Treasure the Memories

He left us too quickly. Suddenly. As if it really was in the twinkling of an eye. One step on the sidewalk, the next one on the golden streets in Heaven. It is hard to wrap my earthly mind around this, but Roger's favorite Bible stories were about Enoch, Elijah and Elisha, so maybe this exit should not surprise me. I know God is faithful and that Roger believed that God numbered our days from beginning to end and in living every day fully and completely. He loved God. He loved people. I don't want to forget the lessons he taught me by living it. So I write.

Monday, September 15, 2014

Crock-OH-Deal!

The funny things you see on FB these days. This was a news story from Africa. Evidently villagers had been disappearing with great frequency. They soon realized that people were not the top of the food chain and called in the military for assistance.  This was the varmint that they killed - and the disappearing of humans ended. 

 This reminds me of a story Roger loved to tell about one of his trips to Africa. I am thinking it was when they went to Senegal to support the STS (Space Shuttle) missions.  

 He said that they would take side trips into the neighboring countries like Mali and Ghana and visit the local villages.

 I remember this one trip when he had a new T shirt that he insisted on taking with him. It must have been football season.  I also wish I had a photo of him in the tee shirt because it was funny.

 Imagine a dark red tee shirt and on the front is this green gator. It did look strangely like the Florida Gator Mascot.  The gator was horizontal, as gators tend to be and there was this gigantic bulldog sitting on top of the gator, pulling it's tail and mouth, if I recall.  (Think about the Georgia Bulldog mascot and that would be the look of the bulldog.)

 Apparently he wore the shirt on the trip to visit one of the villages and the villagers would not let him enter the village. When the translator explained it to him - it came across as 'no dog can beat up a crock-oh-deal" - and they thought he was a crazy-man. 

 I know some UF fans that might agree! 

 I also wish I knew what firefighters were on that trip with him and what their interpretation of the day was. Roger always had great stories - but he was also a fisherman, and we all know what fishermen do to tall tales!  We loved that story for years though, and I am glad this photo made me recall it! 

 And ....given what the villagers must live with, it is no wonder they thought he was a crazy man and made him take off the shirt before entering their village! 

 Roger's Lesson:   Never be afraid to be yourself, but always be prepared to learn something new.   Laugh and the outcome will be much better. 

 I am glad he was not in the kind of village where they would have put him in a big black kettle and added vegetables! 

 Oh Roger.....thank you for all of the years of laughter! 

 Some days, when I really need the laugher, it is not hard to find it when I think of "Roger Stories."
Truly - Laughter doeth Good, Like a Medicine.  .....  God's medicine is always best! 

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1 comment:

  1. JanieSeptember 16, 2014 at 6:35 AM

    I love this post. In addition to being funny, it inspires me to be myself, be flexible, and be fun. Thanks to you, Judi.

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