A Barbers Story
Quick reminder, the Memorial for Marine Pilot Lt Virgil Burkey will be held at the Rockingham Board of Supervisors meeting at 20 E Gay St on September 10th at 6:00 PM. Lt Burkey’s family is planning on attending. Any questions email at fulksrunfollies@gmail.com.
Now I have a shoutout, this is a good thing. I have heard nothing but good comments about the deep-fried chicken at the Fulks Run Lawn Party and the Bergton Fair, not only delicious but a good size leg and thigh quarter and a fair price. Thank you Fulks Run and Bergton Ruritan Clubs.
Our monthly jingle last month was Uh-oh, that’s all I gave you because the answer is…….Uh-oh SpaghettiOs’s. In 1965 the first ring shaped pasta was introduced by Campbells Soup Company under the Franco-American Brand name. This was to be the Pasta dish that could be eaten by children without the mess. You remember the long strands of spaghetti that would slap under your chin? Well, the less messy spaghetti has really caught on because today more than 150 million cans are sold each year. So, Uh-oh SpaghettiOs’s. Now for September….I wish I …there you go that’s it and good luck.
My story this month didn’t happen in Fulks Run. It didn’t even happen in Virginia. Actually, the story originated in England. The story goes something like this …In the city of Bath in Somerset England lived a barber that worked seven days a week. Yes, even on Sunday, for Sunday was his busiest day of the week. It happened that it was one fine Sunday morning he was on his way to work when he paused outside a church and listened to the preacher’s sermon outside the window. As it happens the preacher was speaking on “Observe the Sabbath to keep it holy”. He listened long enough to know that he was breaking the law of God to continue his shaves and haircuts on the Sabbath. After several prayerful, sleepless nights and with a heavy heart he contacted the preacher for advice, and the preacher told him to give up Sabbath work and worship God. But if he did that, he would soon be a beggar for the Sabbath was his biggest day, but the preacher told him what the scripture said, and the barber stopped working on the Sabbath. But the consequences he feared came to be and in a short period of time he had to give up his fashionable shop and rent a cellar under an old market house where his customers were poorer. Then one Saturday night, almost midnight a stranger came rushing in. He needed a shave but be quick to finish before the Sabbath. When the barber heard this, he broke down in tears, then he asked the stranger if he could borrow a penny to buy a candle for extra light to shave him. The stranger realizing the barber’s condition said, “I must go but I will return,” and as he was departing asked the barber’s name. My name is William Reed, Sir.” The stranger stopped in his tracks, “William Reed? William Reed from Kingston, and was your father’s name Thomas?”
“Yes.”
“Did he have a brother?”
“Yes, Sir. One which I was named after, but he left years ago, and I have not heard from him. I can only suppose he is dead.”
“Come with me,” the stranger said, “because I am going to see a William Reed from Kingston.”
When arriving at the home of “William Reed” and after many questions that he was unable to answer they found him to be an imposter, and with that the barber was the true William Reed. You see the stranger was a lawyer. His mission was to find William Reed because his uncle had died and left him a tremendous fortune. The story goes on to point out that if the barber had a penny for a candle, and most importantly had not made that decision to live the word of God and observe the sabbath, the lawyer would not have found him that night. The story ends with the barber trusting God, the God who said seek ye my face.
This is a powerful story, and where did I come across it? This story was from a McGuffey Reader, a reader that was written in 1837 and used across the United States until the early 20th Century in schools grades 1-6 and still used today in some private schools. From 1836 to 1960 over 120 million copies were sold, and even today approx. 30,000 copies each year. Could you imagine the trouble it would cause today if the reading books mentioned God and that we should obey his word? Last month I told two stories about children. Children that used adult language at an early age. I wrote that to show the results… a product of a school system that has taken God out. It is my opinion that we need God back in school today, but more importantly we need to put God back in America’s homes.
Just think of the tragedy that our community has just experienced, a beautiful precious life taken away, too early because of an evil ungodly act. We need to continue to pray for the family as they go through this terrible time.
I do want to thank those that share with me that they enjoy my column, and I thank the Lord for that.
Believe it or not
Until next time
Ronnie
