tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623438328827408121.post5619899540265533549..comments2024-01-03T18:00:06.854-06:00Comments on Webutante: Memories of My FatherWebutantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02139954791621532194noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623438328827408121.post-74383026091880987472010-06-21T13:34:45.061-05:002010-06-21T13:34:45.061-05:00Well OK, Greg! Except I was not raised in Nashvil...Well OK, Greg! Except I was not raised in Nashville but rather 80 miles to the SE in a beautiful little town called McMinnville. The surrounding area has some of the best growing conditions in the world for hardwood trees. My father actually was raised in Nashville and then dropped out of Vanderbilt during the depression to help his father run the business during very hard times. They wouldn't have made it had they not been debt free....and I assure you they were debt free....as I am today.<br /><br />I'm sure my father would say that finding a church is important...and he attended First Methodist Church on Main Street in McMinnville....but he would also say that a personal relationship with Christ was even more important. He believed in being in the Word, as well as daily prayer which he believed kept a man humble.<br /><br />He had a great influence on my life and perhaps more even than mother since she died so young. I won't lie, mother and I had our share of conflict...among other things she was a smoker and I was a sickly asthmatic child. I grew to detest her smoking which eventually killed her, but that's another story too. <br /><br />Daddy and I had our share of struggles over the years but after all was said and done, we ended up having profound love and respect for each other. He died with me holding his hand....Webutantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02139954791621532194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623438328827408121.post-14777479870541212802010-06-21T13:22:41.229-05:002010-06-21T13:22:41.229-05:00mREd, that would mean your father died about 8 ye...mREd, that would mean your father died about 8 years after my mother who died at 51 in 1969. Still young by most standards. From what I've read from you, he was a fine man and very good influence. I know you must miss him as I do both my parents....Webutantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02139954791621532194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623438328827408121.post-37570782731973188342010-06-21T12:56:41.282-05:002010-06-21T12:56:41.282-05:00I've noticed, in your writing - and suspected ...I've noticed, in your writing - and suspected between the lines of your writing - that your father was much beloved and had major influence on who you are today. Therefore, have been curious to learn more about him, and figured you would write more in time. For sake of my curiosity, thanks for coming through!<br /><br />I've been visiting churches in Fort Worth, and just yesterday noticed something about myself: I've been tiptoeing in and out of churches in furtive fashion. This is b/c church members LOVE their churches, and I have felt badly - almost as if I were rejecting members who have noticed I was a visitor and welcomed me to their churches - when I have not returned to their churches. This has been exacerbated b/c, in some churches, people who know me have seen me and have rushed up to welcome me to their churches. I've reacted by walking into these churches in hopes of being incognito. Furtively. <br /><br />And I suddenly realized it: furtive(!?), and could see the error of my ways. First, no man ought walk into any room in furtive fashion. Ever. A man belongs on the Earth, and ought walk into any room as if he belongs on Earth, i.e. as if he is claiming his God given territory. And, the reason I wrote this part, is that I doubt your dad ever walked into any room in furtive fashion. Ever. <br /><br />Second, I'm really not giving my friends and fellow human beings enough credit for intelligence and wisdom: they KNOW that finding a church involves subtle considerations. By worrying about hurting their feelings, I am dishonoring them, i.e. I am treating them as if they are children, as opposed to treating them as wise adults. <br /><br />So, problem solved. When next I enter a church, I shall enter as if I own a lumber yard in Nashville and pray on my knees every night. No more of this furtive horse manure.gcotharnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10912428161978690599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623438328827408121.post-25537676686592498162010-06-21T12:30:58.606-05:002010-06-21T12:30:58.606-05:00Thank you for sharing this. Brings back a lot of &...Thank you for sharing this. Brings back a lot of "don't speak until spoken to" moments. My father has been gone 43 years and I still think of him every day and I also still learn from him through long ago memories.mRedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16391693179836662351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623438328827408121.post-82661022288011947802010-06-21T07:52:26.450-05:002010-06-21T07:52:26.450-05:00He was a decent man, BBM. Thank you for your note...He was a decent man, BBM. Thank you for your note.Webutantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02139954791621532194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7623438328827408121.post-3837535304096352582010-06-20T23:14:31.569-05:002010-06-20T23:14:31.569-05:00Just finished reading your 'memories' of y...Just finished reading your 'memories' of your father--that is so special--(& makes me long so for my father, too). Your father was loved & respected by everyone who knew him. He was a kind man--& that is rare today.BBMnoreply@blogger.com