Good Morning,
I pray the day is finding you well.
People get some funny ideas in their heads.
I am often amused by a person's train of thought, more specifically the origin of that thought.
A few years ago a movie came out called "Inception" starring Leonardo Decaprio. It is a movie where Leonardo enters a person's dream and infuses a thought, when the person wakes up the person thinks it is their thought and then acts upon it. I found the movie interesting.
When I was growing up I had a person that was particularly good at "inception." It was my sister Katie. She was very good at infusing a thought into me, me acting on it, getting into trouble, Katie then giggling that I actually did it.
Looking back I like to think that I was just gullible; looking back Katie thought I was just a dimwit.
This particular "inception" took place on a beautiful spring day. It was my senior year in high-school I was enjoying the fact that I was a senior, and starting to look forward to going off to college; all that was left to do was stay out of trouble and graduate.
The Signing team was enjoying its second undefeated season; I am still upset that I was cut fromt the team. I was still enjoying trudging around the track, typically coming in last in the 100 yard dash. It really was not so much of a dash for me, the coach used to get upset when I would get in the starting blocks holding my sack lunch for halfway through the race. It took me a while to finish.
Katie and I were walking to school. We had walked most of the way there; we were walking past the park, we were almost to the bandshell which is the centerpiece of the park.
My best friend Tim drives up and asks if we want a ride to school, of course we said, "Yes." The thought of walking the remaining block and a half was just silly.
We jump in Tim's car.
Of course, getting a ride to school meant that we had to ride down main street in the opposite direction of school, getting to the end we turn left and drive up past the Dairy King, down the frontage road past the Vickers gas station, turning left once again and ending up at the school.
As we drove, we started to talk about the band competition in Oberlin that day. How school would be a waste because almost all the kids would be going to Oberlin along with most the teachers that were accompanying them; Katie was going to the competition too. Katie says, "They won't be teaching you guys anything today. Most of the classes have subs anyway."
Tim and I agreed.
Katie then says, "You guys should just skip school."
Inception.
We had never skipped school before.
Tim and I look at each other.
I say, "Skipping school is a wonderful idea. Tim, we have never skipped school before"; I have been practicing being the master of the obvious for along time.
Tim says, "You think we should?" I said, "sure, what can they so to us?"
This all happened before the car past the Dairy King.
Just then we see Bob and Brad in Bob's car, we signal them that we want to talk.
Signaling another car in Sainty amounted to pointing your arm out the window and signaling the car to go around the block, a move that every highschooler in Sainty masters "dragging main street." Dragging mainstreet amounted to driving up and down main street for hours, waving at the same ten cars over and over again until you have to go to Vickers because you are out of gas.
They go around, we tell them our idea, they agree. Now all we have to do is find Danny and we are ready to skip school.
We find Danny, do the signaling thing, tell him our idea, he agrees; walla we are in business.
We had never skipped school before; in case you had forgotten. We did not know what to do? We ended up sitting on my front porch brainstorming. My dad comes out and says, "What's going on?" I say, "We are skipping school." Dad just looks at me. Once again I was perfecting my skill at being the master of the obvious.
Just then the phone rings. My dad gets up and answers the phone. We hear my dad say, "I see, thank you for telling me, goodbye."
Dad walks out onto the porch and says, "You guys have to get off the porch. That was Mr. Alvers, the principle"
You can see where I get my masterfulness from.
"He informed me that you have skipped school and sheriff Ray Lee is on the lookout for you boys."
We sprang into action. We had to get out of town, and right now. Nobody wants to go to the poky.
We decided to go to Bonnie Dam. I was saddened to hear that Bonnie Dam is no longer there. Many a good time was had there. Times like waterskiing with maneating carp, and perfecting the forward roll through the firepit on the beach. As I said, good times.
We all pile into the car and go to Bonnie Dam. At the dam we met this old couple fishing on one of the docks. The wind was blowing, as it usually does in Kansas because there isn't anything like trees or tall buildings or hills to get in the wind's way. A fact I did not totally appreciate until I joined the Navy years later. Without wind sailboats would not go very far. Without wind Columbus would have jumped onto his ship, say the famous words, "I am going to discover a new way to India," and just sit there bobbing in the harbor. Magellan would never have sailed around the world. Classic sea battles would have been reduced to boats bobbing in their own harbors signaling insults at each other. Without wind, the old man would not spit his chewing tobacco and have it blow into his wife's cheek. Jim Corcie comes to mind, "You don't tug on Superman's cape, you don't spit into the wind, you don't pull the mask off the ole lone ranger, and don't mess around with Jim."
We got bored at Bonnie Dam and we were starting to get hungry too.
We decided it would be a lot more fun to go back to school, eat lunch, and recruit more kids to skip with us.
Another brilliant move I might add.
We go back to school, eat lunch, recruit more kids, and leave again.
There is always an end to every day, and with the end of every day there is the inevitable next morning.
I walk into the school and Mr Alvers is there to greet me; he is not a happy camper.
I am informed that I have two weeks detention; one week for skipping school and the other week for coming back and recruiting other kids to go with us.
Here we are; Tim, Bob, Brad, Danny and I sitting in detention. This is another new experience for us. We had never had detention before, we did not know what to do with ourselves; Actually Tim, Brad, Danny and I did not know what to do with ourselves, Bob used it to study. Maybe that is why he is a heart surgeon now.
We started in Mr Jenkins classroom, but this did not work out. When we came out the whole school was in the hall and they were cheering us. Looking back, the breakfast club had nothing on us at that point.
We got moved to the library the next day.
Ms, Gertz, the librarian was a tough lady, she rode motorcycles. In fact she had a broken leg from a motorcycle accident. We did nto mess with Ms. Gertz.
I tried to get Katie to make a banner for when we came out into the hall.
Inception.
It didn't take.
We finally got through our detention, the signing team completed its undefeated season, I amost lettered in track, well almost is subjective, and we did actually graduate.
I learned my lesson about infusing thought though.
Have you ever wondered if there is more to life than just living?
What if all the things told of Jesus are true?
O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
Think about it.
Blessings,
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