Life's Like That: An Old Texan Looks at Life Volume II

by Jerry McKee Bullock

Overview

Life’s Like That was born when I was having trouble getting clients at the Family Counseling Center. That is a fancy name that came from my family counseling career. I thought I needed to get some ads in the local newspaper. That led to my meeting Mr Rowe Ray, the managing editor of the San Marcos Daily Record. I simply wanted to explore possibilities but ended with an invitation to write a weekly column for the newspaper. I can honestly say I never broke my word on confidentiality; i.e., everything we talked about stayed in the Center, everything that is except the funny things. I was counseling with a game warden that told me about a lady who was losing a sheep a night to one old hungry coyote. Whenever the warden came out, she would start feeling sorry for the coyote and asked the warden not to shoot it. Finally she had five sheep left. She called the warden and once again told him she wasn’t ready to have him hunt down the coyote. The warden looked at the little flock of sheep and said, “Mrs. Jones, whatever you say, but we’ve only got five more days anyway.” As you read this book there will be tears and sunshine. The good news is you don’t have to sit down and read it all at once. Life Really Is Like That.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781477292365
Publisher:	AuthorHouse
Publication date:	11/29/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	428
File size:	685 KB

Read an Excerpt

Life's Like That

An Old Texan Looks at Life Volume II

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By Jerry McKee Bullock

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2012 Jerry McKee Bullock
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4772-9238-9

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Chapter One

Passing Through a Dry Land

This week we stand between Father's Day and the Fourth of July My father raised me to believe in the 4th of July as a symbol of man's never-ending quest for freedom. It is the essence of the Bill of Rights, which, it seems to me, may well be the focus of our thoughts on this weekend before Independence Day.

The Bill of Rights begins with the guarantee of freedom to say and to do almost anything to publicize your ideas. It guarantees a free and uncensored media. And there is the promise that the legislature would make no law that interferes with the free practice of one's religious beliefs and finally the right to petition and expect to be heard.

I doubt that it ever crossed the minds of the founding fathers that the independent Supreme Court they had created to interpret the law would one day become a legislative body in its own right which would rule that burning our flag was a guaranteed freedom of speech but that saying a prayer to open a meeting of the city council was not.

One of our city fathers has petitioned to end the beginning of each council meeting with prayer. The Americans for Civil Liberties Union is on the job and telling us what we can and cannot do. I understand the rule in this regard. I would argue just that, it is a rule, not the law. There is no statute that makes a prayer a criminal act. The court has said you may have prayer but it should (or must) not be "non-sectarian." By interpretation, sectarian means "Christian or Judeo." It would not deny a Muslim (or a Hindu, Buddhist, or Wiccan) the right to pray—although each of these is as sectarian as is a Baptist, Lutheran or Methodist.

I am not a religious fundamentalist; I am an American. I love this country with a passion because it has for 233 years been the light of freedom in an oppressed world. We have not been perfect but, by and large, we have tried to be fair and to do what is right by all people. More and more I see those freedoms for which I served and fought eroding. I see the Bill of Rights becoming a "Bill of Maybes."

Like Solomon in the scriptures we are passing through a dry land. Solomon heard from God and heeded his warning. It is our time to listen to the words of the Chronicles: "Then the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: 'I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land'" (2 Chronicles 7:12-14, NKJV).

We are coming into the land of pestilence and locusts. It is time to pray.

Serving Others Important

America was built on the precept of people helping other people. In pioneer days they built barns, planted crops, and herded and drove cattle to market—together.

They knew and depended on their neighbors. They asked very little, but everyone was willing to help so that no one suffered. J. Frank Dobie, the great Texas historian and storyteller, tells of the early days in Texas when it was unheard of for a man to go hungry. It was not considered stealing to take the meat of the range, regardless of brand, if there was need.

Today's fast-paced industrial society does not allow us much time for the amenities of the last century. We often do not even know our neighbor's name, must less his cares and needs.

Consequently, where does one turn when he is in trouble? Too often, there seems to be coldness, a non-caring attitude, wherever one turns. The store clerk has gone from a stance of "The customer is always right" to "Don't bother me with your problems."

Even the church which has the responsibility for ministering to (serving) the needs of people seems to have lost much of its earlier power. Remember that the church is we, you and me.

We have ceased to be servants, in order to try to become kings. You might say, "No one likes to be a servant." Probably so, but in reality it is only by becoming a servant that one can achieve true greatness.

When one gives of himself, the reward is often beyond his imagination. The great Ford Motor Company empire was built on Henry Ford's desire to serve people with cheap, dependable transportation. J.C. Penney built a mercantile empire on the desire to provide low-priced, good-quality merchandise. Thomas Alva Edison spent one of the most productive lives in American history because of his driving desire to serve people.

When American manufacturers (and their workers) lost that vision, they began to lose the very qualities that had made America great. Consider the automobile industry. The Japanese have captured the new car market to the extent they have because of their desire to serve.

Pat Robertson, president of the Christian Broadcasting Network, tells how American automobile manufacturers made the conscious decision to place their cars in the dealers' showrooms and then take care of quality after the sale. They felt that was more economical than spending the time and effort to control quality at the factory. Many of us have experienced the effects of that decision.

This is not a buy-Japanese commercial. It is a lesson in humility to the mightiest nation on earth. It is a signal to all of us to reassess some basic values.

The result of our failure to be good neighbors, to see ourselves as servant-kings, is evident in every facet of American life. It is manifested in the unhappy housewife, the adolescent with behavior problems, and the dissatisfied husband.

In the Apostle Paul's letter to the Philippians he said that we are to consider everyone ahead of ourselves. "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves" (Philippians 2:23, NIV). When that happens, everyone becomes an immediate winner.

Veterans Day

What do you think of when you think of Veterans Day? To the historian it is commemorating the day that brought an end to the First World War. Germany and her allies signed the Armistice in a railroad car in Versailles, France, and the "war to end all wars" came to an end. But, alas, it did not end all wars. In a very real sense it did not even end the war it purported to end.

There has hardly been a time since the first English ships landed on the coast of the New World that the inhabitants of the New World have not been in a state of war. Let me give you some examples. As early as 1675 American colonists participated in the war that history calls King Philip's War. In 1689 it was King William's War. In 1702 it was Queen Anne's War, also known as the War of Spanish Succession. In 1744 it was King George's War. In 1756 the colonists fought the French and Indian War. Then in 1775 the American Revolution began.

I would say that getting rid of the kings might have been a really good idea, but it did not stop the wars. I could go on with new wars in 1798, 1801, 1812, 1813, 1814, 1836, 1846, 1861, and 1898. In the almost 400 years since that first war the longest period of peace was the 31 years between World War I and World War II. It has always been the soldier who paid the heaviest price for our freedom.

To the Veteran ... ah, yes, after all, it is Veterans Day. What does it mean to the men and women who fought the wars for freedom? There aren't many who were around in 1918 and those that are usually don't do much parading. Those who paid the price in WW II are dying at the rate of several thousand per day. Korea is called the forgotten war and Vietnam, the war everyone wants to forget. The little wars, Haiti, Somalia, Panama and the like, hardly get a stir. Desert Storm was different in our recent conflicts; we won that one hands down. So how does the veteran feel about Veterans Day?

The American veteran has not always been honored. The doughboys of World War I faced armed troops on the streets of Washington, DC, when they asked for their bonus. The Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen returning from Vietnam met hecklers and even violence on the streets of their hometown when they came home from war.

Rudyard Kipling knew the face of war and he knew the soldier. One verse from his poem Tommy tells it well:

"You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all: We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational. Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face. The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace. For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!" But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot; An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please; An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool—you bet that Tommy sees!"

My last Air Force boss, Brig Gen Brooksher, had an interesting way of differentiating between the civilian career and that of a soldier. He would say simply they don't ask civilians to die for a "piece of the rock." That's what Veterans Day is all about. It simply gives us the opportunity to say thank you to those that have served and were willing to give their last full measure of devotion to maintain our freedoms.

Veterans Day gives us the opportunity to say "thank you" to the folks who risked their lives, lost years of time with their family, and willingly went into harm's way for us. It is an opportunity to teach our children that freedom is not free. Make Veterans proud by saying thank you for their years of service.

Pornography

The world has changed a lot since Uncle Nathan, my circuit-riding uncle, was on the scene. He preached in West Texas in the latter part of the 19th and early 20th centuries. About the top of the line in technology in his lifetime were the electric light, telegraph, automobile, and a barnstormer in a Jenny.

There was the time he, Aunt Maggie, and Cousin Charles went to Dallas. They went into the lobby of the Adolphus Hotel all awestruck with amazement. The first thing Uncle Nathan saw was an elderly lady walk into a little room and the doors closed behind her. The gauge above the door moved slowly clockwise, stopped at the number 7, and then came down again and the door opened to allow a beautiful young lady to emerge. Nearly speechless, Uncle Nathan told Charles to go get his ma; he had found a youth machine.

Things are very different as we near the end of the 20th century. The world has gotten increasingly smaller. We have become immersed in information. Bill Gates told Congress that it is impossible to have a monopoly because the hottest item going today will have spent itself and disappeared in a few months.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Life's Like That by Jerry McKee Bullock Copyright © 2012 by Jerry McKee Bullock. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Contents

Dedication....................v
Acknowledgements....................vii
Passing Through a Dry Land....................1
Serving Others Important....................3
Veterans Day....................5
Pornography....................7
Self-identity—Bob Josephs....................9
Liberty and Freedom....................11
New Year—2012....................13
Perfect Round of Golf....................15
Palm Sunday....................17
Surprises....................19
That Darned Computer....................21
Mother's Day....................23
After 9/11....................26
What It Takes to Make It Last....................28
Truth vs. Lies....................30
The Washington Monument....................32
Parenting....................35
Freedom of Religion....................37
It Is Okay to Say No....................39
Pastors....................42
Get Involved....................44
Valentine's Day....................47
Forgiveness ... Love and Forgive....................49
George Washington....................51
Our Only Hope for Lasting Peace....................54
The Price of Freedom....................56
Just a Minute....................58
Labor Day....................60
Laughter—April Fool....................62
Marriage....................64
The Spirit Lives On....................67
Remember the Alamo....................69
Mothers Evolve....................71
September 11, 2002....................74
Honor the American Flag—2002....................76
Old Time Radio....................78
A Time of Victory....................80
What Will Heaven Be Like?....................83
Personality....................85
Nothing Is Easy Anymore....................87
Remember the Alamo....................89
Victory or Death–March 2009....................92
Second Hand Lion....................94
Why Does God Let the Evil Prosper?....................96
Setting Goals....................98
Stockholm....................100
The Story of Texas....................102
What Day Is This?....................104
Texas Independence Day....................106
Telephones....................108
The Tyranny of the Urgent ... Are you in overtime?....................110
No Fun in Flying Anymore....................112
History Is Made Every Day....................115
Easter....................117
Control Your Tongue....................119
Submit Yourselves One to Another....................121
What Happened to Your Hair?....................123
Hello. Is Anybody There?....................125
Blue Dogs, Lap Dogs, and Lame Dogs....................128
Growing Old Together—or Not....................130
If I Make It Until June ....................132
The Nicest Gifts Come Wrapped in Words....................134
Have a Great New Year....................136
And It Came to Pass....................138
The First Thanksgiving....................140
Bill Stern, the Colgate Shave Cream Man....................142
Give the Burnt Biscuits to Papa....................144
Financial Planning....................146
Consider the Snail....................149
Retirement of a Warrior....................151
Whatever Became of Sin?....................153
The World in the Way....................156
Vegetarian Lesson....................159
Decisions—Think Twice....................161
How To Be Happy....................163
Humor Heals....................165
Common Courtesies Ignored....................168
Pinocchio....................170
Praying the Hours....................173
Hunter's Time....................175
Intentions....................177
Truth....................179
The Night Before Christmas....................181
Pilgrims....................183
Bailouts....................185
Howdy with a Smile....................187
What Have You Done with Your Hour?....................189
Mothers Are Special People....................191
Dogs and Cats....................193
He Said He Would....................195
To Vote/Not to Vote....................197
Trust....................199
Waiting Time....................201
On Being a Father....................203
Was Alexis de Tocqueville Correct?....................205
Texas Independence Day–2011....................207
America's Problems....................210
Sweet Talk vs. Growling....................212
Take Time to Visit....................214
Be a Fan....................216
All Things Are Possible....................218
Running for His Life....................220
Who's Getting Old?....................222
New Year—2008....................224
Father's Day/July 4 Combination....................226
Make a Difference....................228
Abe Lincoln and MLK....................230
July 4, 2008....................232
Work Ethic Is Alive and Well....................234
It's a Bug's Life....................236
Good Friday....................238
Wives Are a Special Lot....................240
Growing Older....................242
Fountain of Youth....................244
Let God Take Control....................246
Fire Insurance....................248
The Gentle Click of Dominoes....................250
Special Days....................253
Hard Work....................255
Being a Dad Is Serious Business....................257
A Good Life....................259
The Civil War in Prayer....................261
Choices: Free Will or Not....................264
God is Awesome....................266
Membership Has Its Obligations....................268
Find It In the Want Ads....................270
What Time Is It?....................272
Friends....................274
Halloween....................276
Celebrating Thanksgiving....................278
A Christian Nation: Freedom of Religion....................280
General John Flynn....................283
Held Together by "Things"....................285
After Thanksgiving....................287
Time for a Reality Check....................289
Darwin Awards....................291
The Oschter Haws....................293
Loch Ness Monster....................295
Horse Sense....................298
Ashamed of What We Say....................300
Just Be Thankful....................302
3rd Advent Sunday....................304
50th Wedding Anniversary....................306
A Plan to Trap Jesus....................308
Bluegrass....................310
Bob's Story....................312
Bravery....................314
Christmas Phone Cards....................316
Meredith's Baptism....................318
But As For Me and My Household....................320
Car Back....................322
Where The Pilgrims Stood July 4, 2000....................324
Christmas 2004....................326
Jay Leno Didn't Say it, But He Should Have May 2008....................328
July 4, 1999....................332
Chronicles of Narnia....................334
July 4, 1993....................336
December 1994....................338
Cats & St. Patrick's Day....................340
Cemeteries....................342
Finishing the Job....................344
Mother's Day 2003....................346
Katrina....................348
Sitting on a Cactus Patty....................350
Put Your Eyes on the Coach....................352
My Mistakes....................354
No Gaily Colored Easter Eggs....................356
New Year's Revolution 2001....................358
Talk It Through....................360
Texas Independence Day/National Pig Day....................362
Texians and Tejanos....................364
Thanksgiving 2010....................366
The War in Iraq....................368
You Get What You Give....................370
Keep Out: The Conspiracy....................372
I Gave My Life for Thee....................374
New Year Resolutions 2003....................376
Why Mention War at Christmas Time?....................378
Giving Thanks....................380
Years of Religious Freedom 1999....................382
Life's Like That in Texas....................384
Keep That Camel In Your Lane....................386
Becoming a Parent....................388
Our Loving Father....................390
Silence Is Not Always Golden....................392
Just Do It....................394
Hate vs. Love....................396
Give Thanks in All Things....................398
He Who Has An Ear ....................400
No One Said Anything About Logic....................402
Who Was Stephen F. Austin?....................404
Epilogue....................407