Opinion

In a brief essay entitled Thoughts on Government written during the early spring of 1776, John Adams articulated the central points of his philosophy of government. It was his firm belief that history had presented him and the other colonists with an unmatched opportunity to form their own governments as free and independent states… “You and I, my dear friend, have been sent into life at a time when the greatest lawgivers of antiquity would have wished to live. How few of the human race have ever enjoyed an opportunity of making an election of government, more than of air, soil, or climate, for themselves or their children!

I’m stepping out of my normal format this week. I’m not writing about a hospice patient; I’m writing about Charlie. I’m writing about one of those short-lived personal encounters that make a lifelong impression.

Genesis 28:15 says, “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

Joyce was referred to Hospice with end stage liver failure. As the hospice social worker it was my job to meet with Joyce to reach a mutual decision about whether hospice was right for her. I can visualize our first meeting. Joyce was sitting up in her bed when I entered her hospital room. She was frail and so thin I could have wrapped my thumb and index finger around her upper arm. She was only in her thirties, but her face reflected a person weathered beyond her years by a stormy life. She was clearly in the final stage of her disease. I introduced myself and asked about her condition. She boldly admitted, “I know I’m going to die soon.” Since she was so direct I decided to be too. I asked what she believed spiritually, about whether or not she believed in life after death; and without saying a word, she reached for a Bible lying on her bedside table. She pulled a creased stained sheet of paper from between the pages and shared, “Someone at a half way house I was staying in gave this to me. I don’t even remember who it was, but I’ve held on to it ever since.” She handed it to me as if to say, “This is what I believe!” I don’t think I’ve read anything that better describes the value and power of God’s word. Joyce passed it on to me, now I’m passing it on to you.

There is a story from Today in the Word I’ve loved for years about Automaker Henry Ford who asked electrical genius Charlie Steinmetz to build the generators for his factory. One day the generators ground to a halt, and the repairmen couldn’t find the problem. Ford called Steinmetz, who tinkered with the machines for a few hours and then threw the switch. The generators whirred to life. Ford got a bill for $10,000 from Steinmetz. Flabbergasted, the rather tightfisted carmaker inquired why the bill was so high. Steinmetz’s reply: For tinkering with the generators, $10. For knowing where to tinker, $9,990. Ford paid the bill! It often amazes me as I recall the expert advice or the pearls of wisdom that have been graciously handed to me from a friend. It happens sometimes as I see a memory on Facebook or when I come across their contact information on my I Phone. May what we impart to others who follow be Godly and wise.

Recently I had the extraordinary privilege of spending some time with the chaplain of the United States Senate Ret. Rear Admiral Barry C. Black in his Capitol hill office. We had a wonderful conversation about his journey to where God has placed him in ministry. We spoke of past Senate Chaplains such as Peter Marshall and Lloyd John Ogilvie whose prayers were so very timely and effective. At the end of our time together however Chaplain Black said in his very deep baritone voice, “Pastor Tim, allow me to pray over you” and pray he did!

Luanna enrolled in our outpatient hospice service with terminal cancer. Luanna and her husband, Henry, are modest, temperate folk. Henry is probably a little more temperate and it is Henry who this story is about.

Tuesday morning outside of the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility (SOCF) there was an honor guard standing at attention, wreaths to decorate a memorial and memories flooding the minds of those who were there, or who had loved ones involved in the 1993 Lucasville Prison Riot, the longest in U.S. history.

At 3:50 P.M. on the afternoon of 17 December 1927, the commandant of the Boston Navy Yard received a flash radio message from the U.S. Coast Guard Destroyer Paulding: “Rammed and sank unknown submarine off Wood End, Provincetown.” Within minutes, the worst fears of many were realized when it was confirmed that the submarine was the USS S-4. Though rescue efforts immediately began in earnest, it was too late for the 39 crewmen and a civilian observer aboard S-4. Most had already perished; six men trapped in the torpedo compartment would not be rescued in time.

Ronnie was forty-five when he enrolled in outpatient hospice services with end stage cirrhosis of the liver. Ronnie had lived with his sister, “Net”, for thirteen years, but Ronnie spent most of his time out back in his “man cave”, an old 12x12 foot wooden plank shed furnished with a half bed, small table, TV and electric heater. After all, a man does need his solitude