As we got out of the car in a town located in north central Alabama, the ubiquitous sounds from the Mamas
and Papas were heard along a street in Gadsden.
All the leaves are brown (all the leaves are brown)
And the sky is grey (and the sky is grey)
I've been for a walk (I've been for a walk)
On a winter's day (on a winter's day)
I'd be safe and warm (I'd be safe and warm)
If I was in L.A. (if I was in L.A.)
And the sky is grey (and the sky is grey)
I've been for a walk (I've been for a walk)
On a winter's day (on a winter's day)
I'd be safe and warm (I'd be safe and warm)
If I was in L.A. (if I was in L.A.)
California dreamin' (California dreamin')
On such a winter's day
On such a winter's day
Laughingly, I told Beverly, “This
town needed a southern songwriter to write and play a song entitled, ‘Please
come to Gadsden for the Spring time,’ rather than broadcasting California
Dreamin’! Since we are separated by over 2,000 miles from sunny California,
perhaps we should just stay put in the sunshine of the south this weekend?”
The old buildings were in
juxtaposition like white on rice. Across the street from the antique storefront where we parked the car, the vacant building had the year “1903” stamped
on it. What struck me was the mishmash of time everywhere. Lining the street
were century-old buildings; some had contemporary facades to instill some kind
of “cultural renaissance” that never came to fruition; other buildings were
empty with the blatant look of abandonment. Filling the air was music from the ’60s.
I have to say; it was sort of a strange
feeling stepping from the 21st century into a hodgepodge of anachronisms,
displaced in time, as the very contents of the store we were about to patronize.
My favorite building was the theater just down the street advertising “air
conditioned.” It was so “cool.” I am thankful that our living God is timeless
and relevant.
It was as if the street of this
little town was gasping for air just to stay alive, in desperate need of
economic rebirth. As we walked into the variety store of antiques, the first
thing to welcome us was the strong smell of old books; I sneezed. It reminded
me of a similar smell of taking my theological books out of long-term storage
and placed in my study, a place of researching and sneezing. Eventually, we walked out
empty-handed from the “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” kind of store.
Adjacent to it was a local deli known
for its pimento sandwiches but also served as a classier antique store than
the previous one. Outside on the sidewalk they were selling different varieties
of beautiful ferns grown in Florida. It reminded me of Fern Gully. These ferns were selling like hotcakes. I had pimento
on my mind; so we went into the store. Nearly spilling over with anticipation, I
asked the lady about their famous pimento sandwiches, and she informed me that
all of the deli staff were on vacation this week….
I was crestfallen as well as
hungry. I gently protested in anguish that we drove all the way from Cleveland,
Tennessee just to taste their pimento sandwich! It was obvious that she failed
to identify with my body language of pain, but she did apologize. God bless her heart. My stomach was still gnawing at me through all of the theatrics. Of all
the different times represented in this town, the time I wanted the most was
not there! I needed last week to be now!
She recommended another place
that served good burgers within walking distance. Oh my, what a paradigm shift
from pimento to hamburger! I didn’t think my taste buds were going to handle
that migration very well. I was bewildered and disoriented as you might imagine; my anticipation had turned into merely an imagination.
As we made our way to pay a
visit to this wonder-burger establishment, we heard the words coming from
another speaker.
Stopped into a church
I passed along the way
Well, I got down on my knees (got down on my knees)
And I pretend to pray (I pretend to pray)
You know the preacher like the cold (preacher like the cold)
He knows I'm gonna stay (knows I'm gonna stay)
I passed along the way
Well, I got down on my knees (got down on my knees)
And I pretend to pray (I pretend to pray)
You know the preacher like the cold (preacher like the cold)
He knows I'm gonna stay (knows I'm gonna stay)
California dreamin' (California dreamin')
On such a winter's day
On such a winter's day
“Well,” I said to Beverly, “it
looks as if the CD has gone full circle. We both ate a sweet southern burger
that was actually decent. The potato salad was delicious. I thought about the
pimento sandwich as I ate my sweet southern burger and forgave that woman for
disappointing a serious pimento pilgrim! I will never know how good their
pimento really was, for I probably will not pass this way again. Do you sense
the tragedy here?
When we finally left Gadsden
that day heading north on I-59, overcast skies awaited us back home a little
over two hours away, but Gadsden was full-blown sunny the whole time we were
there. The temperature was marvelous. Beverly began drifting in and out of
sleep on the way back as I handled the burden of the wheel. I was reflecting
upon our experiences of our interesting day together. I was reminded of some
spiritual things to share with you.
I must confess that pimento was not
the primary reason for going on this day trip. I exaggerated (lied) to that
lady, didn’t I? But I wanted her to feel my distress and realize to never
promise and not deliver when advertising on the internet. She apparently was
unaware of a universal law that pimento chefs never go on vacation!
As we got back to the
car after eating a late lunch, we planned to head over to Noccalula Falls. As you might have guessed, coming through the
speakers was the Mamas and the Papas again. I smiled in disbelief. Going through my mind was, “How many times are
they going to play that CD?” It's time to eject!
All the leaves are brown (all the leaves are brown)
And the sky is grey (and the sky is grey)
I've been for a walk (I've been for a walk)
On a winter's day (on a winter's day)
If I didn't tell her (if I didn't tell her)
I could leave today (I could leave today)
And the sky is grey (and the sky is grey)
I've been for a walk (I've been for a walk)
On a winter's day (on a winter's day)
If I didn't tell her (if I didn't tell her)
I could leave today (I could leave today)
California dreamin' (California dreamin')
On such a winter's day (California dreamin')
On such a winter's day (California dreamin')
On such a winter's day
On such a winter's day (California dreamin')
On such a winter's day (California dreamin')
On such a winter's day
Truthfully, I had never been to
Noccalula Falls also known as Black Creek Falls. Legend has it that a Native American
woman by the name of Noccalula was the daughter of the chief of her tribe. Her
father decided to give her to another chief in exchange for some worldly goods
of “wampum, horses, and blankets.” Father knows best, right?
The problem was that her heart
was already settled on a young and valiant brave within her own tribe. During
the festivities of the wedding day to the chief of another tribe, Noccalula
silently slipped away and threw herself off the cascading waters of Black Creek
ninety feet below. There is a statute of her at the top of the falls poised to
take that fateful leap. That is the legend of Noccalula.
Speaking for myself, I hated missing the opportunity to taste the acclaimed pimento sandwich. I
got caught up in a time warp displacement; time jumping was going on all
over the place, and I was highly encouraged by Noccalula’s story.
So, where are the ghosts of
Gadsden? They are only in my mind. You see; the ghosts that I am referring to
are the ones manifested to me in Gadsden. They are ghosts of my failures: being
haunted by failing to taste and see that the LORD is good consistently (Psa
34:8), being haunted by failing to redeem the time all the time (Eph 8:16; Col
4:5), and being haunted by failing to realize how valuable and precious we are
to the LORD who gave His very life for us (Rom 5:8).
We may not jump off a waterfall,
but how often do we throw our life away over worldly matters (1 Jn 2:17)? I am
thankful to the Holy Spirit who not only uses Scripture to guide, edify,
admonish, and comfort, but He also utilizes object lessons in life for us to
relate to and think about and apply the truth of Scripture in a personal way. We
just have to be on the spiritual lookout for them. A former professor once told
me, “If I don’t look for something, I will not find it.” He was of course
speaking of spiritual truth from the Word. The Holy Spirit is always true to
the Scriptures in all of His lessons for us and desires for us to walk in the
Spirit to avoid deviations of the flesh (Gal 5:16).
You know that our lives are not
etched in some CD somewhere in the concept of fatalism. We make tracks of our
own choices and have to live with the consequences of the songs played out
in our lives. It’s called the impartial law of the harvest; a man reaps what he
sows. The ghosts of Gadsden are real, sure enough, to those who know the Lord
in every hamlet, village, town, or city in the world though they may go by some
other name.
The ghosts of Cleveland are very
real, too, but they are still only ghosts of our own making. Sometimes, it
takes going to other places for them to manifest themselves. Familiarity breeds
contempt, perhaps? They only appear in our failures when we are off course from
the will of God in some matter, and yet, we are still sensitive enough to
recognize them for what they are.
Are we pleasing to the Lord with our taste, time, and life, or are we haunted or hampered by our own failures to serve the Lord in Spirit and in truth (cf. Josh 1:7, 8; 1 Jn 1:9)? Those ghosts of our own making can be found anywhere we go. <><
Are we pleasing to the Lord with our taste, time, and life, or are we haunted or hampered by our own failures to serve the Lord in Spirit and in truth (cf. Josh 1:7, 8; 1 Jn 1:9)? Those ghosts of our own making can be found anywhere we go. <><
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