PRE-OSCAR LOOK AT MOVIES THAT HAD AN IMPACT ON ME, PART 2 OF 12: THAT DARN CAT (1965)

 

I debated whether this was the second or third movie on my list. Technically, it came out first and thus, I probably saw it first (I was 5 or 6 at that time). However, this movie had a delayed impact - it wasn't until I watched it as a teenager that it climbed to being my all time favorite comedy.

Even when I was a child at its release, this movie had a draw from having two actors I was a fan of. One was Frank Gorshin, who portrayed my favorite villain, The Riddler. The other was, of course, the cat. 

I will add that I could not stand the '97 remake nor, for that matter, John Astin's portrayal in season 2 of Batman. Also, I will also admit I'm not a comedy fan, in spite of me being quick to tell a joke. (Most of the time, my favorite comedies were ones that mixed adventure with the comedy like "Silver Streak" or those that try to keep you on the floor laughing like "Airplane".

One last comment - the first two movies on this list were Disney films. Is that expected from me starting chronological? Or is this a trend?

PRE-OSCAR LOOK AT MOVIES THAT HAD AN IMPACT ON ME, PART 1 OF 12: MARY POPPINS

 

I saw one person in the film industry (maybe Spielberg? Don't remember for sure) comment you can learn a lot about people from their favorite movies. With Oscar's 2 weeks away, I thought I'd use that time to share 10 movies that made an impact on me. Some of these would be in my top 10 favorite list, others aren't far, but I'm focusing on those that I think had an influence on me.

So should I do it as a list of how I'd rank those ten movies either ascending or descending? Maybe alphabetic order? Well, considering that this is dealing with the impact it made on my life, I'll start in basic chronological order. There might be one or two that I might have goofed between two I saw in close proximity; hopefully that's forgiveable.

Thus, I'll start with Mary Poppins. This is the first movie I fell in love with. I also listened frequently to the soundtrack and albums that included Mary Poppins music. I was disappointed, because most did not have my favorite song from the movie: "Step In Time." However, it did not make it to me reading the books - I was just learning to read.

It influenced me both with the movie itself and the music, but I'd also call it the first "event movie." There are few movies that I'd put in that category: these are ones that I consider its viewing an event. Some of them I became familiar with the story before seeing the movie, such as Disney's "The Jungle Book," the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine," or "Star Wars." 

Others are among the five I'd include as seeing on opening night. You might say "Star Wars" fit that category - I saw that on the second showing of its appearance at the Rialto Theater in Cottonwood. Of course, considering that movies didn't reach Cottonwood till the end of their run, this was after being part of the Christmas program at church in '77. I saw both "Hanky Panky" (starring Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner) and "Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan" the night they both opened; I went with some friends to the theater and both Star Trek and "Rocky 3" were sold out, so we saw the other movie. Then, one of the guys who had friends at the theater got us in for the final showing of Star Trek that night. Also in this category was "Batman Forever" and on a lesser scale, "Prodigal Planet" (the final of the four part "Thief in the Night" series.

Without a doubt, though, the one that made the biggest impact on me was "Mary Poppins." 

 

SUNDAY PSALMS PART 8 OF 48 - PSALM 32

 

Rock Island State Park, Rock Island, TN

1    Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
    Whose sin is covered.
2   Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity,
    And in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3   When I kept silent, my bones grew old
    Through my groaning all the day long.
4   For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
    My vitality was turned into the drought of summer.

Selah

5   I acknowledged my sin to You,
    And my iniquity I have not hidden.
    I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,"
    And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.

Selah

6   For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You
    In a time when You may be found;
    Surely in a flood of great waters
    They shall not come near him.
7   You are my hiding place;
    You shall preserve me from trouble;
    You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.

Selah

8   I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
    I will guide you with My eye.
9   Do not be like the horse or like the mule,
    Which have no understanding,
    Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle,
    Else they will not come near you.

10   Many sorrows shall be to the wicked;
    But he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him.
11   Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous;
    And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

Psalm 32:1-11, NKJV

I think of Psalm 32 and 51 as the repentance Psalms, dealing with David asking God forgiveness for his sins.

There are a lot of good points in this Psalm, but there's one point I want to focus on, which is in verse 6. David says, "For this cause, everyone who is godly will call to You when You may be found." Maybe I'm wrong, but I think another way to say this is that whenever the godly call on the Lord is a time when He may be found. In other words, God's not hiding from the prayers and pleas of the righteous.

CHURCH SIGNS: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY (YOU CAN PLAY THE THEME TO SET THE MOOD).

Southminster Presbyterian Church, Indianapolis, IN

 Whenever Becky and I drive on the I-74 from Indy headed toward Cincinnati (or returning), we make sure that we're paying attention to the right side of the road after going under Thompson Road (again, just before the Thompson Rd. Overpass on the left when returning). Because just past the bridge is the above sign, reminding us that Jesus Never Fails.

Another Indianapolis church also blesses us when we drive by it. We've seen churches with the words "Jesus saves" posted. But the Bible Study Chapel has on their building "Jesus saves and keeps." The two extra words are inspiring (let alone important and Biblical). It takes looking for; it's best seen when turning from Emerson Ave. Northbound onto the I-70 Eastbound. (It's easier seeing the church than finding where it's at.

Christians United Church, also in Indy (on Mithoffer between 10th Street and Washington) has great signs as well. They have a marquee which they change, and sometimes they have different thoughts that play off each other. My favorite was when we saw it say in one direction, "Lord, forgive them: they don't know what they're doing," and in the other, "Lord, forgive me: I don't know what I'm doing."

 

Our former Church, Arlington Avenue Baptist Church (on the corner of Shelbyville Rd. and Arlington Ave., Indianapolis) also had a marquee. When we had more children, we would have on the sign "We're praying for you,..." and then mention one of the schools that our members are attending.

I keep telling my friend, Pastor Richard Walton, that we ought to post "We're praying for you, School of Hard Knox." He never took me up on it. 

I've mentioned some signs that excite us, and I'm putting pictures of others as well. However, there are some that make us cringe. 

We've seen signs with deep spiritual messages like "Less hate, more pancakes," or "Go Fish." True, sometimes it seems like half of the thought is on one side of the marquee and it's completed on the other. When it had the cliche "You can change the world" on one side, the other added, "For love's sake." That makes more sense, but with the church's location on a winding road, it isn't logical to think that some people will pass it going one direction will remember the first half and put it together with the second.

Church signs, bumper stickers, refrigerator magnets, memes, etc. can be used to point people to God. But do we sometimes try to get a laugh or present worldly wisdom instead of using this as an opportunity to glorify God and draw others to the truth of God's Word?

Note - the last two signs are from Eastwood Baptist Church and Faith Family Church, both in Cookeville, TN.

FEUDING LIKE THE HALFBREEDS AND THE STALWARTS

 

I know. President's Day was yesterday (or, depending when you read this, even further back!). I debated posting it on the correct day, but I want to keep my Tuesday/Thursday/Sunday habit (unless I want to add extra blogs for a series). 

Allow me to share my favorite President story. I learned about it reading Dark Horse: The Surprise Election and Political Murder of President James A. Garfield by Kenneth D. Ackerman. I debated just making this a book review, but there are other items I'd like to add that I learned from other books (I'll mention them below).

The story actually started in the House of Representatives  and Garfield wasn't in the picture. It's origin was when then Congressman Roscoe Conklin (NY-R) presented a bill in 1866. Conklin was described by Zachary Karabell in his biography of Chester Alan Arthur (part of the American President series) as a six foot three peacock. He was a person few people had the courage to stand up to. 

One of the few who had that nerve was fellow Republican Congressman James Blaine from Maine. When Blaine thought Conklin was being vindictive against Provost General Fry, he countered the New Yorker, insulting him in the process. Just a passing disagreement? No, the waves carried over nearly twenty years in American politics.

Around the same time, the GOP divided into a pair of factions. One group, headed by Conklin, called themselves the Stalwarts, being stalwart supporters of President Grant. The other side, known as the Half Breeds - with Blaine as the visible face - differed on some ideological issues, primarily how to deal with the post-Civil War South and the patronage system of civil service, though Karabell said there wasn't much real ideological differences between the two factions or even with the Democrats for that matter. In his autobiography, former Speaker of the House "Uncle Joe" Cannon referred to this party division as silly. 

Where did the name "Half-Breed" come for? Karabell stated that the Stalwarts gave them that name because "they had half a mind for Presiden Grant, half a mind for reform, and a whole mind for nothing." Not very flattering. But the Half-Breeds liked that name, and took it as their moniker. 

Now, let's move ahead to 1880. Four years earlier, Rutherford B. Hayes said he would only serve one term, and kept his promise. The Stalwarts were determined to get Grant elected to an unprecedented third term, proposing a parlimentary procedure that silenced the minority of delegates in states where the majority favored Grant. Also running for President were Blaine and John Sherman. The attempt for Conklin and friend's rules change failed, and it turned into a stalemate where no candidate got the majority for 34 ballots.

Then, on the 34th ballot, 16 Wisconsin delegates voted for Garfield, who wasn't even mentioned at this point. On the 35th ballot, Garfield gained 50 votes, and on the 36th, he won the nomination.

But the party, wanting unity, told Garfield he needed a New York Stalwart as his running mate. Conklin said no way for himself or any other New York Stalwart. Well, except for one. Chester Arthur, who never held elected office and was fired from the one government position he had, felt he was serving his party by running with Garfield, even though it angered his friend Conklin.

There were interesting things about the campaign. They had a special meeting in New York to get Conklin's support, with four future presidents sharing a train ride en route (Garfield, Arthur, Benjamin Harrison, and William McKinley). By the way, Conklin was a no show. But a group that showed up to listen to Garfield was a group of Germans, making it the first time there was a foreign language used in a presidential campaign.

Garfield won the election in the narrowest margin, though afterwards Arthur hinted not everything was above board. (Yes, voter fraud is a reality, nothing new, and with neither party having the monopoly). 

One thing the party wanted and that Garfield was not opposed to was to have both Blaine and Conklin on the cabinet. After getting chosen as Secretary of State, Blaine talked Garfield out of having Conklin join them. After the inauguration, Blaine also encouraged Garfield to fire a corrupt customs official, which the President did. By the way, guess what state this fired official was, and who had that fired official's back?

Yes, there was a tough fight in the party over that fired New York official and opposition with the non-Stalwart New Yorker chosen to take his place. Even former President Grant put pressure on Garfield, stating that the Senators of a state should have a voice on who serves in their state. Garfield stood firm. In protest, New York senators Conklin and Tom Platt resigned (Ackerman points out that Platt was the one who suggested this move, even though everyone thought of him as "Me Too" Platt.) The Senators thought their state legislature would return them to Washington. It didn't happen

One person who wasn't happy about this was a gentleman named Charles J. Guiteau. Now, he wasn't a politician, so he didn't use politics to oppose Garfield. Instead, he used a gun. After he shot the President, Guiteau admitted he did it, adding, "I'm a Stalwart, and Arthur will be president."

I'll skip over the time it took for Garfield to die, and that it was more to medical malpractice than the bullet (the doctors didn't bother washing their hands before operating). Rather, I want to look at what happened after the President passed. What was Rutherford B. Hayes response? "Arthur as president? Good God!" 

Arthur is ranked on the lower end of "average" presidents by most historians. Actually, he exceeded expectations to reach that spot. He was one of the few Vice Presidents to replace a dead president to give an inaugural speech, to indicate he took his job seriously.

In reality, Guiteau unwittingly lead to the demise of the Stalwarts. Conklin visited his friend in the White House, encouraging him to fire Garfield's custom office appointee. Arthur refused. He also vetoed two pieces of legislation his party passed out of Congress: a 20 year moratorium on Chinese immigration (he later signed a 10 year version) and a bill designed to help the Mississippi River area, but didn't do much for the rest of the country.

How many of you are familiar with this bit of Presidential history?

 

SUNDAY PSALMS PART 7 OF 48 - PSALM 27

Christmas "plate" - A Thomas Kinkade painting with lights in the windows.

1  The LORD is my light and my salvation;
    Whom shall I fear?
    The LORD is the strength of my life;
    Of whom shall I be afraid?
2  When the wicked came against me
    To eat up my flesh,
    My enemies and foes,
    They stumbled and fell.
3  Though an army may encamp against me,
    My heart shall not fear;
    Though war should rise against me,
    In this I will be confident.

4  One thing I have desired of the LORD,
    That will I seek:
    That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
    All the days of my life,
    To behold the beauty of the LORD,
    And to inquire in His temple.
5  For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion;
    In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me;
    He shall set me high upon a rock.
6  And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me;
    Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle;
    I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.

7  Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice!
    Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
8  When You said, "Seek My face,"
    My heart said to You, "Your face, LORD, I will seek."
9  Do not hide Your face from me;
    Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
    You have been my help;
    Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation.
10 When my father and my mother forsake me,
    Then the LORD will take care of me.

11 Teach me Your way, O LORD,
    And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.
12 Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries;
    For false witnesses have risen against me,
    And such as breathe out violence.
13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
    That I would see the goodness of the LORD
    In the land of the living.
14 Wait on the LORD;
    Be of good courage,
    And He shall strengthen your heart;
    Wait, I say, on the LORD!

Psalm 27:1-14, New King James Version

 This is a popular Psalm, for good reason; it's one of my favorites. And the last two verses have been a reflection of my heart for decades. But let me make one point on this.

From the first verse on, it's full of the Psalmist's confidence. But when I read the whole Psalm, I don't see that confidence being consistent. In verse 7, David's asking God to hear him and be merciful to him. Two verses later, and there's requests for God not to hide His faee, turn him away in His anger, or leave or forsake him.

This reflects the Christian life. There are times I have a head full of knowledge that God will keep me yet my heart doesn't have assurance. But we need to remember that God has promised to deliver us; we need to bring our experience and emotions in line with Scripture, not the other way around.

Permit me to close this blog with a pair of housekeeping items for this series.

1. WHAT  YOU  MAY HAVE NOTICED. I have been going in order for the Psalms, with the first half dozen being 1, 4, 11, 12, 18:22-28, and 20. And part 7 is ... 27? Did I skip a particular, highly popular Psalm that's half way (more or less) between 20 and 27? Good eye, but it's not skipped or ignored. I'm saving it for later in this 48 part series.
2. WHAT I  HAVE NOTICED. I have been using Bible Study Tools and copied the Psalm, as opposed to typing out the whole Psalm. It took working on over half a dozen of this series to realize something: The Bible Study tools do not capitalize "Lord." Let me explain. There are three Hebrew words referring to God: Elohim, translated "God;" Adonai, translated "Lord;" and Yahweh, God's personal name, which the Jews won't say because the name is too holy, and many English translations will translate as LORD (all caps) or, when used with Adonai, as GOD. Well, when I'm using that set-up, then you can't tell when the text reads Yahweh. 😭
   

THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR: JUDGING NCFCA CONTESTS!

Official Logo of the NCFCA (National Christian Forensics and Communications Association

I can start this blog by saying I'm excited today. Of course, does "today" refer to when this blog is posted (Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023), or to the day I'm writing the blog (the previous Saturday, five days in advance)? Well, yes, I'm excited to write this blog, but I am referring to the date this is published.

Why am I excited? Tonight and tomorrow I will be judging speeches for the Online East Regions Mixer of the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association (NCFCA). On March 2nd and 3rd I'll be judging debate rounds for the Online Central Regions Mixer. And in May, I'll be judging speeches and debates in person at the Region 6 Championship here in Indianapolis! 

Maybe sometime I'll do an interview abourt the NCFCA and give the history. Please forgive me for not talking about how it formed and rather focus on why I enjoy doing it and hopefully encourage you to do the same.

My first exposure was when a friend of ours who was homeschooling her children invited us to judge. I don't remember what Becky did, but when I was looking at the topics, I was excited to see contest types was Apologetics. Some may know I wrote a novel with that as a theme. In the NCFCA contests, Apologetics is one of three limited preparation speeches (along with "Impromptu" and "Extemporaneous Speaking." For Apologetics, the student picks from 2 or 3 topics, and spends 4 minutes preparing for a 6 minute speech on the selected topic. 

By the way, what qualifications did Becky and I have to judge the speeches? You might say my Toastmasters experience was a factor, but not really. The speeches/debates are judged by three groups of judges: 1) Parents of NCFCA competitors, 2) Alumni (students that partipated before they graduated High School), and 3) Community Judges. The best way to describe a Community Judge is a none of the above. The organization desires to have people from different backgrounds and experiences judging the speeches so the students have exposure to various perspectives. To judge the Apologetics contests, you have to agree with the Nicene Creed, but that's the only qualification.

A couple of years later, I was at a Toastmasters event, and one of the people encouraged us to judge NCFCA contests. I signed up and was pleasantly surprised to find it was the same organization. This time, I judged a Team Policy debate. There are two forms of Debate competitions: Lincoln Douglas Values one on one debates where it deals with a value (e.g. national security takes precedence over freedom of the press), and Team Policy two on two debates, which focuses on proposing legislation to solve the topic of the year (e.g. Election Law needs to be reformed). A third type of debate, Moot Court (resembling arguing an appellate case) has their own events.

To judge either a speech or debate round, one needs to make a three hour commitment, which includes training. They are thankful for anybody willing to serve as a Community Judge for one round. But I enjoy the speeches and debates enough that I take a day off work and judge several contests. The longest day was when I judged every event for a day once. 

Of course, I didn't judge in 2020, because COVID struck during that time. In 2021, they had on-line events, and I judged some including a couple of moot court competitions. My honest opinion - that was the most work! In other events, I don't have to do any prep; not true in this case.

Last year, I goofed up. I signed up for a live event thinking it was on-line. Nope. 😭

I mentioned the types of debates. There are usually 11 varieties of speech contests, falling into three categories. Above I told you about the limited prep such as Apologetics and Exptemporaneous Speaking, which deals with current events. They also have platform speeches (e.g. Persuasive and Informative) and interpretation, where one or two speakers recite(s) a work of literature (or sometimes their own). 

One non-NCFCA story from a NCFCA event. One time, after judging a tournament, I saw a gentleman sitting at a table who I thought looked familiar. I was correct- It was Gary Varvel, then cartoonist for the Indianapolis Star! I had a nice conversation with him.

Yes, I'm excited about judging NCFCA contests! Did I get you excited enough to check out when speeches are in your area and volunteering and judging? I didn't? Well, I suggest you find a tournament to judge anyway, because the great speeches and debates by these home school students will do a better job of getting you as hooked as I am!

How do I find it? You can go to their webpage (click here) or their Facebook page (click here).

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