Memories

It’s really interesting to me, how I can be acquainted with a person for a lifetime, but will only remember one sentence that the person said during our friendship.

For example, during my time in the Navy, I only remember one sentence that one of the closest friends I had, said to me. His name was Bill Wheat, and he was a dyed-in-the-wood Texan. One day he got a letter from a girl back home, and it must have been a right friendly piece of mail, because he said, “By doggies, I knowed I left a spark in that li’l ole heifer!” Think of it…that’s all I remember of the many conversations we had.

A Navy buddy of mine while we were in electronics school at the Naval base in Memphis met me on the street and I was with a very good-looking girl.

He later said, “The guy I was with said, “Bill sure knows how to pick ‘em…and I said, “I know how to pick ‘em…I just don’t know how to get ‘em.” And that’s the only sentence I remember of his to me.

When I hear “Slow Boat To China,” it takes me back to the Navy Base in Corpus Christi, Texas, and “Maria Elena” takes me to the mess hall where they played music as we ate. “Sweet Lorraine” by Nat Cole takes me to the Marine base where we flew our drones so they could shoot at them for target practice.

At an electronics lab where we kept tabs on radios at the air control tower, there was a radio in every room, but the song that takes me back is “Goodnight Irene,”

and Peggy Lee’s “Lover” takes me to the barracks where I was counting down the days until my military time would be up. I remember one of the guys saying, “You lucky dog.” It wasn’t luck; it was spending four years in the service that got to that final 30 day countdown.

Back in high school, there was a time when for some reason, I rode to a football game with the superintendent of our school, and he said, “Bill, you’re getting to a size to be on our football team.” And that’s all it took for me to join. But that’s the only thing I ever remember him saying, to me or the school.

And here’s one I don’t remember, but Mom says it happened. Times were hard, and we were short of everything, I suppose. So one day after I had been in a field picking cotton for some local farmer, as I came home, I went by Ferd Grissom’s store and brought Mom a carton of lard.

I don’t remember it, But in all her life, Mom never forgot it.

So how does a Conquest thought come out of what I’ve been saying? Well, if you never remember anything else I say to you, remember this: That you’ll never make a more important decision than to give your hear to Christ. Career, car, house, marriage…no other decision can match it.

If that sticks in your mind, I haven’t wasted my time, writing these thoughts I pass along to you here. Think about it.