Patriot Flyer

Time to Update my blog

2006-01-13T22:49:00.000-05:00

Our son's two boys, Aaron and Andrew. Typical teenagers....

Our 40-year old son, Joe. He is senior pastor of Calvary Temple Assembly of God in Birmingham, AL. We're proud of him!

Awww! She is so happy now. Her husband Joe is a great son-in-law. Too many Joes in this family!

Our three granddaughters, Sheri's girls- so beautiful! We are blessed with five grandchildren and 3 step-grandchildren, Joe's kids.

Sheri and Joe saying their vows.

I have been so remiss in updating this blog! So sorry that my last post was in November and here it is January. A lot has happened, God has been good to us and our family.

Our daughter got married on Dec 2, a marriage made in Heaven. We flew out to Colorado Springs for the event, and they almost had to drag me onto the plane to return to Georgia! Lord knows I love Colorado! I'll attach some pictures of the wedding and other stuff from the trip. Sheri has a great husband, I know he will take care of her and he is a terrific son-in-law. We are so happy for her. Her husband's name: Joe!

This morning I received an email from an old friend with whom I was stationed some 25 years ago in Taiwan, Joe Alt. We were really close friends and I'm so glad he found me. That's 2 folks from CCK AB with whom I correspond, and one from Utapao, Thailand.

If you want a great thrill, log on to Google Earth. You can zoom in on any place in the world from satellite images, and it's a lot of fun. Try it!

OK, here's the pictures:

Jenny and me at the wedding

Hope you enjoyed this slightly messed-up post. I'll try to be more prompt in posting from now on.

Joe the senior.....

The Vietnam Veteran Thoughts

2005-11-03T14:43:00.000-05:00

These days it seems the Vietnam war period is like ancient history. Those days are now so long ago that they seem like maybe another life, or something I read in a book somewhere. It was a time when I was young, my body responded well when it had demands placed on it, while today I seem to have trouble just getting around. I wake up and discover that I'm in my sixties. How did that happen? I still remember growing up in the '50's, like it was yesterday. I took my brother-in-law flying yesterday - he grew up across the street from me. We flew over our home town, Lumber City, GA, and he took pictures of the house that he grew up in, while the place I lived in is now a vacant lot. Someone bought the house after Mama died, and they tore down the house. The school where we attended, 2 blocks from home, has been torn down, and the whole town looks like a ghost town. Sad, sad. Flying around yesterday in my Cessna 172 was a real joy. Weather was clear and the ohly drawback was the haze. For most of the year around here, the haze goes up to about 10,000 feet, and it takes a lot of pushing and shoving to get a 172 up that high. Problem with the haze is that the higher you fly, the less you can see on the ground. We stayed between 2,000 and 3,000 feet most of the time, landing for a pit stop at Hazlehurst's little airport. Then, back into the air, and about 30 minutes back to Swainsboro, where the plane is based. It was just a nice day for flying, and we both had a blast. Next time I go to my orthopedic doc in Columbus, I think I'll take Mike with me for company. You can refer back to some of my earlier entries about flying to Columbus.

OK, that's it for now. I have to get out of here and work on my ham radio, call sign W1FKY....

73,
Joe

2005-11-03T14:37:00.000-05:00

SiteRing by Bravenet.com

MY WISH FOR MY KIDS AND GRANDKIDS:

2005-10-09T03:08:00.000-05:00

You get the A's, and I have the B's for you:

1. Be Grateful. Be thankful to God for all His blessings, be thankful for all you have and for all that He has made you.

2. Be Smart. Do your best always to excel in all things. Apply yourself as "a workman that needs not to be ashamed." God expects your best, so give the best you have in all things.

3. Be clean. The world is full of sleaze and filth. You are better than that. Keep yourself, your body, your heart, and your mind, clean and spotless in every respect. Sleaze only destroys, and the outcome of filth is always destruction.

4. Be True. Shakespeare said, "..To thine ownself be true..." Be faithful and true in all that you are. Be true to God, to your loved ones, and to yourself. Truth always wins in the end!

5. Be humble. You are not your own, but God's. He has given you much, and you owe everything to Him. Never exalt yourself at the expense of others, it's ugly. Be humble before God and He will exalt you.

6. Be prayerful. Your relationship with God is all-important. You can never have a relationship with anyone if you never talk to them. Pray in praise to God for His goodness, pray in thanksgiving for His gifts, pray in humility for His greatness in you, and pray in submission to His will in your life. Pray in love for His love, and for the love He has given you by sending His Son Jesus to be the sacrifice for your sins. Seek His guidance and you can never go wrong.

Keep these B's as a gift from me, and from a loving and kind God, hold them dear to your heart, and God will always hold you close to His heart.

Last of the pictures

2005-09-16T18:07:00.000-05:00

EMA vehicles at Welcome center

Clothing giveaway

The first pictures are the last ones in this series... Please leave your comments!

What they Are Doing in Georgia

2005-09-16T18:01:00.000-05:00

Georgia Welcome Center, I-20. Trailer is comm center, tent is free food to anyone

Giving away free clothes by volunteers

Free food tent

Family & Children's Services volunteers

Comm trailer

More pictures...

2005-09-16T17:57:00.000-05:00

Trees down everywhere

houses destroyed

More pictures...

2005-09-16T17:47:00.000-05:00

Buildings, vehicles, blown into piles...

Gulfport

Picaune, MS

Gulfport church

Another destroyed billboard

More Katrina pictures

2005-09-16T17:39:00.000-05:00

Many traffic lights just blown away...

Intersection in Gulfport

Hwy 49 in Gulfport

Billboards along I-10, just blown over...

More pictures

2005-09-16T17:29:00.000-05:00

Ham operators. This was the guy on the HF radio. He is blind, but a great operator...

More ham operators arrive in the parking lot. We took over an elementary school in Gulfport...

Along Popps Ferry Road in Biloxi

Planning session in the school

More pictures of MS:

More Katrina pictures

2005-09-16T17:21:00.000-05:00

A damaged church in Gulfport

The Durango, replacing the van

Along I-10 in Mississippi

Along Popps Ferry Road in Biloxi

A damaged building in Gulfport.
Here are more pictures from the trip:

2005-09-16T17:19:00.000-05:00

My van, loaded for the trip:

The transmission gave up the ghost less than 100 miles into the trip. Had to change to the Durango...

It's Been a While!

2005-08-04T17:54:00.000-05:00

Wow, I just looked at my blog, and it's been a while since I posted anything! OK, here we go. I have a new plane to fly. It's a Cessna 172, otherwise known as a Skyhawk. A 1976 model, it has a new paint job, a totally new panel, with the newest Garmin 430 navigation system, which has a moving map and is just so wonderful to use. The engine has about 1200 hours left TBO, and it flies much faster than my old Cherokee. I just went yesterday to check out in it, and had an hour of very enjoyable flying with the instructor at Sasser Aviation, the FBO at Emanuel County airport in Swainsboro, GA. Already have three flights scheduled, including one to Birmingham, AL, to visit our son and his family.

I will be going out tomorrow for an hour or so, just for fun, so we'll post another blog after the flight.

Time to fly again

2005-07-01T04:15:00.000-05:00

I can't stand it any more! Ground-bound too long, and the last few flights have been those transportation-type of let's go from here to there and return. No real fun of grabbing for aky, turning upside down, spinning, and all that other aerobatic jazz that sets flying apart from every other single thing in existence!

OK, today's the day! I have to get some sleep, and then if the plane is available, I'm off to the really wild blue yonder! Yeah, baby! Now it's off to bed for a little early morning shut-eye!

Can we talk later, folks? See ya!

Into the Dark

2005-06-14T18:21:00.000-05:00

One of our readers made the comment some time ago that he wanted to hear more about flying. Here we go, my last trip, made last month,

Bobby had left 44355 out of the hangar, under the lights next to the terminal, as I had told him I was going to leave before daylight. Since night flying is inherently more dangerous than flying in daylight, I have developed a habit over the years of doing an especially thorough preflight if I'm going to be up there when the sun isn't shining on my plane. So, at 4:30 am, I was out on the ramp, going over Cherokee 44355 with my fine-tooth comb. It was especially humid that morning, so it took a lot of toweling to get the windscreen clear enough to see out of. That done, a good look inside the engine compartment.

We have a relatively new engine in the plane, it had at the time about 25 hours on it, so that alone takes a close look. The good thing is, after about 10 hours if nothing quits, it's probably not going to. I was a bit surprised that it started a lot easier than I was accustomed to, and idled a lot smoother than the old engine did. Idling the engine, I started out for the end of the runway, checking avionics and instruments as I taxiied down to the end of runway 24, the one most aligned to my route of departure.

The destination was Columbus, Georgia, a distance according to the charts, of 133 miles, about one hour and ten minutes flying time, at a compass heading of about 280 degrees. Nice, easy route, no difficult places to traverse. There was one restricted area around Warner Robins AFB, to my right, north, and one restricted area to my left, Fort Benning, as I approached Columbus.

Engine runup showed all gages in the green, everything working normally, and I was ready to go. Aligning on the runway, I "poured the coal" to it, and the 160hp Lycoming pushed us rapidly toward the rotation speed of 60 knots. When the airspeed indicator shows 60, you just ease back on the yoke and hold it there, and when it hits 70, the plane somewhat magically lifts off and heads into the "wild blue - er, strike that, - black yonder". It always feels like magic to me, even with a lot of years and a lot of hours of flying. It never gets old, and I never get tired of flying, just gets more enjoyable every time I get to go flying. That opportunity is less than ever as of late, as I'm living on just my miniscule retirement and my wife's nursing salary. I'd love to work at anything that comes up, but that just isn't happening right now, there seems to be no open jobs around our small town. When I do find one, the flying is gonna be back up there!

Back to the early morning flight -- as the plane lifted off the runway, I maintained runway heading, 240 degrees, as we gained altitude. Although I knew it was black dark, it was a little surprising just how few lights were visible on the ground. Right away I was on the gages, no horizon visible, few lights, and a big dark hole that we were flying into. No problem, with all my experience, I have done a lot of night flying and have always loved it. Flying at night, the lights are pretty, the sky is majestic, and it is just really enjoyable. At around 1,000 feet altitude, I turned right to course 280, centering up the GPS, showing 130 miles to go. I love GPS, it's the best thing since enclosed cockpits!

Staying on instruments, I started a cruise-climb to 6500 feet, above the low-hanging scud, and under a bright, starlit sky. It was just beautiful! Before reaching altitude, about five minutes after departure, we contacted Jacksonville Center, the controlling radar control center for our area. Although a flight under VFR, visual flight rules, doesn't require contact with anyone, I always get in touch and under control, because it's safer that way. That means I have someone on the ground watching after me, keeping me informed of any traffic that might conflict with me, letting me know if any weather is developing ahead of me.

"Jacksonville Center, cherokee 44355," I spoke,

"Cherokee 44355, Jacksonville center, go ahead," came the reply.

"We're off from Vidalia about five minutes ago, squawking VFR, would like flight following."

"44355, squawk 3265," came the reply, giving me a code to dial in on my transponder. The transponder, which responds when it is hit by a radar pulse, gives positive identification to the aircraft's return on the radar screen in front of the controller. Without the transponder, the controller doesn't have a very good radar return, but with the boosted signal from the transponder, they have a much better look at the aircraft. Being VFR, the controller doesn't give us an assigned altitude while in uncontrolled airspace, and the transponder includes altitude information in its reply. On we went, boring a hole in the night sky, keeping a watch outside for any flashing lights that would indicate the presence of traffic.

It was a smooth, uneventful flight, no surprises, and really enjoyable. About an hour later, descending to a lower altitude, and under control of Atlanta Approach, we got ready to land at CSG, Columbus airport. Day had dawned, bringing blue skies overhead, and a good view of the ground below. Approach had kept me clear of any restricted airspace, and about ten miles out, we had the field in sight. Once I mentioned that fact to the approach controller, he authorized a frequency change to the tower frequency, where we received landing clearance.

Reducing power, I brought the speed down to less than 100 knots, where I could drop flaps. On the downwind leg, parallel to the runway, I dropped the first notch of flaps, which allowed a nose-down attitude, and then turned base, which is perpendicular to the runway. Another notch of flaps, reducing power to 1600 RPM, we started down to around 800 feet, and turned final with about 500 feet. Seeing that I was a bit high, I put in all the flaps and pushed the nose over for a steep approach, rounding out right over the end of the runway. With a short "squeak," the tires touches, and we were down. Another nice flight was over, and it was off to the doctor's office a few blocks from the airport for my doctor's appointment. Returning later in the day will be our next adventure in flying.

Michael Jackson Trial Over: Verdict, "Not Guilty"

2005-06-13T17:04:00.000-05:00

The jury in the Michael Jackson child molestation trial today returned verdicts of "not guilty" on all ten counts with which he was charged. The high-profile case, which has seized headlines over the past four months, ended with the court clerk reading the resounding "not guilty" verdicts one after the other. Millions, who had been closely watching and listening, were stunned by the "clean sweep" accomplished by defense attorney Tom Meseareau. Very few people interviewed over the past few days, thought the singer would be cleared of every single charge, bringing about the disbelief of so many.

After the verdict was delivered, the Jackson family re-entered their characteristic black SUV's and returned to Jackson's Neverland Ranch. Jackson flashed the "peace sign" as they left the courthouse, looking very much relieved that the weight of doubt had been lifted from Mr. Jackson's shoulders.

The complete story has been filed on Blogger News Network, which can be reached simply by this link. Further reports will be posted there, and the reader is invited to click on the link for much more information.

2005-06-12T15:02:00.000-05:00

A report comes from DADMANLY about the insensitivity of the press to the grief of families who have lost a loved one on the battlefield in Iraq. This so strongly supports my long-time belief that the press should be limited in their ability to move around near battlefronts. It is unconscionable that they should be contacting the families of casualties in the States before they are officially notified of death or injury by proper military authority.

I know from having personally been involved in it, that notifying family members of a loss is a very stressful and heavily painful time, and proper handling is imperative. Come on, media members, show some human compassion and feeling! Suppose you were in their shoes? This is a time for prayer, love, and caring, not running off to file a story.

You can be sure that this patriotic flyer of airplanes spends time daily in prayer for our military folks, especially for the ones who are exposed to such danger as combat, and for their families, who worry so much about them. May God watch over them and may He give them peace in the midst of confusion and care.

2005-06-07T01:03:00.000-05:00

Herky Birds Arrive At Aviano AB, Italy in 1991

My Apology

2005-05-31T03:38:00.000-05:00

It is unconscionable that I missed posting on Memorial Day. For a patriot and a flyer it is inexcusable. I could blame my broke foot but that is not the cause. I will post a proper message in the next couple of days in between doctor appointments. Forgive me!

Joe Comer

ZIn the meantime, I refer you to the following post by a brave soldier:

2005-05-28T14:26:00.000-05:00

We Took This the Night Before My Foot Surgery

2005-05-28T14:25:00.000-05:00

Vidalia Airpatch Seen From the Approach Pattern. I land At The Far End Coming Toward Current Position.

2005-05-28T14:23:00.000-05:00

Now That's a Happy Pilot!

2005-05-28T14:22:00.000-05:00

Last Week Flying to Columbus: Great Day For Flying

2005-05-28T14:21:00.000-05:00

Me & Shay Shay At The Work Position

2005-05-28T14:20:00.000-05:00

Jenny's Favorite Time: Playing Games & Talking On The Phone!

Quiet Time Coming

2005-05-17T22:25:00.000-05:00

I'm going to be out of action for a few weeks, probably. Day after tomorrow I'll be going into the hospital for surgery on my left ankle. I broke it 18 months ago and it never healed, so they have to clamjp the bones together and let it finally heal.

See ya when I get back!

Joe

Totin' Michael Totten

2005-05-12T21:20:00.000-05:00

I have just finished a response to one Michael Totten, who blogs most of the time, I guess, from Lebanon. Anyway, you can read his blog here. He's not a bad writer, but he and I got into a rather snotty tiff regarding a comment I made on his blog last week. I didn't give him a personal heartburn, but used a colloquialism that he may have taken issue with, one that I don't usually (In fact, before this, never) use in referring to arabs: raghead. That's not the way to win friends, but I have no intention of making any arab friends right now. They have done worse with other Americans in the past few years, so excuse me, but my comment was nothing alongside 9/11. His retaliation was not to engage me in civilized debate, or even UNcivilized debate, but to "ban" me from his website. OK, so I apologized, but that didn't even do it. I had to be sneaky and use my AOL identity, go on his website, and let the whole d*** world know that I was apologizing. OK, all done. Now I've done it on my site, and I don't really give a rat's a** if he ever does relent. I'm done going there, but you may if you wish, with my blessings.

Joe Comer

Ode to Mothers Everywhere

2005-05-06T03:21:00.000-05:00

Because my mother was not with the program, unable to cope with raising children, and my mother's mother was more than willing to become my "mother", I am more than glad to have called her "Mama" for as long as she lived. Mama took on the challenge, after raising her own children, during the years when she could have rested on her laurels - which were many - of raising an additional two rambunctious boys. I was the oldest, probably the most problematic of the two, certainly the most devious! But Mama was never rattled, never at the end of her wits, always composed, and most assuredly, always in charge!

I remember once when I decided to run away. About the age of 9, I thought it would be cool to load everything I owned - not much - onto my red wagon, and leave town. I guess all boys and some girls, including my own daughter, decide to do this at least once during childhood. Wisely, Mama was silent as I piled all that stuff on the wagon and got ready to leave. Then it overtook me all of a sudden: Where would I find something to eat that night for supper? Where would I find a soft, warm bed to sleep in that night? Where in the heck was I going anyway? I was just a kid and needed my parents, especially my Mama! Running away all of a sudden didn't look to be all that appealing. I ran in the house, flung myself into Mama's welcoming arms, and sobbed like the end of the world had just occurred. Mama wasn't rattled, not surprised, and most of all, totally accepting and loving. She rocked me, sang to me, and just let me cry it out until I was over the whole thing. No one else, I am convinced, would have sat there and consoled me that way. No one but Mama.

I'm a lot older today. Older than Mama was then, with five of my own grandkids. I love my two kids, my five grandkids, and their "nana", my beloved wife Jenny, with all of the big, sopping, loving heart that was willed to me by my Mama! I sit here today and think of Mama, and thank her profusely, for all the good things she gave me when I was a young 'un, so grateful that I don't know the ends therof! What things, you ask? Well, we didn't have much in the way of worldly riches, enough to get by with the restaurant that she owned, and she always saw to it that we had as much of the "I want's" as she deemed good for us, but not so much that we were spoiled by it all. What she gave us that was most valuable doesn't add up in the money column, but it all adds to riches far beyond money. At the top of the list is faith in Jesus Christ. Add to that, love. Love for my family, love for my country, love for the good and wonderful things in life that can't be purchased with money.

Mama has been gone for a long time now. She was 67 when a stroke took her home to Heaven, and left me motherless. Almost. It was 1974, and I was living, with my own young family, in New England. It was a very sad trip to Georgia for her funeral, and I was left with this extremely empty feeling, wondering just how to handle life without my mama. It was the bottom of the pit. Without the loving caress of my sweet wife, I would have been completely lost. You see, every time something happened, good or bad, I always phoned Mama to tell her. Now I wouldn't be able to do that. I tell you, knowing that she wouldn't be there any more was a really bad, unfathomable feeling. Then, after the funeral service, on the way to the cemetary, something wonderful happened. Something that took away the sting, something that gave me hope after all. I turned to my Mother-In-Law, and said to her, "You have to be my mama now." You know, she accepted that without even a blink! Of course, she nodded and agreed to take on the challenge.

So, though I lost my Mama that spring day in 1974, I was the recipient of a second chance at having a loving parent. She's still with us today, bowed with age, unable to do things she once did on her own, but with us, functional, giving us her unbounded love, the celebrated grandmother, great-grandmother, even great-great-grandmother whom we can turn to and say, "What do you think about this?" She has been for all these years, my substitute Mama, one to whom I can give my love, a great lady who is an inspiration to all her children, and the fulfillment of the Biblical blessing attributed to mothers. I'm grateful to have had the love and affection of not one but two wonderful women as my mothers, and I wouldn't for the world leave out another mother: the mother of my children. It's hard to believe, but we've been married for 41 years now. She's still the apple of my eye, the love of my life, and she will be so as long as I live. No children ever had a better mother than my wife has been to her son and daughter. Not a day goes by that she doesn't speak of at least one of our kids, wondering if they're OK, if they have what they need, if they have enough to eat or warm clothes! What a mother she is!! God bless 'em all, I say! Mothers are the best! The Lord really knew what He was doing when He invented mothers, for what in the world would any of us do without them?

So, on this Mother's Day of 2005, here's to mothers everywhere! Hear! Hear!

The Silversmith

2005-05-06T02:58:00.000-05:00

Some time ago, some ladies met in a certain city to study the Scriptures. While reading the third chapter of Malachi, they came upon a remarkable expression in the third verse:

"And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver" (Mal. 3:3)

One lady proposed to visit a silversmith, and report to them on what he said about the subject. She went accordingly, and without telling the object of her errand, begged the silversmith to tell her about the process of refining silver. After he had fully described it to her, she asked, "But Sir, do you sit while the work of refining is going on?"

"Oh, yes, madam," replied the silversmith, "I must sit with my eyes steadily fixed on the furnace, for if the time necessary for refining be exceeded in the slightest degree, the silver will be injured."

The lady at once saw the beauty, and comfort, too, of the expression, "He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." God sees it needful to put His children in a furnace; His eye is steadily intent on the work of purifying, and His wisdom and love are both engaged in the best manner for us. Our trials do not come at random, and He will not let us be tested beyond what we can endure.

Before she left, the lady asked one final question, "When do you know the process is complete?"

"Why, that is quite simple, " replied the silversmith, "When I can see my own image in the silver, the refining process is finished."

----Author Unknown----

2005-05-01T01:58:00.000-05:00

Near Home

2005-05-01T01:56:00.000-05:00

From Our Flight

2005-05-01T01:20:00.000-05:00

Poor Quality, but you Get The Picture!

2005-05-01T01:18:00.000-05:00

Blue Angels on Pass

2005-05-01T01:17:00.000-05:00

Blue Angels -Distant!

2005-04-30T17:36:00.000-05:00

Er, Not Exactly A Thunderbird!

2005-04-30T17:34:00.000-05:00

Air Force T-28 Demo Team

2005-04-30T17:32:00.000-05:00

One great Loop!

2005-04-30T17:31:00.000-05:00

On The Ramp

2005-04-30T16:42:00.000-05:00

Blue Angels

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH HAS A NEW LEADER

2005-04-19T12:50:00.000-05:00

As of this afternoon, theRoman Catholic college of cardinals has elected Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as leader of the one billion Catholics. Ratzinger chose the name of Pope Benedict XVI. He is a 78-year old German who was the Dean of the College of Cardinals during the reign of Pope John Paul II.

WHAT TRUMPS WHAT? LOVE, MERCY, JUSTICE, DOCTRINE? WHERE IS GOD IN ALL THIS?

2005-04-12T15:33:00.000-05:00

Last week I received an email from a friend of more than 40 years, who was terribly upset with me regarding my memorial (below) to the Pope, upon his death. Here is what my friend - or ex-friend now as he probably is - said:

dear Joe

since when does a pope who claims to be infallible and allows millions to worship and idolize him, taking glory that belongs only to God almighty qualify as being a "dear Christian brother"?

He goes on:

You would do well to study up on Roman Catholic theology over which this idol presides. we are not to pray to saints, or to Mary. neither do we confess our sins to some man, nor call any man on this earth our spiritual father. Celibacy in the clergy is unscriptural and has fostered a terrible blight on the church and ministry through sexual abuse of children and acts of homosexuality. I'm not interested in debating this subject, the history of the catholic church reveals their antichristian beliefs and actions. They have shed the blood of many of God's martyrs. please don't send me any more emails about your friend the pope.

XXXXXXXX (Name withheld)

I sent him an answer that was a bit long for reproduction here, but here are some of the things that I said in response:

XXXX, you're right; those things you mentioned along with many others are things that I totally disagree with Catholics about, in fact there are a lot of things that the Roman Catholics believe that are unbiblical and I always take every opportunity to apprise them of that. My thoughts about the pope are that the man himself, Karol Wojtyla, was a man of prayer, great faith, and moral strength. The man did express many times the point of saving faith in Jesus alone, and he stood up to everyone from the Nazis to the communists, to American failures like abortion, the homosexual agenda, and this awful "death culture" that we seem to have adopted in the US. I don't know if I could have exhibited such spiritual strength.

As a church, they have departed from the original faith on many issues....

I also don't agree with their point of view that Peter was the first pope. The Bible is very clear that James, not Peter, was head of the church in the first century......

There is one area where we owe the Roman Catholic Church a debt of gratitude: Because there were monks transcribing and writing the scriptures over the centuries, especially in the "dark ages", we have the Bible we have today. Remember there are plenty of places in the Bible where God used imperfect men (and women) to accomplish His will......In fact, I'm still imperfect, but I'm trying to please the Lord in every way I can. I make a lot of mistakes and I have to ask the Lord for forgiveness daily. Maybe since you were born and raised in a Pentecostal environment, you might not know just how precious it is to come in from the world and to experience a saving faith in the blood of Jesus like I do.........

OK, when you read the above, do you get the impression that my friend was a bit angry with me? I do. But what do we get from this outside of that? Well, in a part of his email, he ripped me up personally, tearing me to shreds - I didn't print that part of his letter, it was a bit too harsh. So, is he right? How do we deal with such things?

Well, his assessments of the Roman Catholic Church, as far as that's concerned, I agree with him. But to make a personal attack on John Paul II was out of line. His attack on me as a person was out of line too, and certainly not in conformance with what the Bible teaches us about our behaviour as Christians. Last time I checked, love and mercy trump judgement. Check out what the Bible says in James 2:12-13:

"Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgement without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgement!"

Jesus had a few things to say about mercy, forgiveness, and being on the receiving end of insults, hurtful accusations, and evil conversation. Look at the Beatitudes, in Matthew chapter 5:

v.7: "Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy."

vv.11-12: "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in Heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

And I especially love Romans 8:1, where the Word of God gives me, a human who makes mistakes and errors, a break. Without the mercy of God, I would have no way possible to inherit eternal life, as I am imperfect and have a human nature that brings sin. The only sacrifice for sin is the blood of Jesus, and that blood covers me, because I trust Him as my saviour.

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."

You should read on, down through verse 4, to get the full impact of the idea.

What I am trying to say here, and probably didn't do such a good job of it, is that not one of us is fit to judge the heart of the other. God has sent Hisw Son, Jesus, to be the propitiation for our sins, and there is no way we can obtain forgiveness for our sins. None of us is perfect, and none of us has a magical ability to see into any other's heart. For that reason alone, it is not a good idea to call the pope or anyone else, the names which my friend did. Who can say that they know for sure what conversations had taken place between him and God, or who knows just what he thought or what God thought of him? A lot of Pentecostals have the flaw of judging others, calling themselves, "fruit inspectors," from the passage that says, "by their fruit shall you know them." But that's just taking on a bit too much responsibility if you ask me, and it requires more insight than I have, for sure!

In sending His Son to die on the cross for my sins, God has done for me what I could not do for myself: provided salvation and eternal life! Faith in Christ, and faith in Him alone, is the single requirement for eternal life. Anything we add, any requirement, or work, or sacrament, is extrabiblical and incorrect, and will not add one iota to our salvation. So friends, let us love one another with the love of Christ, let us live for Him, and let us allow God to make the decision as to who is or is not saved, and we will avoid a trap that will come back to bite us. And if you disagree with this, leave your comment at the end of the post, because I want to know what you think. But remember, the Bible is God's Word, and that alone is the arbiter of our faith.

Thank you, be sure to pray for me, and may God give you His blessings!

Joe Comer

THE POPE HAS LEFT THIS EARTH

2005-04-02T15:32:00.000-05:00

The Vatican has announced that at 9:37 PM tonight, Rome Time, Pope John Paul II passed from this earth into the presence of his Saviour. This beloved man, who spent 84 years among us, passed away peacefully and with great dignity and grace. Our post yesterday remains as a memorial to his long and fruitful life.

May God in His grace and love, accept our brother into His presence, amen.

2005-04-02T07:05:00.000-05:00

The Patriot Flyer

POPE JOHN PAUL II NEAR DEATH

2005-04-01T12:12:00.000-05:00

At noon ET, on Friday, 01 April 2005, the Vatican issued a statement, and Sky News Italia followed with a comment that the Pope's condition has worsened, that he has slipped into a coma. They say that his organs have begun shutting down, notably that his kidneys, already compromised, have begun to fail. It appears for certain that the Holy Father is close to meeting his Lord face-to-face. And I think that meeting will be a wonderful occasion.

This Pope has been, for all of his 84 years, beloved by all those around him as he served both God and humanity in so many ways. In 1942, he was arrested by the German Gestapo with several others. His German worker's card, signifying that he had a job, got him released, while the others were shot. Later that year, Karol Jozef Wojtyla began feeling the call of God on his life, and started studying for the priesthood at great personal risk, under the very noses of the Gestapo. From that moment in his life, all around him knew that this was a man for whom the word "fear" did not exist! All the world knows the history, and we all know his influence on history, how he literally changed history as he followed his heart. The courage and strength he displayed in the face of oppression and evil such as Naziism and communism inspired millions, and he gave strength to his native Poland to throw off the yoke of the Soviet state. I believe that Pope John Paul II is greatly to be credited with the downfall of communism in Europe, and God will reward him for that courage.

Indeed, this Pentecostal Christian writer is one who has not historically appreciated a lot of the policies and practices of the Roman Catholic Church, but John Paul, I believe, is truly a man of God, a man whose love for the Lord is an example of what God calls us to as Christians, something that should be reflected in us all. His love for all people, his respect for - in worldly terms - the smallest and least significant among us, is inspirational and a value that we must all emulate. His humility and love for God, his love for people, have changed the face of the Catholic Church, and endeared him to Christians, both Roman Catholic and non-Catholic, and non-Christians as well. His life, lived to the fullest, was holy as God calls each of us to be holy, and he will be remembered by all of us as a man of prayer and a man of great courage, who loved the Lord with all of his soul.

I can imagine the scene in Heaven, maybe later today or tomorrow, as Karol Wojtyla steps over the threshold into eternity. I believe Jesus will be there to meet him, surrounded by thousands whose lives were touched by him, thousands who indeed were saved by the faith in Christ that he inspired in them. Among them, in the crowd, will be a young American woman, recently freed from a body that was unable to sing God's praises, unable to speak of God's grace, and unable to defend herself from those who were determined to take her life at any cost. Terri Schindler-Schiavo will wave and smile at Pope John Paul II, as she cries out, thanking him for trying to save her. As the Pope enters the Holy City, bowing before the King of Kings, Jesus will step forward, take his arm, and ask him to rise. Then, Jesus will throw his arms around him, in a tight, loving embrace, as He says, "Welcome Home, Karol, welcome to your eternal reward my good and faithful servant. You have done well, my friend and brother. Let us go now and meet with My Father. As they stroll together, arm in arm, down the street of gold, the crowds will be singing and rejoicing with the Angelic Choir, all of them enthusiastically welcoming home a man who loved and served his Lord for a long and eventful life! And what is so wonderful is that Jesus will welcome each of us who love and serve Him, in the same fashion.

As Pope John Paul II slips quietly into his eternal reward, let us all celebrate the life he lived and the way he worked to spread Christianity and freedom through his demonstrated love for the Lord and for people everywhere. I feel blessed to have been on earth during his time here, and I look forward to meeting him personally when I go home to be with the Lord. Of course, there is no way my own life, so full of failures, can compare to his, but the beauty of our faith is reflected in the fact that I don't have to worry about my failures. Jesus Christ forgave my sins when I trusted Him as my saviour, and He forgives me daily as I live in this sinful world. I love my Lord, and that is the total of my testimony. As you read this, if you have not yet asked the Lord Jesus to be your saviour, I invite you to quietly bow your heart before Him and ask Him into your heart and your life.

My heartfelt prayer, as Pope John Paul II walks toward the meeting with the Lord, is that millions around the world will see his testimony, lived out in his life and in his sermons, and place their faith in the Lord he loved and served while in his sojourn on earth! While we will miss him here on earth, let us remember that life does not end here. This is only the beginning; life eternal is beyond compare with this vail of tears. Death, for the Christian, is not the end. It is not the hopeless thing to be feared by those who have no faith in our loving saviour. Jesus told us that He is the only way to Heaven, and that has not changed. For those of us who have faith in Christ, the end never comes!

"O death, where is thy sting, O grave, where is thy victory? (ICor. 15:55)

God bless you, thank you for reading this memorial, and please let your friends know about our site! Leave us your comments below, and I will answer each one who does.

Joe Comer
Vidalia, GA

HAVE WE TURNED A DARK CORNER TODAY?

2005-03-31T11:04:00.000-05:00

This is a sad day for America. First and foremost though, it is a heartbreaking time for the Schindler family of Pinellas Park, Florida. We extend our deepest condolences to this brave and loving family who lost their daughter, Terri Schiavo, at 9:05 AM ET, this morning. They fought long and hard to save Terri from the jaws of a runaway judiciary system, and lost only after many appeals that fell on deaf ears. Although Terri's husband Michael said that he was fulfilling her wishes by ending her life, his motives and his integrity were and still are highly suspect.

Things must now change in the state of Florida, and across the nation regarding right-to-life issues and end of life decisions. I can recommend a few right here. First, everyone should have a living will, and some legislation encouraging (But not reguiring) that could be crafted. Not being a lawyer (thank God!) I don't have the depth of knowledge needed to address this fully, but I know that a change is needed. Second, there must be changes in the law regarding the ability of a guardian to decide when a life should be ended. It should be difficult to impossible for a guardian to remove a feeding tube from a disabled person who did not leave a written and witnessed living will, if such a move is contested. Third, any spousal guardian who abandons his/her marriage vows by moving his affections to another person should be removed from guardianship. I realize that every one of these issues are tangled and involved, but with proper language they can be worked out to the satisfaction of most people. Fourth, no judge, of any court, should have power that trumps the authority of the legislative or executive branches of government. This is an issue that has to be addressed by the US congress, and it must be an airtight law, not subject to any ruling by the Supreme Court. Fifth, any time there is conflict regarding any issue concerned with the possibility of ending an innocent life, we need laws protecting the person from those whose motives may not be in their best interest. We must make laws that mandate any error be made in the direction of life. How do we do that? Perhaps by making a national law preventing the ending of any life by any one judge or court, or by any guardian where there is a contested decision to remove a feeding tube.

Distinctions must also be made between life support on heart/lung, breathing, and other machines, and feeding tubes. In the issue before us as a nation today, a young woman who was not on any type of life support, receiving only nourishment and hydration, was killed by her husband removing the source of nourishment. We must do all that is necessary to protect disabled people who cannot speak for themselves, by enacting whatever laws are needed to keep any one person, be it guardian or judge, from ending that person's life.

All these issues are difficult, involved, and none of them are straightforward, but they must be looked at by people dedicated to the future of our country. If we do nothing, then we have turned a corner today into a dark street that leads to destruction. We have for years been sliding down toward becoming a culture of death, and if we do not interrupt this slide and change direction, we are in grave danger of becoming a nation where life is no longer precious, and the individual has no worth.

ONE MORE SERIOUS PROBLEM OUT THERE - THAT'S ALL WE NEED!

2005-03-30T04:21:00.000-05:00

Michelle Malkin, in her daily blog today, has raised a new issue with the peer-2-peer file sharing phenomenon. It seems that there are literally thousands upon thousands of pornographic files being swapped this way.

Go over to her blog, here, and read for yourself.

This is just one more of many seemingly overwhelming problems our society must deal with; it cannot just be allowed to fester. The person with the idea that worksis who we're looking for right now! Is that you?

IMPORTANT COLORADO SUPREME COURT DECISION OUT TODAY

2005-03-29T01:43:00.000-05:00

A decison by the Colorado Supreme Court came down today on the 1995 case of Robert Harlan, convicted in 1995 of murdering, raping, and kidnapping in the Denver area. Since the decision came about as a result of jurors using Bibles to come to their decisions, it is imperative that everyone have a look at the decision!

I have posted a complete story on the case HERE. Please go to to the site, which is the new website Blogger News Network (where I am a reporter), a great place to get your most updated news. We're not perfect yet, but we're working on it and we want YOU reading the site!!

So, please slide on over there, and give us your comments so we will know what you think!

Joe Comer

VICTORY OVER DEATH, HELL, AND THE GRAVE

2005-03-27T00:36:00.000-05:00

Easter Sunday, 2005. We send out to our friends all over the world, from my friends in Korea, to my friends in the United Kingdom, aux mes amis en la belle France, to my friends in the US military stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq, and throughout the world, greetings! Most especially to those military folks who must spend this holy season away from home, God's peace be upon you, God's protection over you, and His comfort to your families until you return safely home!

Easter is the day of ultimate victory for Christians. We may celebrate other joyful, happy, and moving holidays; we may enjoy getting together with families and friends on other occasions, but no holy day like Easter exists either in or out of the Christian faith. And even in Christendom, no other day can come even close to equalling the holiness of this tremendous day of joy, that we experience because of just what the day is all about!

You can go to a place in the world, that is said to be the tomb of Buddha. You can go to Confuscius' tomb. There are the pyramids of Egypt, where kings who were supposed to be living gods, were buried. You can go to Mecca, and there you will find Mohammed's tomb. Why, you can go to Paris, and find the tomb of - - - - , who with his book, - - - - -, brought about the "age of reason, and along with Charles Darwin, a failed divinity student turned athiest, caused many thousands to turn their backs on God. But no matter how hard you look, regardless of how many shovels of dirt you turn over, you will not find the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth. Why? Because it isn't there. There ain't one. He only borrowed one, for a short-term burial; he only needed it for two days, and he gave it right back! And I am so glad of that, because it means that I won't have to purchase that piece of real estate either!

All of us, no matter who we are, regardless of where we were born or our station in life, were born in sin, out of favor with God, and in desperate need of a saviour.
The Bible, which is God's word and the ultimate source of all information, says that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The Bible further states that there is only one name, only one man, under heaven, in whose name we can be saved. Now that certainly simplifies things, doesn't it? Well, one would think so, but enter the devil, satan; and his minions, and confusion reigns loud and clamorously!

If there were ever anything satan is good at, it is confusion, and about the subjects of life, death, sin, heaven and hell, he is the resident - (on earth, anyway) - expert. Or so he says. It was satan, the fallen angel, who first turned man against God, caused Adam and Eve to sin in the garden of paradise, and it is he who has millstones of sin about our necks to this very day. It is satan, my friend, who will cause you to trip up and miss your place in heaven, if you let him do so! Don't let him do that to you!

Throughout the Bible, one thread of truth is woven to perfection. It is the story of mankind's fall and our redemption in Jesus Christ. From the opening chapter in Genesis through the ending recorded in Revelation, God works His will to defeat satan, redeem man, and provide for us a place of love, comfort, peace, and eternal happiness at His side in Heaven. And what a wonderful and captivating story it is! Anyone who has read the Book through, from one cover to the other, has been blessed, and will continue to be blessed, by the presence of God working through His word. If you haven't done so yet, I encourage you to start today, read it completely, with an eye to faith in the Author, seeking His personal message to you, and you will be totally shocked and blessed by His revelations!

The thread of truth in the Word, redemption, is so very simple that a young child can understand it, and yet, it is based on the entirely complex questions of life that many of the "intelligentsia," the so-called highest-educated among us, have missed it! Why? How? What is it about this simple truth that clicks for a six-year-old, and yet is missed by a PhD? I understood the message of salvation at around the age of seven. Didn't get it earlier, because I hadn't been to church before then, had not been exposed to the Gospel. And my eldest grandson professed his faith in Christ, and was saved, around the age of 3 or 4. I had the great pleasure of baptizing my oldest granddaughter when she was six. And I have witnessed men and women in the twilight of life, one of them my own grandfather, receiving Christ with great joy. The great thing about each of these situations is that it did happen! And I will be joyous to see each of them in Glory one day! And now, how will that come about?

Jesus rose from the dead on the third day. Again, JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD ON THE THIRD DAY! That simple fact, the very basis of Easter, the very foundation of Christianity, is why we will spend eternity with God in joy and fellowship! Had Jesus not risen from the dead, the Bible tells us, we woulod yet be in our sins, we would be lost, and there would be no sacrifice for our sins. Had Jesus not lived a sinless life, had He not given His life on calvary for our redemption, had He not lain in that tomb, had He not RISEN ON THAT THIRD DAY, WE WOULD YET BE LOST! You ask me why? Because the penalty for sin is death, and we, my friends, have sinned. We would owe the penalty, and had Jesus not paid it, we would pay it ourselves by being cast into hell. End of story.

But, Thank God, it is NOT the end of the story yet! God has given us this day. His Son, Jesus, arose from the dead as surely as you're reading this, and you can join me in rejoicing because of that! Today, death is conquered by life, sin is conquered by holiness, and Jesus reigns in Heaven! And, friends, the great joy is that we can all reign with Him one day. Remember the Christmas story, where the angel says, "I bring you good tidings of great joy?" Today, let's turn that around, replay the words for Easter, and shout from the housetops, "I BRING YOU GOOD TIDINGS OF GREAT JOY, FOR JESUS, THE SON OF GOD, IS ALIVE! HE AROSE FROM THE DEAD ON THE THIRD DAY AND HE WAITS TO GIVE YOU ETERNAL LIFE!"

God bless everyone reading this is my sincere prayer. I love you in the name of Jesus, and I just pray for you to have the peace of God in your heart. May you have the most blessed and wonderful Easter ever! If you have prayer requests, please call or contact us, and we will do what we can for you! Leave your comments at the bottom of this post, and come to see us here often!

In Christ,

Rev. Joe Comer

(Cross-posted on www.sgtstryker.com, and on http://www.legendgames.net/showstory.asp?page=blognews/stories/RE0000021.txt,)

Easter: The Time of Renewal and New Life!

2005-03-25T22:08:00.000-05:00

Today is celebrated throughout the world as Good Friday, traditionally commemorating the day that Jesus of Nazareth died on the cross of Calvary. There are some 2,000 years of fact, fiction, myth, truth, and tradition, wrapped up in the Easter season. We owe a debt of deep gratitude to a lot of people for spending their entire lives in the saintly work of preservation, lives lived in the shadow of the Cross, under direction of the Holy Spirit, writing, copying, and meticulously checking, then re-checking and cross-checking to see that they had accurately brought forward the greatest story ever told; the story of our redemption by the Blood of Christ Jesus.

On that distant Good Friday, in the murky past 2,000 years ago, there were three crosses - execution devices - raised on the hillside outside the city of Jerusalem, the capital of a restless, unruly Roman province known as Judea. Governing this province was at the time the responsibility of one Pontius Pilate, a no-nonsense governor who was probably tired of the unrest in this dusty little town so far removed from Rome. Pilate, by all accounts, tried to be fair, but the Roman idea of "fair" was quite different from our modern ideas on the subject. This time, the quite unwelcome cry of "sedition" had been raised, and Pilate did not want to get a reputation for allowing such a thing on his watch. Thus it was, that after trial, this Jesus of Nazareth was to hang with two thieves who had already been convicted and sentenced to death.

Jesus, we are told, was raised in the middle, with one thief on each side of him. I don't believe this was just a coincidence, as God was in control of things on that dark day, as He is in control of things on these dark days in which Terri Schiavo's life hangs in the balance in March of 2005. I mention this case that has so transfixed the people of the world at this Easter season, because of some of the inescapeable parallels, some of the things that have caused so many to think perhaps more deeply this year than in previous years, regarding redemption and our own personal condition of sinfulness before God. Jesus was truly the "man in the middle" on that day, between one thief who would ultimately reject him, and another who found sweet forgiveness for his sins and the reward of the faithful when he submitted his life and soul to Jesus, Lord of all.

Today, as then, Jesus is the man in the middle. He is presented to us by the Bible, God's Word, as the remedy for our own personal sinfulness. The Bible tells us, and we each know this in our hearts, that all have sinned, and that thus, we have fallen short of experiencing God's glory. I know that I have sinned. My heart tells me so. My spirit is convicted of sin by the Holy Spirit of God, and it then becomes my responsibility to ask God for forgiveness. And the Word of God tells me that when I ask, God is faithful to forgive those sins, and place my heart in a right relationship with Him. How wonderful to know that position, to know that the Creator of all things, as unknowable and beyond our comprehension as He is, has chosen to let me - and you - approach Him, and that He knows me personally, and loves me to the extent that He gave His son on the cross to pay the debt of my sins.

How much attention has been paid to the man on the one side of Jesus that day, who rejected Him? Maybe not enough. God allowed him to be placed in this story for a reason: to warn us of the consequences of rejecting Christ. If you look at Luke's gospel, chapter 23, you find this story in detail. The rejecting thief had only one thing on his mind that day - he wanted someone to free him and allow him to go about his life as he had done, without any change to the good, and with no thought for others. "So you're the messiah, are you?", the man scoffed, "prove it by saving yourself - and us too, while you're at it." No sign here of regret for his life of crime, no sign of any desire to change. Just the desire to save his own skin! Of course this man did not believe that Jesus was the son of God, he had no desire to know Him or His kingdom, all he wanted was to continue his own existence. In matter of fact, he was figuratively spitting into the face of God as he hung there dying. Not unlike some other evil men of whom I have heard, who in their throes of death, literally cursed God. I know for sure that I would not like to be there on judgement day to hear the sentence of eternal death pronounced for such men.

Jesus that day hung between two mindsets just as surely as he hung between two men. One mindset is that which rejects him as the saviour, and the mantra of that mindset is that "all roads lead to heaven." The other mindset is reflected in the truth that the Bible tells us, that there is no other name given among men by which we may be saved. In this day when the spiritual is relegated to a minor and diminishing part of our national life, we need to think more about where our mindset is. Do we have a saving faith in Christ, or do we just have the laissez-faire attitude that we'll just see what happens when we die?

Then there was the man on the other side. This man acknowledged his sins, by saying that Jesus was there by no accord of his own, but that he and his accomplice were there justly, dying for their own deeds. Without ceremony, the man called out to Jesus, for salvation. "Remember me when you come into your kingdom," he cried. Jesus' response to him was immediate and complete, "Today you will be with me in paradise," He said, forgiving the man of his sins and imparting to him eternal life in the presence of God. What a great example for us today! We should fall at Jesus' feet, acknowledge our sinfulness before God, and ask for this great and wonderful salvation! From the example here in the Bible, we can see that God forgives immediately, that He welcomes us into His presence, which in itself is paradise. We don't have to beg, plead, cut ourselves, do penance, or in any way provide for our salvation. Just trust in Him, and the deal is done. Jesus is all we need, just having faith in Him is the answer to our need for salvation.

What happened on the first day of the following week, Easter Sunday as we celebrate it, is the subject of my next post. Easter is the most marvelous day of celebration the world has ever known: it is a day commemorating the resurrection of our Lord. Jesus got up, left the tomb empty, and took up His life, just as He laid it down. That is in itself the seal of approval on His sacrifice for our sins. God, in His way, showed His approval of Jesus' sinless life, remarkable death, and His power of salvation, by his resurrection. We will explore that on Sunday

Happy Easter!

Note: This post is cross-posted to Blogger News network, BNN. We invite you to go to www.bloggernews.net, and read the best blogs in the blogosphere!

Urgent Need For All Bloggers!

2005-03-25T15:07:00.000-05:00

A threat to the freedom of bloggers everywhere has emerged, something which was warned about during the 2004 election. By going to http://www.onlinecoalition.com, one can review and sign, if you agree, a letter of petition to the Federal Election Commission, requesting that no regulation be placed on bloggers regarding elections.

During the last election, a lot of information was available to voters, Democrat, Republican, and Independents, through online blogs. This has become the public marketplace of ideas, and from what this writer has seen, it appears that the future of much of the exchange of information lies in the online blog, or weblog. Everyone, no matter how small and seemingly insignificant, can participate in this medium, as witnessed by the entry here of one man, disabled, living from payday to payday, otherwise unknown in the world, but able here to express ideas that may be read and even debated by people far beyond his local circle of friends and family!

We must all, regardless of our political/social/economic status or leaning, come together for the purpose of defending our first amendment rights of free speech as well as the right in American history of a free press. I invite everyone who reads this to go to the website above and sign the letter. I have done it, it only takes a few seconds, and it coulod be very important to your future ability to express your opinion. I might note, I looked over the list of those who have signed, and saw names of both friends and those with whom I have had deep disagreements. I was glad to see them all, as we are all moved by the same desires, just with different ideas of how to get there.

Thank you for reading, please now go to the online coalition and sign up!

Joe Comer
Vidalia, GA

Here We Fly Again!

2005-03-19T22:10:00.000-05:00

Last Tuesday, March 15, I had a doctor's appointment in Columbus, GA, about 140 miles from home. That distance indicated a good trip to fly instead of driving. The weather was good, and it had been a month or so since I had flown, so I reserved the plane, and showed up at the appointed time, preflighted, and off we went. OK, I said "we," but I was by myself. Nurse Jenny didn't want to take the PM off, and a friend I called had to work, so I had no one to share my joy with. The 1.2 hour flight was uneventful, getting on with Atlanta Approach, flight following, and then transferring to Columbus Approach, then CSG tower, and a perfect right-pattern approach to rwy 6. I just love it when I come in with a circling turn and a steep nose-down right to the numbers! Wifey doesn't like those too much, starting with the turn, when she starts saying, "Oh, Jesus, help me Lord," and trying to get out. I don't know where she'd sit. I have taken her up so many times and talked her through approaches and landings, but it still gets her every time!

Anyway, good flight over, and the FBO gave me a ride over to the clinic, with another guy who flew in from Greenville, SC at the same time. Talk about timing! I don't know how his appointment went, but mine could have been better. I have been having a lot of trouble with a foot that I broke a year-and-a-half ago. It still hurts. With this trip, I found out why. It never healed. They did a CT scan, and there it was, big as life, a fracture right in the left ankle! I have an appointment with my attorney, and you can be sure that an orthopedic surgeon who told me it wasn't broken, is going to get his tail sued, right quick. That's another story. Anyway, they're gonna do surgery on 4/8, get it fixed right, and that's gonna take care of the flying for a couple of months.

Since I had such a nice day, and night was coming on fast, I decided to fly on over to Birmingham, Alabama, and spend the night with my son, who pastors Calvary Temple Assembly of God there. I made the necessary phone calls to him and to Nurse Jenny, then fired up the ole Cherokee, and off into the (dark) blue for a short 35-minute flight to EET, the Shelby County Airport, for the RON (remain overnight). We had a nice supper, spent some time with the two upcoming pilots, otherwise known as grandsons #1 and #2. Sorry I couldn't take them flying, but they had school the next morning, and I wanted to get an early start, to get the plane back early. Oh, boy, did I ever have a rude awakening in store!

Early, rooster-early, Wednesday morning. I got up, looked out the back door of Joe's house, and my heart sank. OHHH, NOOO! Fog, low ceilings, and it was pouring rain! No flying this day! The weatherguesser, otherwise known as the flight service station (FSS) forecaster, whom we pilots have to listen to - closely - before attempting any cross-country flight, had nothing but bad news. Ceilings below 700 feet, IFR conditions all over the south, nothing forecast all day for Wednesday. After a few checks during the morning, I gave up, went with Joe, my son, to his office, and helped him with his workload as much as I could during the day. Then back to the house, another nice night with the grandsons, and up early on Thursday morning. OHH NOOO, another IFR day! I looked out the door and thought I was caught in the movie "Groundhog Day," where the same day kept on opening day after day......Clouds, rain, low ceilings, and no forecast improvement! Back to the church with Joe, another day helping out. That evening, Thursday, the TV weatherman was giving out some better news. Clear skies forecast for the next day, and this news gave me such joy......I might get to go home yet! Calls to my wife let me know that I was missed - this made me feel good - and I sure missed her and the dog and the cat.....I missed home!

Waking up early, my body still on Eastern time, I got up and sneaked a peek out the back door, about 5 AM. Stars!! Hallelujah! The sky was completely clear! Great, this was just what I had been waiting for. First I checked the radar. Look at this site here:http://www.aeroplanner.com - it's something you might like to use for future reference..... and a check with the FSS, gave me good news. Well, mostly, anyway. It was clear, but over in Georgia there was a bit of low ceilings and clouds. But there were holes, at least they said so, so off we went to the airport. I opened the cargo door and took out my towel to wipe the moisture off the windows and...wait...what is this?? ICE!! What? It's not moisture, it's ice! I can't fly with ice! The whole airplane is covered with ice, from nose to tail!!! AAUUUGGHH!!

OK, I told Joe to go on with his work, he had an appointment later in the morning, so I told him to leave me at the airport, I'd wait for the sun to come up and melt the ice. An hour later, the FBO guy turned the plane around to finish the melting process, and I took my towel and wiped off all the moisture - the ice was gone now, thank God! I got on with my preflight, I had asked for 5 gallons of gas in the left wing tank when I left the plane here 3 days ago, it was there. I had about 15 gallons in the left wing and 10 in the right wing. Plenty to get home with the proper reserve. So far so good, then down to the end of the runway for runup. All OK, engine good, gauges in the green, but what's this? The DG (Directional Gyro) COMPASS WON'T SLAVE! What next? ARRGGHH, OK. We can fly without the DG. Don't want to, but got no choice here. I ain't gonna get Bobby's plane fixed away from home, especially when I have the GPS and the whiskey compass for references, we're gonna go.

Taking the active, off I went, climbing out nicely, turning east and off for home. It was pretty, nice and clear, but now I had the sun in my face. All through the climbout to 5500 feet, that sun was right in my eyes. No sun visor, I had to hold my arm up and block the sun with my hand for the first hour, until it climbed up over the windscreen. Finally, I could see, Atlanta Approach was providing flight following, and things, except for the DG, were going well. Under me, the occasional "broken" layer at about 2500 began to close up, and 40 miles out, I had to start down, with a layer forming up above me. Now it was necessary to keep my eyes open, to make sure there were holes down there that I could get through, to get under the lowest layer. There. Off to my right, was a nice big hole, and it was about the right distance from VDI, Vidalia, for me to get down. Off I went, the GPS reading about 15 miles at 78 deg, and here I went, breaking out under the layer at about 2300 feet. Then in about 5 minutes I had a visual on the field, and the holes, now above me, closed in for good. I was down now to about 1500, just above pattern altitude, and runway 6 was coming into view. Good, I would make a straight-in to 6, using the rwy 24 ILS back-course for a backup approach. The needles centered, I called my intentions, dumped in first 10 degrees of flaps, then 20, then 25, and in minutes there was this very faint "eek" as the mains touched down. Great! I had done it, a flight that had all the elements, good bad, and ugly. I have to say, when it was over, I was tired, drained, and glad to have gotten on the ground without having had to divert to an alternate. If you want to go flying, I hope your flights all have the same happy endings. Be safe, is my first and loudest admonition. Be safe, and above all, have fun. If it isn't fun, stay out of airplanes, because flying should first of all be fun, and the joy of looking down on God's beautiful green earth is the reward.

God bless, thank you for reading!

Joe Comer

No One Is Destined For Hell. Your Faith Determines Your Destination!

2005-02-28T04:22:00.000-05:00

It was 4 AM when I discovered this article from Michelle Malkin. The NBC show she describes is indeed just one more blasphemy against Christianity. But it must be taken into account that this is against the Roman Catholic faith which is only ONE BRANCH or denomination, of Christianity. We absolutely must base our beliefs on the Bible, in which we find John 3:16-18, which says: For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God did not send his son into the world to condemn it, but to save it. There is no judgement awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only son of God.

Please, Friend, just place your faith in Christ, allow Him to be lord of your life, and He will give you eternal life just as he did the thief who was crucified right next to him. Trust the Word of God, and ONLY the Word of God, for truth, and eternal joy with God's presence is yours!

More on this subject later......

We Need A New Page Title

2005-02-21T21:28:00.000-05:00

I have wrestled over and over again about the title of our blog. I really feel I should change the title of the blog, to make it more reflective of the theme that I'd like to promote, that is, Christianity. The current name reflects what I love to do as a hobby, but who I am and what my passion is, is the Word of God, and the saving love of Jesus Christ. And that is what I want to reflect in the blog name. I think maybe something like "Precious Word." We shall see, real soon.

I hope to begin this week or next making my writing more often. I look at this as a ministry, and as such, I should be putting more time into it. Pray with me about this, as well as about the title.

God Bless, please leave a comment for me, and we shall be seeing you later on down the blogroll!

Joe Comer

WHO IS THIS MAN JESUS?

2005-02-05T11:25:00.000-05:00

In a day and time when different Christian denominations seem to be all over the map regarding this question, it seems to me that the subject should be visited. If for no other reason than to let our readers know where we stand on the Person of Christ, we need to explore who He is, why He came, and what the future holds as regards Jesus and our relationship to Him. Our very future as Christians, and our future as an organization relates to this question, perhaps as no other facet of our life.

Here at Patriot Flyer, we believe the Bible is the Word of God, we believe it to be totally true, inerrant, and complete, without need for addition or modification. As an aside here, we have seen many Christian fellowships lately arguing for changing certain portions of Scripture, certain emphases of creed or mission statement, in order to "update" the Word to fit today's culture. Our immediate and urgent response to this urge is, "STOP!!" Hold on, folks, slam on the brakes, this is the wrong track, and it will lead to a train wreck of momunental proportions! The Word of God is true for all times, including our own. If there is any disparity between the Bible and our culture today, it is the culture, not the Bible, that needs changing! God does not change, nor does his word or His standards for us. So, who is God, and who is Jesus?

In Exodus, (3:14), when Moses wanted to know how to answer when people asked who had sent him to deliver the Israelites from Pharaoh, God answered him from the burning bush, saying, "I AM THE ONE WHO ALWAYS IS." (NLT) Various translations render this, such as King James Version, "I AM THAT I AM," the NIV says, "I AM WHO I AM", and the NASB retains the same wording. However we explore that particular passage, we always find God's description of Himself to be the same: that he exists, that He has always existed without beginning or end, and that there is no one else, on earth or anywhere else in the universe, who can make the same or any even nearly similar statement.

Before we move on to Jesus' statements and His importance to us today, we must make one stop, to show his relationship to His Father. In the gospel of John, it is recorded that Jesus is spending some wonderful quality time with the apostles, when Philip, true to his character, asks Jesus to show them the Father. Jesus' reply, recorded in John 14:9-10, states, "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been with you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'show us the Father?' Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words that I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work."

I love the gospels, the descriptions of Jesus dealing with the disciples, and their reactions to His obvious power over life and death, disease, and even nature. The one story I had in mind when starting out on this blog today is found in three of the four gospels: Matthew 8, Mark 4, and Luke 8. It is the account of the trip from one side of the sea of Galilee to the other, after Jesus had been teaching all day, and was quite tired. He fell asleep in the boat, and while they were enroute, one of those quick, violent storms for which the lake is so famous, started whipping up, tossing the small boat and its occupants all over the place. The waves were raging, wind howling, and the disciples frightened out of their wits. "Wake up!," they screamed over the wind, "Lord, save us! We're all going to drown!" Jesus opened his eyes, looked around, and then addressed his terrified followers. "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" He then got up, rebuked the winds and the waves, and the Bible says in all accounts that it immediately became completely calm.

Now I have spent a good bit of time out on the ocean in small boats. I've been in storms that had me praying hard, and I have some idea of how the disciples felt. It's scary, to say the least! Try getting in that situation, and you'll promise God things that go far beyond anything else you've promised Him! But, when the wind stops, the seas do not stop rolling right away. I have yet to see such a thing happen. And so, I'll bet, are you waiting for such a result.

When Jesus exercised such total control over nature (He is, after all, Nature's God) that probably frightened the disciples even more. Imagine. Even the wind and waves obeyed Him! The Bible passage says that the men were amazed, and they discussed this among themselves, asking, "Who is this man, that even the wind and waves obey him?" We should be asking the same questions today.

Instead of trying to change the Bible and the Church, and instead of trying to "update" our faith to reflect today's culture, we should be returning to Scripture, showing the world that we Christians are followers of one who commanded even the winds and waves of nature, and who was instantly obeyed by nature. Could it be that we should be obeying Him today, as does nature? This is the Jesus whom we follow: Lord of the universe, deliverer of those who seek him, and savior of all of us who go to him for the forgiveness of our sins!

So, what do you think?

Do We Really Have Red And Blue States?

2005-01-27T14:44:00.000-05:00

An article in "THE ATLANTIC" by Jonathan Rauch researched and exposited on the various theories, researches, and questions concerning this issue. Rauch made one very unfortunate comment, that it is better for Christian Conservatives to be part of the political system than to be outside the system bombing abortion clinics. See this at http://www.hughhewitt.com/index.htm#postid1317.

Rauch's comment above is worse than reprehensible, it is completely off base. I know, because I am a conservative Christian. And I've never even remotely considered bombing an abortion clinic or shooting an abortionist, as was the case of a criminal in Pensacola, Florida some years ago. Of course, I am saddened by the abortion of innocent unborn children. As I believe the Father is. God, who gives life to us all, must be greived by our penchant for destruction of His children. But I am a believer, a follower of my Creator, and there is no way I could be in favor of violence to achieve the means of stopping abortion.

Since I am a Christian, a follower of Jesus, who eschewed violence in favor of love, I believe that my reaction to such people as those who murder babies in their mothers' wombs, should be love. As difficult as it is, I must pray for grace, mercy, and love to be rooted in my heart, and that I should work to stop abortion by loving those who are guilty, and convincing them by word and deed that we who love God also love them and care that their actions separate them from the love of God. Our focus, those of us who are Christians, is to bring people out of darkness and into light, through Scripture and sincere caring for the souls who are lost in the darkness of sin.

What about the assumptions that we have red states and blue states? I'm sorry, but this division of folks in the United States goes only so far. We are not a nation divided, but a nation who voted for our preferences on election day. Certainly, many Christians voted for President Bush, but many Christians also voted for John Kerry. I wasn't one of them, but I don't condemn those who so voted, as they are also my brothers and sisters. They just saw things differently, and that is the beauty of our system: you can make your personal choice and no one can fault you for following your heart. The red and blue is merged, even in local communities, as there were voters of both conventions in almost every community in the land. Some who voted for Bush are certainly not Christian, and that also is their personal choice.

So, Jonathan, that is what we Christians are about. We may have voted Republican in the election, and we certainly support the President, but we do not blindly follow him. Should he support a move that is against our convictions, we have no compunction against letting our disappointment be known, and if things were to get so bad that he abandoned our interests altogether, he would no longer have our support. And I'm sure that Kerry supporters would say the same about their champion.

Thus, wherefore the red and blue? Only, I think, in the media, and maybe in the minds of a few. We are Americans, and we all love this land. There is no difference between us so great that we cannot cross the boundary to support one another! And may the unity of our people ever be strong, may the United States of America, blessed by God, ever be the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Joe Comer

How About A Christian Blogger's Conference?

2005-01-27T01:57:00.000-05:00

An exciting new idea surfaced today, a suggestion from Hugh Hewit( www.hughhewitt.com) that we put together a Christian Blogger's Conference. The idea took off right away, and within minutes, it seemed, a church was offered, in Mesa, AZ. Anyone wishing to attend or to help in putting on the conference can get further information from Hugh's website, or from the following: www.smartchristian.com.

What this can do for the spread of the Gospel of Christ is astronomical in scope. Those of us who blog in a Christian manner, for the furtherance of the Kingdom of God, need to be educated in how to work at this exciting new outlet. I am really excited at the prospect of really learning how to blog effectively for the Lord, as this is my only ministry outlet at present. I would just love to attend such a conference, and if it can be organized and if I can get the funds to attend, I will be there with my trusty laptop in tow, praying and listening to learn how to best use this terrific medium for God's purpose.

If you just stopped by, and if you are interested, go to Hewitt's site, sign on, and let them know that you heard it here. Also, please leave a comment with me, so I can know that you visited me here.

God has used the advances of every century since Jesus came to us, for His purposes. It is just so great that we have this method of spreading the Gospel, looking to Jesus, working on the Great Commission of the Church. I am really happy to be even a small part of such a revolutionary move forward with the Word of God.

Thank you for visiting our site, and may God bless, protect, and keep you, is our prayer!

Hang on, I'm coming!

2005-01-16T21:00:00.000-05:00

Since I spent most of last week in ICU, I'm taking a break of a few days.

Watch for my next post on Tuesday, January 18.

Joe

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2005-01-01T01:00:00.000-05:00

AT 12:00 MIDNIGHT ET,

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!

AND MAY GOD BLESS US.....everyone.

Is God Trying to Tell Us Something?

2004-12-29T17:10:00.000-05:00

Only a few days out from the deadly tsunamis that struck several nations in south asia, government and private agencies are still working at getting their resources into high gear. The damage, destruction, and death are of such magnitude that it will take years, not months, to recover from the devastation.

A couple of websites contain videos of the tsunamis striking in several places. Here they are, I invite you to visit them and see for yourself how chilling and frightening this was.

http://jlgolson.blogspot.com/2004/12/tsunami-videos.html

http://believeinmagic.blogspot.com

We all need to pray for the victims of this disaster, that God will have mercy on the survivors, and pray for the rescuers, that they will be safe and that God will protect them.

And, in a world so filled with hate, violence, sin, and human degeneration, we DO need to ask the question, "Is God trying to tell us something?" Remember, it is recorded in the Old Testament that God brought a great flood on a world that had sunk into terrible depravity. It could easily be argued that we find ourselves in such a world today. I have to wonder, when I realize that a vast majority of people killed and left destitute in the tsunamis were muslims, who follow a false religion sworn to kill or convert the entire world at the point of the sword of islam. Another large percentage of victims are buddhist, hindu, and other eastern religions.

I realize that my statements here are controversial, but they are meant to engender thought only. My own beliefs are that God sent his son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins, and that Christ Jesus is the only way to eternal life in Heaven. That is what the Bible says, and it is what we should follow today. Again, pray for the victims of this great tragedy.

Come On, It's Christmas!

2004-12-22T07:39:00.000-05:00

When I was growing up, Christmas was celebrated nationwide in America without any of the grumbling, lawsuits, and handwringing we see happening all around us today. All over the country, from California to Maine, from Michigan to Florida, people are sueing local governments, schools are preventing students from having any Christmas displays in the classroom, even to the extent of previewing the lesson plans of Christian teachers to assure that nothing in them mentions the real reason for the Christmas season; not even the word "Christmas".

Again, when I was a kid, in the 1950's, none of this ridiculous panoply of idiocy existed. In fact, we had great Christmas parties and exchanged gifts at school!(Gasp!). OK, I confess: we sang Christmas carols, praised the coming of the Christ child, and at school we even put on terrific, Christ-centered Christmas pageants! None of the idiotic "Winter Carnivals" that the so-called culture-watch experts present in public schools today. None of the hand-wringing searches of policy manuals to eliminate any reference to Jesus or Magi, or a manger. What under God's Heaven is going on? Where is the free expression of Christian symbolism that once was a normal part of life in this country? Why are other religions free to present their views when the Christian message is expressly banned from the public arena? What is behind this seemingly powerful move to suppress any expression of Christian faith?

When I was a child, I never heard of muslims or ramadan, no one forced American school children to dress in arabian costumes, eat arabian food, and study the koran, as some California districts have done recently, and this "Kwanzaa" thing did not even exist. We were taught that our country, the greatest nation on the planet, was a Christian nation. We were taught, truthfully, too, that we were blessed to live in a free, open Christian nation, one that stood as a bulwark against communism and atheism. As children we were taught that our faith was superior to faithless athiesm, and when Christmas came around, no one was so timid as to ban any celebration of the birthday of our Lord and Saviour. Instead of dreading the necessity of fighting for our rights as Christians, we looked forward to Christmas, anticipating a free and joyous season of gift-giving and singing of beautiful Christmas carols.

Come on, America, it's Christmas! Let's forget the naysayers, let's ignore the ACLU and those who threaten to sue us or to bury us, let's go ahead and celebrate the season with Christmas carols, Christmas trees, Christmas parties, colored lights, Christmas cards, Christmas presents, and all of the rich traditions that we have inherited from our forbears! But let us not forget the reason we celebrate this wonderful season. Let us remember the Christ child, born in Bethlehem, and laid in a manger. Let us remember that we are sinners in need of a saviour, and that Jesus came, God's only Son, to die on a cruel Roman cross, the only acceptable sacrifice for our sins.

Come on, it's Christmas! If you don't know Jesus, you can find Him right now, by opening your heart and asking for forgiveness of sin. He will answer your prayer; your salvation from sin has already been provided by His sacrifice on the cross of calvary.

You will not find a living Mohammed. He died, and he did not rise from the dead.

You will not find a living Buddha. He died, and does not live today.

But Jesus lives today. He died on the cross, was raised on the third day, and is today sitting at the right hand of the Father. He was God and He is God. He is the reason for this season. So, let's celebrate Christmas in 2004 as I did in 1954. God bless you, every one!

With love,

Joe Comer

'Memberin'

2004-12-17T19:22:00.000-05:00

Y'all better cut this one out and wrap it in plastic and put it in the freezer where it'll last a long, long time. It might be worth a right smart hunk of change - maybe as much as ten dollars - when I get to be a famous author and your grandchildren are old and gray. Now I recently submitted this for publication, looking for an invite toward doin' a real honest to goodness column. I really hope I nail this sucker to the barn door here. As things change in this here land o' plenty and home of the brave, it got all over my mind as how somebody oughta start 'memberin' things and folks from bygone years in our little neck o' the woods. All this real brainstormin' started when I looked in that lookin' glass on the outhouse wall and realized that I ain't no spring chicken any more. What a shock when I realized that I was no longer a young kid in Lumber City but an old man in Vidalia! OK, time to move along, now.

Now I'm not all that old, and surely not that smart, but for true I remember things like outhouses, homes with kerosene lamps for light, and I still have on proud display my mama's old flatiron that she used to set in front of the fireplace or on the wood stove in the kitchen. There is just no way my kids, or their kids, can picture in their minds what life was like on a small south

Georgia farm only a few years ago. I really hope I can bring back some of that - the pleasant part anyway - and leave you with some warm, fuzzy thoughts that will last for a couple of minutes at least.

The little ol' neck of the woods I mentioned was, get this: Lumber City and environs. Now back in "the day," Lumber City was sort of a long ways from Toombs County. Especially from places like Vidalia. You see, there wasn't a bridge across the River back then. You either crossed in a boat or you stayed on t'other side. Well, right there on the "other side" - - if you're from Vidalia, that is, were some houses and small farms right there on that far bank of the river. In that area known as "the forks of the river," was a farm on the left (if you're going away from the river ) and that is where we lived. Daddy was always happy to go fishin' right there where the river bridge stands today, and he could catch more fish there in an hour than I can today in a whole day. And I thought he taught me all his tricks??

Well, as I said, right there in the forks of the river where we lived, oh, about some 60 years ago, there was, yep, no bridge, and there warn't no paved roads then, either. When my much-abused memory box (22yrs in the military will do that) kicks in, I 'member that the old clay road was also muddy.And it wasn't just a muddy road, this thing was muddy, narrow, and we found on occasion that it was occupied in really wet seasons by a great big, ugly alligator. I don't know if he found the road mudhole better accomodations or what, but I do remember the alligator. I actually saw the bad-tempered ol' beast with my own eyes, scales, teeth, and all. Real ugly, especially a two year old kid!

Now, one day I guess when it had been especially wet, when folks from around where we lived had forged a trail out and around through the woods to bypass the 'gator hole, my daddy decided he was gonna put a stop to the reign of "Ol' Big Tooth." I remember this day especially because Daddy let me, a little skinny, knockkneed kid, go along with him on this Mission Of Great Import.

Daddy had one of those Ford Model "A" pickup trucks. Of all vehicles of every description, I love that one, unique for its "jiggledy-jiggledy" engine sound. No other truck, or vehicle, ever sounded like that, and I wish I could find one, just to listen to that sound one more time!

Well, Daddy put me in the truck, along with his favorite hunting rifle, and off we went, down the two or so miles to where Old Toothy reigned in his watery domain. One reason I remember this so clearly is that I had been with him a few days earlier when we actually saw the old beast. It scared the daylights out of this little toddler! And on this day, Daddy was gonna get rid of him, and he let me go with him! I was so excited!

When we got to the huge mudhole, Daddy got his gun and got out of the trusty old Ford. He told me to stay in the truck, but for what reason I can't imagine! You couldn't have dragged me out without tearing off my fingernails! You wouldn't have seen this kid waging war on an old reptile, uh-uh. Not a chance! I was sure that thing would gladly have me for a snack, and my daddy for lunch. I think Daddy got the hint, asw he grinned and started off with his rifle.

Well, I stayed in the truck, and Daddy worked his way through the underbrush until he found a tree to his liking. Then, to my astonishment, he slung the gun over his shoulder and shinnied right up the tree! Now I had no idea why, but today my best guess is that Daddy had a better chance to get the gator from a perch up in the tree.

We sat there for some time, I have no idea how long, and I heard a few shots, two, three, I don't know how many. Daddy eventually came down, we started for home, and I queried him for the score. Nope, he didn't get the gator, as much as knew. But, you know, I never heard of that alligator again.

Well, the gator didn't have us for lunch, we didn't have any gator tail for supper, and we never saw the gator again. He was a whopper of a gator, and the mudhole was really big. If you'd been around these parts some 60 years ago or so - you just might have known about the big ol' monster gator. The mudhole was still there in 1950 when we moved into Lumber City from our old farmhouse that, for what reason I never knew, was called the "old Bridges place." Many years after we grew up, and I graduated from Lumber City High School, the old dirt road was paved and a bridge was put across the river there at the forks of the Ocmulgee and the Oconee rivers. A small community exists today on the north side of the river, but I can't find the old flowing well where our house was located. The Bridges Place is gone, but the culvert where our lane was is still there - I guess I'm the only person alive who knows about that. I can still find the remains of the old creek where I nearly got done in by a big rattlesnake, and I can tell you right where the mudhole was - - but I definitely can't tell you what happened to the old gator that terrorized a whole neighborhood!

What's really sad is that every single house I lived in as a kid has been torn down. Progress is wonderful, but it has left me homeless! If I could ever find my way into the Twilight Zone I might be able to find one of my old homes. I don't know if that speaks to the kind of houses I lived in, or if it has something to do with how old I am these days.

Thanks for coming along for the ride, I hope it wasn't too bumpy!

Joe

One For The Homeboys!

2004-12-15T18:58:00.000-05:00

Three strangers strike up a conversation in the airport passenger lounge in Bozeman, Montana while awaiting their respective flights. One is an American Indian passing through from Lame Deer. Another is a cowboy on his way to Billings for a livestock show. The third is a fundamentalist Arab student, newly arrived at Montana State University from his home in the Middle East.

Their discussion drifts to their diverse cultures. Soon, the Westerners learn that the Arab is a devout radical muslim and the conversation falls into an uneasy lull. The cowboy leans back in his chair, crosses his boots on the magazine table and tips his big sweat-stained hat forward o ver his face. The wind outside is blowing tumbleweeds around, and the old windsock is flapping, but no plane comes.

Finally, the American Indian clears his throat and softly he speaks. "At one time my people were many, but sadly now we are few.

The muslim student raises an eyebrow and leans forward. "Once my people were few," he sneers, "But now we are many. Why do you suppose that is?"

The Montana cowboy shifts his toothpick to one side of his mouth and from the darkness beneath his Stetson says in a smooth drawl. "Thats because we ain't played cowboys and muslims yet, but I do believe it's a-comin'."

From Michelle Thrower, forwarded to me by my daughter Sheryl. Our thanks to both!

Joe

Tribute To A Great Leader

2004-12-13T23:51:00.000-05:00

FROM MY CHECKERED PAST #1

A number of years ago, I was assigned to SAC, the Strategic Air Command of the US Air Force, the owning agency of the heavy bomber fleet and the inflicts air refueling tankers, including the older piston-driven KC-97, and later the wonderful KC-135 jet tanker. For those who are not familiar with aircraft, the KC 135 was derived from Boeing -80 and was the prototype of the Boeing 707, introduced in 1955, and still flying today. I think the oldest tankers I worked on were 1956 models, and the newest, 1962.

There is a story which I have heard an awful lot of times, which has been sworn to be true. This story relates to the late General Curtis E. LeMay, the legendary commander of SAC, and later Chief of Staff of the Air Force. SAC was headquartered at Offutt AFB, Nebraska, one of the most secure bases in the country. Flightline access at all Air Force bases is restricted to those with the proper restricted area badge, and entry control points are manned by enlisted security policemen. It is said that on one occasion General LeMay went barreling through the checkpoint on OAFB's flightline in his staff car without stopping for the security man on duty, whereupon the airman promptly drew his sidearm and put one round neatly through the right side of the rear window of the staff car. Slamming on the brakes, Lemay screeched to a stop. Ramming the car into reverse gear, he roared back to the entry point, where the young airman was by now standing stiffly at attention, having belatedly noticed the rank plate bearing four stars on the back of the car.

The general leaped from the car and began to berate the man for missing his target. "S-s-sir," the airman began shakily, "I-I didn't miss. I-I-If you look at the motor pool decal on the back window you will s-s-see the hole in the center of the "O" in "Offutt AFB."

As LeMay went over and placed his finger in the bullet hole, he spoke again, "Son, where you from?" he asked. "And stand at ease."

"T-T-Tennes-s-ssee," the airman stammered, relaxing his stance only slightly, by now certain that he was in for it.

Looking back at the frightened security policeman, the general stated wryly, "Well, I can believe that. But you better get some practice, you missed the "O" by half an inch." Before climbing back into his car, the general took the airman's name and said, rather matter-of-factly, "By the way, get some new stripes. You're out of uniform."

Puzzled, the airman queried as he quickly inspected his spotless, perfect uniform, "S-s-ir?"

"Yes, sergeant. You're no longer an airman first class, you're a staff sergeant, effective immediately."

The new staff sergeant, overwhelmed by the encounter, saluted smartly as General LeMay whipped the car around and left the flightline, presumably headed for the motor pool and a new rear window.

I've heard this story at bases all over the world, and every one who related it swore that it was true. Having served under General LeMay for eight years, it sounds just like something he may have done. He may have been a gruff, demanding old curmudgeon, but he was fair and he ran a tight ship. When he passed away, I think in 1992, I was honored to have attended his funeral services at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I don't believe he was very much "beloved" by the troops under his command , but General Curtis E. LeMay was one of the most respected leaders to ever command the Air Force or the Strategic Air Command. I have to wonder what he would have done after 9/11.......

Patriot Flyer

2004-12-05T20:14:00.000-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I know it's a bit early, but I'd like to wish everyone who stumbles across my poor little site a very merry Christmas! In the spirit of being more spiritual and more true to my very definite position as a born-again and very serious Christian, I am in the process of developing a few articles for posting that deal with some of the thornier subjects that are causing many somewhat unsure Americans to tear out their "ecclesiastical hair." Give me a little time, and if you pray for me, pray that I do it well and that I do not depart from the truth.

Of course, the holiday, or holy-day, that we celebrate this month is Christmas. Not Winter holiday, or some other such secular celebration. As our nation gets more secular each year, we Americans seem to have so much trouble celebrating Christian, or even Jewish, holidays. That should not be, and it doesn't have to be. We can be big boys and girls, and we can celebrate holy holidays just as we always have. The Constitution does not prevent this, it guarantees it. Just as nonbelievers have the constitutional right NOT to celebrate Christmas, we have the right to our celebrations, complete with Christmas carols. If anyone is "offended," I'm sorry, but nothing in the constitution guarantees any one of us that we will have lives free from offense. Get over it. So come on, have a great Christmas, and enjoy the season!

The reason for the season, as has been said so many times, is Jesus. We celebrate His birth, and the gift of our Heavenly Father to all of us who so desperately needed a Saviour, with gifts between each other, songs praising God, and great fanfare. As we continue our celebrations this year, let's keep our eyes on the reason for our celebration - Jesus! And let's all give thanks that God did send His Son to be the sacrifice for our sins!

Merry Christmas!

Joe

How NOT to Have A Good Day Flying!

2004-11-29T14:52:00.000-05:00

Take a day with great weather, unlimited visibility and boredom at home. Add one airplane, stir in two people, and you have a recipe for a fun day.

Sunday, we didn't make it to church, and as the afternoon wore on, I had the great idea that we should go flying. Should have known that I'd pay. We live about 100 miles from the coast, so I had the idea to fly down to Brunswick, land at St. Simons Island (SSI), have a soft drink, and then fly along the beach a little, just to break up the monotony.

The trusty old cherokee started up and after a good preflight runup, we were on our way. Everything was turning out just as planned. Landed at SSI, took a pit stop, got something to drink, and then after relaxing a few minutes, watched a jet take off, and we got airborne again. The flight along Jekyll Island and around the seacoast was marvelous, just pure fun. Headed back just as the sun dipped below the horizon and a great big moon hoisted itself over the ocean to the east. The airplane was running great, it trimmed out just right, only taking slight pressure from one finger on the wheel to keep it on course. Lights were coming on down below, giving us another pretty sight. Flight following was established with JAX Center, and we struck out for home.

Made a simulated ILS approach that ended with one of the slickest landings I've ever made, just barely greasing it on, and started the taxi in. Here's where it got a bit dicey: They had moved our airplane to a new hangar, around back, where taxiways were dark and unmarked. I did all right, taking it slow and trying to feel my way in, aggravated by the lights on the hangar roofs that blinded me, and then it happened: An unexpected turn to the right, a bumpy, jostling stop as the right wing bit into the ground and the plane came to a grinding stop! My heart just stopped, Jenny screamed, as I shut it down and we jumped out. Oh, dear Lord! I had run off the taxiway and the right main gear had fetched up on some rocks in a drainage ditch! It was stuck hard, and the right wing tip was lying on the ground, but there didn't seem to be any damage, which was a relief of sorts, in spite of my heart rate being somewhere toward 250.

The only thing to do was to go home, get my towrope, and try to haul it out backwards. OK, I needed to call my partner in the plane and reluctantly tell him what had happened. He sounded upset, said he'd meet me in a few minutes. Went home, got the rope, and back out to the airport. The rope hooked up to the tail tiedown point, and I started to ease the plane backward, it came right out, and for the first time my heart slowed down and I could breathe again! A thorough inspection confirmed my best hope, there didn't appear to be any damage. Whew! Got by that one, and learned a good lesson. In the dark, when landing lights don't give much illumination, next time take a flashlight and have your passenger shine that thing all over your path so you can see!

I learned about taxiing in the dark from that!

Thanksgiving

2004-11-25T14:58:00.000-05:00

Patriot Flyer

Today, November 25, 2004, we in the United States set aside a day of giving thanks for all the good things in our lives. Our constitution guarantees us as American citizens the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Let me address just these three things.

Life: Not only are we speaking of life in the temporal sense. I give thanks today for eternal life through my Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that we can be sure of our future, and thereby live more fulfilled lives in the present through knowledge that we have been saved from eternal damnation by the blood of Christ, shed on the cross of calvary. In my reflections today, my thoughts turn to the Word of God, to His Son, and to the promise of life forever without end in God's presence. God has truly blessed me and for that I am deeply thankful.

Liberty: Since the foundation of our nation in 1776, millions of courageous Americans have given their lives, their blood and treasure, defending our freedoms. I am honored to have served among heroes, giving 22 years of my life to defending those freedoms. But compared to those who gave all, my contribution was so insignificant that I am humbled. I indeed give thanks today, for all those who believed in the idea of freedom and gave themselves for it.

Pursuit of happiness: Perhaps the broadest of all our freedoms is the freedom to pursue our own individual happiness, in the manner and in the direction that we so choose. One of the primary reasons, I think, that people from all over the world desire to immigrate to the USA is that innate inner hunger to pursue a dream of their own. May we always be such a nation, such a beacon of hope to the world, as to attract the cold, the hungry, the downtrodden, to our shores.

This is, I know, a small contribution to the thoughts of us all today, but it is my hope that these few words will cause others to pause and to give thanks for what they have and for what they can pursue as Americans.

Joe Comer

Here I Am For All The World To See

2004-11-23T01:45:00.000-05:00

After sixty years on this globe, born with an inner desire to write and to publish, I'm grateful to find and to become part of, the Blogosphere. I hope that the next sixty years will be more productive than the first, and I vow to do my best to make that happen! We'll just call the "before" part my educational phase, and let it go at that.

How did we get here from there, and where is "there"? The last shall be first, so let's start with the beginning. As I sit here today, I'm less than 40 miles from where I got my beginning. I wasn't born here, though. I was born during the fire, thunder, death, and horror of World War II. The story is that my mother was driving down to meet my father, who was in the Army and was stationed at Key West, Florida. A sudden urge to drop a kid came upon her while she was passing through Miami. It was her first child, and it was my distressed and crying face that greeted her on the maternity ward one May morning. Since I was born at around 10:30 AM, maybe I have a natural excuse for my tendency toward sleeping late. I was born that way, I sez.

Well, my mother and her contented baby returned to Georgia, where her sharecropper parents lived out in the sticks. I love taking the shortcut from my present home in Vidalia, Georgia, to Lumber City. (Look it up in the encyclopedia. It's a real town. Pop. about 900). That route takes me by the long-abandoned lane that once led to the old, unpainted house where my earliest fond memories started: How many stories I was told later by Mama and others, and the memories that still lurk in the shadows! I am one of those few blessed, or cursed, by memories that go back to about 6 months of age. Pooh-pooh this all you want, I had those early memories authenticated by parents and other close relatives, just to make sure that I wasn't making them up. One memory, dating from about the age of two, stands out.

We lived about six miles from town, in a big old drafty farmhouse. There were fireplaces for heat(?) on cold winter nights, there was a hand-pumped well on the back porch, Mama had a woodstove for cooking, and there decidedly were NOT any electrically-driven devices of any kind in the house: we didn't have electricity. There was a fenced-in yard, to keep babies in and, hopefully, animals out. A constant worry for my folks was that a rattlesnake would get into the yard and inflict one of us with a deadly bite. It was a real fear, as we lived on what is called an oak ridge. Around our farm were lots of "scrub oaks", small scrawny oak trees, and palmetto bushes. There were also gopher holes, all of which kind of territory seems to be a prime habitat of snakes. Rattlesnakes were and are plentiful in this region, and one would be advised to watch carefully when poking around in the woods here. The house and barn, the smokehouse, and the outhouse (yes, we had one and I remember it all too clearly) are gone today, nothing but pine trees fill the area where we lived and where the corn and tobacco fields once were.

I loved Saturday, when we would pile into the Ford Model A pickup truck and go into town. My little eyes would no doubt shine as us "po folks" roamed about the town. I liked town so much that my little pea-brain hatched a scheme one fine day: I would get on my trusty tricycle and go to town! Yes, this really happened. It was so outlandish that I HAD to be sure of this one, so I verified it with my aunt Lois! Off I went, while the grownups were busy not watching me. Down the lane, and along the unpaved dirt road leading toward town. How did I know which way to go at that age? I have no earthly idea. The whole thought is somewhat scary. A few hundered yards from our lane there was one of those old wooden bridges. This kind of bridge, no longer in existence to my knowledge, was constructed over small creeks, not very long, consisting of planks laid crosswise under runners with the approximate correct distance apart, laid lengthwise over the rest. I made it to the bridge, over it, and got off the road as a car approached. This is where my grand plan fell apart. Adults in a car, especially adults who knew not only me but my parents as well, weren't accounted for in the escape plans. I, along with the tricycle, was taken into custody and returned forthwith to my mother, whose hair, I guess, stood on end as she was apprised of my latest, probably life-threatening, stunt.

In this day and time, when even the shortest moment of not knowing where our kids are provokes alarm, it's difficult to imagine the fright my mother, God rest her soul, must have felt! I remember, though I admit the memories grow a bit fuzzier as the years go by, that my mother snatched me up by the hair (just kidding) and applied the measure of the rod of justice to the end of my bottom. Actually, it was a hairbrush, it was oval-shaped, and it hurt like the dickens! To add "horrifying" to this chilling incident, a few weeks later someone killed a big rattlesnake right where I had pulled off the end of the rickety old bridge! If my mother had been scared before, she must have nearly had a heart attack when this happened! I love this old memory. It is one of the reasons that cause me no end of happiness today when thinking about my childhood. A different world from that of today existed then. It was a world of security - talking about AFTER the war - where kids could play without worrying about abductions, disasters, terrorist attacks, or any of the problems we face today. I grew up in a simpler time, when worry, for adults at least, was confined to our grades in school, whether we got to church on time, or if we got home from playing in time for supper.

Obviously, I grew up and prospered. OK, so my wife sometimes says that I'm childish! Be that as it may, I survived playing in the river, swimming among snakes and sometimes alligators (we didn't know THAT), roaming on our bikes all over town, getting into stuff that intrigued us, like sawmills, cotton gins, and trains, and anything else that our inquisitive minds drove us to. I don't remember any of my childhood friends getting hurt - OK, Charles Lowery had his leg broken when the Church sign, made of concrete blocks, fell over on him (he was a hero for months afterward) - no one drowned when we found and more or less fixed, a boat we found in the treetops after spring floods. There were 18 (or so) of us in my graduating class - 1961 - and it was many years later when we lost the first of our class. It was Thomas Dewey Waldon, a cousin of mine, who passed away of complications from diabetes, the first to go. That hurt so badly. Then, eleven years ago, just after my wife and I returned to Georgia from living in Colorado, Don Livingston, a particularly close friend, had a heart attack and died. That hurt too, as I gathered with others, lifelong friends, family, and former classmates, to bid him goodbye and celebrate his life among us.

People who don't know me would think I was being boastful or that I was lying were I to tell some of the things I've done, the people I've met, the places I've been, or what I want to do in the time left to me. So I won't do that here. I'm not wealthy. In fact, we're right on the edge of poverty, but I'm rich in great memories, rich in that Jenny and I have two wonderful kids who grew up to be successful, well-adjusted adults in their own rights. We live today on my disability (injured while lifting a patient: I am a paramedic) and Jenny's not-enough salary as a nurse. (One of the best nurses in town, and that's a fact.) We don't live "well", by American income standards; I'd love to have my own laptop computer and can't afford it so we jostle each other over computer time, but the important things: Love of God, a close and loving family, so far 40 years of having each other, and so much hope and optimism for the future, those things find us rich beyond measure!

So we start off with my own blog. I hope we can post things that our readers will find entertaining, informative, and truthful. I hope that each of you will come back time and again to find out what's rattling around in my old brain. I hope someone in Journalism reads this and "discovers" me; I would love a new career in professional journalism. And I hope and pray that what I have to say will inspire and compel each of you to better living and much happiness. Do I sound religious? I hope not, because I don't want to come off that way. I am a Christian, in every sense of the word. I have a relationship with Christ, in that He is Lord, and I try to follow Him. I am, though, human, with all the attendant fallibilities, so you will certainly see my mistakes here. Of course, I am forgiven by my Lord, and I hope you'll forgive me too, if I by chance offend or otherwise bring inadvertent distress to you.

God Bless, let's meet here again, and I'll tell you more of my Story. It may even embarrass me, but I hope it won't embarrass you or anyone else! Thank you for listening......