Category Archives: Small Town America

TWO BROTHERS AND ONE MAD DOG

Christian Discipleship, History, Humor, Small Town America, Wisdom, , , , ,

I am eternally grateful for the spiritual heritage and upbringing I received from my family.  Passed down to me and to my siblings was the truth about Jesus Christ, and a solid faith in His Word.  My parents took seriously the biblical admonition from Deuteronomy 11:19: “You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”

But spiritual precepts are not all that my family passed down to us.  Oral history is a part of the fabric of our family.  The following is another excerpt from a book I am presently penning about my late father, Coolidge Sims.  His last days in an assisted living center gave me a brief season to hear him again rehearse the stories of his childhood that I had heard all of my life.  One evening in June of 2012, I joined Dad for supper in the dining hall of his final residence, The Oaks.

Our conversation that memorable evening includes his version of one of my favorite family stories.  Enjoy!

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SNAKE DOCTORS, AND ALL THINGS SOUTHERN

History, Humor, Small Town America, ,

Recently I found myself enjoying the company of a friendly group of millennials relaxing together outdoors on a late summer afternoon. In the middle of our light conversation a duo of iridescent dragonflies made a sudden appearance.  The brilliant green and electric blue colors were dazzling in the afternoon sunlight.  For a few seconds no one said a word.  Then, before I could catch myself, I simply uttered out loud, “Look, snake doctors….”  

 It even surprised me.  I hadn’t said the two words “snake doctor” together in as sentence since my childhood.  The young people who heard me glanced at one another telegraphing giant question marks by their facial expressions.  All I could say was, “Oh, sorry, that’s what I called dragonflies when I was a child.”   Of course, a millennial had to ask the inevitable question, “Why?”

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TRAIN TUNNEL ROULETTE

Christian Discipleship, Humor, Small Town America, Wisdom, , , ,

Have you ever heard of Russian roulette?  Russian roulette is a wicked game (usually a drinking game) to “test one’s bravery.”  If you’re lucky, nothing will happen and you get to live to see another day. If you aren’t you move immediately to the afterlife. (I’m not sure what happens if you chicken out, but most likely it’s fatal.)

Let me be clear– I’ve never played that game, nor would I ever play it.  But have I taken stupid chances?  Have I played Russian roulette with thoughtless decision-making?  You’d  better believe I have– especially when I was young and “invincible.”  What comes to my mind is a series of events that occurred during a camping trip with four teenaged friends– at a place in the Talladega National Forest we simply called “The Train Tunnel.”

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MY BIG IDEA

Christian Discipleship, History, Small Town America, , , , , , ,

It was the Fall of 2005 when I first got the big idea.  In just over six months I would be celebrating a half-century of living and breathing on planet Earth.  One hundred years earlier life expectancy for a male in Alabama was only 39 years, so in the big scheme of things turning fifty as a healthy man was a milestone.  We Americans always extra-celebrate birthdays #1, #10, #13, #16, #21, #40, #50, #80, and hopefully #90.  After that, we celebrate the passing of months, not years.

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REFRIGERATOR PRIVILEGES

Christian Discipleship, Humor, Small Town America, , ,

(Caution:  This blog post might contain never before heard confessions.  Please don’t laugh out loud.)

I’m certain you have heard it said of someone, “Oh, they’re close. They’re just like family.”  Oh really?  Are you sure?  Here’s the way to know if they’re really “just like family”– do they have the right to walk into your house and go straight to the refrigerator and get what ever they want to eat or drink?  Do they feel comfortable doing that in your home?  Do YOU feel comfortable allowing them to do that?  If the answer to all three questions is YES, then they are indeed “just like family.”  They have “refrigerator privileges!”

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