All going very well – had follow up appointment with doctor today.

More early next week!

I will resume posting in early November as I am scheduled for a surgical procedure to repair a macular hole in my left this week.

Grace and peace

Tom

My story – my beginning – happened in February, 1947 in Bunch, Oklahoma. Most people would be able to also provide the date of their birth – but, alas – that is probably the first of the funny things that happened to me on my way to the pulpit. It is not a complete guessing game, however. We know that it was either February 2 or February 9 – we just do not know which. Even when I asked my mother – her response was, “I don’t remember” – even though I am fairly confident that she was present. More details of this situation will provide the basis for my next post.

When people inquire where I was born I generally reply in the Cookson Hills of northeastern Oklahoma. I am surprised how many people are content with just that answer. When people desire more specific information I generally go through a list of names like this:

Oklahoma City – if they nod in the affirmative I move along to – Tulsa. For many people that is the end of their knowledge about the communities in Oklahoma, but for those who are still with me I continue with Muskogee or Tahlequah. If either of those get an affirmative response I move on to Sallisaw or Stilwell.If a person is familiar with either of these smaller towns then there is a good chance that they also already know the location of Bunch. However, if needed, from Sallisaw I move on to Marble City before finally arriving at Bunch – or – from Stilwell I move on to Cookson before moving on to Bunch.

Wikipedia offers the following words about Bunch: Bunch is an unincorporated community in southwestern Adair County, Oklahoma, United States  It was named after a Cherokee vice-chief named Rabbit Bunch who lived in the area in the 1880s. Nestled in the Sallisaw Creek valley, Bunch is bisected by the Kansas City Southern Railroad, which was built in the 1890s. Bunch is in the Cookson Hills area of eastern Oklahoma which are a part of the western area of the Ozark Mountains.

The same Wikipedia article includes the above picture of Bunch – clearly a booming metropolis. I am told that on the day I was born that the population of Bunch was 27 – of course – that does not include the multitude of Native Americans, primarily Cherokees, who live in the surrounding area.

I was born in a white frame house within sight of the Kansas City Southern Railroad tracks that pass through the middle of Bunch. This house was the home of my maternal grandparents who served the area at the Methodist mission church that was next door. I know exactly where the church and the house are in this picture – but – they cannot be seen because of the mountain that is to the left in this picture. The church building is still there although the outside has been updated while the interior is very much as I remember it, but the house burned several years ago.

Enough for today! I would love to receive the stories of others who were born in interesting places – please join in the community discussion.

On October 3, 2014 I wrote a post that hoped to follow with an additional post at least one time every other day. I have missed that goal but I promise to strive for more frequent posts as we move forward.

Before I begin the story of my life – my beginning – I want to offer some words of wisdom written by an extraordinary communicator, colleague, and friend as an introduction to the beginning of my story. These words have provided comfort for me on numerous occasions – so I offer them with deep gratitude for their author Robert Ball.*

Human beings are of unconditional and incomparable worth. We all affirm it, but we don’t believe it, especially not about ourselves. We want to matter. That need is unrelenting within us because the truth of the universe is that we do matter. To matter and to know it and to live it are our birthright, our authenticity, our hope. More than anything else in the world, we want to matter – and we do. But we fear that we do not. So we spend our lives in futility of trying to prove something that is already true but that we don’t really believe. Furthermore, the reality that we matter is something that cannot be proven. It is, finally, a matter of faith. The only way to know that we matter is to believe that we are capable and loved. What I felt when I looked at my sleeping kids is a reflection of eternal truth, a breakthrough from the world of fear to the world of love. Those experiences were small, recurring reminders of the way God feels about every human being in the whole world. The “good news” of the gospel is that God loves and values every person in the world. We are all unconditionally and eternally loved and precious to God – capable, needed, important, forgiven, valued, wanted (15-16).

Now I am ready to begin to tell you the story of my beginning . . .

*Ball, Robert. Walking on Water: Self-Esteem and a Journey of Faith. Palo Alto, CA: Science and Behavior Books, Inc., 1992.

The last new beginning of this blog had wonderful intentions – but – as most people already are aware – sometimes life happens. Yes, life happened and maybe sometime will be the right time to talk about that – but – this is NOT that time.

This is the time for ONE MORE NEW BEGINNING and I fully intend to continue to make at least one post every other day. Hopefully, life will allow me to keep that schedule.

As many people are aware – one of the things high on my list of things to do once I retired was to write a book. Well before long (at the end of this December) it will have been two years since I retired – and – the number of books that needs to be written is now up to four.

It was my intention for my first book to be Human Beings Anonymous – a twelve steps book for people who mistakenly believe that they are able to live without any addictions. Early in the process I realized that this book – which does indeed still needs to be written – and soon – is not possible to write without me first telling my own story – a story of life filled with twists and turns, steps forward and backward, attempts at self sufficiency followed by lessons of realizing that I am not in control. I am still a firm believer in the power of the twelve steps – because they are a very important part of my continuing path toward wholeness and healing.

But – first I need to tell my own story. This post begins the journey of writing that first book so that I might be able to actually write the second one.

First, however, a little background is required.

In 1962, Stephen Sondheim’s A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum won several Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Author of a Musical. Later, the show was made into a successful movie starring Zero Mostel, the original lead in the Broadway production.

Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus (251-183 BC), specifically  “Pseudolus,” “Miles Gloriosus,” and “Mostellaria,” the musical tells the bawdy story of a slave named Pseudolus and his attempts to win his freedom by helping his young master woo the girl next door. The plot displays many classic elements of farce, including puns, the slamming of doors, cases of mistaken identity (frequently involving characters disguising themselves as one another), and satirical comments on social class. The title derives from the line that vaudeville comedians often used to begin a story: “A funny thing happened on the way to the theater” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Funny_Thing_Happened_on_the_Way_to_the_Forum).

With all of this in mind – and with deep admiration for the work of Stephen Sondheim – I have decided to title my autobiographical book A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Pulpit. As time moves along you will discover that the plot elements described above have all contributed to my life story.

In my next post I will describe the beginning of my life in the beautiful Cookson Hills of northeastern Oklahoma, and then our journey will continue.

The life of a blog is only sustained by people who read and then join in the discussion of things written by the author of the blog. Please join the community of discussion and invite others to join us as well.