augustmarsblog

                                            Chapter Eight                                          A WEEKEND AT THE FARM My father had such a close relationship with his family that for several years we spent nearly every weekend at the farm. After breakfast on Saturday morning, he would crank up the Ford (literally crank it, with a hand crank), and after it warmed up, we would pile in. When I say it warmed up, I mean the engine warmed up, because cars didn't have heaters in those days. When it was really cold, we would bundle up in heavy clothes, and my mother would heat a couple of bricks and wrap each in a towel, one for Betty and one for me, to keep our feet warm during the trip. At that time, large sections of Route 220 were still unpaved, and there was one low plac...

  CHAPTER NINE THE BARGERS Granddaddy Barger (David Preston Barger) was what one would term "psychic" in present day terminology. He had the ability to see things that were invisible to other people. During lone walks in the woods and over the countryside, visions of people and animals would appear to him and then, just as suddenly, vanish. And it was said that at times, on the death of an acquaintance, he was able to see the spirit of the deceased. From my earliest memory, he was missing one eye and was lame in one leg. Both problems arose from work related accidents. I believe he lost the eye to a chip from a rock that he was breaking with a sledgehammer. If I remember correctly, he was at the time working at building a bridge over Lapsley's Run on the old road that existed before Route 220 was constructed. The story of his hip and leg injury is more of a personal concern with me. My mother had told me that he had fallen off a ladder while he was building the...

  The Vertical View of Humanity The concept of the vertical view of humanity is one of the most difficult to explain, and yet it is essential to understand it if one is to resolve many of the apparent inconsistencies in the Christian scriptures. To add to the difficulty, it is hard to accept the concept even after the mind fully grasps it. However, it is by no means necessary to understand it in order to live perfectly in peace with God and man. One can simply study the positive teachings, and ignore the logical difficulties with the faith that somehow they can be resolved. Or, one can bypass the scriptures altogether and appeal directly to the Holy Spirit to teach him how to live in accordance with Jesus's two commandments, with the resolve not to be concerned with matters of scriptural interpretation. However, if one is concerned about some of the logical difficulties in trying to reconcile some of the ...

  CHAPTER TEN FAMILY TIES During the time of the Cuban missile crisis, the cold war reached its peak. Tensions between the United States and Russia ran high, as Soviet missiles were installed in Cuba, and President Kennedy threatened retaliation. The uneasy fear of nuclear war had lurked in the background since the early fifties, but now it appeared to be a real possibility, and the issue seemed to be on everyone's lips. It was not surprising then that one night I found myself in a vivid dream that dealt with warfare. The scene was the devastated business section of a city in which a battle had just taken place. The mood was somber, and the light was dim as if the sun were about to set - the light darkened even more by the shadows cast by the tall buildings. Now, after the fighting had raged all day, the streets were quiet, with only some wisps of smoke and gaping holes in the brickwork testifying to the destruction that had been wrought by the artillery shells. The battle...