Nominating

I was eating supper at a famous barbeque restaurant, then as now, as always, doing two things at once: reading a manuscript as I ate. I finished, looked across the room, and there she was. It had been 40 to 50 years since I had seen her, but I still the recognize the same small woman, my third grade teacher, Ms. Collier. Of course, as this writer, she had aged, her name had changed because she had married and I had more or less, through the years, kept up with her because I had relatives living in the same town in which she was reared.

Now I knew she would not recognize me, and I could have paid my bill, walked on out of the restaurant, but I went over to her table and said, “I am one of your former students, I just want to speak to you.” She looked at me with incomprehension, I sat down across from her and did not let go of her hand which I had taken when I introduced myself. I said, “I was in your third grade class at the Nahunta school, and believe me, I have never forgotten you, your classroom was right next to that of Ms. Buffalo, Ms. Dickinson and Ms. Edmundson was still there at the time.” She was looking at me with disbelief. I said, “I remember your family owned the saw mill, and I remember your married name, Fleming, and he died.”

Then, I told her about my education, military experience, and that I had come back to practice. I said, “you gave me a love for reading and music. I still remember the rack of bottles each filled with so much water to give a tone, and you teaching me the various tones in music, the large pictures of presidents and writers, the band in which I played. I always wanted to play the tambourine, but you had me playing the sticks. You were a marvelous teacher, and I want you know that I could never forget you, and I could not have walked out of here without speaking with you.”

She seemed to have recovered. She said, “Thomas, I remember you, I remember your beautiful mother, one of the prettiest women I ever saw (my mother was always known for her beauty).” She said, “after all the years of teaching school, you are the first to ever thank me. Right here, this day, you have made my life worthwhile.” I said, as I picked up her check to pay for her meal, “I will stay in touch.”

About six months later, I saw her obituary in the paper, her funeral was at the funeral home in Fremont, I decided to go the service, something I rarely do. I knew the funeral home director, I gave him one of my cards when I went in and said, “give this to a member of the family, and tell them that I was one of her students.” She did not have any children, obviously one sister survived, not many people at the service. I saw the funeral director when he went over to her sister and said, “Dr. Morris was one of Dora's students and he is here.” She got up, came over and kissed me on the forehead.”

We do what we do because we believe what we believe. Dora Collier was a good teacher because she was called to be a good teacher. She was a good teacher, not because of her students, but because of who she was. We are Christians, not because the world needs us, but because of who we are. Those who observe physical, political, spiritual laws have the free will not to obey anything, and many feel that obedience is oppression. The one thing I will never understand, from the council chambers of eternity, God chose us for life...nominated us for certain things. You have the same power, even though you may be the poorest, as the richest, as the most powerful, potentate or Pope to approach God.

On the archive building in Washington DC, are these words, “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” During the political nominating seasons, which we are entering now, federal, state, local, I hope Americans will become more aware of the importance of putting real leaders into places of leadership. In 1865, Julia Ward Howe wrote The Battle Hymn of the Republic, in it she said, “nothing we do seems the equal to the problems around us, therefore we do nothing.” If the republic is going to be saved, something must be done. The only hope of this nation, from everything I know, is the use of state's rights to rein in the federal government.

Inflation, higher taxes, global tyranny, all because Americans, both parties, but particularly the democrats have nominated and elected people addicted to spending money, there is no way the world can survive with America's debt. So many preachers and pastors are just performers, so many politicians are just pretenders. Because of the dishonesty and corruption of politics, the money involved, politicians will spend a tremendous amount of money to get elected. Surely it has occurred you that one does not spend millions to get elected to a job that pays a very reasonable salary. Surely it has occurred to you, that at the church house, saved people of faith, do not have to be begged to work for the church or even attend church...will give willingly of their means for God's work. You can tell a real, “not imposter” preacher.

In the insanity of news, along with global upheaval, global inflation, the international monetary bank states that food prices around the world are up 29%, cotton has increased 180% in price. In most countries, including America, the middle class has disappeared, around the world we will see most populations sink into poverty. America has become a profane society, we have a neurological nourishment of lies from the new media, uncontrolled government spending murdering the economy. The time has long passed for Christian courage as well as political courage, those who have caused the problem cannot solve the problem, much like witch doctors teaching in medical schools.

Ridiculous, perverted Obama talking about “winning the future.” America's future involves nominating leaders more concerned with saving than spending. Obama said his commission appointed to handle the problem (Bowles, Simpson) is just a framework for conversation. There has been enough conversation, Nero fiddling as Rome burned. We need walking, not talking, moving forward in the 21^st century.