Howell B. Joiner's Blog

SOCIAL SECURITY

July 7, 2011 at 2:47 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

If you want to know the truth about Social Security go to the link below and learn of all the looting  of 2.6 trillion of our dollars. Now that the people we elected to represent us under the last five presidents have stolen and spent the Social Security funds  and rather than figure a way to pay it back they want to eliminate the program.

I am posting the link to  Allen W. Smith, Ph.D. who has devoted his retirement years and savings in his efforts to get this wrong made right.

Howell

http://www.thebiglie.net/id7.html

SOCIAL SECURITY

July 6, 2011 at 11:45 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

If you want to know the truth about Social Security took a long hard look at this site.

 

 

Howell

RECOMMENDED SITE

July 6, 2011 at 1:39 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

I am inviting everyone to follow this site

http://opinionsbasedonfacts.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2011-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2012-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=27

WILL THE UNITED STATES BE WEIGHED IN THE BALANCES AND FOUND WANTING?

June 29, 2011 at 6:19 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

WILL THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BE

WEIGHED IN THE BALANCES

AND FOUND WANTING?

 

BY

HOWELL B. JOINER

 

We have just passed the most beloved day of celebration of the year.  December 25 has been set aside to honor JESUS CHRIST for coming into this world to suffer and die and to set up a plan of salvation by which we have the choice to repent of our sins, be forgiven and to live a righteous life serving our savior.  Many of us are saddened when we see that Christ has all but been eliminated from Christmas.  Merry Christmas has been replaced with happy holiday

 

His word tells us that who so ever will may come and partake.  It does not say that we have to do so, but may do so willingly.  If we chose to do so, we are promised eternal life in Heaven as our reward for accepting His forgiveness and salvation.

 

Having formulated the previous two statements, it is apparent to me that I am being led by the Spirit to write an article that at this time I know not how far and in which direction it may go. It may be God’s way of dealing with me on a personal level or leading me to share it with whom ever receives the opportunity and or desire to read it. 

 

As I reflect on this introduction, I am praying and looking for guidance from above for the ability to write a balanced article on subjects that are often viewed through tunnel vision.  It is my desire to help all of us to back off enough to see the entire picture and understand what we see. 

 

While searching for a title for this writing the phrase,”WEIGHED IN THE BALANCES AND FOUND WANTING” came to mind.  A search for the source of that phrase led to the fifth chapter of Daniel.  This is where Belshazzar, the King, and his subjects were worshipping and praising the gods of gold, silver and other goods when he saw a handwriting on the wall and became very frightened. After consulting with all the wise men and soothsayers of Babylon and the Chaldeans, none could tell him the meaning.  

 

The queen told the king about Daniel, and Daniel was summoned  Daniel told the  king because you gave praise to the god’s of men and have not honored the God of Heaven the handwriting means that you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting and shall be destroyed.  And as told by Daniel that very night, Belshazzar was slain and his kingdom was taken over by Darius, the Median.  My thoughts then turned to our country and that same possibility and the title for this document was born.  

 

In case you question my credentials, I will give you a brief summary.   I have no degree or formal education above my high school deploma.

I was born on a small farm in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana during President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first year as president. I graduated from Loranger, Louisiana High School after having  been in the Loranger public school system 12 years. The rest of my education is a life time of going from farm boy to truck driver to labor leader and political activist.  There have been many times during this mission I would ask myself, “what am I doing here, how did I get here and am I in over my abiility?” I am thankful for those thoughts for I feel sure that is the thing that prevented me from from gaining a sense of self importance and made it possible to acheive some sucesses in pleading the case of working people both organized  and those that were not.   Along this path I learned much about how our government is designed to operate and how it does and in some cases does not does not work.

 

Most of us are somewhat familiar with world and Bible history and the fact since the early days of history there has been a dispute over creation or evolution.  This writing will portray the views of Biblical teachings.  The world has always had an abundance of controversy that has brought much hate and many wars.  One would think that little trouble would come among those that believe in God, Jesus Christ and the Bible.  History has shown that is not true. Many disputes and wars have been fought among believers that had bitter differences in how to believe.  Much of this was caused by greed for worldly goods, power and control. 

 

Starting forward from Christ’s time on earth there have been a number of different powers that have dominated the world.  Some have been governments, some have been churches, and some have  been combinations of both.  Sad to say a large portion of those powers did not follow the teachings of Christ or the will of God.

 

During these times people not agreeing with those in power were oppressed, jailed, stoned and even killed.  This resulted in much unrest and started people searching for a new world, a place where people could worship as they saw they should by reading the Word of God.  I will not dwell too long on this part of history and will keep moving toward our time.

 

In reviewing history, we find that empires and super powers that rose in power and might only to crumble and fade away and had become bloated with greed in some or all the following fields.  Wealth in currency, worldly goods, territory, power control and self pride. Self destruction or being overthrown by another rising power was inevitable and did occur.

 

Some of those that rose and fell were evil from the beginning and others started on an honorable mission but were overcome with evil as their power and greed grew.

 

It is most certain that God’s hand was in the discovery of America and the founding of The United States of America.  The very brave and wise men that fought for and achieved independence then set up a form of government designed to be a government of the people for the people and by the people.  This government was founded under a Constitution and a Bill of Rights for the people and was put into place in such a way that no person would be required to practice any religion.  The fundamentals of these two documents are still with us today  All people are free to practice any faith that they believe in and to worship in any manner that they believe is befitting to God.  All Christian people should be active in the process of maintaining a government of the people, for the people and by the people.  In all efforts to maintain your freedom, never push for legislation that would support your freedom to the point that it denies a brother his freedom.  Never should any theological doctrine be legislated.  Only push to insure your freedom along with everyone’s freedom to worship as you choose.  On the other hand, churches should stay out of government and leave that up to their members.  If the church members do their civic duty, the church interest will be served by the people, not the church, thereby maintaining the status of separation of church and state.

 

From the time Jesus Christ was here on earth the non-believers and the forces of evil have been doing every thing they can to oppose the work of God in the hearts and lives of His people and their rights to proclaim their faith

 

WHERE WE ARE NOW 

 

Before moving forward, I want all of you to know this is “NOT A PARTISAN ARTICLE”. We are under a two party system which has worked very well until near the end of the last century.  If we are able to find and correct the problem, the two party system can and will work again.

 

We are now in troubling times on a number of fronts in our beloved country.  Let us open our minds and put them to thinking as we assess our status as honestly as we can. It is most certain that some toes will be trod upon as we march forward in this mission.  As we all know, if we will admit it, our two party system of government is in a sad state of health and is facing malfunction junction if the course does not change soon.  

 

Before going on we need to turn our attention to balance. If an engine and all its parts aren’t balanced it will run rough, make much noise, shake, vibrate and have very little power.  After searching for, and finding the source of imbalance and making necessary repairs and adjustments, the engine will again run smoothly, quietly and have maximum power.   The same thing applies to the wheels of an automobile and all other machinery.

 

Our bodies have to have a balance of all our biological and metabolical components to function properly and feel well.  When we become ill we go to the doctor.  After the doctor examines, does lab and other tests a diagnoses is rendered, needed medication and therapy prescribed and we begin our recovery.

 

If we are going to cure the ills of our country, we must first look for things that are out of balance, determine the cause and do what is required to put things in balance.  This brings a number of questions into the picture.  First, and foremost is, how did a country that was birthed by the mission to build a nation governed of the people, for the people and by the people with liberty and justice for all, along with the rights to worship God as we chose end up with today’s restrictions on the same?  Take note that the same rights that made it possible to worship as we choose also made it possible for the non-believers to abstain from or to worship in a non-Christian forum.

 

A number of moral and social issues that are of deep concern to most people get kicked around during each election campaign by the elected officials that have come home from Washington D.C. to seek our votes again. Politicians from both parties are looking for two things to get themselves re-elected to another term.  Those two things are money and votes. During their term in office they come home for breaks and conduct town hall meetings to convince us they are fighting for our wishes on these issues.

 

After securing enough votes to win another election, they are back in D.C. raising funds for the next election by voting the interest of the special interest groups that financed their former election.  They feel very safe in doing so because they talk about those moral and social issues during the term to use them as a matador flag for your attention while making sure the same issues can again be their political football at the next election.

 

I recently received the final column by Charley Reese.  It relates so well with the goal of this article that it has to be included.

 

Charley Reese’s final column for the   Orlando  Sentinel

Charley  Reese has been a journalist for 49 years.  

 

This is about as clear and easy to understand as it can be. The article below is completely neutral, neither anti-republican or democrat.  Charlie Reese, a retired reporter for the Orlando Sentinel, has hit the nail directly on the head, defining clearly who it is that in the final analysis must assume responsibility for the judgments made that impact each one of us every day.  It’s a short but good read.  Worth the time.  Worth remembering! 

 

 545 vs. 300,000,000 People    -By Charley Reese

 

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

 

Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

 

Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

 

You and I don’t propose a federal budget. The President does.

 

You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

 

You and I don’t write the tax code, Congress does. 

 

You and I don’t set fiscal policy, Congress does.

 

You and I don’t control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

 

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one President, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

 

excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.  

 

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a President to do one cotton-picking thing. I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator’s responsibility to determine how he votes.

 

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

 

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall.  No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating  deficits. The President can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

 

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the President, can approve any budget they want.  If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present facts — of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can’t think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal  government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

 

If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair.

 

If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red. 

 

If the Army & Marines are in  Iraq  and  Afghanistan it’s because they want them in   Iraq and  Afghanistan … 

 

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it’s because they want it that way.

 

There are no insoluble government problems.

 

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to 

 

 

regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like “the economy,” “inflation,” or “politics” that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

 

Those 545 people, and they  alone, are responsible.

 

They, and they alone, have the power.

 

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.

 

Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees…

 

We should vote all of  them out of office and clean up their mess!

 

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando  Sentinel  Newspaper.

                                                        

 

 The end of the  Charley Reese Article

 

 

If we are going to take Charley’s advice, it is important that we replace the ousted employees with people who are in tune with our interest and the good and welfare of the country.  This is where we have to step up and exercise our duty to make this a government of the people, for the people, by the people.  In order to do this we must go back to the process and start from the beginning and that is going to take time.  Do we have the time? If we are going to rescue this country, we have to make time and determine to do so.  If we are going to succeed, we will have to do it right.  We will have to work open-mindedly and constructively with people that may have opinions that  differ from ours.                                                                   

 

The following is excerpt  #1 from one of my previous writings.  

 

At this time we know we need a solution and the best way to find a solution is to look back to where we went astray and what would have prevented the mess we are in. While we look and think back we see that we are no longer under a government of the people, for the people, by the people. We must question why?   Let us search for the answers.

 

(GOV-OPFPBP) will be used to refer to government of the people, for the people, by the people as we look at how it functions or malfunctions

 

The constitution set the guidelines for the states to operate their own program to attain this goal while staying within the guidelines set forth to assure a true representation of the people. Your state’s rules may vary in minor detail, but I will site Oklahoma, the one I know. 

 

At the same time and date in compliance with the guidelines each political party conducts a meeting within each voting precinct for the purpose of electing a chair person, a co-chair person and a secretary for that precinct. It is required that the announcement of this meeting be published and reported in all local news media.  The term of these officers is two years and they are on a schedule to be elected opposite the United States President.

 

There is a mandate that every voter has the opportunity to submit in writing resolutions for actions they want their party to take and stand for in the process of governing.  The time and place to submit these resolutions are at the precinct meetings.

 

The newly elected secretary then fills out the certification papers on the meeting along with the minutes of the meeting and the resolutions received and submits them to the office of the county party.  The three officers who were elected at the precinct meeting are the delegates which carry the resolutions and desires of that precinct to the next level of the GOV-OPFPBP, that being the party county convention. 

 

Early in county convention a committee is formed to organize all the resolutions submitted to the county party into a proper form along with a recommendation to either approve or reject each one submitted. These resolutions are then presented for a vote of the entire body of delegates from each precinct of the county, completing the move to the next rung up the ladder of GOV-OPFPBP.  These approved resolutions along with other business acted on by the county delegation are advanced to the district convention where they will be heard and voted on again at that level, whether to advance to state or remove each resolution.  These delegates that are elected to the district are also delegates elected to advance to the state convention where they send their desires up the ladder enabling the GOV-OPFPBP.

 

Next the delegates and the resolutions and other issues that were acted on arrive at the state convention.  Here the business of every active precinct, each county and all districts are all organized and presented to the entire body of delegates that have been sent from all counties that were elected by delegates from all active precincts.    At this point, every voter of the State who has had interest enough to participate in the process of GOV-OPFPBP has exercised his/her input into the process

 

At the state convention all items needing attention are discussed and voted on, including voting on the resolutions submited from the entire state upon the completion of all other business the state convention conducts an election of state officers for the next term and the delegates to the national convention. The number of delegates going to the national are determinded by the population.  The delegates elected at the state level then carry the approved resolutions to national level and they are voted again before becoming planks in the party platform.  With business before the national convention completed, they move on to the final nomination of the party’s candidate for presidential who in turn chooses his vice presedential running mate. If the majority of voters participated in this process we would have  GOV-OPFPBP.  With the people ignoring this process for most of a century special interest influence has circumvented the wishes of the people, corrupted the system and sold our interest to the promoters of one world economy and one world government.

 

end of exerpt #1

 

exerpt #2    

 

If all the people use the time they spend babbling on talk shows, sending convoluted emails, writing to editors and spending time on any number of other venues that do nothing to solve the problem, would only devote 13 hours (more or less) every two years to doing something productive, that would change the course of this country.

 

The state of Oklahoma has hundreds of precincts with no officers now and a few years ago we had a lot more. One group of people got themselves organized and captured enough precincts to get their agenda moved on by having three of their group rent and move into precincts that had no officers. In most cases, they were the only ones to show up for the meeting. 

 

In 1965 we bought a house in an established neighborhood of all working middle class people.  Most of us had children in school at the time.  At that time Don Rock was the precinct 27 chair, his wife Wilma was co-chair, and the secretary did not want to serve anymore.  The four of us were all that attended that meeting.   For the next six years Don, Wilma and I were the precinct officers and delegates to the county convention.  During that time, in six years one other person came to one of the meetings.  After that term, Don and Wilma retired.  The meeting that year was attended by Don, Wilma, my wife Sylvia, one other man (his name I don’t remember), and myself.  That meeting resulted in the other man becoming secretary, Sylvia became co-chair and I became chair. One time during the next six years we had one other person attend, but he declined any active roll. Before the next term Sylvia was deceased, and I acted as secretary in addition to being chair.  At the next precinct meeting I had married Beatrice (Bea).  I remained the chair, Bea became the co-chair and the secretary retained his position.  Sometime later the secretary moved away, and I recruited a supportive neighbor named Chris Murphy to assume the secretary position.  In 2006 Bea’s health went downhill to the point where she had to have full time care, and I became inactive in the party. In 2007 Bea died after which I went mobile and traveled full time in the motor home.  As far as I know, no one from precinct 27 has attended the precinct meetings since then. 

 

(It is now three years since this previous writing was done, and I have been away and know not the status of precinct 27.)

 

During the time that I was chair of precinct 27, there was one man that attended once and at the last meeting I conducted there were two ladies who attended and one of them became co-chair for one term.  At the first meeting after I became inactive, there was no attendance.

 

Stop and think about what you just read. Over the time span of 52 years, precinct 27 has had a combined total of 14 people participate in the process of GOV-OPFPBP.  Precinct 27 has only had eight people serve as precinct officers in a 52 year time frame.  This degree of apathy is seen in hundreds of precincts over the state of Oklahoma, and I feel safe in saying the same thing applies to all other states.

 

Should we wonder that our country is in the mess that it is in? 

 

 

 

Did you ever stop and think when you say let’s pray for our country, God would come nearer to answering our prayers if we were all committed to doing our duty by becoming active in the above named process?  Even when Christ was here on earth in the flesh He used disciples.  Now He is only here in Spirit but He still needs disciples to help Him.

 

End of exerpt #2

 

Now let us take a look at what is out of balance in our government and determine how to bring it into balance.  The above facts show that we are not under a GOV-OPFPBP, in which the majority rules.  Why?  The majority says, when asked to particapate in government, “I don’t get into politics but I do my civic duty and always vote.”

 

Now look at how they decide for whom and what to vote for.  Their opinions are formed by which spin doctor talk shows, which alledged news reports, which campaign speech and which media election commercial titalates their fancy.  These sources have armed them with a small percent of twisted facts and a very large percent of out-right lies and away they go to the polls to do their civic duty.  At this point the majority has just voted to let the minority continue to rule this country and they then spend the next four years sending their chain emails and other forms complaining about how things are.

 

The majority in both parties are not too far apart on the core issues but the media and the politicians are obsessed with widening the gap to the point their chances of getting re-elected increase with the widening of the gap and keeping the voters in their party focused on this gap.  By so doing, the voters on both sides never see how they are destroying the great United States Of America that I was born into seventy seven years ago.

 

The only way to bring this government back into balance and restore the majority GOV-OPFPBP rule is for the majority in both parties to show up at their next precinct meeting, take power, draft and submit their resolutions and elect delegates that carry their resolutions forward and upward.  Next we should field candidates who will go forward with integrity and represent the majority and the country.  If they don’t do that, we should then inforce the most effective term limit rule and vote someone else in their place in the next election.  This will only work when the majority leave the present day media without an audienice and spend that time doing research that will monitor what is going on in government rather than swallowing what has been spoon fed through the fountain of deception, the media.

 

This process would have to be fine tuned as needed but if inacted by the majority the rumbling, vibrating, shaking, rattling and bumping in government would cease.  

  

If and when this happens, once again the majority could enjoy a country with a Government under God and GOV-OPFPBP.  There would be none with power to restrict when and where we pray, worship, site the pledge, display the Ten Commandments or be denied the right that we all have under the Constitution.  If someone is offended by our way of life they would have the right to vacate the premises to avoid being offended.  On the other side we the majority should also respect their right to disagree with us but demand that they do it on their on turf and not infringe on our right.  All person’s rights should end prior to overriding another persons right.Not just a few of us but the majority has to wake up, look at the whole picture, determine what is wrong, and do what is needed to fix it. We are to use the process that is available to change things.  It will take time and effort but it will work if the majority steps up to the challenge.  It can suceed if the majority does.  If not we are doomed, the demise of our nation wll occur.  The Great and Mighty UNITED STATES OF AMERICA will be lying in state while we grieve and our enemies are celebrating and at that time you will see that our enemies used paid lobbists to purchase our elected officials to  defect to the side of our enemies.

 

May God help the majority including the so called moral majority to wake up and see the whole picture.

 

Help us to see that when the separation of state and church was bridged and the churches started preaching politics from the pulpit they were enabling the forces of evil in their effort to destroy our great country.  

 

Churches should keep their places of worship politically neutral but their Christian members should be very active in GOV-OPFPBP.   All citizens, both Christians and non-Christians, are obligated to participate in government and both are obliged to respect the rights of the other.  Just as Jesus Christ gives people a choice, so does our government. We all reap the rewards of our choice and we do so without the participation of government.

 

In closing, I challenge all Americans who are loyal and patriotic to our great nation to ignore those who would like to widen the gap and to move us back on the course our founding father’s set for us.

 

Howell B. Joiner

P.O. Box 104

Bixby, Ok 74008

 

www.howelljoiner.com

 

howelljoiner@gmail.com

 

918.838.8380

June 13, 2011 at 8:31 am | Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

THE BARN

BY

HOWELL B. JOINER

MAY 1 2011

 

In order to have dairy and poultry products, the early settlers to this country had to grow and maintain their own poultry flock and enough livestock to supply their dairy needs.  Early on they relied on wild game for meat.  It wasn’t hard to provide needed shelter to protect from predators and the weather by using natural resources .

 

As towns began to grow their need for these products, along with the need for domestic meat and the skins of animals to make leather, the new American agriculture industry was born.  Adding to the  animal population of these farms were the work animals, the source of power to operate the farm machinery and transport goods and people.  This brought about the need for barns to store hay, grain, tools and to provide shelter from inclement weather for the livestock.

 

In the Old Testament Biblical times, a man’s wealth was gauged by the number of cattle he owned. Through the ages, accumulations of different things of value became the barometer by which a man’s wealth was determined.  As the agriculture industry grew in this new country, the size and elegance of his barn became the point of attention by which a man’s wealth was judged.   

 

The most popular barn style has been the two story with a gambrel roof.  For added shelter drop sheds are added to each side.  These drop shed roofs appear as though one half of an eagle wing barn has been attached to each side of the gambrel structure.  Most often these barns are roofed and sided with sheet metal, which if kept maintained and painted, will last forever.  

 

It is time to turn our attention to the rise of one such barn and how it was useful in charting the course of my life which began seventy-seven years ago.  I was born December 22, 1933 on a small farm along State Highway 40 (known then as Morris Road) in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana.  This farm was on the north side of highway 40, two miles south and two and one-half miles east of Loranger and one mile west of Chapapeela Creek.

 

Prior to the Louisiana Purchase, the second white settler, Nathan Joiner, received a twenty-five hundred acre land grant from the Spanish Government.  After this land was divided through four generations and some sold out of the family. Dad ended up receiving forty acres.  In time, he was able to buy three other small tracts of land bringing his acreage total to one hundred and sixty acres.

 

When I was very young but old enough to remember, Dad drew plans for a new barn.  The plans were for the most popular barn described above.  Dad’s rudimentary drawing would not meet blueprint status but to Dad it was his blueprint.  Knowing our financial status and the cost to build the barn as his drawing portrayed, one would think never will he be able to build a barn like that.  Dad had a plan and the ingenuity to make it happen.  The next thing he did was make a material list from his blueprint.  About one-third of the forty acre tract of land was ladened with timber that needed to be removed to make it suitable for farming.

 

Mr. Henry Lester, a close neighbor and distant cousin, told Dad that he planned to build a barn the following year.  He and Dad agreed that they would help each other.  He and Dad worked as a team through the entire process of building both barns.

 

Mr. Clyde Overmier lived one-half mile west, one mile north, and one-half mile east.  There he operated a small saw mill and would custom saw lumber from logs brought to him for a fee.  Dad made the deal with Mr. Overmier to custom cut his columns, beams and other lumber needed to build this barn.

 

Dad’s next step was to inventory the trees and choose and tag trees that were the right size and height needed to make the 10×10 columns.  Then trees were selected and tagged to supply the needed beams.   He was able to select enough trees to furnish all the lumber needed to complete the barn. 

 

Before moving on, I must tell you that this young lad was very intrigued by watching the entire barn raising process yet to come.  Prior to the cutting of the trees, Dad and Mr. Henry (for the balance of this article they will referred to as they) dug the holes for the concrete piers and other foundation footing. They then inserted rebar and built an above ground pedestal, stem wall and watering tank forms.  The watering tank was located to make it accessible from any place in the barn or barnyard.  He then had sand, gravel and portland cement delivered and rented a gasoline powered mixer.  In due time,  all the foundation and the watering tank were awaiting the barn raising.

 

Then came the logging and transporting the logs to the saw mill by horse team and wagon.  They would load what logs they could on the wagon and go to mill.  Dad would tell Mr. Overmier what he wanted made out of each log and go for the next load.  Upon returning they would unload the logs, give instructions on how to cut these, then they would load the lumber from the previous load and repeat the process until all logs were cut into lumber and back to the building site.  After the needed lumber for the barn was harvested, the few remaining sawmill quality logs were also cut and sawed into lumber and the remaining trees were cut for fire wood, leaving the land ready for final clearing for farm land.  All the logs were cut into the needed size and length.  The lumber for this barn was not pine only but a mixture of a number of species of both soft and hard wood.  This was considered in Dad’s choosing of the application of each log.

 

At this point, watching the daily activities came to a sudden stop due to the simple reason that Monday through Friday that yellow school bus appeared, and I had to be on it.  I remember thinking that I could learn more watching them build the barn than I could learn at school.  In hind site the passion I had for watching how the barn was built during my formative years may have been the catalyst for my extreme desire to see how things are made.  My memory is clouded on which year or grade the barn was built, but I am thinking it most likely to have been my first year of school or possibly second.  By the time the yellow bus returned home, the construction was done for the day and Dad was preparing for the evening milking of the cows. 

 

All these years later, I still regret that I did not get to see the heavy columns being erected and secured in place in a square and plumb position.  I am sure it wasn’t easy without the aid of the modern lifting and positioning equipment of today.  After the columns were all set in position, I could see the progress from the school bus. 

 

In a reasonable amount of time, the framing was completed and the corrugated sheet metal sides and roofing were installed.  After that a tack room, two horse stalls and four individual cattle stalls were built in the center section of the front half of the Barn.  Next the hay loft was floored. Finally, linear feed boxes with hay racks above the box were built along the outer side walls of the main barn. The cattle could dine from either side of both walls.  This barn could accommodate our herd of one hundred.  A passage way was left at the back end in order for all to have access to the water tank.

 

It is amazing that Dad was able to raise a top quality barn with so little cash. Sand, gravel, portland cement, hardware, sawmill charges and sheet metal were the only items requiring cash. There were no electric saws and drills used in the construction.

 

The following year Mr. Henry had teamed up for another similar barn at his place, but I did not have the chance to see that construction as I did with this one.

 

In this narration I have brought you from my Dad’s desire to fulfill  Proverbs 12:10, “A righteous man regards the life of his beast” through his dream of and the ultimate building of his barn.  Along the way, I have shared with you my unusual interest in the construction.  At that time, no one had a clue as to what a profound impact the barn would have on the rest of the story and my life.

 

THE BARN

PART 2

For those that may not know the details of the hay barn function, I‘ll  give you a brief overview.  During the winter months a layer of straw was placed on the dirt floor for bedding for the cattle to sleep on the cold winter nights.  The only routine cows have about kidney and bowel functions is to eliminate at any time or place they may be when the need arises and the straw absorbed the deposit. 

 

In the morning the hay racks are filled with hay and in the evening some type of grain or ensilage from a silo is put in the feed trough and the hay racks are then refilled along with the fresh layer of straw for bedding.  With this daily activity, the mixture of straw and deposits would get to be about two feet deep and have to be cleaned out in the spring and used for fertilizer for the crops for next winter’s ensilage.  During the summer, the barn was used very little for cattle, but the stock of hay was replenished.

 

Now we will take a look at Dad, the most kind and gentle man I ever knew.  Never did I hear a harsh word come from his mouth even in the most trying times when you would hear tones of firmness but nothing harsh or angry.  One would never mistake this for weakness, for he was very firm and solid in his values of right and wrong.  He was slow to speak but when he spoke his words demanded and received respect. This was true in every facet of his life – in the home, on the farm, in the business world, on the highway, at church or where ever he might be.

 

For a man that never received any formal education beyond the 8th grade, he displayed much wisdom in every thing he said and did. To me, it is very obvious that God had gifted him with an abundance of loving kindness and wisdom.  My endeavor in this writing is to proclaim how blessed I am to be the son of John Elzy Joiner and to share with you, the reader, a little value and wisdom that has benefited me through out life.

 

At the time of building the barn, I was not old enough to be active in the farm work, but it wasn’t long until Dad started training me to be his little helper before and after school plus non-school days.  As I grew, so did the size of the herd. The work load for Dad grew and he readily shared that load with me.  Sharing the workload with me did two things, and those two things were giving him the needed help and giving me good training in work ethics.

 

At this time, I am turning to Dad and how he used and enjoyed his barn.  During the winter months and inclement weather, after all the other dairy chores were finished, we would go into the hay loft and drop hay from there into the hay racks below. As soon as the allotment of hay was in the racks, we would both sit on a bale of hay and watch the cows as they enjoyed cozy warm shelter and hay.  In my mind, I can still see the glee in his eyes as he watched from above.

 

While working on this article, a winter blizzard moved in, and I am now snowed in behind huge snowdrifts at this time. Today is Wednesday and it is not going to get above freezing until Saturday afternoon. For the next few days I am going type only as I think of instructions from the loft and endeavor to get it in the proper sequence.

 

This atmosphere quickly became a shrine of instructions from Dad to me. Even at my early age, I grasped the chance to learn from Dad’s instructions and most of them  came in what I refer to as my shrine of higher education, “THE HAY LOFT”.

 

 

Dad was not an expert in etiquette, but he knew respect and was training me to be respectful starting very early.  The first of this endeavor was basic teaching that men and boys should remove their hats as they go inside, at a table to eat (inside or outside), when praying, reciting  the Pledge and when greeting a lady.

 

Some of the earlier instructions were dealing with respect for other people with a heavy emphasis on older people. 

  

Always use a handle of respect when addressing older people and people of authority.  This included the proper use of Mr., Mrs., Miss., Sir.,  Madam,  Dr., Your Honor, Sen., Rep., Gov., President.

 

Be courteous to other people,  hold the door open for women and for older men when entering or exiting buildings. 

 

  Open and hold open the car door for women to get in and out, and always offer assistance to handicapped people.

 

  When around some one who had a disfigurement in their appearance, talk to that person as though he or she were totally normal while avoiding looking at the point of disfigurement. 

 

The Ten Commandments were cited and discussed as a preface to other instructions listed below.

 

Always be straight forward, honest, truthful and upright with all people.

 

If you say you are going to do something, make sure you do it.

 

If for any reason you are unable to do so, timely contact the person or persons involved with an apology and reason.

 

Treat all people the way you like for people to treat you.

 

Dad had two quotes that he used often, and I can’t remember who he credited them to.  I have heard them in later years and heard them credited to some one much too young to have been the source whom Dad credited for the quotes.   Regardless of who originated them, they are worth repeating because he stressed both of them to me.

I think the wording of them and the later quotes were somewhat different but the message was the same.

 

One is, “For every action you take there will be a reaction.”

 

The other is “Whether your choices are good or bad you must live with the choices you made.” In fact, George Jones recorded a hit song with the theme of this one, ”CHOICES”.

 

Through  the years of my growing up, there also was spiritual  encouragement given in the hay loft but most of that training was done in the family worship at the start and finish of each day.

 

Not all of our conversations in the loft were instructions.  Dad would tell me of his growing up years, family history, neighborhood history and current events.  During the time we were in conversation, he would also be observing the cows and would often express his thankfulness for the comfortable shelter for his cattle.

 

One should not think the story of the loft as crash sessions of do’s and don’ts.  With Dad’s gentle, tender, kind and loving demeanor it was just the opposite.  We both had the same attitude and looked on it as quality time with each other. 

 

My earliest farm memory was of Dad taking me to see his only horse, a mare named Dolly, just after she had given birth to a colt he named Nellie.  The next two years he had Dolly bred to a jack to acquire a team of mules.

 

By this time Dolly had served many years as a work horse and had given birth to three excellent work animals.  Dad felt the time was near to retire Dolly and let her live the rest of her life in leisure. He now had Jack and Jill,  his mule team.

 

The next horse addition came by breeding Nellie and she produced a colt named Prince.

 

A few months later Edward Averrett bought a five-gaited Tennessee Walking stallion.  Some time later Dad said, “You are almost eleven years old, and I want you to have your own horse.  I have had Nellie bred to Edward’s Tennessee Walker and she should have it by your birthday.  That will be your present and I am going to coach you in breaking and training the horse your self.  I want no one but you riding the young animal until after the training process and after that it will be your decision if any one but you rides your self-trained horse.”   

 

Ten days before my birthday, the colt arrived and I named him Champ. Through Dad’s coaching and my training, Champ turned out to be my champion without having been in any formal competition.

 

For the next year all of my spare time was spent giving Champ a lot of tender loving care as I followed Dad’s coaching.  I did a google search on how to train a young horse and found the ten step plan that is a replica of the instructions Dad had me train Champ. After including those instructions in this story, It became a possible distraction from the story of the barn.  I then took it out of this story,  but I will post it as a separate story .  By doing that, it will be posted on John (Elzy} Joiner profile and Howell Bunyan Joiner profile  “HORSE TRAINING.”  If you choose to do so, you may read it there.

 

BACK TO THE HAY LOFT                     

 

Now is the time to return to the hay loft and it is early December 1945. The hay racks have been filled, the cows are enjoying eating, drinking and lounging in the freshly laid straw bedding.  In less than a month I will turn twelve years old, Dad and I  are sitting on hay bales watching the cows when Dad launches another conversation designed to set the course for my journey to adulthood.   For this segment I will forgo the quotation punctuations and tell the story as my memory dictates and do so in my words.

 

As you remember it was one year ago that Champ was given for your birthday and all is going as planned with that project.   Now that you are approaching twelve, I want to give you something that will continue giving in more ways than one.  I expect for you to assume your responsibility as a member of the family and continue doing chores as needed without pay and in so doing learn work ethics and duty.  I have been giving you a small allowance for you to spend as you choose and will continue to do so until you get in position to have your own spending money.

 

Your birthday gift this year will put you in the position of having your own money if you follow the plan I will give you along with the main gift. My two highest producing cows have each just had heifer (female) calves.  Those two calves are your birthday gift this year.

 

The secondary gift this plan I have will make the gifts valuable to you economically, educationally and responsibly.  As part of the gift, I will furnish the feed and supplies to bring these two calves to producing cows.  In exchange for that,  you will become my regular helper on the farm when not at school or away for other approved activities. 

 

You know that milk is marketed by the hundred pound weight.  When your cows start producing we will weigh their milk and record it.  When the bi-monthly check comes for the milk, I will give you the market price for all the milk produced by your cows.  When you receive your first milk money, you will then begin buying the dairy ration for your cows.  Your labor on the farm will compensate for the hay and pasture for your cows.  From this point on, you will pay for all purchased feed and supplies needed for your animals.  You can expand your herd by keeping all heifer offspring from your animals and the same rule will apply.

 

You will keep detailed records and at least one half of all profits will go into a savings account for future needs.  The other fifty percent profit will provide you with your spending money.

 

The plan that Dad put forth turned out to be very beneficial in more ways than one.  It provided the opportunity for to me get hands on training in economics, record keeping, responsibility, decision making, income earnings, and what was to me at that time most important, the ability to buy myself a new 1951 Ford just before the start of my senior year of high school.  

 

Looking back I see an abundance of wisdom possessed by Dad in his self spun way of preparing me for adult life.  I have covered most of the important things that Dad used the hay loft for as a shrine of education.  The final paragraph set in the hay loft is a subject that often is neglected or omitted from instruction from parents to children.  I am sure that by now you have made a correct guess of what that subject is dealing in a honorable way with persons of the opposite gender.  I’ll not go into details of the instructions bestowed on me but just give a summary of lessons learned.

 

As mentioned before, he began teaching respect for others and the importance of courtesy in all situations and always included the proper way to respect and protect the number one female in my life, My Mother. 

 

As I moved forward in life toward maturity, he instructed me to be very careful in choices I made and the importance of making honorable choices in all dealings with girls.  As myself and anyone else that knew him would know, his solid Christian values would direct his instructions to include abstaining from sexual activities until after marriage.  Beyond that the advice was to look for courtship among Christian girls and be slow and careful and always be honorable, truthful and honest in all communications.  Also included, never lead a girl to think my interest was more serious than my feelings actually were.

 

He followed all of this with a serious discussion of the importance of always using tender loving kindness with you wife.   Treat her as your queen and handle her as if she is a precious jewel.  Never rush her for your passion and self satisfaction.  He pointed out that marriage would bring  the two of  us together as one thereby making it important for the man to slow his desires to lead her into mutual desires in order to enjoy the pleasures of intimate fulfillment of both.

 

I wrote the last four paragraphs before going to bed last night and got up at 4:30 am and sat down in front of the computer and re-read this article and pondered, where do I go from here with this writing,  That reading and pondering invoked a reflective mode that produced an emotional shower prior to continuing dialog of the barn.  

 

At this time I am going to let the barn story rest and without taking much time on any one subject, follow a somewhat sequential summary of timeline events from this point to the time when the barn re-enters the story.

 

There has been very little said about my mother in this story but that does not mean that she had less influence on my life than Dad.  This story Is about Dad and his barn.  Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “To everything there is a season”, and Mom’s time will come in another story. 

 

Either late in 1950 or early in 1951, I began corresponding with Doris Busbee from Guthrie, Oklahoma.  This attraction continued and developed into a proposal and an engagement near Christmas of 1951.  Needless to say that that 1951 Ford that had come on the scene made a number of rapid trips from Loranger, Louisiana to Guthrie, Oklahoma.

 

The year of 1952 started off on a sad note.  In early February my grandfather,  Ebby Joiner, who had lived near our house in his own little cabin and dined with us almost daily for as long as I can remember, became terminally ill.  And with Dad’s three brothers living in other areas, when it became necessary for someone to be at the hospital with Grandpa full time, Mom and Dad kept the days covered.  I went from school to the hospital to be with him during the night and Mom or Dad would arrive with fresh clothes in time for me to get to school.  The hospital staff would allow me to use a shower there. 

 

On March 28,1952 five girls and five boys entered the auditorium of the old high school as the graduating class of 1952.  Six of this class of ten had started to school together on the same day in 1940.  They were Alma Catreur, Marie Fendleson, Carl King, Carlos Cooper, Jack Autin and myself, Howell Joiner.  At the beginning of the fourth grade, Husser School was consolidated into Loranger bringing Cordelia Brunnett and Joyce Husser into the class.  I think it was the sixth or maybe the seventh grade that the Nichols family moved from Mobile, Alabama bringing Joan Nichols to our class.  Eddie Anthony joined us as a freshman.  From the time we said our farewells and walked out those doors, transformed from the graduating class to the latest alumni of Loranger High School, never again would we ever be assembled as a complete group.

 

After graduation, I continued to do the night shift with Grandpa but Mom or Dad did not have to be at the hospital as early. The night of April 1, Grandpa was very low.  When Dad arrived the morning of April 2, He took one look at Grandpa and said,”You might want to hang around here for a while today”.  I had been very close to Grandpa for we had spent 18 years entertaining each other.  I was very glad Dad  afforded me the option to be with Grandpa that day.  A little over an hour later I was standing at his bedside holding his hand, while my mind was traveling down memory lane of the good times he and I had,  when he gasped and struggled for breath and then was gone.  This was my first experience with death up close and personal.  I had lost a five year old first cousin, and my Grandpa James, which were sad occasions, but not the emotional trauma that came with the time caring for him and being present for Grandpa Joiner’s departure and our season of togetherness.

 

On May 25, of the same year Doris Busbee and I were married,  and we started our lives together in the house we had bought from my uncle, Andrew Joiner.

 

In February 1953, we left the farm, and I took a job at Baptist Hospital in Alexandria, Louisiana.

 

On August 21,1953, John Ray, our first son was born.

 

When I went to work away from the farm, I left my interest in the cattle with Dad since  he was the one that made it all possible.  Early in 1955, Dad and I decided that it would be best if i came home and form an official partnership in the dairy business and plan on working together in the long term.  In March of 1955, we formed an official partnership known as J. E. Joiner and Son Dairy Farm.  All was going good, and we felt that Mom and Dad needed an extended vacation together.  It had been many years since they had a vacation.  They planned a trip to California to visit Dad’s brother, David, and his wife Katie and to attend a camp meeting there.   They left on this trip September 30,1955 with plans to return on November i.

 

Shortly after arriving in California, Dad began feeling badly and wanted to come home but did not feel up to driving the long trip.  Finally they decided to come on home and started home sometime earlier than planned.  From somewhere in West Texas,  Mom called and said she was doing all the driving which was a scary thought because she had only recently learned to drive and she did not have any highway experience.  I told her to continue as long as she could without driving through Houston and call Doris with an address of where they were stopped. I would get Herbert Flynn to come with me to drive the pickup back and, I would drive them.  They had stopped and got some rest at a motel just west of Houston.  When we got there Dad said let’s get on the road, I want to get home.  Dad seemed almost normal with me there to drive,  and we got home just fine and he seemed on the road to complete recovery.  I was still making sure that he took it easy and on November 19 we made plans to go to church the next day and then go and visit Dad’s brother that was in the hospital with a stroke.  

 

While I was in Alexandria, Dad had a new house built for he and Mom.  When I came back and formed the partnership, Doris and I moved into the old house not too far from the new one.  At 3:45 a.m. the next morning, Sunday November 20, 1955, Mom called saying, “Get here quick, I think your Dad is having a heart attack”.  It took very few minutes to be there. When I hurried in the door, he summoned me to his side as he struggled to tell me three things, the last being take care of Mom and then said, “I am dying, bye”, and his head dropped and he was in fact gone.  In less than 33 months I watched Grandpa and Dad both die, and I was only twenty-one years old.  Needless to say, this was the beginning of my world as I had known it, falling apart.  I will not try to explain the devastation that befell me when he died.

 

Prior to Dad’s death, Doris and I agreed that we did not want there to be too much time lapse between the ages of our children and ceased birth prevention.  The untimely death made us think this is not a good time to add to the family and attempted to reverse our efforts in that direction.  In a very short time, we were aware that that decision was out of our hands, and as a result our second son, Howell Keith Joiner, was born July 27, 1956. 

 

In an effort to expedite this story and get back to the Barn, I will fast forward by way of a timeline of events with little detail.

 

For nearly three years after Dad’s death, a number of things that were beyond my control occurred and late in 1958, Mom and I divided the land setting aside twenty acres with her house and the  balance of the farm land was sold.  I then had a couple of short time jobs in the area before moving to New Orleans to attain decent employment.  

 

In late 1959 or early I960, Doris and I separated and she took the boys and moved to Midland Texas.

 

In November of 1960, Mom and Otis Clark (O. C.) Porter were married and would alternate time between his place in Guthrie, Oklahoma and her place in Louisiana for their first three years. 

 

Early in 1961, Doris and I were talking of re-uniting, and decided I would go to Tulsa, Oklahoma and get a job and a place to live and they would then come.  In July 1961, our plan was put in place.  But in may of 1964, Doris and my marriage ended and divorce followed. 

 

On February 20, 1965, I married Sylvia Robinson Blades and In 1967 I took her south to show her my roots.  I parked in front of the old place,  and as I viewed the results of years of neglect of the place, and the sheet metal skin of the barn rusting, my heart sank within, but I still looked at it as my shrine of higher education still standing strong.

 

We returned in 1972 for my 20 year class reunion.  At that time a few sheets of sheet metal were missing and it was then I knew that it would only be a matter of time until the structure that had been so involved in preparing me to face the world, would no longer exist. 

 

April 21, 1977, I was involved in a chain saw accident sustaining massive damage to my left foot and ankle and requiring extreme reconstruction surgery making me unable to work for five months.

 

On May 5, 1977 Sylvia died  in her sleep without ever being sick.

 

In November, 1977, I went back to Louisiana for a funeral and a few more sheets of metal were gone.

 

On December 2, 1977, Beatrice (Bea) Juanita Beason and I were married in Sherman, Texas.

                                              

In 1982, I was there for  my thirty year class reunion and more sheet metal was gone. 

 

Another funeral brought me by it again In 1989, and a few of the rafters were hanging by one end.

 

On the forty year class reunion in 1992, not much change was noticed.

 

September 10, 1995,  Mom died in The Golden Rule Nursing Home in Shawnee, Oklahoma.  After a song and prayer service in Shawnee, the funeral director driving the funeral coach, and myself driving the family car, drove throughout the night to have her in Loranger, Louisiana for visitation the next day.  The following day we laid her to rest beside Dad two months short of forty years after putting dad to rest there.

 

On March 6, 2001 I collapsed and was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with cancer with little chance of recovery. This resulted in my making peace with God and receiving a miracle.  The details of that story is in chapter 58, “MY MIRACLE”, in a book I wrote and published, in May of 2008,  called “FULL CIRCLE WITH A TALE”.  I will be posting this article on Ancestry.com under my profile in my “HOWELL BUNYAN FAMILY TREE”.  That chapter is already posted there.

 

In 2002, when there for the fifty year reunion one corner of the barn was down.  

 

When I returned home I found Bea very ill and immediately took her to the hospital.  She was suffering from E coli bacteria infection and was in intensive care for while.  The illness left her with much damage to her system and started a progressive decline in her health.  From that time forward frequent hospital stays were required for her.

 

In 2006, I was back there and the barn was totally collapsed and nothing was standing, not one single column or board was upright.

 

On December 15, 2006, Bea became a resident of The Golden Rule Nursing Home in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and I rented an apartment on the premises that was just across the driveway from her room.  In April 2007, she was hospitalized in Shawnee and then transferred to Deaconess Hospital In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

 

On May 5, 2007, Bea died, 30 years after Sylvia had died on May 5, 1977.

 

A short time after Bea’s death, I started traveling full time in the motor home.  Early winter of 2007, I went to Loranger and remained there until  March.  While there, I met the current owner of the old home place and was invited into the old house.  I even went into the room that I was born in.  Also, I was present in that room when my oldest son, John, was born.  He and I were not only born in the same room, we were both delivered by the same midwife, Sis.  Catherine Simpson. 

 

The old house and yard were somewhat maintained but beyond that the silo and barn and Grandpa’s cabin area were encased by trees and very dense underbrush.  The owner chopped away enough of the under brush to allow me to go into the cabin.  The door panels were coming apart, and I mentioned that I would like have the door knobs and lock.  He jerked the closing edge of the door off and handed it to me and it is now on the porch of my son Keith’s home in Hot Springs, Montana. I thanked him and got in the car to leave.  I sat there gazing into a vast mental library for an unknown time span in what seemed like a high speed movie of my entire memory bank spinning through my head from the very first entry including all previous trips by here and the present momentous occasion.

 

I don’t think the occasion arose in this writing  for me to mention that Mom was a minister of the Gospel,  and while I was sitting in the car looking at nothing but trees and brush over where the barn stood, included in that flashback movie was a statement that I heard my mother use in sermons throughout the years.  The statement was, “There was a time that we were not, but there will never be a time that we will not be”.

 

As I sat pondering as to why I thought of that statement at that time, first I thought that as long as I live and have my mind the barn will still exist.  Then it came to me that God made man from dust and our bodies return to the earth from whence we came and the composted wood that once made that barn has returned to the earth from whence it came.  Every piece of wood that went into that barn had been cut from trees grown on the same forty acre tract of land that the barn stood on.  We can’t see the barn, but it will always be where it came from.  It will also exist in my mind as long as my mind functions .

 

As I continued reflecting, it came to to me that Dad, by determination, built the barn to fill the needs of himself, his cattle and his son. 

 

Although sadness hovers over me now seventy plus years after the inception of that barn, neither he nor his cattle have a need for it and I, his son, still have all I ever needed of it, and that is credited next in the final sentence of this article.

 

With John Elzy Joiner as professor, the Holy Spirit as director and Almighty God, The Dean of Education, I received a Degree of Character and became the only alumnus of my Shrine of Higher Education Known as.“ THE BARN”

 

by HOWELL B.JOINER

 

 

 

I have been inactive on this site for too long.

June 13, 2011 at 8:11 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

I am currently out of books and looking forward to receiving a new printing of  “FULL CIRCLE WITH A TALE”  in the near future.   When new books are available you will see a post.

Bixby, Oklahoma is now home and I have been writing a few articles.   I will post a few on this site.

Merry Christmas to all

December 22, 2010 at 7:59 pm | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

At this time I am wishing everyone a “MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.”   If you become offended  by the terminology 0f that greeting, get over it. I was born into this country 77 years ago today.  At that time and for many years to come those people who did not want to hear any greetings that honored God and his son Jesus Christ did not exist.  This nation was founded on the principals of God and Christmas was a day set aside to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Therefore no one is going to intimidate me into saying happy holidays, a greeting that offends me.