10/25/2018
Here’s an interesting tidbit about the SIMH today. I woke up singing “Pure Love” —written in the early 70s. My head had Charley Pride singing it and that caused me to remember a great Charley Pride related story. (Back to that later.) So, after I was up and at the ‘puter, I googled Pure Love, Charley Pride. What came up was not about Charley Pride, it was about Ronnie Millsap who had the #1 hit with it. But, more interesting than the fact that my head had Charley Pride singing it, is the history of this song which showed a man named Tom Collins heard Eddie Rabbitt sing this song and talked him into giving him the chance to “take it” to Charley Pride. Pride didn’t think he should record it, but thought Millsap should. So, as history often unfolds strangely, Eddie Rabbitt and his wife wrote the song, Charley Pride rejected it, Ronnie Millsap recorded it and it became his first of 35 #1 hits!
And my mind had Charley Pride singing it———TWFW (too weird for words.)
[Often when I get to relate short stories, they may seem as idle tales of simple human interest or some parts are too hard to believe. I may have an occasional mixup in memory, but nothing I write is just fibbing to write a good story (certainly not on purpose.) Some stories may have come to me as the truth, but not be an actual story. I can’t take the blame for that.]
A young friend of mine related this story to me when he was about thirty, saying this occurred when he was about 15, and how it changed his life. He said he had gone to a party which he was way too young for, where there were several adult items for drink and consumption, both legal and illegal. He was confronted, and in anger, he walked out. A young man followed him out the door and asked him where he was going. He said, “Home, I guess.” The young man asked, “walking?” My friend said yes. The young man said he’d walk along with him. My friend said it’s about two miles, the young man said it didn’t matter.
As they walked, the young man talked about the influence life brings to each person, regardless of their upbringing. He talked of how each of us must take responsibility for ourselves, not blame things on our parents, or being poor or rich, and how we should raise ourselves above the level which we can see exists all around us. My young friend took all this in, thought for a while and then, remembering he didn’t even know this young man who was saying these very important life-lesson things. So he asked, “What’s your name?” The young man gave him his first name, then added, just as they reached where my friend was turning to go into his house, “my dad is Charley Pride.”
It’s gonna be a busy week for me. Tomorrow I will head South to go to Navarre, FL for a great weekend of bible conference teaching. Then, head West to Houston, TX and on the way back, spend a day in Lake Charles, LA. Makes me tired already. But, I’m looking forward to visiting some friends in the Houston area, one not doing too well, others doing really great! Pray for the preaching, the miles and the sleepy-headed driver!!
If the blogs are later or even non-existent for some days, chalk it up to all that.
Thanks for reading, the Elder
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