Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy

Good Morning!!!

One of the jobs I had as a teen was working at the Emory Theatre in Emory village. Emory village is / was just a series of stores at a crossroads just before you get to Emory University. The surrounding neighborhood contained homes that had been built in the early teens, twenties and thirties – that 1910 through 1939. For example, 1001 Oakdale, where Grandma Ward lived, was built around 1918 or 1919. Grandma and Grandaddy relocated there in 1923 just before Mom was born. So the majority of the people in the neighborhood were older.

The Emory Theatre was a loss leader for Storey Theatres – in other words, it was used as a tax write off since it didn’t make a lot of money. However, one enterprising manager cooked up an idea to encourage the older people to come to the theatre. He decided to run a series of shows each Wednesday that were produced in the thirties, forties and early fifties. These shows were all operettas – musicals that were popular when the folks in the neighborhood were young. So each Wednesday, we all had to put on our Sunday best – white shirts, black slacks and shoes, and, worst of all, a black bowtie – to welcome the geriatric group – I can say that now, since I are one.

To tell the truth, some of those movies were quite good. I saw the Student Prince with Edmund Purdom and the singing voice of Mario Lanza. And Brigadoon with Gene Kelly and Van Johnson. And several flicks with Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy. Last night, when I got home from work, one of the best of the Jeanette MacDonald / Nelson Eddy flicks, “Maytime” was on TCM. I watched the whole thing – mind racing back to my youth, thinking of the theatre and the older people who came in. These were people who had lived through the Great Depression – who had known hardship and had survived.

You know, when we think of our recent financial woes – all the stuff that’s gone on since late 2008 – it would be easy to moan and groan. But as I consider the faces of those wonderful elders from so many years ago, I take heart because I know the same God they served and trusted is still King of Kings and Lord of Lords today.

And that makes for a good day.

Prayer Alert from Kenya:

Hey, Pop!

Glad you are keeping me updated about golf... I didn't even know there was a tournament. :)

I wanted to let you know that I have talked to Jim a couple of times, and he seems good. I know he is missing home, but as he put it, "He's keeping his head in the game." :)

I wanted to ask you to pray for Hannah, one of the teenagers of the group. She has malaria and in the process of giving her the meds for that, they discovered that she has an amoeba in her digestive system... causing her to vomit all of the medications. She is actually in a hospital now. This is her first trip to Kenya. I cannot imagine what her parents are going through. Please pray for her healing, her parents' peace about the situation, and a renewed sense of strength for the team. Only 13 more days til they come home!

We love you both!
Angie

Angie Gant, Ed.D.
Education Faculty
Truett-McConnell College

Ephesians 4:1 "As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received."

Pray for Hannah and the team in Kenya…

Agape’

Mr. Jim