Late Spring 2008

 

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As we Drive By

 

 

Did He Have a Premonition?  By Lowell Pugh

Last December a friend in San Diego sent me a copy of his mother’s funeral bill with the ledger entries starting August 19, 1930 for an ambulance trip to Springfield, Missouri.

     The account read as follows:

 

8/19 Ambulance to Spg

$25.00

 

8/23 Casket Emb. Etc./Funeral Car 

$150.00

 

 

$175.00

 

8/25  By Cash

$50.00

 

8/22  By Cash (Monta)

25.00

 

9/22  By Labor 5 Days (R. Horning)

7.50

 

9/22  By Labor 11/2 days (F. Maybee)

2.25

 

10/9  By Cash, Labor, Sowing Rye

  14.00

 

Jan 6, 33 By Labor (Reggie)

9.15

 

4-18-33 By Labor         

14.55

 

11-25-33 By gathering corn 294 bu.

  8.85

 

12-2-33 By Butchering

 

 

April 34  By Sowing Sudan

30.00

 

 

161.26

 

1/31/38

13.74

       Paid in full 1/31/38

(Editor Note:  We realize that total paid doesn’t add up to what is showing)

 He wrote on the back:  Copy of billing for my mother’s funeral, paid off over time mostly by labor, by her husband (Reggie), her father (Frank) and Brother (Monta).  Note the time of the final payment, August, 1930 to January, 1938.

Oh yes, times change. But do prices?  It took some time to pay off my mother’s death! Signed R.C.

I didn’t get around to answering his note for a couple of months and my letter came back about the same time as the Dead Beat which we mailed to his mother-in-law.   They lived next door to each other and he assisted in her care.  I learned later from one of his daughters that R.C. died in January less than three weeks after mailing me his letter.  The mother-in-law was moved to a nursing home and died in April.  His daughter said that though her mother had been cremated and scattered in California. Her father’s ashes will be brought back here in the fall to be scattered on his parent’s graves.  I wonder if when he mailed me this information about his mother he had a premonition of impending death?

Do times change?  According to my uncle’s letterhead on the bill, “All Accounts Due First of Each Month.  Interest Charged After 60 Days.”  No interest was ever charged and since no one had any money anyway, billing was probably not more than once or twice a year.  Try selling that policy to the bank or corporate today.

It Was Only a Quarter

Several years ago, a preacher from out-of-state accepted a call to a church in Houston, Texas.  Some weeks after he arrived, he had an occasion to ride the bus from his home to the downtown area.  When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him a quarter too much change.

As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, “You’d better give the quarter back.  It would be wrong to keep it.”  Then he thought, “Oh, forget it, it’s only a quarter.  Who would worry about this little amount?     Anyway, the bus company gets too much fare; they will never miss it.  Accept it as a ‘gift from God’ and keep quiet.”

When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, and then he handed the quarter to the driver and said, “Here, you gave me too much change.”

The driver, with a smile, replied, “Aren’t you the new preacher in town?  I have been thinking a lot lately about going somewhere to worship.  I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change.  I’ll see you at church on Sunday.”

When the preacher stepped off of the bus, he literally grabbed the nearest light pole, held on, and said, “Oh, God, I almost sold your son for a quarter.”

Our lives are the only Bible some people will ever read.

This is an example of how much people watch Christians and will put us to the test!  Always be on guard and remember that you carry the name of Christ on your shoulders when you call yourself, “Christian.”

Watch your thoughts; they become words.  Watch your words; they become actions.  Watch your actions; they become habits.  Watch your habits; they become character.  Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

 

 

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