Promoting my Al Capone story "The Unexpected Roommate"

 

Guilty verdict of Al Capone from National Archives

As Monday, January 25 is the anniversary of the death (1947) of Al Capone, I thought it might be fun for you to read my humor-lined fictional story about how a personal detective happened upon an old hotel on a stormy night and, as a result of spending the night there, was greeted, and ultimately financially enriched by the ghost of Al Capone.

I provide an excerpt…

 

   The male figure stopped, took a moment to assess the situation, and spoke calmly. “It’s been a while since there was a guest in this room. Besides me, I mean. What’s your name?”

   Charles was hoping to be the interviewer, asking the questions, but since the figure had preempted him, there was value in answering as well. “Charles. Charles Roy.” He felt obliged to deliver the fuller name.

The figure continued “Well, I’m Alfonse. Alfonse Capone.” The figure imitated Charles’ pattern of identification with a mischievous smile.

Scribbling almost legible notes in his journal, Charles pressed “Al Capone…of Chicago? Do you live here?”

“Live isn’t really the right word for it, Charles. But it does seem that I am a guest in perpetuity. Hey, usually the guest is outta here by now, screaming and leaving their things behind. You dead too?”

 

Celebrate, acknowledge, observe or otherwise mark January 25 as a significant moment in history by reading “ The Unexpected Roommate”

Which is one of a few stories in the digital book entitled

 “Preposterous Scenarios: Gathered Stories, Poems, and Memoirs”

available at Amazon.com as a digital download for $2.99.

What's Your Real Sabbath?

 

Yes, I attempt to observe a Sabbath. Usually my Sabbath is on Thursday. But, in full disclosure, or confession, Thursday is my technically observed, yet insincere Sabbath merely to be compliant with and in appeasement to peers and others who think they know what’s best for others.

    My real, restful, rejuvinative Sabbath is my practice of creative writing. I think most artists and writers will agree that one cannot schedule creativity to unveil itself on some predetermined day of the week.

Creativity emerges as the convergence of many informative and inspiring impulses that resist being told when and how to disclose their fruits.

    My real Sabbath, my creative writing, can happen anytime. And when it does, I become fully entertained by the task of word choice, sentence structure, and idea development until I reach the point of intellectual saturation with the project.

In my Sabbath I do not aspire toward professional stature. I wish to amuse, if only myself, by constructing sentences which, while grammatically correct, result in a raised eye-brow or whispered chuckle.

I offer the following example...

“It’s” is the proper contraction for “it is”. It’s often confused with “its” which is the possessive form of it. You will probably use “it’s” more often than “its”, but it’s up to you. Its improper usage in print will likely be more obvious than in speech. It’s fun, give a few sentences.

In my Sabbath I compose memoirs that may connect with someone else and thereby ease their day, inspire or comfort them. I compose narratives which prompt the memories of others and nudge them toward their own creativity.

In My Sabbath I write stories and descriptions that, if not entertaining to others, will distract them from some temporary boredom.

   Having completed my creative project, I then feel Sabbath- restored. Only then, seldom on Thursdays, “is it well with my soul”.

Incidentally, this particular narrative was composed on a Thursday.

Beatles For Sale...A Personal Memoir

 

I no longer have my original 1964 UK vinyl

I am sure any Beatles fan will agree that when asked which album is their favorite a certain bewildering panic sets in as if we must choose between which child to save. As soon as one album is determined the others will haunt the mind with doubt and second guessing.

   Each of the albums contain moments of excellence, surprise, unique achievement of technical expertise, mystique and elements that connect the album to some moment in our lives.

Highly as I regard all of the albums, my choice as favorite is Beatles For Sale.

Each time I listen to the album I am reconnected with my nine-year old self and remember the innocence of the moment and my optimism for the future.

I will describe my impressions of the album later.

But for the moment allow me to recall the event of my having come into possession of it in its original release when I was nine years old.

Being an enthusiast since seeing them on the Ed Sullivan show, I was compelled to own each album as released in the UK.

    My step-father, George Eckenrode, was kind and generous enough to accommodate my childish taste in what he considered an ephemeral phenomenon empty of any authentic musical value. His idea of music worthy of an intelligent person was Frank Sinatra or perhaps Andy Williams. Oh, I should not forget Petula Clark in whom we both agreed was great talent.

George was always trying to show kindness. Knowing that I preferred the UK version of the album over the American version “Beatles 65” he drove me and my mom from Detroit into Windsor Ontario one Saturday in December 1964 so as to purchase the record. Canada always released the UK versions before the American version was available in the United States.

George knew of an independent record store in Windsor.

I felt pretty important I tell you that we visited a different country to make this purchase. I would have the UK version before any of my friends would have even the US version.

In the store and on the sidewalk toward the car I held the album as if I had discovered the map of the whereabouts of the Ark of the Covenant. The album carried an almost sacred effect.

We then went to a restaurant in Windsor to enjoy a celebratory dinner.

As we waited for our dinners to be delivered I could no longer wait to open the album to hold in my hand. I pulled the vinyl from its paper sleeve. I carefully held it between the palms of my hands allowing the light from the suspended incandescent globes to reflect off of the shiny blackness. I read the labels, front and back. Each title, word, letter, font imprinted upon my mind an anticipation of the sounds that they announced.

    This was quite a Christmas gift! I considered not only possession of the album, but also the visit to Windsor, the atmosphere of the record store, and also the dinner as perhaps the best Christmas gift I had ever received.

I was familiar with “Eight Days A Week” as that was the song played on CKLW radio station. But the other titles grabbed my imagination. What would they sound like…what would be the subject? I could hardly wait to place the album on my turntable and gently place the diamond needle on the fresh stereophonic vinyl.

And then, when I did, auditory excellence painted every surface and substance of the room, including my eagerly embracing intellect.

And so, I shall, from imprinted memory, try to describe my impressions which linger and reverberate over the past fifty-six years.

The most dominant impression was the intensely precise quality of the vocals. The melodies and harmonies, given much echo and fullness, seemed to contain more fullness of presence than previous recordings. Acoustic guitar chords mixed with electric sound and soft timpani punctuation introduced me to a deeper appreciation of studio technique and promise of what yet may be to come in the future.

   As the vinyl revolved on the turntable the music seemed to levitate from the surface of the album and circle around the room in much more than mere stereophonic effect. But perhaps I use psychedelic description before it’s due for the group.

Whatever description, Beatles For Sale continues to be my favorite.

The vocals, the echo affect, the precision of recording gave me the impression of a group very mature in their talents and strength of composition with more impact than the “bubblegum” level talent and product of other groups.

   The lyrics addressed some fresh topics and feelings. They also seemed well written and welcoming of a new audience.

Perhaps that was the greatest talent of the group, each succeeding album provided invitation and relevance to a wider audience to entertain, intrigue, and convert.

The Beatles, much more than an ephemeral phenomenon of 1964, continue to inspire succeeding generations of fans and those who are curious as to their cultural longevity.

Amen, Creational Authority, and Faithful Service

 

I periodically assert to my congregations that “amen” is much more than just a concluding punctuation point. The word “amen” is understood, roughly, as “so be it”, or “may it be”, or “truly”.

   I propose this; Rather than use amen as a “quit claim deed” regarding the issues, concerns, and petitions we have uttered to God, consider it the creation of a joint venture between God and ourselves in which we both take action on those petitions.

    Allow the sentiment of amen to be an invitation to God to attend to these uttered issues in His capacity and wisdom while we also, in partnership with God, do what we can regarding concerns spoken.

    God has created us in his image; he has blessed us with spiritual gifts, enabled us with cognitive capabilities, and trusted us with the faithful stewardship of all of His creation. That is a generous sharing of creational authority by   God.

    Our response to this sharing of creational authority should be faithful, diligent, enthusiastic, and active.

    I encourage you to look for opportunities where you can respond to improve someone’s condition, for situations of conflict where you can contribute peace and reconciliation, to display active hope in the midst of trials and sufferings rather than passive surrender to cynicism and futility.

   Rather than abdicate our role in creational authority, let us embrace it and be found good and faithful servants.

Hey, Let's Not Forget About Epiphany!

 

    Concurrent with Black Friday and the many days until December 25 each year is accompanied with the incessant play of Christmas music from radio stations, decoration of temporary and  domestic trees, and wrapping of gifts.

   And then Christmas Day arrives and folk quickly turn on their celebratory  heels to prepare for New Years Day, Super Bowl, Valentines Day and other celebrations punctuating a calendar of otherwise common or ordinary days.

   Epiphany, January 6^th, the 13^th day after Christmas, is quite a meaningful day of celebration to me personally. I have always been intrigued by this report n the Gospel of Matthew regarding Magi from the East. Though there are extra-Biblical accounts of from where and precisely who those men were, the Matthew report remains vague as to such details.

    The scenario that tickles my intellectual fancy is that these star-gazers probably were from the land that once impolitely hosted the Scribes, Priests, and academic class of the Hebrew people decades or centuries earlier.

    I further venture that the predecessors of those star-gazers in Matthew had conversed over coffee or tea with the Hebrew captives about theology, God, and their Scripture and recorded their interviews for use by subsequent generations of Magi.

    Though the Matthew report remains vague regarding the precise identities or nation of origin, it brings forth some remarkable ideas.

    One such idea is that God used the religion and practice of the Magi to lead them to Christ. God did not exclude them from this glory on the basis that they were of a different religion. God prepared them and directed them by use of what star-grazers would naturally look toward for guidance.

    This point can encourage us regarding evangelism, or sharing of faith with those who are of other faiths or of no faith. Be in discussion with folk, share your faith story. Though they may not immediately respond, those who are intentionally seeking will find guidance.

    Another idea regards the gifts presented. Bible scholars and theologians, and I have read many, speculate much as to the meaning of those specified gifts. I like the idea that those gifts were of sufficient economic value as to make provision for Mary and Joseph, poor as they were, to escape to Egypt. Again, though the report does not state where in Egypt they went, I tend to think it was the City of Alexandria. The city was an economic and intellectually progressive city. Perhaps this is where Jesus was educated, again, financed by those gifts of the Magi, and so learned much to take back to his hometown.

    Perhaps the most important idea regarding the Matthew report with its lack of details about the persons or identities of the Magi is the fact that outsiders, sometimes with much enabling gift to offer, are invited to worship out of sincerity as God has prompted them. 

    As this Epiphany approaches anticipate that God has been at work prompting folk to seek Jesus. They may be of different cultures, languages, religions, nations, or colors.  Let us take care not to ignore or dismiss them. Let us, like Joseph and Mary, receive them and feel blessed by them. They and the gifts they bring can enable our ministries, personal and congregational.

In conclusion…Happy Epiphany!

It's Advent: Be on the Lookout for Angels

 

 

picture by Shana Dines of Elkhart 2014
You can find out more about Shana at:
https://ealonline.org/featured-artist-shana-dines/

Luke 2: 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

Some things to consider…

1.     Angels told shepherds about the birth before priests, before kings, before  anyone else.

2.     The shepherds, in humility and joy, recognized the angels as messengers of the Lord.

3.     Upon receiving this divine revelation they were eager to respond and go on the adventure.

As we continue through Advent and approach Christmas, as we prepare our hearts, not only for the family get-togethers and gifts, but also for some sacred impact upon our souls, let’s be like shepherds.

    Let’s accept that wherever we are angels visit us. During Covid 19 we may feel much like the shepherds…some kind of outcasts in fields of loneliness. Know that you are valued highly.

  Like the shepherds let us be sensitive to the angels speaking to us. We do this by prayer and taking time to “Be still and know God”.

Let us eagerly respond in our souls to take a new and fresh spiritual adventure.

I know we have experienced many years of Christmas. Sometimes in all the hustle and bustle we become “bah, humbug” about it.

But as we listen to Christmas music, gaze upon ornaments, remember our loved ones who have gone on, let’s know that we are not left behind…not really. We are visited by angels of divine proclamation, grace, and encouragement.

Let us then anticipate something wonderful!

Eric Settles, Proud Pilot

 

 

first solo flight 12/17/2019

 

I am particularly proud to announce that as of Thursday, December 3. 2020, my son, Eric Settles, gained his pilot’s license at Goshen Municipal Airport- GSH. His FAA Examiner wrote on his report “nice touch…beautiful flying.”

   Eric was surely pleased. This has been a goal of his since his first airplane flight when he was 8 or 9 years old.

   Since his childhood he has been passionately interested in flight, airplanes, and the airline industry. I believe he told me that while in college one of his business class reports was of an airline industry incident.

    On December 17, 2019 he experienced his first solo flight.

    You know how it is when you set goals for yourself and life has a way of trying to sabotage your steps toward those goals. We have work to attend to, college, family concerns that interrupt our plans.

          Congratulations to my son, Eric, for sticking with it and making a dream come true.

   As a gesture of celebration, my wife, Sherry Borglum, found this 1974 vintage belt buckle to present as a gift in celebration.

vintage belt buckle

   Now we wonder what may be the next step…?

 

My favorite part of the Christmas story is found in Matthew 2: 1-12.

We are told that wise men, or kings, or star-gazers, came from the East to worship the new born King.

   We celebrate the arrival of these wise men on January 6, 2020. We call it Epiphany.

   Now personally, I think these “wise men” were indeed astrologers of their day who came from the land where the Israelites had been carried off to generations ago. I imagine the astrologers (priests) having coffee with the scribes and priests of the Israelites and discussing theology and other such things.

Perhaps this is how the wise men knew to be anticipating a king or Messiah.

But wherever from they came, the story mentions a plural “wise men”. It does not say three. There could have been two, there could have been many more.

It does say they brought gifts and three are named. It is likely they brought other gifts as well.

   But the thing I want to affirm here is that perhaps your church, like many, over time has lost one of the wise men set. Maybe you have only two left.

You are still faithful to the story because the story merely says “wise men”…not a specific “three”.

So relax, be not embarrassed. If anyone says anything, just tell them Mike claims only two wise men!

And, by the way…it is perfectly fine to keep your Christmas decorations up until Epiphany which is the conclusion of the twelve days of Christmas!

Caring for Neighbor as Advent/Christmas Worship

So here we are about to enter the Advent/ Christmas season doing church virtually, online, streaming rather than in person. Yes, I understand that this disruption of church tradition is disappointing. But it causes me to question…”What are the fundamental aspects of being a Christian…a Jesus follower.” As I read the gospel in which I see the modeling of Christ for how we are to conduct ourselves in the world, I read no call to have elaborate services celebrating his birth, or arrival of Magi from the East. There is no provision for lighting a series of candles over a four week period. Now for sure, I love the Church Calendar. Yes, I do find it helpful toward bringing order to the church and how we can find creative ways to worship. But the church calendar comes to us from tradition rather than anything Jesus taught. If we replace the teachings and modeling of Jesus as found in the Gospels with tradition-based “feel-good” moments of Christmas and even Easter, we reach toward a sort of idolatry that is actually self-serving rather than neighbor-serving. Jesus taught compassion and healing, not how to decorate a tree. Jesus taught a sincerity of, rather than a showmanship of, prayer and charity. Jesus taught surrender of one’s will for God and neighbor, not how to demand familiar customs as a way of making a political statement. These next few weeks, let’s not focus on the disruption of our familiar patterns of worship. Let’s realize the truth…that being a Christian, calling Jesus Lord and meaning it invites us to love our neighbors, pray for our enemies, heal the lame, feed the hungry, and clothe the naked. This year we have the opportunity to preserve the health of our neighbors by merely limiting our physical contact with them. Allow me to insinuate Luke 16: 10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much."  I believe our humble actions of neighbor-care will satisfy God as worship far more than well-planned and orchestrated Advent and Christmas Eve extravaganzas.

 

Lake James

Usually when Sherry and I stay at Pokagon State Park we request one of the Old Historic rooms to be in. Unfortunately, since we are in November, the air conditioning had been turned off for the season and the heat turned on. Our room, along with everyone else, was uncomfortable. Windows in the Old Historic Section were open, an unusual sight for November.

   Having no more portable fans to accommodate us, they moved us to one of the cabin 68 with individual air conditioning at no extra charge. My goodness, did we luck out!

cabin 68

    To arrive at cabin 68, we drove across a one-car bridge that crossed over the toboggan run tracks.

the 1-car bridge across tracks

Toboggan Tracks

   But, we had, not only air conditioning, but also a very personal and close view of Lake James.

The fox seemed almost domesticated as he paused long enough for me to take a photo.

Well-posed fox

   Sherry and I have been visiting Pokagon for 16 years now. This time we had some quite new experiences!

Autumn Excursion at Ox Bow Park Elkhart County Indiana

 

View from Ox Bow View tower

Usually I prefer my autumn days soaked in overcast and slight drizzle as I walk along paths accompanied by my umbrella to cover me and coffee to comfort.

   But today, October 29, 2020, sunny and bright, was quite accommodating as I took a stroll through Ox Bow Park in Elkhart County Indiana.

   As I had no need of an umbrella, I carried my camera through wooded paths and open fields snapping photos at will.

walk way

The falling golden leaves, twirling as if in choreographed dance, seemed to celebrate my presence while adorning my sweater momentarily before continuing their journey to the ground where they found rejoined brethren.

the conquered  tower

    One accomplishment of the day is my ascension to the top of the View tower at the park. When I was a teenager and young adult I had no fear of heights. But age causes uncooperative characteristics to sneak upon one. It is not really a very tall tower. Not any the less, as I ascended the stairs I felt that discomfort happen within my brain. I pressed on. Finally stepping upon the top level I felt a sense of personal achievement. I lingered in that self-satisfaction for a bit, taking photos to prove I was there.

shopping list

    Returning to the ground and walking away I saw a piece of paper hugging the damp grass. I initially dismissed it as unworthy of my attention at first. And then, my sense of incidental discovery burst through the apathy and prompted me to return to the paper and see what treasure may lie there.

It appears to be a shopping list: smoked ched./curried chic. Salad/crostin dessert?/pretzel buns/ cous cous?/cake mix/coffee/take forks plates napkins/go to Asian and German stores?/applewood bacon/mozz./pineapple/pretzel bun?

I love such discoveries. They cause me to imagine stories. I imagine a story about what party or family get-together this list was to accommodate.

The penmanship was pleasant and easy to read. This is obviously a well-organized person. I’m sure their event was a delightfully edible success.

Though born in Lafollette Tennessee and having spent some childhood in Detroit Michigan, I have lived in Elkhart County since 1969. It has become not only my historical home, but also my emotional and personal identity home as well. Today, in Ox Bow park, was one of the very many reasons why that is the case.

quiet and peaceful

Mick Jagger, Mary van Wijk, and "The St. Petersburg Syndrome"

 

 

    As a means of promoting my story “The St. Petersburg Syndrome” and the book in which it is gathered, I asked Mary van Wijk, a known Rolling Stones enthusiast, to read it and compose a review.

   Sometimes a review of a story is more entertaining than the story itself as is the case in this incidence.

   I offer Mary’s review here more as a celebration of her personal experience than as a promotion of my book “Preposterous Scenarios: Gathered Stories, Poems, and Memoirs” available as a digital download at Amazon.com for $2.99.

 

REVIEW:

Settles’ The St Petersburg Syndrome is reminiscent of an encounter, purely by chance, that I had in 1989 in an intimate Italian restaurant in London.  My encounter with Mick Jagger, Jerry Hall and Eric Idle, sitting at the table beside, and very near us, was unanticipated and extraordinary, just like this fresh and intriguing story. The St Petersburg Syndrome is sure to give you satisfaction!

Mary van Wijk, United Methodist Ordained Elder and Rolling Stones Aficionado

 

Oh, to have been just feet away from that table! I sincerely hope Mary eavesdropped sufficiently to accommodate Mick’s insatiable ego.

I look forward to being in person with Mary so as to experience vicarious proximity to rock and roll greatness!

Thank you Mary for these exciting words!

 

But before I leave…

   The story which prompted this review “The St. Petersburg Syndrome” is found in the book “Preposterous Scenarios: Gathered Stories, Poems, and Memoirs” by Mike Settles. Available as a digital download at amazon.com for $2.99.

Peter Frampton Meets President Gerald Ford

President Ford with Peter Frampton National Archives

    Some people pass the time or develop hobbies such as reading novels, golfing, or assembling evasive picture puzzles. I rummage through historical documents looking for the occasional “huh”, “wait a minute” or “wow” discovery.

   Such was the case a few days ago as I was perusing the daily diary of President Gerald Ford which is available online from the Gerald Ford Presidential Library.

   At the bottom, page seven, of the diary for September 8, 1976, I see the name “Peter Frampton” as someone with whom the President met. “Huh” was my whispered response. And so I was off on an engagement of historic research. Indeed it was the Peter Frampton of rock and roll guitar fame!

    The National Archives was wise enough to maintain the photograph.

It was 44 years ago this coming September 8^th that rock and roll royalty once again assumed its worthy place as it stood within the Oval Office beside Presidential stature!

And that’s my trivial report.

 

Ps…Peter reached the number 6 spot on the WLS survey for September 18, 1976 with “Baby, I Love Your Way”.

http://www.oldiesloon.com/il/wls760918.htm

 

Presidential diary entry found at:

https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0036/pdd760908.pdf

 

Photo from national archives:

https://nara.getarchive.net/media/president-gerald-r-ford-and-his-son-steve-ford-meeting-with-musician-peter-47e887

The Somnolent Effect of a Kienzle Mechanical Tick

 

I continue to affirm my wife, Sherry Borglum, as gift-giver Extraordinaire!

Knowing my interest in watches, contemporary, luxury, utilitarian, vintage, she is always finding the most excellent of choices.

   This one is a German made Kienzle from the 1960s. This is a wind-up stem watch. It has this cool-cream color face with a sweeping second hand in a circle at the six o’clock position. But the feature most important is that it produces the mechanical tick as the seconds sweep around.

And, oh the fun of winding the stem with my index finger and thumb!

   My first watch was given to me at Christmas in 1963 when I was nine years old. It was a Timex. That watch also produced the mechanical tick to which I would listen late at night as it lulled me off to sleep.

   Later, in 1970, for my birthday I received a Hamilton watch which also would tick mechanically and drift me off to sleep.

After those gifts of watches, succeeding watches, with batteries, merely gave a soft ping which left me unimpressed and awake, disappointingly.

   Over the decades I had forgotten the somnolent effect of a mechanical tick. I will once again make use of that feature as I try to sleep.

Thank you Sherry, I’m all wound up!

Pastel Blue

 

New cover photo by Donna Hemmig

August 9, 2020

Early AM

Thanks, Donna

A soft pastel-blue incomplete sphere

 teases the imagination and nudges inspiration to

 complete the circle and mentally color in the emptiness

with the cognitive crayon of fulfillment.

Moving the Church into the 21st Century

 

 

    For decades church attendance has been declining. While there are some exceptions, generally speaking, in-person/in sanctuary attendance is becoming an experience of the past.

   The current Covid 19 situation has caused many churches to cease operation and also has caused many people to stay home from church.

   Many churches offer online streaming services, some have radio broadcasts. I am anticipating that by the time there is a vaccine for this Covid 19 many folk who previously had good habit and routine of physical attendance at church will have lost that habit and will remain at home on Sundays.

   I further anticipate that churches that can pivot from a physical presence worship experience to an online service will be the churches that will survive long-term into the 21st Century.

This is not anything to feel bewildered about.

Regarding corporate shareholders...

“Globally, a significant majority of meetings have fewer than 100 attendees, and in many markets the attendance level is declining. Smaller companies may see only a handful of attendees, if any.” (see source 1 at bottom) Yet the shareholders who do not attend in person remain shareholders in full with right to vote by proxy. They are not less of a shareholder because they are not physically present.

Viewership of sports on television is measured in the millions whereas an arena or stadium holds less than 100,000 in attendance. (See source 2)

And, in 2019 the Beatles album ranked number 3 on Billboard though they have not provided a concert for over fifty years. (source 3)

One is not less a fan just because they have not been in person at a sporting event or a concert.

Likewise, one can be fully Christian, enjoy a meaningful experience, and be inspired by an online service. It is definitely the church that can make the pivot from physical focus to online that will do well as time goes on.

Even the idea of church membership or affiliation may move outside of the physical sanctuary. The church that can extend its affiliation structure will gain new relationships.

 

During 1969-1970 my grandmother would listen to a Christian broadcast on radio station WCMR in Dunlap Indiana. I could tell that she was fully engaged spiritually with that broadcast. Having left her home church of Cedar Hill Baptist church in Lafollette Tennessee and arriving here, she could not find a physical church in which she felt comfortable. But that radio program was fully and totally the experience that fed her spiritually.

 

There is nothing lacking in an online service or a radio service.

As time goes on and younger generations feel less of a need for a 20th century, physical building experience, we have opportunities to reach far many more people than ever our buildings could hold.

   Churches that are willing to let go of the 20th century model for church stand the better chance of stepping into the 21st century church opportunity.

 

 Sources

 

1.

(https://configio.blob.core.windows.net/media/em_ICSACanada/Attachments/Document%20Library/CGQ/Summer/The_future_of_shareholder_meetings.pdf)

 

2.

 (https://www.statista.com/statistics/619023/number-tv-viewers-sporting-events-usa/)

 

3.

https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/8532282/the-beatles-abbey-road-returns-billboard-200-chart-top-3

Enjoy Volcano Pizza Easy Shopping Place

Pizza is a favorite food of mine. It is second in favorability rank only to pinto beans with onions and corn bread.

I was introduced to pizza in Detroit, age nine, by the neighborhood kids. We lived on Bessemore Street. The pizza place, I don’t remember the name, was on Gratiot Avenue. We would walk the three or four blocks to a store building which appeared to be fifty years old. The globe light fixtures suspended from the ceiling five feet. The floor tile was sufficiently aged that it had many cracked and missing pieces. I still remember the scrape of the wooden pizza peel as the worker thrusts the pizza into the oven.

   My friends and I would joke, converse about our favorite TV shows such as “Batman” and "Man from Uncle” while the workers also exchanged more adult versions of such discussion.

Yes, pizza is more than just food for me. It carries the memories of youth.

Having moved from Detroit to Dunlap Indiana the next favorite pizza place was the Pizza Shack on US 33 in beautiful downtown Dunlap. In 1969 it was located next door to a Burger Dairy store. My friend R. Keith Hunter and I would periodically walk there after school at Concord Junior High and order a pizza and then go next door to purchase soft drinks at Burger Dairy.

In those days crossing US33 was manageable as there were only three lanes, the center being a turn lane. The traffic, well before Concord Mall, was much lighter.

Anyway…much thanks to Bill and Ruth Ann Owen for making such great pizzas at the Pizza Shack.

Also in 1969 there was Miller’s Pizza in Goshen at intersection of Pike and 2nd. It was a healthy bicycle ride from Dunlap, but worth it.

Yes, since 1964, my Detroit friends and I eating pizza while watching Election night results, pizza has been a favorite food as well as a cultural companion.

   Even during the season of Covid 19 pizza will not surrender!

Last night I purchased pizza at Volcano’s at Easy Shopping Place. The cardboard container claims “legendary since 1957!”

   I encourage you to enjoy pizza from Volcano’s…call ahead with your order (574-295-8606). Someone comes out to your car to handle the transaction. Only employees are allowed in the building itself.

It is great pizza!

"Commercial" for book..."Preposterous Scenarios: Gathered Stories, Poems, and Memoirs"

 I would like to invite you to purchase and enjoy my book “Preposterous Scenarios: Gathered Stories, Poems, and Memoirs”

It is available on Amazon as a digital download.

The price is $2.99. As this publication is not about money to me, I have priced it so as to be irresistible!

 This publication is about sharing my humor with you.

The memoirs are from childhood. Perhaps they will cause you to reflect upon your first kiss. Or maybe the concluding memoir will remind you of how you overcame fear of public speaking.

 The poems are of such simple rhyme and rhythm dipped in humor surely they must cause a chuckle to emerge.

 But the main focus is the stories, fictional for sure, and indeed preposterous.

 “The Unexpected Roommate”   is a story based upon the Barbee Hotel in Kosciusko County Indiana. Legend has it that Al Capone often stayed there.

The story gives a fictionalized hint at what happened to the money supposed to be hidden in a hotel vault. But, I don’t want to give too much away!

 Then there is “Stunned and Bewildered”

What would you do if you accidentally became President of the United States? Set in Indiana, in the election cycle of 2024, stage comedian Bobby Beer has as his comedy act that he is a candidate for President. If this reminds you of Pat Paulsen and his comedy act of 1968, yes, that was the inspiration.

 “The Blue Sequined Party Dress” is romantic comedy inspired by a true report of an experience posted on Facebook (and the next morning removed). In the story I moved the scene to a golf course. The story is as much about friendship as it is about romance.

 “The Meek” refers to the “meek” of the Beatitudes in the New Testament. Imagine, as the story asks of you, that you have an opportunity to visit hell for one week as an extreme adventure. Would you?

 “The St. Petersburg Syndrome” If you are a Rolling Stones fan, you surely will enjoy this.  It is an imagining of a supernatural moment. And, of course, I remind you it is quite very fictional. Reference to anyone living is purely intentional. What if the devil was not the ultimate bad guy? What if he had a boss…a boss that had become playful and good-natured over time?

 

All of these stories are short and easy to read. I offer them for your amusement.

But also, I wrote them so as to have application for movie or film.

If you are a film director or producer, check out these stories. If you would like to do a film based upon one, get in touch with me. Let’s make an arrangement.

 Again… “Preposterous Scenarios” available on Amazon as a digital download for $2.99.

 The following video was filmed at beautiful Wellfield Botanic Gardens in Elkhart Indiana. It pretty much describes what I have already done in text here. But also, we have the added features of birds chirping, the sound of moving water, and a quacking duck. Such features contribute a sense of “live presence”. Thanks to my wife, Sherry Borglum, for her recording skills.

Give it watch!

Hey brother, how's your mind? Alisha Merrick and 3 John 1:2

Peace medallions created by artist Alisha Merrick

During the years of 1969-1971 my wanna-be hippie friends and I would greet each other with “Hey, brother, how’s your mind?” Back in those days there was a focus on mind-expansion, creativity, and release from the burdensome expectations of the Establishment. And so, we valued the state of the mind.

    A healthy mind was at peace from anxiety or stress caused by the evils of greed, hatred, and pursuit of status.

    A healthy mind was open to all persons regardless of religion, language, or nationality.

    A healthy mind was eager to hear the latest declarations from the vinyl prophets like the Youngbloods with “Get Together” or Jackie Deshannon with “Put a Little Love in Your Heart”.

   Ah, the days of youthful naivety.

   John Wesley, accidental founder of the Methodist movement, would open meetings with “How is it with your soul?” I think he was inspired by 3 John: 1: 2 Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.

While the vinyl prophets of the 1960s have moved on from their “peace and love” movement, The Methodist Movement continues. And so, it is a relevant question “How is it with your soul?”

   I pray that you enjoy health. I pray that all goes your way today. I pray that you are affirmed to the core of your soul.

   Also, I can’t help it…all of those sentiments are carried in my decades old sentiment “Hey brother, or sister, how’s your mind?

ps. you can find out more about Alisha Merrick's art here:

https://alishamerrickart.com/