Alcatraz, escapees, and living by faith

Yesterday, Joseph's 5th grade teacher was talking about Alcatraz and the fact that a few men actually managed to escape. Joseph raised his hand and told her that his great grandpa was part of the reason those men no longer robbed banks and were put in Alcatraz in the first place. As he recounted to us the conversation that took place, we were surprised that he remembered so much about Kim's grandpa (George Little, who was the Wolfe County Sheriff at the time) whose memory is still legendary to many older folks in eastern Kentucky. Upon his teacher's request, he is taking more information with him to school today about that incident.

Kim's grandpa, George Little, was the Sheriff of Wolfe County at the time. He was playing cards on January 7, 1957 with a couple of guys when he got the call that the local bank was being robbed. He jumped into his car and raced to the scene. When we stepped around the corner, one of the robbers who had a Thompson machine gun, mowed him down at the knees. He exchanged fire and the men took off. But, they didn't get far. It was frigid and snowy. One of the robbers hid out in a bus overnight but a church bus driver, upon entering the bus in the morning, found the robber, The rest, as they say, is history. (Click here for a newspaper article written the day after the event - details were still sketchy.)

What makes things like this so fascinating? Because we like stories. No, we LOVE stories! That's why movies are a mega-billion dollar industry. We love to get wrapped up in a story that is filled with elements like suspense, drama, love, conflict and so much more. One of my favorite movies/books is "Lord of the Rings." It's fun to get wrapped up in that story and take off to another place and time. God made us to enjoy stories! (That's also one reason Jesus told parables [a.k.a. stories].)

Which brings me to my final point: Your life is a story. So is mine. When we breathe our last breath and enter eternity, our story of life on planet earth will be over.

So, how is your story going? Is it as boring as watching the grass grow or is God taking you on an adventure, whatever that is, that will enable you to celebrate the life God gave you for the rest of eternity? God has called us to live by faith (Romans 1:17; Hebrews 11:6). Faith is where we rest in our God and step out into an adventure when we don't know for sure how it will end. But, that is the kind of life that ends up being a great story!

Don't let your life story be boring. Trust God. Venture out. Live by faith. And in so doing set an example for others and create a story that may be told for generations to come.

Challenger tragedy - 25 years ago today

I remember the afternoon I heard of the Challenger tragedy as if it were yesterday.


That shuttle launch was advertised quite a bit more than usual because Christa McAuliffe was taking the ride. She was the first average citizen and the first school teacher to get the OK to go into space. This would be a very special and significant mission.


At the time, I lived in Galena Park, Texas, only a few miles from Johnson Space Center. As a student, I had made the trip to the Space Center quite a few times and always enjoyed the thrill and very clear sense of history, exploration, adventure and achievement of the American spirit as we took in all of the sights.


But on that fated day, January 28, 1986, I remember finishing my lunch in the high school cafeteria where some students were giving various reports of an explosion and the shuttle. But it wasn't until I finished lunch and entered the library that it really sunk in. The television was on and the 3 major news networks were playing the video of the launch, the 73 second flight and then the explosion over the Atlantic off the Florida coast.

An almost tangible cloud hung over the school for the rest of the day. Upon arriving home, we watched Tom Brokaw continue to break the news of the explosion. We learned more about those who were on that flight and how special they all were.

President Ronald Reagan would soon make his speech to the nation in our time of shock and mourning. I remember parts of his speech vividly, especially much of the last line. He said: "The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and 'slipped the surly bonds of earth' to 'touch the face of God.'"

Last year, I took my family to the Kennedy Space Center. On a memorial plaque, I saw the engraved faces of those seven men and women who lost their lives that day. Among them were the faces of others who also died while bravely and proudly serving their country and furthering our knowledge of space.

On this day, 25 years later, may we take time to reflect on these men and women on the Challenger that fated day: Dick Scobee, Michael Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Christa McAuliffe and Gregory Jarvis.

One final note: there was a bit of irony on that trip to Florida's east coast last year. On the same trip that I was reminded of the Challenger tragedy, I was able to enjoy an early morning shuttle launch with my family from about 25 miles away from the launch site. (The picture doesn't do it justice. The roar of the engines overhead and the brilliant orange flame that lit up the sky isn't conveyed adequately in this picture.) It was a reminder that tragedy is not the end. We learn from it, grow strong from it ... and keep on going.