The Coshocton County Beacon September 10, 2020 | Page 11
September 10, 2020 The Beacon • 11
Always remember that you are already eternal
I thought I was going to
my cousin’s wife’s funeral
service last weekend. She’d
have been 56 in October.
Turned out it was more of
a calling hours type set-up:
beautiful flowers and pictures,
a man playing soft
rock songs from the ‘70s, a
pretty afternoon sun and a
ton of broken hearts, shattered
by the stark and harsh
reality of why we were
gathered together there.
For different reasons, that
afternoon sunk deep within
me as I began and seemed
unable to stop thinking
about all the different what
if’s, what’s been lost and
all the shoulda, coulda,
wouldas in my life.
Staring at some tombstones
a little later that
day reminded me of those
whom I have loved deeply
and dearly and are no longer
around. Has my first
wife’s mom really been
gone 11 years? Most of
my grandparents, 40 years
now? My dad, I never
knew him as a man. I was
still a wet-nosed, dim-witted
teenager when he died.
The night he died, did he
know how much I loved
him? I never told him. I
had to figure out adulthood
without his reflections and
input.
To this day, how much
I miss what might have
been. Sharing all the wonderful
things that have
happened in my life, I
never had a chance to do
that with those who left
too soon.
I parked the contemplations
of those who had
died and began to look at
the present-day relationships
within my family
and beyond. If I am honest,
there are some entanglements
and some estrangements
there, tither and yon:
painful hurts, simmering
angers, silent treatments
or stilted interactions. Life
is so short. Why do we do
this to one another?
Next stop, the things I
wish I would have done. It
is said when you are young,
you regret things you have
done. When you are old,
you regret that which you
hadn’t done. Have I been
the best son and sibling I
can be? The best spouse
and father? In-law? Friend?
Co-worker? Teacher? Pastor?
Neighbor? I think I
gave it a good college try
along the way. But looking
backward, there are some
things I would change if I
could go back. But I can’t.
Lastly, I found myself
staring at the edge of my
twilight years. Unless I’m
in the truck, I can’t run 3
miles in 16 minutes anymore.
The parts I have broken
and twisted along the
way hurt when I wake up
and on rainy days. I find
myself taking a cat nap
in the evening so I don’t
have to go to bed so tired.
Do I forget and misplace
things more than I used
to? (I’m not sure; I can’t
remember.)
People younger than me
are retired and/or cashing
the chips. With the banana
peel in sight, how far away
is my own grave? Grief,
anger, pain and woe be
unto me for my fled childhood
and fading prime of
my life, right?
Wrong! This is the day
the LORD has made, let
us be glad and rejoice! We
are created not only for his
pleasure and joy, but ours
too. I endeavor to focus on
what is good in my days. I
work daily to be a blessing
and not a curse in the lives
of others. I recognize that
though my vessel of clay
will run dry on some particular
date ahead, the spirit
of my unique creation
in the reflection of Christ
will go on forever. I’ll be
in heaven with not only my
Lord but all those wonderful
people who knew and
loved him the same as I.
Good riddance to grief,
anger, pain and fleeting
mortality. They will not be
in heaven with us. Neither
You can learn from old newspaper
The year is 1913, and
an old newspaper advertisement
from a place in
Georgia called the Blood
Balm Company promises
to cure, purify and enrich
your blood. You can even
order a free sample of the
product or spend $1 for a
regular size.
Below is a list of claims
similar to today’s challenging
deceptions. Here
are some examples of a
cure that may have been
seen by your ancestors.
But look no further: The
Botanic Blood Balm Company
has a miracle cure
for people who suffer from
lumps, scaly skin, ulcers,
rheumatism, syphilitic
blood poison and pimples
that do not heal.
More ailments listed in
the ad are swollen glands,
sore throat or mouth, skin
rashes, ulcers on any part
of the body, carbuncles.
They guarantee to cure the
most deeply seated cases.
The ad reads:
“Our Botanic Blood
Balm will drive all poisons
from your system and
sends a stream of pure, rich
blood directly to the skin
surface. In this way symptoms
will be cured immediately,
changing the entire
body into a clean, healthy
condition. If you have
shoulder pains, even old,
stubborn cases are quickly
cured because these troubles
are caused by blood
poison. B.B.B. has succeeded
where others have
failed.
“If you have catarrh
(inflammation of the
mucous membranes),
watery blisters, rheumatism,
and open, itchy sores
of all kinds, B.B.B. knows
that even the worst cases
are caused by blood poison.
Our balm kills the poison
and makes the blood
pure and rich and heals the
sores. Our balm gives a
smooth, rosy skin with the
red hue of pure, rich blood.
Our product is pleasant and
safe and is composed of
pure botanic ingredients.
It may be the very remedy
your body needs.”
While researching for
your ancestors, newspapers
are often overlooked as a
valuable source of information.
Here’s an actual ad
for a funeral director and
embalmer from 1907:
“H.A. Wolfe, funeral
director and embalmer,
also lady embalmer for
women and children when
desired. Prompt and personal
attention given day
or night. Wolfe Furniture
Company Store. Phone 425
or Phone 566.”
Here’s another 1935
newspaper article that
reports, “The vandals who
have been stealing flowers
from graves in Oak Ridge
Cemetery are warned by
Chief Ray Duling that
arrests and prosecutions
will be made. Police have
received a number of complaints
since Easter Day.”
“Desecration of a cemetery
is a serious matter,”
Chief Duling said, “and a
close watch will be kept
in the future for those who
have taken the flowers.
Repetition of the offense
will result in filing charges
for theft.”
Mayor W.L. Craig said,
“Conviction will result in
the heaviest punishment
under the law.”
Another 1935 report
comes from Charles E.
Wells, superintendent of
cemeteries of Oak Ridge
and South Lawn, who
reports there were 170 total
interments in Oak Ridge
and 153 in South Lawn.
From Oak Ridge we find
Nettie Stevenson, Edward
Scherrer, Howard Lennon,
Ella Wilcoxon, John
Reigle, George F. Houston,
Nellie Davis, Sarah Morrow,
Barbara Ellen Haller,
Caroline Collier, Edna Coe
Erkman, Rev. John Frank,
Sarah J. Renfrew, Elizabeth
Agnew, Barzillar R. Shaw
(age 99) Elmira Ashman
and Kathrine McMannus.
will fear, rejection, loneliness,
despair or a host of
other negative emotions.
Kick those shadowy valley
thoughts from your mind
and fear no evil. Your head
has been anointed with oil,
and a banquet feast has
been prepared and awaits.
When we know Christ and
accept his gift, we pass
from hopeless souls to sinners
saved by grace, bound
for a glorious eternity.
I think the bottom-line
reason I found myself so
heavy in heart that day
was I didn’t hear anything
about Jesus and I forgot
to remind myself otherwise.
Me personally, in
those bluesy moments, I
love being reminded of
the Christian perspective.
If you go to some calling
hours one of these days
and Gordon Lightfoot’s
song, “If You Could Read
My Mind,” starts coming
through the microphone,
don’t spiral down on those
feelings.
Whenever dark thoughts
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or despairing moments circle,
remember the truth of
the matter: You are already
eternal. Savor the moment
now and rest in peace of
the times to come. No matter
what your age, if you
know the Lord Jesus Christ
as your Savior, the prime
of your life has already
begun: eternity.
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[email protected]
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