist and have attempted to sleep in a reclining chair at night. My travel has been limited to going to the restroom for the past four days and those trips have been an ordeal. My wife stayed home from school to look after me. When you cannot pull your pants up by yourself, you need a little help from a trustworthy source.

Bottom line I have bruised ribs on my right side and a damaged left knee. I learned when you are hurting on both sides of your body, your compensators do not compensate very well.

The good news is I am on the mend. (I am writing this). Although I still moan and groan when I try to get out of the chair, I can do it on my own. I can even put my pants on by myself - although it takes a few minutes to do so. I went from two crutches, to one crutch and now I just keep them in sight just in case.

I have a MRI scheduled in a couple of days to see how much damage I did to my knee but whatever the outcome, I’ll be fine.

I was reminded again that my present circumstances can change in an instant. I am one of the fortunate ones. I will soon be back to normal or very close to where I was on Thursday morning before I walked out on the deck. Some never get back to the circumstances they once enjoyed.

We just never know what the next day will bring.

And that is why, my friend, we should enjoy the moment.

What's Your Excuse?

2010-12-01T18:41:00.002-05:00

A few months ago I visited the beautiful town of Keene, New Hampshire. If you have never been there, I highly suggest getting it on your bucket list. Keene is a beautiful place of about 25,000 residents located on the western side of New Hampshire. I don’t think I have ever visited a town where I was more impressed.

The town is quaint. The people are nice. They quickly open their arms to southern talking guys like me. I noticed that from the receptionist at the hotel. I noticed it at the local restaurant where I had breakfast. I noticed it from the guy who worked for the city I stopped on the street to ask a few questions about his incredible town.

I also noticed it at the local funeral home I visited.

If you walk in a place in New England and you are met at the door by a gal from Jackson, TN, she pretty much has your undivided attention.

As you might imagine, my first question was how in the world did a girl from Tennessee end up living and working in New Hampshire?

She begin telling me her story. She graduated from mortuary college in Nashville and was having a difficult time finding a job. She had put her resume out and was frustrated that nobody would hire her. Although she graduated at the top of her class. she essentially gave up. She decided she had made a huge mistake thinking she could enter the funeral profession. She sadly began to look for other ways to make a living.

Out of the clear blue Cassandra got a call from Bob Diluzio in Keene. He had received her resume and a strong recommendation from a friend in the industry over the telephone. Bob flew Cassandra to New Hampshire to meet her and for her to meet them.

There was one small item that Bob’s friend had not mentioned. And Cassandra never mentioned it to me when she was telling me her story.

Cassandra is blind.

Bob’s first response was a feeling of devastation. He had pretty much offered a job to someone to work as a funeral director and embalmer in his funeral home who was blind. What is the world should he do?

Well Bob proved my point about the special people in Keene, NH. He and his wife, Linda, hired her and they took her under their wing. The blind girl from the little town between Nashville and Memphis became not only their employee - but became like one of their children.

Cassandra has done well. In fact she has done really well.

She can do anything any other licensed person in this industry can do - except drive. But licensed drivers are everywhere. Bob and LInda invested their lives in her and the investment has payed off. The dividends are now coming in.

Cassandra is the president of the state blind association. She has created relationships with people Bob and Linda could have never reached.

Bob and Linda and their staff welcomed her and trained her. The special community of Keene welcomed her with open arms. The local ambulance service of some 35 employees really welcomed her. She cooks Thanksgiving dinner for them every year.

She took me on a tour of their facility, walked in every room, pointed out things in the room and gave me a lesson in the history of the funeral home.

The most interesting and impressive part to me was she never mentioned she was blind. Not one time. She simply does not feel sorry for herself.

Cassandra has chosen not to use her blindness as an excuse.

I was complaining for not getting enough sleep last night.

By the way, what’s your excuse?

Can't Make This Stuff Up

2010-11-30T22:36:00.001-05:00

If I had been blogging on September 2, 2010, I would have definitely told this story. Absolutely no doubt about it.

I was visiting in the great state of Alabama when my friend casually told me about this. I can’t say I was just laughing when she told me the story. It was much more.

There is a laughter that can bring tears you know.

My friend’s husband, Marty, had gotten off work after a hard day and stopped by the local Hardees to get a bite to eat. He got his cheeseburger, fries and diet coke and took his tray to a table. As an afterthought he decided he needed to go to the restroom.

Marty placed his truck keys on his tray next to his food and placed the tray on the table and headed to the men’s room.

When he returned he couldn’t believe an old man was sitting at the table eating his food.

The old man, for your information, was probably my age because my friend and her husband are much younger.

Marty confronted the old man that was probably my age and told him he was eating his food. The bewildered man told Marty he was mistaken. My friend said there was no way Marty was going to let this man eat the food he had just purchased. She said you would just have to know Marty.

After some arguing back and forth, Marty finally grabbed the half eaten hamburger off the man’s plate. The old man jumped up and told Marty if he wanted the food that bad he could have it.

The old man stormed out of the restaurant.

As the old man was leaving, Marty noticed a uneaten burger, fries and coke on a tray on another table.

He also noticed his truck keys were next to the plate.

Marty ran out of the restaurant and ran across the parking lot to try to catch the man to apologize.

The man saw Marty running towards him and floored the accelerator to get out of the parking lot and away.

I suppose the poor old man was thinking, “If this idiot thinks I was eating his food he probably thinks this is his automobile!”

I can’t make this stuff up folks.

I Should Be Shining His Shoes

2010-11-29T18:53:00.001-05:00

I have come to the realization that I kinda quit blogging about the time the Eulan Brown book came out. There was also a major change in my work world about the same time - which resulted in more traveling.

That would actually be a whole lot more traveling.

In fact I am writing this on a very dreary Monday evening from the Delta Sky Club on Concourse A at the Atlanta Airport awaiting my ride to New England.

For some of you who wouldn’t know, I replaced the writing with Twitter and Facebook - which allows me to connect with a bunch of folks on the run. It only takes a few seconds to grab my I-Phone and Tweet. It takes longer to sit down to write an article.

But I have missed the writing. It is therapy for me. So I supposed what I have really missed is the therapy.

When I got to the airport tonight, I visited with the man I call Bryant the Shoeshine Man. Bryant and I have become friends. Our friendship began the first time I met him on May 1, 2007. I learned enough about him while he was shining my shoes that day to write about him on this blog. Our friendship grew when I showed up 2 1/2 years later with a copy of The Legacy of Eulan Brown and showed him he was in it. Since then, I have visited with him many times and sent him several copies of the book so he could share with his family and friends. Trust me, he didn’t pay for the books either.

For some reason I have a hard time asking him to shine my shoes these days. I feel like I should be shining his shoes.

My visit today with Bryant reminded me how easy it is to miss the special people God puts in our path.

My visit also inspired me to start looking for them again.

Honesty Today

2010-03-07T15:28:00.002-05:00

For you parents who are not in the know, there is a very popular song out there that your kids are listening and groovin to called, "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus. I just found out that Miley doesn't have one thing on Tiffany Avery from Southside Baptist Church of Warner Robins, Ga.

Tiffany is featured in the video below produced by Southside as part of the Fusion ministry. Fusion is a ministry to elementary school kids.

Same music as Miley's song but much better lyrics.

I don't have any elementary school kids in my house but if I did, I would want them right in the middle of this.

A Brand New Boyfriend & a Brand New Blog

2010-01-08T06:34:00.010-05:00

My wife and I had the pleasure of raising three boys. We had a couple of girls who lived with us for a period of time that are now like our daughters. But when the boys started to grow up, they started to bring other girls home with them. And eventually they each married and now we have three beautiful daughters in law. And on top of that, we have been blessed with two incredibly gorgeous grandbaby girls. We even have a girl dog.

Now we have girls everywhere. Thankfully for her, my wife is not outnumbered anymore. But the fact remains; I never had the privilege or responsibility of raising daughters.

But if I had a teenage daughter in 2010, I am absolutely certain I would introduce her to Kristin Bolt. Kristin is a 20 year old college senior. And she is wise beyond her years.

Kristin already understands what it takes most girls a lifetime to figure out. And that is a teenage girl’s number one desire is to be wanted. They have a God given desire for someone to tell them they are beautiful and to be accepted.

She also knows that most teenage girls look to the wrong places to get those needs met.

Taylor Swift makes the same point in her hit song, Fifteen: “When you’re fifteen and somebody tells you they love you, you’re gonna believe them.” Taylor goes on in that song to say when you’re fifteen you are experiencing life before you know who you will be.

And a young well intentioned and well-raised girl can make wrong decisions looking for love and acceptance in the wrong places. Those decisions can alter her life forever.

So this 20 year old college senior has a passion to make a difference in the lives of teenage girls. She says to any teenage girl who will listen that she is about to “spend 139 blogs (or however long it takes) telling you how beautiful you are in God’s eyes and how His love for you transforms you so that the whole world can see and want to know Him too.”

Kristin understands that the basic need to be loved and accepted is not met in another human being or things others are doing but only in God. And she knows when that light turns on in a young girl’s head and heart, it will never go out. And healthy relationships can then begin.

In fact, a little bird told me this morning that Kristin has a brand new boyfriend. He is one lucky dog. But she also has a brand new blog.

If I had a teenage girl I would get her clicking on http://kristinbolt.blogspot.com before the sun goes down.

Just sayin.

Thanks for the Feedback

2010-01-06T21:21:00.009-05:00

I thought it would be good to give you an update on what’s happening with the new book, The Legacy of Eulan Brown, and share some of the feedback.

For starters, the new book has been ranked in the top ten books of 2009 in Houston Home Journal Columnist Larry Walker’s annual book review. Mr. Walker is a Perry GA lawyer and former long time state representative who also happens to be an avid reader. He writes a weekly column for the Houston Home Journal and once a year he does a book review column on the books he reads in a year, which I understand is in the neighborhood of 40 books. That article will appear in the Houston Home Journal on Saturday January 9th. Although I have seen the article, I won’t spoil it and post it here before it is published but I will tell you Larry Walker ranked The Legacy of Eulan Brown #2.

I think Eulan Brown would be proud.

I have also received emails and phone calls from friends who have read the book. I know there is a possibility they are just being nice. Who would call or write a friend and tell them they didn’t like their book? But in spite of that possibility, some of the calls and emails have brought tears to my eyes.

I am beginning to see the potential of lessons learned from a Grit newspaper delivery boy illustrated by simple real life stories touching a whole lot of folks all across the country. Yep, that brings tears to my eyes.

"Bruce, thanks so much for the package. we received it in the mail saturday and i could not put it down."

"I'm almost done!! It is absolutely wonderful!! I can't put it down!"

"There sat a man with Cerebral Palsy in a wheelchair. I though 'Great!' sarcastically. As I followed him back to his cubicle, I remembered what you said in your new book about God putting people in our lives, and about peeling back the onion. So I decided to have a better attitude. To make the story short, by the end, he and I were having a good conversation…. I bet most people don't want to even get in the cubicle with him, much less treat him like a human being…. I decided that was a good time to tell him about your book and wrote down the website and my email address. I can see several of your lessons in that encounter. If I hadn't read some of your book the night before, it probably would have turned out much differently. Who knows, maybe I made a new friend."

"I sat down Christmas night and read the whole book. Couldn't put it down. It meant even more to me since I knew so many of the people either personally or through you. I will want to get some additional copies so I will be in touch."

For me it was what I needed to read before Christmas. Before I even opened it up I knew that there were going to be the fond memories of times shared together. I laughed and shed a few tears."

"To all my friends: I just finished an awesome inspirational book I think all of you should check out...it is called The Legacy of Eulan Brown. I thought we had a bad year with my dad's illness & my husband's accident but thank God they are both still here & the lessons that were learned in all of it!! Thanks so much Bruce, I laughed, thought & cried!!"

"As I read through the book, I couldn't wait to email you and tell you about all the wonderful feelings I would get as I read about the many different people you wrote about that touched your life."

"Your book made me laugh, think, and cry. I hope that now, after reading it, I can laugh a little more, think a little more, and cry a little more each day."

"I don't know when I've been so touched as I was the other day when I received my autographed copy of your latest book."

"Just finished your book today and wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed it. I learned so much about you and your family and your great faith and attitude about life."

"Every story I finished, I either was laughing or had tears running down my cheek."

"Just finished your book- and I felt compelled to tell you thanks for sharing your amazing insight with the world. I shed many tears, of regret, and of joy- you have an amazing God-given gift to put into words the stories of your heart."

"What you said about Jessie Mae really literally jumped out and grabbed me by the throat- 'the evidence of love is humility.' It also reminded me of the verse in Micah (6:8)- 'He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.' Thank you again for inspiring a broken, yet redeemed man-there may yet be hope for me..and for those who walk behind us. May we always walk with humility..."

"Really enjoying Bruce's book. Brings back many memories of living in a small town and the people that were important to you."

"WONDERFUL!!!!!! Was given a copy of your new book for Christmas and just wanted you to know that I thoroughly enjoyed. You have such a way with words and can certainly "make me recall" some wonderful memories of growing up in small town Georgia."

"It is a goodie! Gave it to my neighbor after I finished and she has already ordered View from a Hearse to follow up!"

The Legacy of Eulan Brown is available at www.brucegoddard.com or can be purchased locally at the following locations:

Taylor County Drugs
Reynolds, GA

Smith Pharmacy
Butler, GA

Avera Drugs
Ft. Valley, GA

Gottwals Books
1806 Russell Parkway
Warner Robins, GA

Gottwals Books
331 GA Hwy 49
Byron, GA

Perry Bookstore
811 Carroll St.
Perry, GA

Golden Bough Books
371 Cotton Ave
Macon, GA

Santa Visits our House

2009-12-24T19:27:00.002-05:00

Santa made a surprise visit to our house the night before Christmas Eve. He told me he was checking out the neighborhood for Christmas Eve run. Check out this video.

Finally!

2009-12-10T07:17:00.003-05:00

Finally!

We are now ready to begin receiving pre-orders for my new book, “The Legacy of Eulan Brown.” Several local folks have asked me if they should order online or if they will be able to purchase it locally from me.

If you want the book for a Christmas gift, the safest way is to order online.

We have been given a date from the printer that we will receive a limited number of copies of the book on December 18th. They will be shipped to the publisher in Atlanta. My plan is to be there with pen in hand to sign copies for those who have pre-ordered and get them mailed out immediately. If the books arrive on the 18th, and we have been told they will, you will receive them by Christmas. The people who have pre-ordered will be my first priority.

We are expecting the remainder of the books to be received within the next week of the first shipment. We are not sure we will receive those books in time for Christmas.

I have not set up a local book signing yet because of the unknown of 1) how many books I will have available after the pre-orders are filled, and 2) we don’t have an exact date of shipment of the remainder of the books.

So that is the latest.

The book is in hardback and you can pre-order at www.brucegoddard.com. If you don’t feel comfortable ordering online, there is information there about other options.

The following is a power point I put together for a recent presentation that shows the lessons of Eulan Brown with a sampling of stories you will find in the book that illustrate those lessons.

Merry Christmas!

The Legacy of Eulan Brown

2009-12-02T22:06:00.003-05:00

As most of you probably know by now, we are very close to releasing a new book entitled, “The Legacy of Eulan Brown.” If you have been a reader of this blog the last three years, you will recognize much of the content of the book. I have made an attempt to gather and organize some of the stuff I’ve written to illustrate the life lessons from a man who probably didn’t think his life counted for much.

I have no idea how the book will be received but I do know the lessons he unknowingly taught me are real. And my hope is the lessons can become real to the folks who read the book.

The book is now at the printer in Minnesota. We are expecting them (hardback edition) to be shipped in a couple of weeks in time for you to consider it for a last minute Christmas gift. . There will be updates on Twitter and Facebook as well as an announcement as to how to actually get the book. Of course, you will be able to get the book online, but I am also hoping to have a release party where I will talk about the book and do some selected readings and do a book signing. We are trying to figure all that out. If you have any ideas, please let me know.

My lifelong friend and Reynolds native, Jimmy Childre, Jr,, honored me by writing the Foreword to the book and did an exceptional job. Jimmy has plenty of credentials to take on such as task, not the least of which is the fact that we have been close friends for 55 years. The following is an excerpt from Jimmy’s Foreword:

Bruce’s demanding travel schedule, for both his corporate work and his numerous public speaking engagements, offers him many opportunities to meet new people. He seems to always position himself for that unique personal encounter where he comes away touched by someone’s story and then he shares it through his blogs, speeches and books. Bruce doesn’t seek out the rich and famous, although from time to time he may give us an unexpected view of them. He more often sees the special qualities of the unnoticed people and then effortlessly brings them into our lives where we can benefit from the lessons learned through his observations.

In this book, Bruce compiles stories about people he has met in his travels as well as people who grew up in Reynolds. One of those people is Eulan Brown. He was physically challenged and made a very meager living selling Grit newspapers from his bicycle. He was always wrecking his bicycle in a ditch or against a curb, spilling the newspapers from his basket and finding himself on the ground. As young boys, we would point and laugh while he got up, gathered his newspapers, and brushed himself off in an awkward kind of way to continue on his journey. This continued day after day and year after year.

Through Bruce’s God given gift of seeing what the rest of us can’t see, he has written The Legacy of Eulan Brown. With his talent for storytelling, he uses the stories to illustrate the lessons he observed from Eulan Brown, a man that essentially went unnoticed except when he failed.

Bruce’s writing and speeches have inspired thousands of people and I am confident many more are about to be inspired as a result of this book. Bruce’s unique view gained from being a funeral director in the little town of Reynolds, coupled with his keen sense of humor and sincere appreciation of life formed the perfect combination for what he accomplishes in this book.

Please stay tuned. I’ll keep you posted.

"God Won't Let It Rain on my Wedding"

2009-09-21T16:32:00.005-04:00

The wedding took place on Saturday September 19. Luke and Drew were married on the grounds of the American Camellia Society near Fort Valley, GA exactly the way Drew had dreamed it and planned it.

I’m sure I am biased but if you rate the beauty of weddings on a scale of 1 to 10, this one would be at least a 15.

I asked Drew when they first starting planning an “outside” wedding if she was sure she wanted to go through the added stress of worrying about whether it would rain on her wedding.

Her response was quick and to the point, “God won’t let it rain on my wedding.”

As their day approached and the heavy rain approached with it, I was hoping her faith would be enough. In fact, I went out and bought a dozen or so umbrellas just in case.

I wasted my money.

I checked the weather radar an hour before the wedding. There were storms all over middle Georgia but they were just north of the American Camellia Society.

After the reception that night I followed the limo carrying Luke and Drew back to her parents’ house. They were stopping there to change clothes and grab their luggage to continue on to Atlanta.

Afterwards I followed the limo out of their subdivision. The limo turned left and I turned right. The thought I had at that moment was God didn’t let it rain on their wedding.

I had hardly processed that thought when the rain began to pour down.

I can tell you it’s difficult to drive in the pouring rain when you have tears in your eyes.

The video below was shown at their wedding rehearsal dinner. Hope you enjoy!

Luke and Drew Rehearsal from Bruce Goddard on Vimeo.

Back Sooner or Later

2009-08-09T22:17:00.005-04:00

In case you are wondering where I've been, I thought I better give you an update.

Or maybe at least an excuse.

My plan is to release my next book before Christmas. Although much of it is already written, I finally got my inspiration on how to put it together.

But for that to happen, I am having to spend much of my blog time on book time.

But I'll be back... sooner or later.

Sooner... every now and then.

Later... with a vengeance.

Please stay tuned.

He Always Has a Plan

2009-08-01T20:33:00.008-04:00

Chalk one up for the good guys.

Or good gal in this case.

Actually you can chalk one up for a good God who came through just in the nick of time for one gorgeous single southern belle by the name of Cindy Comperry.

Cindy graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1995 with a communication degree, which made sense to me since her dad is a professional “communicator “in the form of a Methodist minister. Not long after her graduation, Cindy landed a job with the American Cancer Society in Nashville and used her education in a wonderful way as she worked to raised funds for such a worthy cause.

After about nine years of fund raising for the ACS, Cindy changed careers and began working as Community Promotions Director for Journal Communications. This job was right up her alley and she found herself traveling to other parts of the country. She was a happy as a lark and sailing right on through life with the wind at her back.

Until about six months ago.

Cindy went in to work one winter day and found out her job had been eliminated. She became another victim of the economic train wreck of our good ole’ US of A. Not a comfortable position for a young single female who had spent the last 14 years making her own living.

The good news is Cindy did not panic. She corresponded with her network of friends and business associates looking for good advice.

Her Methodist upbringing didn’t hurt either because she also spent a great deal of time corresponding with her heavenly network.

Her verse for the past six months was from Hebrews 1. “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

Cindy was sure of what she hoped for. And though she will freely admit she worried and wavered a few times about being certain of what she could not see, she kept the faith.

And she waited.

And prayed.

And others waited and prayed with her.

Today Cindy’s faith is much stronger than it has ever been. And her faith is stronger than it would have been if she had not gone through six months without a job.

The truth is when Cindy was wavering God was not wavering. He had a plan all the time and at just the right time He would show up.

Her unemployment checks were scheduled to end next week.

On Friday Cindy accepted a job doing what she has been training to do for the last 14 years.

Talk about timing.

Mind you, Cindy did not know she had been in training for this new job... but God did.

Even when it seems the walls are coming down and our world is falling apart, God is always in control.

He always has a plan.

And the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital will now be beneficiaries of His plan.

Yeah baby.

Life By the Tail

2009-07-23T21:17:00.004-04:00

Today was a monumental day in our household.

Our youngest, Luke, officially became a college graduate. He took his last final this morning. When his diploma arrives it will be inscribed with such lofty words as Bachelor of Arts in English.

He can talk to you intelligently about folks like Shakespeare, Eliot, Emerson, and Murray. He has learned to express himself in writing after having been forced to write dozens and dozens of papers on subjects most unread folks like me know nothing about. He has learned oral communication skills after having been forced to stand in front of classrooms and give presentations about subjects that are not easy to comprehend, much less explain.

He also has a bit of a sense of humor.

Make that a large bit.

I believe the lessons he has learned are very important and will take him far in life.

I also happen to believe if you do not develop communication skills with the ability to influence others, you will spend your entire career working for someone who can.

To be honest, I wondered a couple of years ago what in the world Luke would do with a degree in English. Today, I am wondering in great anticipation what a degree in English could do for Luke.

Additionally, in just eight short weeks, he will marry the love of his life. And trust me, he has punted way past his coverage.

He says he's taking a few days off and next week will begin his quest to become gainfully employed. I know I am biased but when someone out there eventually hires him (and they will), they will quickly discover they got themselves a prize.

Luke has life by the tail and doesn't even know it.

But I hope he does know his dad is extremely proud of him.

Five Generations on One Sofa

2009-07-19T21:48:00.010-04:00

Being in the funeral business all my life, I understand really well that life can be short. As you can imagine I’ve had a front row vantage point of some serious stuff.

Such things as children having their parents taken way before their time to be raised by someone else, parents losing children to accidents and disease and adults dying before they ever get to enjoy the privilege of being grandparents…

I could go on and on.

It all doesn’t seem fair but then again God never said life would be fair. We play with the cards we are given and we make the most out of the life we have been given.

And that ain’t a bad deal.

Sometimes families are just blessed and when I see it I can’t help but smile. Case in point is this family.

Nell Wainwright, fondly known by local folks as “Mama Nell” is the matriarch of this incredible family and pretty much the matriarch of Reynolds, GA. Mama Nell is the widow of Walter Wainwright, a prominent businessman and peach grower from Reynolds. She has always been sweeter than any peach her family has ever produced – and trust me, they grow the sweetest peaches in the land.

Her daughter is Mary Ayers who not only was in the peach business for years but also served as Mayor of our fair city for many years along with too many civic volunteer sightings to mention. Mary has the distinction of being the first female mayor of Reynolds… and she was a very good one.

Mary Nell (catch that name) is Mary’s daughter and grew up two doors down from where I grew up. The Ayers’ family moved into our neighborhood when I was a young kid and we grew up together in the backyards on Macon Street. The best looking girls in the planet came from Macon Street in Reynolds, GA and Mary Nell is a member of that club. The funny thing is there were no street signs in those days so none of us knew it was Macon Street. But all the boys knew it was a very special place.

Laurie is Mary Nell’s beautiful daughter who has a beautiful daughter of her own named Taylor. And Taylor is shown here with her mother, her grandmother, her great grandmother…. and her great-great grandmother.

When little Taylor grows up, this picture will be one of her most prized belongings.

Five generations together on one sofa.

And blessed.

Doe's Eat Place

2009-07-16T23:26:00.003-04:00

(Bentonville, AR) Being a connoisseur of fine red meat, my antenna rises when I am traveling and I hear someone recommend a great place to eat a steak.

When a second person and then a third person recommend the same establishment, I sort of make it my business to make my way there.

Doe’s Eat Place is known for their world famous steaks and tamales. I didn’t eat the tamales but two of my co-workers and I ate the biggest steak and best I think I have ever eaten.

And I’ve eaten a few.

I discovered a few interesting details about the history of this famous eating place while there.

Without going into all the details, in the early forties, the business started as an African American “Honky Tonk” in Greenville MS serving only African Americans. They had a small kitchen in the back where they prepared food for the honky tonkers. Big Doe and Mamie who worked in the kitchen developed quite a reputation for serving great tamales. A local Caucasian doctor began stopping by (at the back door) between calls to eat a delicious tamale. One day he asked “Big Doe” to cook him a steak. Big Doe cooked the good doctor a huge steak to go with the normal tamale.

The doctor was more than impressed.

The doctor began bringing his friends to join him for the great food. Being Caucasian, they were required to eat out of sight in the back of the building.

Talk about discrimination.

The business grew. Big Doe now had an African American Honky Tonk in the front and a Caucasian “Eat Place” in the back. He eventually closed down the Honky Tonk and expanded the Eat Place.

And the rest is history.

Big Doe passed away in 1987 but his Eat Place is now a chain of about 14 restaurants in such places as Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Missouri and Louisiana.

For the record, they don’t charge by the steak. They charge by the pound.

It just doesn’t get any better than Does’s Eat Place.

In the video below you will see that Frances took great care of us.

Abbi's Dad

2009-07-13T22:34:00.004-04:00

I don’t know what the rest of you good folks will be doing Saturday afternoon at 4PM EST, but I plan to be in my den tuned in to ESPN watching my high definition plasma television.

Some of you reading this in the Oklahoma City area can do better. You can show up at the finest softball facility in the land at the ASA Hall of Fame complex at 3PM your time and watch in person.

And while you are there introduce yourself to one of the members of Team USA , #11 Brian Rainwater.

Team USA will be competing against Team Canada in what has been called the “Border Battle.” Millions will be tuned in to ESPN to see slow pitch softball played at its highest level.

I’m betting on Brian Rainwater and Team USA.

Brian has several things going for him. For starters, he is an authentic Georgia Bulldog and is a former player for the University of Georgia baseball team. That already makes him in an elite club. But since college he has also played an awful lot of softball in a lot of places and in the process has become one of the elite players in the United States.

Brian, by the way, has a drop dead gorgeous wife who I love almost as much as he does. And to top it all off, he and Natalie have a little girl named Abbi, who is the cutest thing this side of the Mississippi.

Actually Brian, Natalie and Abbi are more than just my friends. They are part of our church home group and we hang out almost every Sunday night.

Every time they ride by a ball field, 5 year old Abbi always makes the comment, “Daddy, that’s where you play ball.”

This Saturday she won’t have to go to a ball field to see him play. Abbi’s dad will be playing on national television representing the Red, White and Blue.

And I don’t know who will be more proud, Natalie or Abbi….

Or me.

She Finally Caught Up With Him

2009-07-09T21:28:00.006-04:00

“She finally caught up with him,” was the caption one of her granddaughters put on this photo.

Lucy Bryan Philpott was buried this week at Andersonville National Cemetery after a courageous battle with Lymphoma. Her funeral service was held at the First Baptist Church in Reynolds, GA.

And that is exactly where it should have been held.

Lucy was the last of the children of Dr. S.H. and Louise Bryan. For many years, Dr. Bryan was the town doctor and was also a prominent farmer. He raised his four children in what was affectionately known in Reynolds as “Big House” that sits directly across the street from the Baptist church.

I couldn’t help but notice some folks who grew up in Reynolds and moved on to other places made the effort to come back home Wednesday morning to pay their respects to this magnificent lady and her family.

And maybe even to pay respects to a remarkable community that helped shape their lives.

You would have to be from a small town to understand how deep the roots of friendships grow for people who have friends whose parents were friends, whose grandparents were friends and even whose great grandparents were friends.

It becomes difficult to separate friends from family.

Lucy left Reynolds after high school to get an education. She fell in love with an Oklahoma boy who had just graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point. They married, had a family and traveled all over the world with the United States Air Force.

By the way, her husband had a rather illustrious military career. He eventually became Director of Intelligence of the U.S. Strategic Air Command and later became Vice Commander in Chief of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and a 3 Star General.

Of course they would visit her family in Reynolds every chance they got.

Sometimes their kids would spend their summers in Reynolds at “big house.” In fact many of the other Bryan grandchildren who lived in other parts of the country would also spend their summers in Reynolds. As you might imagine, the “big house” was a very active house and kind of like the Grand Central Station of Reynolds.

And the Bryan grandchildren who lived in other places became friends with all the kids in Reynolds. And lifelong generational relationships were established.

General and Mrs. Philpott, known in Reynolds as Jammie and Lucy, retired in the 70’s and built a home on the outskirts of town. General Philpott died in 1999 and was honored at Andersonville National Cemetery in the incredible way a decorated retired General should be honored.

When Lucy found out she had cancer a few years ago, she decided to sell her house and move to Virginia to be closer to her children.

She said she didn’t want to be a burden.

The retired General and his wife loved to exercise after they retired. It was a normal occurrence to see them walking through town or on the outside of town or on the golf course. Jamie always had a stick in his hand. Lucy was always about 8 paces behind him.

She had also followed him all over the world as he served our country.

But she has caught up with him now.

And when she did, an incredible era in the history of Reynolds GA ended.

This Miracle is Growing

2009-07-05T20:47:00.008-04:00

Kathy and I celebrated the 4th of July and our 32nd wedding anniversary with David and Holly and our brand new grand baby girl this weekend at their home in Roswell, GA.

Actually we haven't actually met our new grand baby yet but I did get to pat her several times. We are planning on her arrival in early November. And there was strong evidence little baby Goddard is getting ready for the big day.

I couldn't help but notice the expansion in her mommy's tummy.

It seems like just yesterday this new grand baby's dad was growing in his mom's tummy. Back then we didn't know if it was a boy or a girl until the day the baby arrived. I can vividly remember the night of Dec 6, 1979 walking out in the waiting room and announcing, "It's a boy!" to family and friends who had gathered there.

These days we know that kind of stuff way ahead of time. And yes they already have a beautiful name picked out.

But the neat thing is this beautiful little baby girl growing in her mommy's tummy doesn't know it yet but she already has a Papa picked out.

That would be me.

And that would also be me smiling as I type this.

Actually there are at least three other grandparents who are rightfully making the same claim. And I can promise you they are smiling just as much as me.

I don't think I have ever seen a couple who is more ready to become parents than David and Holly.

They fully realize they are about to receive a true gift from God.

There are some things man can explain but I can tell you no man has figured out how a sperm and an egg can join together to produce another life. If there was ever a God thing, this is it.

In case you are wondering, it's called a miracle. And this miracle is growing.

In fact this miracle is getting bigger and bigger every day.

Freedom is Very Costly

2009-07-01T23:48:00.011-04:00

(Piedmont OK) The mayor of this quaint town on the outskirts of Oklahoma City said it well tonight when he told me, “this is a proud day for Piedmont.”

It was also a proud day for me.

We were both proud because the Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall arrived here today. To witness the thousand or so Vietnam Veterans arriving on their motorcycles into this flag-decorated town with cheering crowds lining both sides of the road is an experience one won’t easily forget. They were escorting the truck carrying the three-quarter-replica of the Washington DC Vietnam Veterans Memorial that will be on display here throughout the July 4th weekend.

The mayor is proud because 50,000 or so people could visit the wall at the high school football field in his town this weekend and see Piedmont in its best light honoring the heroes of the Vietnam War. I am proud because I am employed by Dignity Memorial who owns the wall and makes it all possible.

The wall which is dedicated to the veterans of the Vietnam War and honors all U.S. servicemen and women has been displayed in over 200 cities. In the last almost 20 years millions of people have experienced the healing power of the memorial.

I spent some time talking to a Viet Nam veteran and his wife who were part of the group who escorted the wall into town tonight.

Gordon Kiselburgh spent three years from 1968 to 1970 in Viet Nam with the 1st Group 5th Special Forces of the US Army. He was a gunner …or maybe better described as a sniper. Thirteen of his comrades’ names are on that wall. He was one of only three people in his group who made it back alive.

Gordon told me he has been to the wall two times. As he begin to weep, he said his legs turned to jelly during both visits. He watched nine of his friends die in Vietnam – some of whom he couldn’t even stop to pick up. He escorted two of his fallen friends back to the United States.

He says he is here for one reason and that is to honor and give proper respect to the people who sacrificed their lives for our country.

Regretfully, proper respect has been a long time coming for our Vietnam Veterans.

Gordon told me when he was returning from Viet Nam in 1970 and when he walked in LAX airport a protester who happened to be a Hare Krishna spit on him as he walked by. Gordon didn’t appreciate the gesture and took one strong swing at him and broke the man’s jaw.

Welcome home.

As I was talking to Gordon another Vietnam veteran by the name of Larry Inman joined in the conversation. Larry explained to me he was at Kent State during the riots in the late sixties. A protesting punk college student urinated on his leg during the riot because he protested the war. Larry did not retaliate because he was under orders from his commanding officer not to budge.

The fact is there are over 58,000 names on the Vietnam Wall representing 58,000 mother’s children who were either killed or are still missing in Vietnam.

They are true American heroes.

And they sacrificed their lives so that you and I can celebrate our freedom this weekend.

I was reminded tonight that freedom is very costly.

Have a safe 4th of July weekend.

Not Bad for a White Boy

2009-06-27T22:16:00.005-04:00

The first video is from 1983 and I believe it is the first time Michael Jackson did the moonwalk on stage and you will see he brought the house down.

The King of Pop was was obviously a troubled man at the end and was about as weird as weird can get.

But in spite of all his personal problems, he might have been the greatest entertainer of my lifetime.

Maybe this is how he should be remembered.

The second video is my youngest son Luke impersonating him.

Not bad for a white boy.

Two of the Sixty Seven Hundred

2009-06-25T22:06:00.005-04:00

There are approximately 6,700 folks who die every day in the United States. Two of them today are getting plenty attention.

In fact they both got plenty of attention for many years.

And for good reason.

Farrah Fawcett had every warm blooded heterosexual male foaming at the mouth when she first appeared on Charlie’s Angels. I don’t think I ever missed an episode of that show. I hardly remember what the show was about but I remember Farrah Fawcett. Good lord she was gorgeous.

I was married when THE POSTER first came out so I never had it on my wall. Kathy probably wouldn’t have appreciated that. But I remember well my regular trips out to Mrs. Childree’s house on Hwy 128 south of Reynolds to get my pants hemmed. I would make sure to go in Stan’s room (one of her sons) to change my pants. Stan had several huge posters of some of the gorgeous ladies of that age hanging on his wall. And I got more than a few close views of THE poster. I made sure I always went to Stan’s room to change pants.

I think it was in 1971 when I first had live contact with Michael Jackson. We went to the Jackson Five concert at the Macon Coliseum in Macon, Ga. I don’t think I have ever been to a more entertaining concert. The Jackson Five were incredible with their famous songs and synchronized dancing. The lead singer and star of that show was 12 year old Michael.

He of course would get much more famous. I cannot even begin to know how many times I have seen the Thriller video. Nobody and I mean nobody could dance like Michael Jackson. The man invented the moonwalk for goodness sakes.

One thing is for sure. When a Michael Jackson song is played, everyone has the strong urge to get on their feet and dance.

And when a warm blooded male sees THE poster of Farrah Fawcett, he just can’t help but smile.

Charlie’s most famous angel and THE King of Pop were two of the sixty seven hundred today.

May they both rest in peace.

In fact may all sixty seven hundred rest in peace.

Can't Touch This!

2009-06-24T20:53:00.000-04:00

Has Table. Will Travel.

2009-06-21T22:54:00.012-04:00

While most of you guys were getting such things as ties or socks or underwear for Father’s Day, my wife was much more creative.

She purchased an “in home Amanda Baker” massage for me.

Amanda Baker, in case you are wondering, is a sweetheart. She is a licensed massage therapist sweetheart. She says she enjoys helping people relax and feel better.

Amanda should be really happy because she sure did help me relax and feel better Saturday night.

Amanda graduated Friday night as Salutatorian of her Massage Therapy school. She told me 140 something people graduated with her. I don’t know who the Valedictorian is but if she can massage better than Amanda I need to meet her.

I really appreciate Amanda coming over with her table and setting it up in our living room and spending a whole therapeutic hour with me. And I appreciate my wife making it all happen (even though she did take a few pictures during the operation).

But just for the record I also appreciate the privilege of being a dad.

Like a whole lot.

We started with three boys. Now we have two daughters in law and another to be added In about three months. And there is a grandbaby girl and another little girl on the way.

I wear several hats. Sometimes I wear more than one before a day is done. And I enjoy them all.

But there is no better fitting one I wear than the one with Dad written on it. The Dad hat just feels right.

And it really feels right when I am the recipient of an Amanda Baker massage as a gift for being a dad.

If you are in the middle Georgia area, contact her at abbbrb03@hotmail.com.

Has table. Will travel.

Nothing Better Than Family

2009-06-18T21:49:00.006-04:00

Here's the first of a couple of a videos I put together for the family from our beach trip last week in St. Augustine Beach FL. This will become more valuable to our family as the years go by.

Only one of our sons and his family could make the trip. Sure is hard to get everybody together these days.

Jim and Lynn Whatley (Kathy's sister) had all three of their children and their families there.

Tom and Mia O'Malley (Kathy's other sister) had their children and a girlfriend with them. Even Tom's dad joined us for a few days.

Much fun and great memories were created.

Nothing better than spending time with family.

Thanks for indulging me.

St Augustine Beach FL from Bruce Goddard on Vimeo.

Matt Nagy of Tazewell Georgia

2009-06-14T13:40:00.006-04:00

If you are a golf fan, you have already read recently about such places as Buena Vista Ga and Taylor County High School in Butler, GA. and Kennesaw State University outside of Atlanta.

But let's get this right.

Matt Nagy, certainly associated with all three places above, has put Cedar Creek Golf Club in Tazewell GA on the map.

He did it this past Monday in grand fashion by qualifying for the United States Open Golf Championship. To put this incredible accomplishment in perspective, Matt will join 154 of the best golfers in the world at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, NY as play begins this Thursday.

Tiger Woods is the defending champion.

To give you a little better perspective, about 7,000 scratch golfers (USGA handicap of 1.4 or less) competed to qualify for the approximate 63 spaces up for grabs this year. There were 110 local qualifying tournaments throughout the US. The top 3 or 4 players of those 110 tournaments then moved on to join other golfers who had exempted the local qualifying tournaments to compete in about 14 sectional tournaments held throughout the US (and England and Japan).

Matt qualified to play in the sectional as a second alternate after a grueling 7 hole playoff in one of the local qualifying tournaments. Matt was told to show up at the sectional in case one of those who qualified didn't show up. Matt, with no high hopes of even getting to play, showed up at the Sectional in Ball Ground Ga after only 4 hours of sleep. Somebody did not show up and Matt teed off the first hole without even hitting a practice shot.

He shot a one under par 71 in the first round. He said he saw a few things he needed to work on before beginning the afternoon round. So he ate a half of a sandwich and went to the practice tee. Whatever he worked on, worked.

Like really well.

He shot a course record and blistering 63 in the afternoon and ended up at 10 under for the day.

And with it a trip to the US Open.

Matt grew up at Cedar Creek Golf Club in Tazewell, GA, which is somewhat of a suburb of Buena Vista. Cedar Creek is a beautiful little 9 hole course that is owned and operated by the Nagy family. Not only does this incredible family run the pro shop and cut the grass but they are all great golfers.

And they taught the game they love to their kids.

I have a couple of memories of playing Cedar Creek in years gone by.

One memory is the time I spent in the woods looking for my ball on the very tight course. The other is the time I spent watching the little Nagy brothers as little boys with perfect swings hitting the ball straight down the fairway.

"Watch that little boy hit the ball" was a familiar quote on any given day from any foursome at Cedar Creek.

Now the whole golfing world will get to watch.

Matt Nagy of Tazewell GA tees off at 2:42PM Thursday in the U.S. Open, exactly seven groups ahead of Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els.

A Comforting Thought

2009-06-12T08:56:00.002-04:00

(St Augustine Beach, FL) One of the neat things about getting old(er) is you can find people you know most anywhere you go. In other words, your friends get scattered out all over the place the longer you live.

I found three such ladies yesterday at the Nautilus store on St. Augustine Beach. And I had a blast reliving some special times of years gone by with this mother and two of her daughters.

Sylvia Sams is the mother of five children. Since I spent a lot of time at her house as a boy hanging out with her oldest son Jimmy, I know them all well.

My goodness she put up with a lot.

I remember such things as putting pillows under the sheets at night so it would look like we were in the bed when she checked on us. We would sneak out to hang out with some nearby girls who also were sneaking out.

Several of us guys formed a rock and roll band and we did most of our practicing on her back patio. We were loud and we were not very good. On top of that, her son was our drummer. So I’m sure it was loud at her house even when the rest of the band was absent.

Now that I think about it I bet she had a difficult time watching her favorite television show or even having a conversation with someone with all the noise we were making.

But by the grace of God we all grew up and Mrs. Sylvia survived it all.

She, along with daughters Linda and Charlotte, have been running a very successful business here for the past 34 years.

For the record she also raised a very successful family. And I sure am thankful I was a small part of it many moons ago during my most formative years.

Friends eventually do get scattered all over the place and some you don’t see very often. But real friends never stop being your friends.

And that, my friend, is a comforting thought.

The Dream of Yesterday

2009-06-10T21:28:00.009-04:00

When Alan Dobbins graduated from Vestavia Hills High School in Birmingham in 1993, he had plans to become a professional baseball player. He had dreamed about such lofty things since he was a little boy.

He had the credentials too.

Alan was the middle infielder for two state championship baseball teams and also played on a state championship basketball team at the 6A Vestavia. He was recruited by several major colleges including the University of Alabama and Auburn University to play baseball until a stress fracture in his back limited his playing time his senior year.

Things have a way of working out though.

Alan received a baseball scholarship at Samford University in Birmingham and had a great college career as a 3rd Baseman and Closer for the Samford Bulldogs. More importantly he met Jessica Whatley, the girl who would eventually become his wife and the mother of his children. Jessica happens to be my wife’s niece.

Although his dream didn’t exactly turn out the way he first saw it, Alan would not change places with any baseball player these days. After spending four years in the corporate banking world, Alan has been employed for the past nine years with the church development company Myrick, Gurosky and Associates in Birmingham and is now Director of Business Development. Alan and Jessica have been married for nine years and have two beautiful children and another on the way.

The reality of today has a way of being much better than the dream of yesterday.

Since we have been vacationing together this week, I have also learned something else about Alan. He is a connoisseur of fine fried shrimp. The best fried shrimp in the world, by the way, are found at Osteen’s in St. Augustine Beach, FL. We ordered 17 dozen fried shrimp (not kidding) from Osteen’s tonight and we had an old fashioned shrimp eating contest.

Alan, the baseball player and church builder, took the grand prize. He ate 20 of Osteen’s finest along with all the trimmings. He broke the record he set last year by one.

Like I said, the reality of today is much better than the dream of yesterday.

Beach Pics

2009-06-09T19:16:00.007-04:00

(St Augustine Beach, FL) In case you haven't noticed, I am on vacation this week at the beach. Been here since Saturday and incredibly today was the first day I took pictures.

I promised my grandbaby girl before we came that I would catch her when she jumped to me in the pool. We even practiced on our staircase at home.

We did it today.

Way too much fun. Here are a few pics to let you know we are alive and well. More to come in the next few days.

Grab Your Tissues

2009-06-05T21:49:00.003-04:00

10-year-old Hannah Eschrig got the surprise of her life Thursday when her father Master Sergeant Joe Myers walked into her classroom at Randolph Elementary School in San Antonio, TX unannounced. The two hadn't seen each other in a year.

“It was the culmination of 350 days of waiting to be with my daughter and family,” MSgt. Myers says.

“I missed her entire 4th grade year. So my goal was to be back for her last day, so I could say I was there. It was awesome.”

Hannah Eschrig says, “I don't really remember what happened because I was so happy!”

MSgt. Myers plans to take Hannah to a Jonas Bros. concert this summer.

Grab your tissues.

Great Day

2009-06-03T22:13:00.007-04:00

My wife had a wedding shower at our house last Saturday so I got out of the house and headed to Reynolds to do some visiting.

My first stop was at Jamestown Assisted Living Residence in Fort Valley. Mrs. Ruth Jones, my former middle school teacher and long time family friend, was out gallivanting so all I could do was leave her a note to tell her I would be back. For someone who just celebrated her 90th birthday, gallivanting ain’t a bad way to spend a Saturday. While most residents of that facility do their socializing sitting quietly in the front room, Mrs. Ruth spends at least some of her time at her computer in her room socializing on the internet through Facebook. I’m not sure how many 90 year olds are socializing on Facebook but I would think the list is fairly short. She sure does keep the rest of us young.

My first stop in Reynolds was at the home of another special friend, Mrs. Mollie Childree. It has been a while since I have visited Mrs. Mollie. I was struck by the fact that nothing had changed since the last time I visited. And I was thinking about how many places and miles I have been since I had been there. Mollie and her late husband, Elmer, were positive forces and influencers in my life. I sat with the two of them in that same den many times over the years. I never called to tell them I was coming. I would just show up and begin wherever we left off last time. And that is exactly what we did Saturday. Mrs. Mollie got me all caught up on Reynolds and when I left I kissed her and hugged her a little tighter and longer than usual. And when I drove away I was promising myself that I would visit her more often.

As I was making my way to Julian and Sue’s house, I saw another long time friend sitting on his front porch. I pulled in the driveway and joined him on the porch. I first met Jim and Sheryl Cameron when they came to our church years ago as missionaries. We spent a ton of time with them. When they would come home from Honduras on furlough, Jim and Sheryl and their two children would stay with us sometimes for months at a time. I have some great memories staying up late at night with them solving the world’s problems drinking that strong Honduran coffee. When they left the mission field, they made Reynolds their home. And as you might imagine, Jim and I had no trouble striking up a conversation.

While I was rocking with him, I got a call from Julian. He and Sue were eating lunch at the hamburger place and heard I was in town. They knew I would be looking for them so they wanted to let me know where they were. So I headed up and joined them for lunch and then followed them back to their house. I stayed there until my wife called to tell me her party was over and to remind me that Taylor was spending the night.

I got back home in plenty of time to eat a few cheese straws left over from the shower with my little grandbaby girl and to spend the rest of the afternoon with her.

Just in case you are wondering, I had a great day.

Right Place at the Right Time

2009-05-31T08:34:00.004-04:00

We saw Santa Claus yesterday.

He left the land of perpetual snow earlier in the week and was heading to Florida for a few days of rest and relaxation. He stopped in a local restaurant to grab him something to eat.

During Christmas time he wears his famous red velvety outfit. In the summertime he wears shorts and sandals.

Our little Taylor recognized him before we did. She saw him as soon as he and Mrs. Claus walked in the door. I was surprised he didn’t use the chimney. Taylor got him to come over to our table so she could talk to him and give him a hug. She feels fairly confident she got a head start on all the other little boys and girls who will have to wait to see him when he shows up at the local mall a few weeks before Christmas.

Talk about being at the right place at the right time.

I overheard part of the conversation Santa had with Taylor. He was asking her if she has been a good little girl. Of course she explained to him she has been mostly perfect.

Santa is planning on taking a few days off and then he will be heading back to the North Pole to join his elves in his workshop. He has a lot of work to do between now and Christmas.

But Santa sure did make one little girl happy yesterday.

Oh My!

2009-05-30T21:48:00.002-04:00

And to think I have another one of these on the way... Oh my!

King George

2009-05-28T21:00:00.002-04:00

I’ll just go ahead and make it official.

I’m a George Strait fan.

Sounds kinda funny coming from a guy who grew up on such Rock n Roll bands like Herman’s Hermits, the Malibu’s, the Sixpence, the Dave Clark Five and the Beatles.

I remember not too many years ago wondering how anyone could listen to country music. Maybe it’s my age, but I sure don’t wonder that anymore.

I did something last night that is very rare for me. I sat in front of a television and watched a two hour special on television. They were honoring George Strait as Country Music Artist of the Decade. The show consisted of every country star you can think of coming on stage and singing a George Strait song while George and his family looked on.

I would think these stars had no trouble at all coming up with a song to sing. George Strait has accumulated 57 number one hits in his career. His 38 hit albums (multi platinum, platinum and gold) are not too shabby either. Only Elvis and the Beatles had more.

And George ain’t done.

The more I learn about King George, the more I like him. His dad was a high school math teacher in Pearshall ,TX, which is about an hour south of San Antonio. The family would head to the family ranch on the weekends. George’s life has not always been perfect though. George’s mom took his sister and left when George was in the third grade. George and his brother stayed with their dad.

Right after high school, George dropped out of college and eloped with his high school sweetheart. After a stint in the Army, George came back to Southwest Texas State and got a degree in Agriculture. Like most folks that hit it big, he wasn’t thinking big when he started out.

In spite of his now celebrity status, George and Norma’s marriage is still working after 38 years. They had two children. Their son Bubba was on the stage with his dad and mom last night. Their older daughter Jenifer was killed in an automobile accident at the age of 13 in 1985.

Life throws you curves – even if you happen to be George Strait.

But my goodness he is an entertainer. His rich voice and the songs he sings have a way of making you smile.

“If you leave me I won’t miss you and I won’t ever take you back. Girl your memory won’t ever haunt me cause I don’t love you. Now if you’ll buy that - I’ve got some ocean front property in Arizona and from my front porch you can see the sea.”

And….

“I thought you and me were something special; Thought you thought that way too. Now I know that this ol’ boy just ain’t the best you think you’ll ever do. It ain’t cool to be crazy about you. It ain’t suave or debonair to let you know I care, like I do.”

You just gotta love some George Strait.

King George rules.

A Lifetime is Not Too Long

2009-05-25T22:08:00.003-04:00

If my life is a book – I’ve been through a lot of chapters. And I hope I have more than a few more to go before I’m done.

When a chapter closes there is always a sense of sadness because of the transition of the moment. Then, as we turn the next page, there is the excitement and anticipation of what the future holds.

The older I get the more I understand the significance of the chapters of our life.

Monday afternoon Kathy and I stopped by Brad and Tessa Hobbs’ house to see their little Caroline and to tell them how much we will miss them as they close another chapter in their life.

And turn the page to another exciting chapter.

As you will see in the video below, most of their stuff is now in boxes. Next weekend they will be moving to Little Rock Arkansas where Brad will begin his residency at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences as an Ear, Nose & Throat specialist. Dr. Brad graduated from Mercer Medical School a few weeks ago.

They say people come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.

In this case, for us, I think it is all three.

A lifetime is not too long to live as friends. That is for sure.

Brad & Tessa Hobbs and Caroline from Bruce Goddard on Vimeo.

To Touch a Company

2009-05-21T08:11:00.007-04:00

(Houston TX)
Having been self employed all my life, in 1997 I suddenly found myself working for someone else for the first time in my career. Although I continued to run my funeral homes (along with a few others) and was continuing to serve families I had known all my life, I found myself in an unfamiliar and somewhat uncomfortable situation.

You just don’t take a small town country boy and throw him into the waters of a large publically traded company without some struggles for the country boy along the way.

When I look back I had no idea the career opportunity this move would eventually afford me. And I certainly had no idea of the opportunity I would have to become friends with folks from different parts of the country who would change my life.

Not long after I had sold my businesses, I received a call from a man from New York City. I have to tell you in those days New York City seemed like a long way from Reynolds GA. I was in my office one day and found myself not only talking to a man a long way away but also one who talked a little differently than me.

Actually that would be a lot differently.

He was questioning me about a decision I had made about a casket I had ordered. I could not understand how a man from NYC would care about my casket order. To be honest, after running my businesses all my life to that point, I didn’t think I needed assistance from someone in NYC in what casket I needed to order. And after a lengthy conversation, I told him exactly what I thought.

I would find out later John Roefaro had a huge job in our company as head of revenue services for the Eastern United States. I would meet John a few weeks after our phone conversation in Houston at a training school. John was one of the facilitators of my training. I was smart enough to know I needed to introduce myself to him and make amends for our previous conversation.

But before I could do that, John introduced himself to me.

He told me had heard I was a humorist. And then John began to tell me one joke after another. As you might imagine, I had a few of my own as well. And before we knew it, we both were laughing. And I mean really laughing.

And in just a few short minutes, this stranger who had made me feel so uncomfortable a few weeks earlier had made me feel very comfortable.

In the past 12 years, John and I have not only been co-workers but more importantly we have become friends. And for a man who I didn’t think had much to offer me during our first encounter over the telephone, he has taught me much and has been a mentor to me.

I could talk about John’s experience, his presentation skills, his leadership skills, his humor, his integrity and many other traits and attributes I have come to appreciate about him over the years.

But the greatest lesson I have learned is about the distance from Reynolds GA to New York City. It is not nearly as long as I once thought.

By the way, John is celebrating his 40th year with our company this year and yesterday he was honored by the officers of our company for his outstanding career. I can tell you I was glad I was there and was able to witness the presentation.

“Most of us have had the opportunity to touch some folks,” someone said, “but John has an an opportunity to touch a company."

I can tell you I am glad to be a part of the company he keeps... and touches.

My Goodness He Lied to Her

2009-05-16T22:32:00.007-04:00

When Randy and Jane Toms were expecting their second child, they were quite sure it would be another boy. Of course, they would have been fine with that. But Randy now admits deep in his heart he longed for a little girl.

On March 29, 1987 his dream came true. And from the moment she was born she had his heart.

He says as she was growing up he always told her she was an ugly child. His reasoning was simple. He didn’t want her to believe some snotty nosed boy when he told her she was pretty.

I think you can see from the pictures posted here, Randy lied to his daughter.

When we moved to Warner Robins a little over six years ago, Randy became our Sunday school teacher. A lieutenant with the Warner Robins Fire Department and an ordained minister, Randy was not your typical Sunday school teacher. As you can surmise from the “ugly” story, Randy has a great sense of humor.

Right up my alley.

Randy also has a drop dead gorgeous wife. I happened to notice that during my first visit to his class. I think it’s wrong for an ordained Sunday school teacher to have a wife that looks that good but this one does.

And drop dead gorgeous mothers tend to produce drop dead gorgeous daughters.

I can tell you this daughter never looked more gorgeous than she did today.

Randy not only gave his daughter away today but he also performed the wedding ceremony. I seriously did not think he would make it through it. In front of God and a throng of witnesses, he had to confess to his daughter he had lied to her all those years about her being ugly. You can watch that confession by clicking here.

And on the video below, you can watch Justin and Callie Beatty’s first dance as a married couple. They will make you smile. And you will also see a proud daddy dancing with his beautiful just married daughter.

My goodness he lied to her.

First Dance - Justin and Callie from Bruce Goddard on Vimeo.

Bo and Lou

2009-05-14T22:20:00.006-04:00

The list of the adult folks who are still alive who helped form my life is getting smaller and smaller. Today I was in Columbus, GA on business and as I was leaving town my car had the urge to pull off the four lane highway and into the parking lot of an assisted living facility to visit one of those special folks.

My car just does that sometimes.

The stunningly beautiful Louise Waters began working for Ben Hinton, a Reynolds, GA businessman, when she was a teenager. Ben’s son, Woodfin (who was a couple of years older than Louise) was away at college at Georgia Tech being trained to be an Electrical Engineer when Louise became his dad’s bookkeeper.

Woodfin obviously thought his dad hired the right person. And Louise had to be certain she was working at the right place. Woodfin and Louise became man and wife as soon as he graduated from college. They built quite a life together in the little town of Reynolds. They had two children who are beneficiaries of the life they built. And now there are four grandchildren and four great grandchildren who also are reaping the benefits of the life they had together.

Interestingly, with a degree in Electrical Engineering from (dare this Georgia Bulldog say it) one of the most elite engineering schools in the country, Woodfin Hinton could have taken his new bride to an Atlanta or a Columbus or wherever he chose to do pretty much whatever he wanted.

Instead he chose to move back to Reynolds and take over the family business and sell fertilizer and insurance.

Simply stated, this couple chose a simple small town lifestyle over whatever the life of an Electrical Engineer might have offered.

Put me on the long list of the people who are very glad they did.

Woodfin and Louise, known to their friends as “Bo and Lou” were pillars of the community where I had the privilege to grow up. They were movers and shakers in our community and were leaders in their church. They loved the little town of Reynolds.

And they also loved each other.

When Bo died in 1999, a part of his “Lou” died with him. I would suspect one is not married to someone for almost 60 years without being affected that way.

A few years after his death, Louise moved to the assisted living facility in Columbus about an hour from Reynolds. Although it was the right thing to do, as you might imagine, it was not an easy move for her. But today when I visited her she was quick to tell me how content she is where she is living.

But I couldn’t help but notice how her eyes lit up when I walked in her room.

Although she has known me all my life and knew all my family, I don’t think her eyes lit up because it was me. I think they lit up because I am from Reynolds. My parents, my grandparents and my great grandparents were from Reynolds.

Maybe I reminded her of the wonderful life she had there.

If so, my visit today was the most productive 20 minutes I have spent in a long time.

He Actually Laughed Out Loud

2009-05-12T22:53:00.007-04:00

Tonight would be a good time to catch you up on some folks I have written about recently. You can click the link on their name to jog your memory of recent articles.

Callie Toms: I was in church this past Sunday and looked across the church building and up into the balcony at the end of the service and saw a sight that made me smile and have a lump in my throat at the same time. Randy Toms and his daughter, Callie, were standing next to each other at the end of the service and were holding hands. This Saturday Randy will walk his beautiful daughter down the aisle to give her hand in marriage. I couldn’t tell from where I was sitting but something tells me he was holding on tight.

Luke and Drew: They will be married in just four short months. In the meantime they continue to get attention with their music and their proposal video. They were interviewed recently by a writer from a Minnesota newspaper. The YouTube video is at 61,700 hits and counting. A version of their video will be featured on TLC this Friday May 15 at 7PM. The nationally televised show is called Wild Weddings which will feature outrageous proposals this week. Be sure to check them out or DVR it so you can watch it later.

Hannah Kasulka: I wrote about her when she appeared on a recent television show and I am as proud of her as anybody I know. Hannah landed a summer intern job in New York City but decided to take another job at Turner Broadcasting in Atlanta instead. She will soon graduate from Georgia Tech. I called this gal that I have known since she was born yesterday to wish her a happy 21st birthday.

Papa’s Precious Princess: Due to the illness of her great grandmother who kept her a few days a week, little Taylor is now in day care. She has been there a couple of weeks now and things are going well. But I have to tell you – although I was in another state, this Papa didn’t sleep a wink the night before her first day. Papa’s don’t even like to think about the prospect of their grandbaby crying and being scared. But Taylor made it and so did I.

Jimmy Childre, Jr. I was speaking near Sandersville, GA a few weeks ago and unbeknownst to Jimmy a little bird told me he would be honored that night as Citizen of the Year for Washington County. I got finished with my speaking engagement and made it to their Chamber banquet just as people were leaving but just in time to speak to his family and congratulate my lifelong friend and give him a bear hug. My friend has accomplished a lot and he makes me very proud. He did not know he was going to win that award and he certainly didn’t expect me to show up. Great stuff.

David and Holly: They were here for Mother's day and Holly is now close to 15 weeks pregnant. She is starting to show a little and her face ia glowing a lot. She will be one gorgeous pregnant lady. David smiles all the time.

This papa is giddy.

Other Tidbits: On April 14, I decided to start exercising again. Since then I have started my day virtually every morning by walking – in the neighborhood at home or wherever I happen to be. A couple of weeks after I began I joined a gym. The trainer almost killed me a few days ago but I am determined to stay with some resemblance of an exercise program.

I may not live longer but I will look much better in the casket.

The resistance training has not helped my golf game though.

I played in a legislative golf tournament the other day with my brother in law, who is a lobbyist. I went to the first tee without having hit a practice shot or even taking a practice swing. In front of some folks I had never met in my life until then, I whiffed the ball on the first tee. This is someone who has played hundreds and hundreds if not thousands rounds of golf. I don’t play golf much anymore and I am liable to hit it in any direction, but whiffing the ball is something I don’t think I’ve ever done. It didn’t help that my playing partner and brother in law laughed.

He actually laughed out loud.

The sapsucker.

When Mama is Happy

2009-05-10T20:12:00.005-04:00

I approach Mother’s Day with mixed feelings these days.

There is a sense of sadness because I think of my own mother. I have more memories than I can begin to mention here. I’ll just say this - I had one incredible mother and I have been blessed so much that words would never do justice as to what I feel.

The pastor always says something on Mother’s Day Sunday to cause my eyes to fill up with tears. And he did today.

I also think of my mother in law. She has been my mother in law for almost 32 years now and I have been part of her family for 38 years – which is most of my life. She is now suffering through the ravages of Alzheimer’s. Actually she is not suffering – it’s her children who are suffering. Unless you have been through this, you would never understand. Even so, we have much to be thankful. She is perfectly content and never complains. Thankfully some days are better than others. And this Mother’s Day weekend brought good days.

Then there is the fun I have watching my own sons show up on this special weekend to honor their mother. It seems like just yesterday they were little boys running from one thing to the next and reaching up for their mama when they skinned their knee.

Now she has to reach up to them.

I think the greatest tribute they have paid their mom is the girls they have chosen to spend their lives with. My goodness they did well. Saturday night we had the entire crew together. There was a daddy and a mama, three sons, two daughters in law, one soon to be daughter in law, a beautiful grandbaby girl and another baby growing in a womb.

As you might imagine there was a lot of laughter. Right dab in the middle of it all, there was one happy Mama.

And when Mama is happy, everybody is happy.

I hope there were a lot of happy Mamas today.

No Dancing on the Golf Course

2009-05-07T22:27:00.002-04:00

I have written about the Chicken George Golf Tournament before here. But the video below is too good NOT to share with all my friends in blog land.

The Annual Chicken George Golf Tournament was started by my brother, Chicken George Goddard. His excuse for starting the tournament in the late seventies was to bring our University of Georgia fraternity brothers together once a year. George and I were in the same fraternity so I also was friends with all the Lambda Chi’s who gathered in Reynolds one weekend a year.

Each year the tournament grew and others not related to the fraternity joined the fun.

People from many different states came to Reynolds to play the little 9-hole golf course. The two day tournament would have three shotgun starts each day at its height and there would be two sixsomes on each tee when each round was played.

That equates to 108 golfers on the nine hole course each round.

I don’t think there has ever been in the history of golf that many golfers on a 9 hole golf course. It was incredible and we were fortunate nobody got killed by a stray golf ball.

Interestingly, some of the golfers were serious and accomplished golfers. Others just came to play for the fun.

I’ve played in many golf tournaments in my life and there has never been one any more fun than the Chicken George Golf tournament.

For you folks with Reynolds Ga connections, you will see Buster Byrd and Tommy Neely in the video below at their best. And if you keep watching you will be able to study the golf swing of the one and only Dealer Downs Scott.

The video below was filmed in 1985. I was the camera man and the commentator. The golfers in the dancing scene are made up of friends from college and a couple of famous local guys mentioned above. The dancing took place right in the middle of the tournament while golfers in the fairway behind them were waiting to hit.

This was golf in its purest form.

And there was only one rule.

No dancing on the golf course.

Oh Baby!

2009-05-04T22:13:00.003-04:00

There are so many good sayings that help us express what we are trying to say. For instance, when a person is loose as a goose, he is about as relaxed as it gets.

A man who is drunk as a skunk has a difficult time walking straight. I have never seen a drunk skunk but I’m sure it’s not a pretty sight. If you are high as a kite, you are not staggering but I suppose you are just over enjoying the moment.

If someone tells you that you are tight as Dick’s hat band, you must be one of the stingiest folks around. I never knew who Dick was but he must have worn a hat that was at least a few sizes too small.

If someone says you are fat as a hog, you are not only overweight but the insinuation is you have a little odor along with the extra pounds.

A person who is sly like a fox is much smarter than he appears to be. He will slip up on you with his smartness.

If you are meek as a lamb you will most likely be quiet as a mouse.

If a man is wild as a buck, he doesn’t play by the rules most others play by. He stays out late, hangs around wild women and enjoys much strong drink. And he doesn’t stay in one place very long.

If a person is sick as a dog, he is more than just not feeling well. He is seriously hugging the porcelain and will find himself going back to the same porcelain over and over. He needs a doctor.

And if a young lady is pregnant as a jaybird, she is really pregnant. That means a new human life is really growing in her tummy and in just a few short months the beautiful little baby will make its grand entrance.

And if a fifty something year old man is happy as a lark, that means he is whistling most everywhere he goes. No matter what he has to deal with, there is a song in his heart and a spring in his step.

And when the fifty something year old man happens to be me, and the pregnant jaybird happens to be my gorgeous daughter in law, the song in his heart is just about to turn into a symphony.

I just did the moonwalk in my kitchen just thinking about it.

David and Holly Goddard are having a baby.

And this Papa is beside himself.

Oh baby!

Miss California

2009-05-03T21:40:00.006-04:00

I don’t know how but I somehow missed the news about the controversy of the recent Miss USA pageant. Our pastor mentioned Carrie Prejean, Miss California, this morning during his sermon on Esther.

For those who might have missed it, Miss California was asked a simple question and she gave a simple answer.

Carrie Prejean says she knew she had lost the pageant as soon as she gave her answer.

She was asked, by the way, about her views of nationwide legalization of gay marriage. She answered by saying she believes marriage is between a man and a woman.

I know I am a simple minded man but since it takes a man and a woman to produce life, her answer is at the very least a legitimate opinion.

Perez Hilton, the openly gay judge who asked the question, was appalled at her answer. He not only deducted points but had some not so nice things to say about her in a later interview.

In a split second and before a national television audience, Carrie Prejean had to decide whether to stand up for what she believed or compromise what she believed in order to win a contest.

Everyone agrees if she had given the politically correct answer she would have won the crown of Miss USA.

She chose to stay true to what she believed.

We all could learn a lesson from Miss California.

Watch this video.

Till Death Do Us Part?

2009-04-28T21:57:00.005-04:00

A co-worker and I drove through a cemetery today and saw a gentleman trimming shrubbery at his family plot. We stopped to visit with him.

Although there are plenty of maintenance workers in the cemetery, he insists on taking care of his own landscaping on the property he owns. He told me he has been coming to the cemetery every day since his wife died.

He began to cry.

As he was speaking, I looked at the death date on the memorial. I was expecting to see that his wife had died recently.

She died in 1982.

For you that do not have a calculator handy, that would be 27 years ago.

I also discovered the nice gentleman had the same death date on his memorial. “When she died,” he explained, “I died with her.” I believed him.

But I had to find out more.

He married her when he was 23 and she was 20. She worked while he got his college degree. They moved out west and then later moved back to Louisiana. They started a business that turned out to be a very successful one. She was his business partner and office manager.

She died of cancer in the prime of their marriage when she was 48 years old. Because he couldn’t go back to that business without his wife, he sold the thriving business soon after her death and retired at age 53.

He said he visits her grave every day – rain or shine. Sometimes he visits twice a day. That would be more than 10,000 visits in case you are counting.

Most would say his behavior is not healthy and he should have gone on with his life. And I certainly understand that thinking.

But in a time when married couples are leaving each other on a whim for almost any reason or even no reason at all, I couldn’t help but be impressed.

Many years ago this man met the love of his life and told her he loved her. I couldn’t help but wonder if she knew just how much he really did love her.

Fifty five years ago he looked at his bride and said, “Till death do us part.”

I can tell you he wasn't paying one bit of attention to that statement today.

Real Proud

2009-04-26T22:38:00.007-04:00

Last Friday afternoon I left my office early and headed over to Wesleyan College in Macon to attend a Phi Kappa Phi induction ceremony.

It was not just any ole induction ceremony either. Drew Watkins (shown here with her mom) was being inducted in this elite honor society. The membership is by invitation only to the upper 7.5 percent of last-term juniors (which applies to Drew) and the upper 10 percent of seniors.

Drew has made an A in every single course she has taken since she has been enrolled in college. I don’t think she had any trouble making the top 7.5 percent.

It should be noted that Drew never attended a public or private school in her life until she entered Wesleyan. She was homeschooled by her mom. I couldn’t help but notice that Drew’s mom, Melanie, had a tear in her eye as she watched Drew receive this honor.

That would be a tear of pride – not sadness.

I didn’t ask but I’m sure a few times during Drew’s first 12 years of education, Drew’s parents took some criticism for homeschooling their daughter. I’m sure they were told Drew would miss interaction with other kids and would end up lacking in social skills. And she would be behind academically when she went to college.

Well, she obviously is not behind in college. I also happen to know she has more social skills of any 20 year old I have ever known. And she can talk intelligently about any subject you can name. She studied dance and I have seen her perform on stage doing ballet, tap and modern dance. (She even taught me how to do the electric slide a few years ago – which may be her greatest accomplishment). Drew is also an accomplished pianist.

For all those folks out there who say homeschooling does not work – Drew Watkins is proof it can work. In fact in can work beyond one's wildest dreams.

Somehow by the goodness and grace of God this incredible young lady will become my daughter in law in less than five months.

I’m proud Mark and Melanie didn’t listen to the folks who said it wouldn’t work.

Real proud.

This Journey Goes On Forever

2009-04-23T06:21:00.004-04:00

Yesterday afternoon I was driving on US Highway 49 in Mississippi between Mendenhall and Jackson, when I came upon an obviously evangelistically covered wagon trotting down the highway being pulled by four tired looking mules. I pulled off the road and waited for the wagon to catch up.

I had my camera in my hand.

And I had a few questions formulating in my head.

The guy at the reins, who turned out to be Randy Boehmer from Arizona, wasn’t very nice at first. I asked him what he was doing. He sarcastically responded, “What does it look like I’m doing?” I said something along the lines that I travel a good bit and I don’t normally see a covered wagon with four mules with Jesus Saves signs trotting down the highways of America.

He began to warm up to me.

It turns out Randy has been on the road with his four mules and two dogs (Shep and Proverb) for over a year. He started in Indiana on April 1, 2008 and he travels about 4 miles per hour.

His mission is to crisscross the United States in his wagon to tell people about God.

Boehmer was a taxidermist for most of his life. When his parents died in 1991, he and his siblings were cleaning out their parent’s house and his sister made the comment that whatever they didn’t want they could take to the dump.

He then realized all the possession his parents worked for all their lives meant nothing in the end.

He was reminded of a man he had met a year or so earlier who was driving down the road in a covered wagon. Boehmer said to him that day that he bet he didn’t have many worries. “The only worries I have,” the man said, “are to make sure my horses get water every day.”

When Boehmer’s wife died of cancer in 1998, he started reading his Bible. And he was reminded of the lessons he had learned about possessions.

For the record, this man’s worldly possessions are now in the back of his wagon - which includes a wood stove and a solar panel on the top to power lights, his TV, his DVD player and to charge his cell phone.

Before he left on this journey, Boehmer did some preparation work. He worked with a horse shoer for seven months to learn to take care of his mules. (He is pulling a feed and water wagon behind the bigger covered wagon). He also spent a great deal of time with an Amish group who taught him how to take care of himself on the road.

I asked him if he stops in different towns to preach.

“I don’t need to,” he said. “All I need to say is written in very large letters on the sides of my wagon.”

How long does he plan on doing this?

“It’s a journey, not a trip,” he says. “A trip ends. A journey goes on forever.”

And all he has to worry about on his forever journey is to make sure his mule's get water.

Not so bad of a journey when you think about it.

Wine into Water

2009-04-20T22:15:00.012-04:00

When I was in college, Dirk Howell and Tony Brown – a couple of college students, entertained at the local bars. “Dirk and Tony” were very talented and were in much in demand performing beach music in the Athens GA music scene.

I just read that Dirk Howell (35 years later) is still performing. If you are in the market for a band for a wedding or a special occasion, although I have never heard this group, I've heard Dirk enough to guarantee that you will not go wrong by booking The Dirk Howell Band.

Tony Brown spent a lot of time at the Lambda Chi Fraternity house during my college years. His younger brother, Danny, was a member of our fraternity. His good friend ,Bruce Burch, was also one my fraternity brothers. I have written about Bruce here before.

Tony move to Nashville in 1982. He was the singing voice of all those Taco Bell (Run for the Border) television ads. He also sang jingles for corporations like Disney, McDonalds and Budweiser.

You probably know Tony by his professional name. T. Graham Brown, the country music star who always had a bottle of Jack Daniels on the stage with him, has produced 13 Albums and 20 singles on Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. Three of his songs reached number one. Eight more of them reached the top ten.

His T-Ness has done pretty good for himself.

But his success came with a price.

T. Graham Brown’s 1998 hit song, Wine into Water, which was co-written by my friend Bruce Burch, was inspired by Brown’s personal struggle with alcoholism.

I am quite sure there are many folks reading this who can relate to the words of his song – whether from your own personal struggle with addiction or the struggle of someone close to you.

The waiting lists are getting longer and longer at most addiction rehabilitation facilities these days. And you can ride by any growing church and you will see a sign somewhere on the property advertising that particular church’s addiction recovery program. There are large crowds attending those programs and the crowds keep growing.

More and more good people are discovering, as hard as they may try, they cannot beat this disease by themselves. And like T. Graham Brown did in 1998, they are falling on their knees asking for help.

As T. Graham sings, the abuse of alcohol and drugs takes a person as low as they can go. And they drag a lot of innocent folks down with them.

If you are struggling with addiction, there is hope.

The first step is to admit you have a problem. And maybe the next step is to take T. Graham’s lead and ask God to turn the wine back into water.

Just maybe He is your best chance.

Watch this video.

To Our Younger Selves

2009-04-18T18:55:00.009-04:00

As some of you know, the last few weekends I have been working on converting old VHS movies to a digital file that can be uploaded on the internet. I have posted a couple of those videos here but most have been uploaded to YouTube. If you are like me, there is a splendid chance your very valuable old 8MM or VHS footage that was shot years ago is in a cabinet or attic somewhere slowing ruining. So to keep that from happening, I decided to begin the process of uploading them to the internet.

Anyway, I was converting a video last weekend that was taken just 7 years ago and I think it is worth sharing with you and the story behind it.

Growing up in Reynolds, GA, as you might suspect, I attended Reynolds Elementary School. I started in the first grade in 1960 with a group of folks who would become my lifelong friends. There were about 30 of us and most of us went through 8 grades together. Reynolds High School consolidated with Butler High in 1966 and the high school in Reynolds was closed. There were some people in Reynolds (my daddy being one of them) who were very upset when Reynolds lost the high school. Consequently there was a fairly large contingent of kids from Reynolds who went to nearby Fort Valley to high school.

The point being, when our class graduated from the 8th grade in Reynolds, we went to at least two different high schools. Additionally, a couple of years later, the integration law was passed - and private schools began to pop up. So now our close knit class was scattered to the four winds.

In 2002 a group of us from the Reynolds Elementary School Class of 1968 decided to have a reunion. What started as just a good idea started building steam mainly due to the power of the internet. We had a website where classmates and former teachers and others could post their memories. We all shared memories of a wonderful time in our life that was long gone.

And we were all reminded those years were the most formative years of our lives.

To be honest, as the time for the reunion got closer, I began to have second thoughts. We were about to have 20-25 folks (and their spouses), most of which had not seen each other in almost 35 years. There would be people from all walks of life and I began to wonder if the group could find things to talk about. It seemed like a great idea but would it really work?

Our 6th grade teacher, Mrs. Ruth Jones, came to the reunion with her old grade book with all our names and grades in it. We began the program by having her call the roll.

Hearing each individual answer her roll call with “here” or “present” was more than amusing. It was like we were all back in school.

Each classmate came to the podium and talked. Each told a little about their life and special memories they had at Reynolds Elementary School. Some told some great stories and a few told stories that had never been told.

There was a lot of laughter and more than a few tears before we were done.

It was a once in a lifetime event I will never forget.

We were reunited for one incredible evening and we relived our shared past. We were keenly aware everything that happened at Reynolds Elementary School played a part in shaping us.

Dear friends, lift your glasses with me – to our younger selves -their activities, their plans, their promise. May we always remember with gratitude their part in making us who we are today.

(For you local folks who are interested - I have posted below the video we watched that night. Total time is about 15 minutes – and due to YouTube constraints I had to upload on two videos). Enjoy.

Let 'em Sing it To Ya

2009-04-15T21:19:00.000-04:00

After watching this fun LukeandDrew video below, I am sure every one of you will want to go to their online store and purchase the newly released LukeandDrew CD, "Our Own Little World."

Their music is fun. The lyrics will make you smile.

Disclaimer: All proceeds from the sale of "Our Own Little World" will go to financially help a young couple who is getting married on September 19 of this year.

OK - the young couple getting married is Luke and Drew. And Luke is my youngest son. But they are having the time of their lives.

And what they are doing sure beats government assistance.

So let 'em sing it to ya. You'll be glad you did.

Watch video and then click here to order your CD today!

Let Me Sing It to Ya from Luke and Drew on Vimeo.

I Believe in Miracles

2009-04-12T22:15:00.011-04:00

We were right across the street from the gates of Augusta National last Wednesday when we noticed two large buses advertising John Daly merchandise. We decided to wait until we came out to stop by and check out the merchandise.

Not to our surprise, when we returned late in the afternoon, Mr. Longshot himself was selling his merchandise. I donated to his cause by purchasing a flag from him. I also got his autograph on the flag and had my picture taken with him.

For you non golfers, John Daly knows what it’s like to be on top. He has won 19 professional golf events, including five PGA events . Two of those five PGA events were majors. His endorsers have included some of the biggest companies in sports.

He drew crowds and increased attendance wherever he played not only because he hit the ball further than everybody else but he never fit the persona of a professional golfer. People related to him.

To say his life has resembled a train wreck off the course would be an understatement.

When Daly was 23 years of age, he says he drank a fifth of Jack Daniels every day. Last fall he was arrested in North Carolina for public intoxication. (See mug shot). He has been in and out of alcohol rehab facilities and has lost between 50-60 million dollars on his gambling problem. Daly has been through four wives, charged with domestic violence and earlier this year his $1.6m home was sold on the courthouse steps.

He has picked up his ball and walked off the course in the middle of a golf tournament and seemingly purposely hit numerous balls in the water at the end of a round that had gone bad.

Late last year he was suspended from the PGA tour for six months.

My question is why in the world would a man with this much God given talent throw it all away? How could a man who was at the top of his sport with more money than he could possibly spend be forced to be standing outside of an event like the Masters peddling golf merchandise to survive?

The truth is it happens every day.

Life is a series of choices. We can choose to walk down the right path or we can choose to walk down the wrong path. There are consequeces when we choose the wrong path.

Sometimes the bad choices we make take us further than we meant to go, keep us longer than we meant to stay and cost us more than we meant to pay.

And it can happen to any of us.

For the record, I am pulling and praying for John Daly. I refuse to kick a man when he is down. He is not drinking now and has lost 40 pounds. His PGA golf suspension ends at the end of May.

Here’s hoping John Daly comes back to the PGA tour a new man.

I'm serious.

It’s Easter Sunday. I believe in miracles.

The Message of Easter - We Win!

2009-04-10T22:03:00.012-04:00

This Sunday morning churches all over will be packed. The old saying, “You don’t build a church for Easter Sunday” is really true. This is the day you get out the folding chairs and people park on the grass.

Little girls will be wearing their Easter dresses and little boys will be wearing their brand spanking new shoes. Where they still dress up to go to church, this is the day they wear their best suit. For those who normally dress more casual on Sundays, they will wear the nicer shirt….or blouse.

Easter is a special day.

If you are in the Christian church business, business doesn’t get any better than Easter Sunday.

This is the day we as Christians celebrate the basis of our faith – the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We believe just as He was raised from the dead, we will one day be raised with him and live eternally with him.

I think my understanding of the Easter story was taken to a new level in the 1990’s when I was a part of a passion play put on every Easter by the First Baptist Church of Butler, Ga. Our church was small by most standards but this was a large production. The last days of Jesus were depicted in colorful drama, as was His excruciating death and His exhilarating resurrection.

Most everybody in the church had a part in the play in one way or another that was held each year in the high school auditorium. I played the role as John and narrated the play. It was my job to introduce each scene from the perspective of Jesus’ best friend. I memorized a ton of lines but in the process I began to see the life, death and resurrection of Jesus in a different light.

It was life changing for me.

Our production, by the way, did not end with the resurrection as many Passion play’s do. Our play ended with Jesus on His throne in heaven. And each and every production, the play ended with everyone in the audience on their feet.

As the last scene (shown below) of that Easter play depicts, the message of Easter for Christians is simple.

No matter what we are going through or what we are facing or what keeps us up at night - we know the end of the story. We've read the end of the Book.

In fact, I’ve memorized the end of the book.

We win!

Happy Easter.

Scenes from Augusta

2009-04-09T22:27:00.008-04:00

I spent the day Wednesday with some old friends at an old golf course. I’m not sure if there is a better place on earth to spend a day with old friends than at Augusta National Golf Club. (L-R me, Jimmy Childre, Jr, Lisa Parker, Howard Catron)

I have had the privilege to attend a lot of Masters over the past 40 something years and I have a ton of mental images of my visits. But I have never recorded any of those images because I have never roamed those hallowed grounds with a camera.

Until yesterday.

In case you don’t know, a camera is not allowed on the course during the actual golf tournament. But since I was attending on a practice day, I took a few pictures. To be exact, I took 157 pictures.

I will share only a few of them with you.

This is the famous scoreboard down the hill from #1 tee. I cannot even remember how many times I’ve walked on this course with others and said, “Meet me at the big scoreboard at 6PM.”

I don’t know who these two guys are but it is easy to see they are very serious about being dressed for the occasion.

This is Jim Furyk’s wife, Tabitha, with their two children. I don’t know which is more fun – watching the golfers or watching the golfer’s wives. These guys have great looking ladies. But more importantly, it was obvious these two kids are just as famous to their dad and he is to the rest of us.

These three guys were playing together during the Par 3 Contest on Wednesday. They are not getting any younger and I don’t know if I will ever have the opportunity to see Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player playing golf together again. I’m having some of these pictures framed. By the way, these three guys, known as golf’s Big Three, have won 159 PGA tour victories and 34 Majors between them. Not too shabby.

On second thought and if you are interested, you can view all 159 of my scenes from Augusta by clicking here. Hope you enjoy seeing them as much as I did taking them.

68 Years Ago Today

2009-04-07T11:26:00.008-04:00

I suppose it doesn’t matter at this point how they met. I know a young Ed Goddard met Naia Gonzales in her hometown of Fort Myers Florida. Naia worked for the local newspaper and Ed had moved to Fort Myers with a hardware company. They met when Ed walked in the Fort Myers News Press office one morning and the beautiful young Naia was sitting at the desk. I think it was love at first sight. But again, at this point, it really doesn’t matter.

I know Naia’s mother, Mabel, was none too excited about this tall, dashing, muscular Georgia boy with whom her daughter fell in love. And she was not excited at all when he later took her daughter back to the “God forsaken” little town of Reynolds, Ga. Mabel eventually worshiped the ground Ed Goddard walked on but at first she wanted nothing to do with him. But at this point, what Mabel Gonzales thought almost 70 years ago doesn’t matter either.

What does matter is they built a home in Reynolds Georgia. I’m not talking about a house of brick and mortar, though they built one of those too. But I’m talking a home - as in a family. And the four folks pictured above were the beneficiaries of their architectural prowess.

When I look back, I’m not sure what they did to build such a home.

I know a lot of family time took place around the table where we all took our time eating together. And we would move from the table to the den and the conversation would continue. I’m not sure many folks do that sort of mundane stuff very often anymore.

I know we could get only three channels on the television and two of those were fuzzy. So we didn’t spend a lot of time in silence watching such things as reality shows on TV. Our reality show was happening real time every day with each other.

I know the kids spent a lot of time in the yard playing with each other and with other kids. And a lot of life-long relationships were built in the process. I also know my parents had close friends who came over often. And there was always a lot of laughter.

I also know this couple had family devotions at night before everybody went to bed. The kids would gather in their bedroom. Someone would read something out of the Bible and everybody would pray. I’m sure we learned a lot at Sunday school and church - where we were every time the doors were open. But we all learned to pray in our parent’s bedroom. And when I look back I think that is probably the best place to learn.

And I also know these parents were not perfect and the neat thing is they never pretended to be. They were transparent and real at home, at church, at work, in their place of service in the community and wherever else you might find them.

Thank God you don’t have to be perfect parents to build a home. But because of what my parents taught me by their lives, I happen to think being “real” is a good place to start.

This past Saturday Kathy and I went to an Easter Egg hunt with our little grandbaby girl. I couldn’t help but think about my parents and my siblings and a few Easter Egg hunts of our own in our backyard many moons ago.

The first part of this little family video clip below was filmed Easter Sunday 1955. About halfway it moves into 1957 footage. I am the baby - the youngest of four. At one point in the video you will notice my brother George kissing me.

He hasn't kissed me since.

But I post it with a grateful heart - and in memory of Ed and Naia Goddard, who were married exactly 68 years ago today.

Fun Stuff!

2009-04-05T09:27:00.004-04:00

Our grandbaby, Taylor, enjoying her first Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday.

Fun stuff!!

We Need More Tyler Stovalls

2009-04-03T21:58:00.011-04:00

My little article I wrote on Tyler Stovall the other day has resulted in much more information. Tyler’s sister, Katie, saw the blog and helped me out.

Just in case you didn’t read the comments that were added from the original blog, I will sum up some of the things I have learned about the incredible Tyler Stovall with 13 rather simple comments.

1. Tyler’s excels in much more than baseball.

2. Last year he had signed more than 10,000 autographs for young kids. I don’t know how many he is up to now. His jersey number throughout his career has always been #13. He always signs his name and under it writes Phillipians 4:13. That’s 10,000 4:13’s. He never included what that verse said because he wanted the kids to go home and look it up. In his honor, I’ll let you do the same here.

3. He also mentions that he wears #13 because there were 12 guys and “one more” in history that are very important to him. He likes for kids to ask him about the “other person.” In case you don’t know about “the other” person, make sure to go to church on Easter Sunday.

4. His dad also wore that number. As did his uncle, cousin, brother and sister Katie.

5. Tyler is a fierce competitor. Although he was playing two sports his senior year in addition to having to do his school work, he somehow edged out his friend and became Valedictorian of his graduating class.

6. Representatives from all thirty major league baseball teams visited Tyler’s home before he graduated from high school.

7. Against everybody’s advice and their concern that he could have an injury and ruin a great career, Tyler opted to play football his senior year anyway. Why? Because his friends were playing and he didn’t want to let the team down.

8. Tyler didn’t play basketball his senior year because that sport overlapped with baseball season. But he was in the stands and even painted his face in Hoke’s Bluff green to cheer for his team.

9. Tyler loves Auburn University (bless his heart) and signed a letter of intent with them to play baseball. Both Auburn and Tyler knew he would not be playing college baseball. He signed with Auburn simply “to show his love for the school.”

10. Although he had absolutely no control on which professional team would draft him, he always dreamed of playing for the Atlanta Braves.

11. Tyler Stovall was the second person drafted by the Atlanta Braves last year.

12. Brian and Holly Stovall are rightfully very proud of their son. Dad says, “Tyler is the most determined human being I have ever met.” Mom says, “I couldn’t have placed an order for a kid and have him come out any better."

That's 12 comments.

And now...one more.

I ordered a pack of autographed “Tyler Stovall” baseball cards from Ebay today because they will be worth something one day. If he ends up in 1A Rome this year, I plan to show up to watch him pitch. And if not, I’ll still be cheering for him all the way to the top. And he will make it to the top of the game of baseball.

In case you are wondering why I am writing all this about someone I never knew even existed until I passed through his home town last week…..it’s simple.

I believe we need more “Tyler Stovalls” at the top.

Life Ain't Fair

2009-04-01T23:21:00.007-04:00

I left my office Tuesday afternoon for a 3 ½ hour drive to Montgomery, AL. That drive takes me right through my hometown of Reynolds, GA. I always have this strong urge to stop when I go through Reynolds. When I am not in a hurry, I will stop in and visit some folks. I never call ahead. I just show up.

You can do that sort of thing in places like Reynolds, GA.

But sometimes, when I am in a hurry, I just stop at a convenience store. And that is exactly what I did on Tuesday afternoon. I saw a very familiar face at the gas pump. Although it was raining, I had to get out and speak to him.

And take his picture.

When God made James Windham, He threw away the mold. I saw James from time to time the fifty or so years I lived in Reynolds but not very often. We never hung out together. I never even had a meal with him. In fact every time I think of him, my mind goes back forty something years ago when we were in elementary school. In fact all my memories of James took place within a 3 iron of where I took this picture.

In elementary school, James was a man among boys. He was held back a time or two and was older than most of the other boys in his class. But he was strong as an ox. He had real muscles and he was one bad hombre. Nobody messed with James Windham.

One afternoon M.L. Crook, the bus driver, stopped the bus before it pulled out of the school parking lot to make James get off the bus. There was no telling what James was doing on the bus but apparently it was bad enough that M.L wanted him off. James refused to get off the bus. Mr. Helms , the principal, was called to help with the situation. Mr. Helms couldn’t get him off the bus either..

Mr. Helms finally told M. L. to take James home and “please don’t bring him back.”

I could never forget the day we were in PE class and somebody came running in the gym to tell Mr. Helms that James was beating up Mr. Hogan (a teacher). We all ran out of the gym to the playground to watch the fight. James had Mr. Hogan in a bear hug and was kneeing him in the butt. And Mr. Hogan was coming up in the air with every knee.

I never saw anything like it.

James was expelled the day he beat up Mr. Hogan. He never went to school again and never finished the 8th grade.

I asked James on Tuesday if he remembered that day. His quick response and I quote, “Hell yeah I remember it. I had been out of school sick with pneumonia and had just come back to school. Mr. Hogan was trying to make me run and I told him I was not going to run.”

James then looked at me in the eye and quietly said, “I didn’t run.”

I smiled.

But I noticed James didn’t smile.

Interestingly, I remember the fight and the expulsion well but I never knew the rest of the story.

James fought his way through life as a young boy. When my response to the running would have probably been, “please call my parents or let me get a doctor's excuse,” James’ response was to go nose to nose with the teacher and refuse to run. Mr. Hogan probably had no idea that James had been sick with pneumonia.

And he certainly didn't know James was about to kick his butt.

The truth is - James' response was the only response he knew.

As a result, James never got an education and has had more than a few struggles in life.

When I was a kid, I was scared to death of him.

Yesterday, as a grown man, I looked into the somewhat empty eyes of a 57 year old man and wondered what he could have become if he had the opportunities I had.

Life ain’t fair.

But God never promised it would be.

Never Never Never

2009-03-30T21:39:00.003-04:00

This video is inspiration in its purest form. Never let someone tell you that you can't.

Never.

Never.

Never.

Help is Coming!

2009-03-29T21:57:00.004-04:00

I was traveling in northeast Alabama last week and did a double take when I saw this sign on the side of the road. Actually the more I thought about what I thought I saw on the sign the more I wondered what I really saw.

I turned around and drove back to read it.

Hokes Bluff High School obviously has an incredible baseball program. You don’t win six straight state championships and not use the word incredible with the accomplishment.

I found out more.

Hokes Bluff is the home of the young man who was elected Mr. Baseball in the state of Alabama in 2008. He was also the second player drafted by the Atlanta Braves in last year’s draft.

I also learned that Tyler Stovall is a 6’2” 200lb southpaw and has a fast ball that has been clocked as high as 96 mph. He also had a monster curve and a tight slider to go with the fast ball. I also heard there was at least one game when he pretty much struck out everybody he faced.

And he can hit as well as he can pitch.

His high school coach, Mike Estes, has been at it for 32 years. It has been said Estes is the greatest high school coach in the history of Alabama high school baseball. He has produced numerous Division 1A signees and has even produced one Major Leaguer. Estes has seen a few baseball players.

Mike Estes says Tyler Stovall is the best he’s ever coached.

It’s amazing the things you can learn if you keep your eyes and ears open when you are driving around rural America.

When Tyler Stovall takes the mound for the Atlanta Braves in the next few years, remember you read about him here first.

The message seems to be rather loud coming from Hokes Bluff , AL to Turner Field in Atlanta.

Help is coming!

Yeah baby.

Mr. Merribello from Queens, NY

2009-03-29T09:29:00.010-04:00

I received the letter below (via email) from Wayne from Pennsylvania. I had a feeling the story about Ralph would resonate beyond the city limits of Reynolds, Ga. As I suspected, there are Ralphs in every town and in everybody's life.

Wayne's story below is very touching and is worth sharing. There is also a huge truth embedded in his story. So you won't miss it, I have highlighted Wayne's simple but profound statement below.

----------------------------------------------

Bruce,

I’m not sure you remember me, we have spent very little time together during business meetings and afterwards socially. Just a few short times, you had made an impact on me. Thanks for this message this morning in your blog. It meant a lot to me. I thought I would share a short story about my very same experience.

As a youngster, we also had a “Ralph” in our neighborhood growing up in the big city of Queens, New York. His name was Lenny, a recluse living alone in an older run down two story home that sat by itself just past the Junior High School on the edge a very busy highway. He didn’t take much care of himself or the house he lived in, but he did whatever he could for the widows and senior citizens of the area. Like Ralph, Lenny was always busy doing something. He pushed a basket on wheels around the neighborhood with assorted tools and necessities to complete any job the older folks had requested. He never charged for his services, but the older ladies always treated him to cakes, pies and goodies to thank him for his help. We teenagers and youngsters always made fun of Lenny every chance we got. Lenny always responded is a fun way. We meant to be hurtful and he turned it into a game.

One day as I was walking past Mrs. Romeo’s house I looked down the driveway and saw Lenny and Mrs. Romeo struggling with an older stove. They were trying to carry it to the curb for trash pick-up. I don’t know what made me stop and dart down the long drive way to help, but I did. Mrs. Romeo stepped back and Lenny and I lifted and carried that old stove to the curb. I remember the smile on Lenny’s face to this day. It was a smile that displayed a genuine thank you. We made it to the curb and as I looked backed and waved to Mrs. Romeo heading in the direction of the ball park, I heard Lenny say, “We’re not done, Mrs. Romeo needs our help cleaning out her garage.”

Right then I wrestled with helping them or going to the ball park. Call it guilt or whatever you want, but I walked with Lenny back out to the garage. As I looked into the garage I saw mountains and mountains of debris, old saved mementos and out-dated furnishings. I knew this was more than an afternoon of work. To make a long story short it took us two days to complete, but at the end of a hard two day project Mrs. Romeo could pull her big old Cadillac into the garage. Over those two days I became to understand Lenny and know who he was. I learned a great deal from an individual who himself could not learn the essentials to take care of himself.

Lenny knew he was different. He knew his full potential and strived to be the best at what he could do. He didn’t work, and at that time no one would hire him - so he gave back. Lenny was not a lazy person. He was a hard worker and saw to it that everything he attempted to do, he did with care.

We were just finishing up when Lenny decided that we should wash Mrs. Romeo’s car and so we did. When we were finished Mrs. Romeo came out of her house with two homemade chocolate cakes and handed each of us one, along with a twenty dollar bill. I had a smile from ear to ear and thoughts raced through my mind with how I was going to spend it. Then I saw Lenny hand the twenty dollars back to Mrs. Romeo and thanked her for the cake. At that very moment Lenny gave me the look. A look that said, “Give back the money” and so I did.

We both walked up her driveway toward the street holding in our hands a Chocolate Bundt Cake with drizzled chocolate sauce. As a young teenager, I had to ask Lenny why he gave back the money. Lenny began to chuckle and then said to me, “Have you looked at this cake? Where can you purchase a cake like this for twenty dollars? He then stopped and turned to me in the driveway with a very serious look on his face and said something that was very profound. Lenny said, “I’m blessed with so much in my life. I can’t work in order to take care of myself and my family has provided for me. I have money, I have clothes, I have food and I have a home to live in.

Someone had to give that to me, now I have to do anything and everything I’m able to give back.”

From that point forward and because of the two very long hard days of work that I spent with Lenny I learned to respect him. From that point forward, anything he did was an interest to me. From that point forward, I always extended myself to help and encouraged people to stop making fun of him. Over a course of just a few days Lenny became Mr. Merribello to me.

Bruce, I have been receiving your blogs for some time and thoroughly enjoy them. Sometimes they're just great stories about people and events in life. Sometimes they're just thoughts that make us think, but sometimes there is a profound lesson hidden in the words for all of us to learn. Thanks for sharing…………. Since I met you everything you write has an interest to me.

Best Regards,

Wayne
Camp Hill, PA

Bright Sunshine

2009-03-27T20:50:00.010-04:00

It rained in Taylor County Ga all day today. The sunshine disappeared sometime Thursday afternoon when word spread that Tommy Mattingly had passed away.

I’m not sure who gave “Sunshine” Mattingly his name but whoever did pegged him very well. Sunshine never met a stranger in his life and he brightened up many a day for a lot of folks who crossed his path during his short 45 years on earth.

Although Tommy could brighten up most anybody’s day, the sun didn’t always shine brightly in his own life. In fact, he probably experienced more dreary days than most folks I’ve known.

But he would never let you know it.

I first met the little boy who would become known throughout Taylor County as “Sunshine” when he was just a baby boy. The night before I met him, I had ridden over to the train station in Macon with my dad and Sunshine’s Uncle Dennon to pick up Sunshine’s mother who was coming in on a train.

We rode in the hearse.

His mother, Patricia, had walked through her garage a few mornings earlier wearing a night gown. There was an open gas can in the garage. When the night gown brushed against her car, the static electricity ignited the gas in the can and the gown she was wearing. She never had a chance.

This young mother left behind five small children. These little children ended up moving back to Reynolds to be raised by their grandparents. And there were some aunts and uncles who greatly contributed to the raising.

I always felt close to the Mattingly kids. Although I was a young teenager myself when their mom died, I was never able to escape that mental image forty years ago of five little children sitting under that tent at the cemetery with their young mother’s casket in front of them.

I watched Sunshine grow up and I always made a point when I saw him to stop and talk and let him spread a little of his sunshine on me.

Sunshine has suffered through many physical problems the last few years. More than most 40 something year olds ever experience.

Not long ago I was about to walk in a store in Warner Robins and I heard some yell “Bruce Goddard” as I walked toward the door. Sunshine was sitting in a car. I must have visited with him at least 15minutes that day standing outside his car.

The last time I saw Sunshine was at Ft. Wayne Store in Reynolds where he worked behind the counter. His color didn’t look good and I was thinking it must be difficult for him to be on his feet all day working. But, typical Sunshine, he never let me know he was not feeling well.

Despite his own troubles he was determined to keep spreading the sunshine.

When I heard about Sunshine’s death, I couldn’t help but think about that horrific scene at Mt. Olive Cemetery I have carried with me most of my life. But then I thought of a much better image of Sunshine being introduced at the Pearly Gates to a Mama he never had an opportunity to know.

The sunshine definitely disappeared in Taylor County yesterday afternoon.

But it was shining very brightly on the other side a millisecond later when this Mom got to embrace her boy.

D-I-N Ralph

2009-03-26T22:15:00.004-04:00

Ralph roamed the streets of Reynolds as long as I can remember. The truth is I never knew his last name and I’m not even sure Ralph was really his first name.

I suppose every small town has a Ralph.

Ralph always wore this heavy coat he is wearing in this picture. If it was cold outside it came in handy. When it was 100 degrees he had to be miserable. But he always dressed like it was winter. He lived in an old shanty on the outside of town but all he did was sleep there. When he wasn't sitting on a bench in town, he could be found walking along the roads and highways in the county. One night someone saw him walking down a highway 90 miles south of Reynolds. Some jerk had picked him up and taken him that far and put him out.

Some of us idiotic kids made fun of him. When we asked him how to spell “Ralph” he would quickly respond with these letters: D-I-N. And he would say, “If you didn’t know it then you know it now.”

He became known to many folks as D-I-N Ralph.

Ralph always had a harmonica packed away somewhere inside that coat. If you asked him to play it he would proudly pull it out and begin playing. He would tap his foot and intermittently sing along with whatever he was playing. He would look in your eyes when he was playing and when he was done he would grin really big. He was not at all ashamed of his rotten teeth.

As I grew older I quit asking him to spell his name. And I would give him a few dollars when I saw him. And I picked him up in my truck when I passed him walking down the road. He always got in the back of the truck. I never remember him actually getting in the cab.

Ralph apparently never contributed much to society.

But maybe his contribution to society was not what God had in mind when he planted this Ralph in Reynolds, GA.

Maybe it was about how folks like me would serve him and relate to him. Maybe this is what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 25:40.

If so, I flunked the test.

God help me.

Dawn Has Arrived

2009-03-24T22:46:00.006-04:00

Dawn has arrived at the Goddard house this week. And if there has ever been a more beautiful one, I haven’t seen it yet.

From my perspective our nephew Hoke has hit himself a homerun.

This gorgeous gal came to Georgia this week from West Haven Connecticut by way of Chattanooga Tennessee. The more I talk to her, the more impressed I become. And the more I am impressed with her parents for the way they raised her.

And the more impressed I am with Sydney Hoke Bryan, IV for finding her.

Dawn is a junior at Tennessee Temple in Chattanooga and is on an academic scholarship. When she was 14 years old, this incredible home schooler began taking college courses and getting college credits. She began her college career in Chattanooga at the age of 16 - as a sophomore. She will graduate with a degree in Psychology next year at age 19.

Obviously Dawn is very smart. But I also think she is quickly becoming a Southern Belle.

As you might imagine, Dawn experienced a little culture shock when she arrived in Chattanooga in the fall of 2007. I’m sure there was more culture shock when she arrived at our house last Sunday afternoon.

She says things are a little slower and more laid back in this part of the world.

Although Dawn is a major UCon Huskie basketball fan (her mom is a Ucon alumnus), she has already begun checking out how to become a naturalized citizen of the Georgia Bulldog Nation.

Hoke and Dawn have only been seeing each other about six weeks. They officially became a couple about three weeks ago.

I am officially writing my first blog about her now. Hopefully there will be many more blogs to come

I do think she is fitting in very nicely though.

I heard her say “y’all” on at least two occasions tonight.

Thanks to Sydney

2009-03-23T21:44:00.005-04:00

This past weekend I uploaded over 300 pictures of folks from my hometown to the incredible social network called Facebook. Many of the pictures are of people who are long gone. In fact, a great majority of the people shown in the photos are people I buried.

I remember when the late Sydney Bryan (pictured here standing next to Jack Heath) took most of the pictures. He walked around town with a camera in the late 70’s for the sole purpose of making sure the faces of our little town would never be forgotten. He took a picture of everybody he could find. He put his photos in an album and wrote notes about each person on sticky notes and put next to their picture.

There was not a negative word written about a single person. I’m sure he could have thought of a few negatives to say about each person, but he chose to keep it positive.

If there was ever anyone who loved the little town of Reynolds GA and the people who lived there, it would be Sydney. He hoped the albums he left his family would be placed on a bookshelf and passed down to future generations of the Bryan family. He had no way of knowing that 30 something years later, we would have the capability of uploading his pictures on the world wide web and people anywhere in the world could instantaneously see them.

Several years ago I borrowed Sydney’s albums and scanned all his photos and created a few duplicate books for his children. I’ve had the electronic version of the pictures saved on a computer. It dawned on me the other day that Facebook would be the perfect place to share the priceless photos with others. So I did a lot of cropping and uploading this weekend.

And there have been a lot of smiles and fond memories from the folks who knew them.

But as I was uploading the pictures, it also dawned on me that there are stories about each person. And stories the rest of the world would enjoy and appreciate.

Some of the folks I have already written about here and you have already met. Others you may have read about in my book and you will be able to put a face with a name. But there are other folks you haven’t met yet.

The world sure has enjoyed the characters and the stories of the little fictitious town called Mayberry, NC. There are even Sunday school lessons created from those stories.

Now, thanks to the forward thinking of one Sydney Bryan and an electronic medium called a blog, the world is about to be introduced to more of the characters and stories of the real town of Reynolds, Ga.

And, thanks to Sydney, maybe we will find a few life lessons along the way.

Stay tuned.

Facing the Giants

2009-03-22T21:38:00.003-04:00

I'm not sure what you had planned to do to start your week, but the following video is worth the six minutes it will take to watch it.

It's about leadership.

It's about tenacity.

It's about fortitude.

It's about life.

I hope you have a great week and give it all you've got...and more. It might take you further than you think.

My Dancing Grandbaby Girl

2009-03-19T22:32:00.003-04:00

Taylor likes her some Luke & Drew music. Watch this!

The Power of the Possible

2009-03-17T23:10:00.005-04:00

(Columbus, GA) Last night I was sitting at the head table at a banquet. I pulled my camera out of my pocket and took this picture about five minutes before I went to the podium to speak. The scene is one I have experienced hundreds and hundreds of times.

And a scene, as a young man, I never imagined I would be experiencing.

This past Sunday I drove over to Sandersville, GA to attend a funeral. I did not know until I sat down in the chapel and looked at the memorial folder that my lifelong friend would be doing the eulogy at the funeral.

I was more than impressed by his ability to stand in front of a crowd of folks and communicate what was on his heart concerning his beloved friend. He had the audience leaning on every word and eating out of his hand. In a word, his eulogy was brilliant.

After the service at the cemetery, Jimmy and I walked away from the crowd and had a short conversation. After a few words concerning the reason we were there and my compliments on the great job he did, our discussion turned to the irony that we both ended up speaking in public.

Mrs. Ann Harrelson has to be turning over in her grave. Or maybe she is turning over in her wheelchair. She may still be alive. If she is still kicking and anyone knows her whereabouts, please let me know.

Mrs. Harrelson, for your information, was one of our high school English teachers. We also had her for a speech class we took together in the tenth grade. Or maybe it was the eleventh. Both of us hated the class and were mortified to stand in front of twenty five of our peers and give a three minute speech. We were terrible at giving speeches. If someone told Mrs. Harrelson in 1971 that Jimmy Childre and Bruce Goddard would be invited to give speeches 38 years later, she would have laughed.

Out loud.

And we would have laughed even more.

There is a lesson here.

What you hate today, may just be what you love tomorrow. What is unthinkable to you today, may just be a reality tomorrow.

What you think is impossible today, may just be possible tomorrow.

Never underestimate the power of the possible.

Standing Room Only

2009-03-15T22:21:00.006-04:00

Luke and Drew had their coming out party to a standing room only crowd on Saturday night. It doesn’t matter the room was rather small. It just matters that it was packed out.

I predict one of these days this very unique couple will look back on the night as a turning point in their lives. It will be the night they took the big chance. The night they went way out on a limb. A night they could have failed miserably and made themselves look like fools.

But didn’t.

On March 14, 2009 Luke and Drew boldly walked on a stage and did something they never have done before. Backed by a very talented band, they performed seven of their very original songs in front of a live audience.

And as they say in baseball, they knocked the doggoned cover off the ball.

Using the power of technology, this incredible duo mixed a little (okay a lot) of humor along with their great music. Most of their songs were introduced by such characters as Happy Harriett, Emotional Terry, Darlene Wiggington and LaKeisha.

But in spite of the laughter, everyone in the audience was reminded of the innocence and power of love. And that is exactly what their music does.

But the lesson here is not about entertainment but rather much more about life.
Not many people figure out that in order to achieve excellence you have to put yourself out on a limb. Out there where you know it could break.

In order to grow you have to be stretched.

In order to win you have to be willing to lose.

Luke and Drew put themselves in that position last night. And in the process they took a giant step on the path to winning in life.

And they took that step in front of a standing room only audience.

It just don’t get any better than that.

Homes Are Forever

2009-03-13T22:36:00.014-04:00

Our phone started ringing early at our house today. Friends from our hometown of Reynolds were letting us know that the house in which we raised our family had burned to the ground. Thankfully nobody was hurt or killed.

But at least a thousand memories ran through my mind as I drove to my office in Macon this morning. And a huge lump was in my throat when I drove over this afternoon to visit my friends, the Barrow’s, and to see what’s left of the place where we raised our family.

I was playing golf one afternoon in the fall of 1987 and was driving in a golf cart down number 9 fairway when I saw my friend and realtor Pete Ayers putting a For Sale sign in the yard of that house. I finished playing golf that day and went straight home and told my wife the house we had always wanted was for sale. In a matter of weeks we sold our house and purchased the beautiful house that sat next to Number 9 fairway.

I can tell you there was a lot of living in that house before we ever bought it. In fact, the Bond family lived there for 38 years. Mr. and Mrs. H.C. Bond and family were there long before we took over. I remember being very proud to be moving in the Bond home. And I think Mrs. Bond was proud as well.

When we moved in, I was only 33 years old and Kathy was 32. Our boys were 7, 6 and 2. When we moved to Warner Robins 16 years later, Kathy and I were both 48 – the boys were 23, 21, and 17. I can tell you we did a lot of living in that house. And a whole lot of learning. There was also a lot of praying when our boys got older and were out and about and doing who knows what. Thankfully the praying paid off. They never got killed or killed anyone else and they all turned out fine. But I have to admit I did wonder a time or two if they would make it.

About three months after we moved in, we bought a yellow lab and named her Abby. She was a part of our family the entire 16 years we were there. To say Abby was known by all the golfers would be a huge understatement. She became an institution at the Reynolds Golf Club.

The house was always full of boys. I remember literally stepping over kids sleeping all over the floor of the den on a weekend when I would leave in the middle of the night to go on a death call. The Johnson girls lived across the golf course and they came in and out as much as our own boys. And there were the cousins who came on many weekends and spent weeks at a time in the summer…and the Harrell cousins who visited their grandparents next door.

My goodness there was a lot of living in that house.

For some of you golfers who are reading this who thought you were stung by a wasp when you bent over to tee up your ball, I have come to find out later in life it wasn’t a wasp. You probably were shot by a BB gun by one of my boys with their cousins and/or friends dressed in camouflage hiding in the bushes.

Later the girlfriends came. And my goodness they were cute and I had so much fun. But sometimes I wondered if my boys knew it. I was sitting in the den one night listening to one of my sons break up with his very cute girlfriend. I almost fainted when he told her he felt like he needed to spend more time with his truck.

There were times in the later years when we would have girl spend the night parties. And I would step over girls when I left the house in the middle of the night.

I thought today of the time I drove up and thought there had been a murder. There was blood all under the carport and on the brick walls. My heart dropped to my stomach. I remember being relieved when I discovered John and his friend Syd had picked up a possum on the highway and skinned it under our carport.

I also remember driving up one afternoon and seeing my mother fall as she was walking in the side door. I got her up off the floor and took her to her doctor in Macon that day. He admitted her and she died less than a week later. I also remember my dad eating his last meal in the dining room of that house. I took him back home that night and found him dead the next morning.

When I stood this afternoon looking at the remnants of the place we once called home, I swallowed hard.

But I was reminded of something very important.

Houses can be destroyed overnight.

But homes are forever.

Homemade Genius Presents Luke & Drew

2009-03-13T19:15:00.003-04:00

SATURDAY AT 7PM
1600 Elberta Road
Warner Robins, GA

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All is Well in Ardmore

2009-03-11T23:19:00.011-04:00

(Ardmore, OK) I was driving down I-35 tonight heading towards Dallas and the DFW Airport and decided to pull over in this town to grab a bite to eat.

Ardmore is a town located about halfway between Dallas and Oklahoma City. It is known as Arbuckle Country because of its proximity to the Arbuckle Mountains. Although the population of Ardmore is only about 24,000, it is known as the hub of south central Oklahoma.

I also discovered some rather famous people came from this town – or should I say infamous.

For starters, Rue McClanahan came from this town. She played the role of the oversexed, man hungry Blanche Devereaux on the hit television show “The Golden Girls.” She won a few Emmy’s I believe playing the very funny controversial lady.

And it all started right here in Ardmore.

You may also be surprised that one of the most controversial football players who ever played in the NFL is an Ardmore native. Mark Gastineau was an All Pro football player but didn’t do quite as well off the football field. If I remember correctly he spent a year or so in the old clinker. He was cheered loudly for beating up running backs and quarterbacks on the football field but he was not so popular when he beat up his wife. He also had a little problem sniffing the white powder stuff as well. But in spite of the good and the bad, he was born right here in Ardmore.

And then there is maybe the most infamous Ardmore citizen of them all. John Hinkley, Jr was born right here in 1955. His family owned Hinkley Oil Company in Ardmore. When John moved away he wrote letters to his parents about his girlfriend. The girlfriend turned out to be a complete fabrication. You may also remember Hinkley had an unhealthy obsession with Jodie Foster. He stalked her, repeatedly called her and even slipped love notes under her door. And then in 1981, Hinkley shot President Reagan and three other men as they left the Hilton Hotel in Washington DC. He said he was trying to impress Jodie. I doubt if he impressed her and I don’t think he impressed the people of his hometown of Ardmore either.

Tonight I had dinner with a couple of Ardmore residents who are less famous and much less controversial that the others I have mentioned. Daniel and Kerri Whatley have been living in the hub of South Central Oklahoma for several months. I don’t know how long they will live here but I doubt you will ever read about Kerri starring in a sexy sitcom. And you won’t read about Daniel getting arrested for sniffing cocaine or beating his bride. And you will never read where Daniel is accused of stalking a movie star.

Just won’t happen.

But my nephew Daniel is rather controversial – at least to his family. He has moved way too far from home and the folks who brought him into the world wish he and his wife lived a little closer.

But just in case they read this, I have a good report. Your children are fine. Daniel and Kerri are healthy and happy and know their way around town. And they took me to a great Mexican restaurant.

Trust me, all is well in Ardmore.

Their Own Little World

2009-03-09T23:58:00.007-04:00

This Saturday night is a huge night on the Luke and Drew Calendar. In fact, it is the night in which a lot of us have all been waiting for quite some time.

It’s not the biggest night mind you. The biggest night will take place in a few months on September 19, when these two love birds become man and wife. That will be really big.

But this Saturday is huge nonetheless.

Saturday night will be the coming out party for Luke and Drew, the musical duo. They will be releasing their sensational all original CD entitled, “Our Own Little World.”

I don’t know exactly what will take place Saturday night but I can pretty much promise you it will be an entertaining evening. Luke and Drew spent last weekend in Greenwood SC with their record label getting ready for the release party.

Luke and Drew will be performing several songs off their CD. A few of Luke’s characters many of you have come to know and appreciate will also make appearances. I can tell you Tyler Perry hasn’t got one thing on Luke.

Record label, Homemade Genius, will be on hand to introduce Luke and Drew and their marketing plans. Also, a well known band, Standing Small, will be on hand and will perform a full acoustic set from their upcoming album.

In addition to “Our Own Little World,” Luke and Drew will also be offering limited edition “Luke and Drew Owl and Tree Limb” tee shirts for sale as well as Luke and Drew button-pin sets.

If you are within driving distance of Warner Robins GA, it will be worth your effort to show up for this one. You will enjoy great music and more than a few laughs.

And you will not only have the opportunity to be a part of Luke and Drew's own little world, but you may just have the opportunity to be an eye witness to the beginning of something that could be really big.

Saturday March 14
7PM
Christian Hope Church
(former Flint Energies building)
1600 Elberta Rd.
Warner Robins, GA

Be sure to check them out at lukeanddrew.com

Little Ben

2009-03-05T23:14:00.007-05:00

This picture paints more than a thousand words. Three little Newton girls are standing at the front door waiting on their brand new little brother to come home.

What a sight.

For the record, the Newton triplets and their new little brother are the children of Ben and Elizabeth Newton. They also are my parent's great grandchildren.

Baby Ben doesn’t know it yet, but he is about to begin an incredible ride. Hopefully Baby Ben will read this one day so I’ll make a few projections. Maybe he’ll give his great uncle a call at my nursing home in about 20 years and tell me if I was right.

For starters, the waiting at the front door is a sign of things to come. These three girls will be waiting at the door when he comes home from school for the first time, when he comes home from his first date and when he comes home late for the first time.

I'm sure one day they will even be waiting when he comes home for the holidays.

Little Ben will have a lot of older guys who will want to be his best friend. He’ll get to do things most 13 year old boys don’t get to do so they can be invited to spend the night with him.

He will also have a good working knowledge of PMS early in life. Early in his own marriage, Little Ben will know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away and know when to run. Most guys are 10 years into their marriage before they figure all that out.

I also predict Little Ben’s future wife will not appreciate or understand why he likes to pee-pee in the back yard. He will finally confess in a marriage counseling session that the inside bathrooms were always occupied at his house when he was growing up.

This picture of the triplets lying in the floor with their little brother is also a picture of things to come. This will happen when he falls in love for the first time, when a girl breaks his heart for the first time and when he gets in trouble for the first time.

Little Ben will be petted and pampered by his big sisters all his life. There will be times when he will not appreciate the petting and the pampering and I’m sure that will result is some fussing and fighting along the way.

But when little Ben Newton calls his great uncle in about 20 years to tell me I was right, he will also tell me Southerland, Ridley and Mary Camp Newton are not only his big sisters, but they are his closest friends on earth.

I’ll be waiting on that call.

In the meantime, I’ll keep the rest of you posted as it all unfolds.