Two of the Sixty Seven Hundred

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.

King George

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.

To Touch a Company

(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.

Miss California

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?

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.

Wine into Water

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.

I Believe in Miracles

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!

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.

68 Years Ago Today

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.

We Need More Tyler Stovalls

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.

Never Never Never

This video is inspiration in its purest form. Never let someone tell you that you can't.

Never.

Never.

Never.

Help is Coming!

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.

Facing the Giants

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.

The Power of the Possible

(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.

Homes Are Forever

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.

Conspicuously Absent

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And Ryan happens to be an African American.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But racial lines were conspicuously absent.

Broken Hearts

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

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

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

Or both.


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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

And my heart breaks with theirs.

Big Ed is Definitely Smiling

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

Scary stuff.

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

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


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

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

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


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

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



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

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

No doubt about it - Big Ed is definitely smiling.

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

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

Finishing Strong

One of the readers of this blog sent me this video today. There is a good chance that more than a few of you good folks who are reading this today have been knocked down.

Maybe you need a little inspiration to get back up and finish what you started.

I think this will do it.

Please Tell Me I'm Right

Yesterday afternoon I was moving a glass end table (actually a heavy glass end table) out to our storage building. Being the stupid guy I am, I didn’t bother to remove the glass from the table before I moved the table. I think I thought the glass was secured.

To make a stupid story even more stupid, it wasn’t. And the heavy piece of glass came off the table top and hit me on the big toe.

I got a quick real life lesson in pain.

After a few moments of extreme shock and numbness, I somehow completed the job I had started. I was hoping I could walk off the pain.

I made it back inside to the sofa and I realized this particular pain was not the walk off variety. I was hurting from the tip of my toe to my ear lobes. There was a basketball game on TV and I can promise you I don’t know who was winning or who was playing. In an attempt to get relief, I made it into the kitchen and filled a bucket with ice and water to soak my toe.

Later the intense unbearable pain began to subside and I moved into the aching throbbing stage. I eventually was able to make it upstairs and tell my wife what had happened. I could now at least communicate with the world around me.

We went out to eat with friends last night and although I complained about my toe killing me all night, I could now discuss other subjects and carry on normal conversations about things other than my hurting toe.

This morning I woke up to a rough looking toe. I put my shoe on and limped my way to church, determined not to let the aching toe stop me from living. I do wonder how I will make it walking through airports this next week and getting to all the places I have to be, but I will. I will be slower than normal and there will be pain and sometimes severe pain when I step or move in the wrong direction.

Eventually the toe will get back to normal and I will be back to the point where pain is not the object of my focus.

I tell you all this because some of you can relate. Maybe the pain you experienced is not an aching toe but an aching heart.

At first you were in a state of shock before the piercing pain set in. When the piercing pain began, all you could do was be overwhelmed with the pain. There was nothing else in the world. When you made it through that stage, you were then able to talk about your pain to others and communicate with the world around you. Finally you started doing the normal things of life although you were handicapped and still experienced the pain.

Eventually you got back to the point where the pain was not the object of your focus.

Or for some of us, eventually we will.

Pain is pain regardless of the source. And somehow we get through it and cope and move on with life.

Please tell me I’m right.