The Rankin File

KOGT’s website announced yesterday:

“What’s going on at the “old Cody’s” near the corner of 16th and I-10? Yes the building is being torn down and land is being cleared.  TxDOT has been in the process of connecting the service road from 16th Street to Bob Hall Rd on both the north and south side of I-10.”

I understand calling it “old Cody’s” but for those of us who voted in the 1972 presidential election it was (and will always be), “Durke’s Burger.” They had great flame broiled burgers, onion rings, chicken and fish dinners, chocolate malts, and best of all, ice cream. Mr. Durke was a really nice guy (he lived close to my cousin in Lowe Addition) and put up with a lot from teenagers who would gather there after church on Sunday night (note: my view of the importance of the Sabbath is higher now than it was then).

The most memorable event that ever happened in that building in the mind of this humble observer was the time when we (the youth group) went from table to table collecting an offering to try to get our youth minister to hop up on a table, beat his chest, and holler like Tarzan. If I remember correctly, about a dollar and half was collected, and lo, and behold, Bro. ___________ did just that. Needless to say, that did not sit well with the powers that be where we went to church (and I still feel a little guilty about egging him on to do that, even after all these years). Needless, to say when I travel to Orange, and pass up that empty lot on 16^th street, I will stop and listen, to see if the echo of that Tarzan yell still can be heard in the breeze rustling through the tallow trees.

It’s that time again. The presidential election is only nineteen days away. To be frank, there are not many positive things that I can say about it, other than place in evidence the fact that our country has survived FDR’s decade long assault on the Constitution, Richard Nixon’s criminal behavior, Bill Clinton’s unseemly actions in the Oval Office and perjury conviction, along with his disbarment, and other Presidential misdeeds down through the years, so my hope is that it can survive four years of Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton.

Where do I fall when it comes to this year’s election? I think I am simply glad that it is a secret ballot. No good choices here.

I have never considered myself a one issue voter. I believe in limited government (the more limited, the better), fiscal responsibility (we haven’t seen that in decades), I look for someone that I can trust to have their finger on the button (haven’t seen that in a while), and it would be nice if the President actually meant that phrase in his oath of office that says that he will do his best to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” I have voted for people who have been further down the continuum on these issues than I would have preferred, but I can live with that, because no candidate if perfect.

However, there is one issue that is a deal-breaker for me: if the candidate supports abortion in any form, he or she will not get my vote. I cannot in good conscience cast a ballot for anyone who is willing to allow the dismemberment and death of another human being, whether they have been born or not. It does not matter if they are fiscal conservatives, if they believe in limited government, or if I can trust them with “the button,” anyone who will not protect the right to life of our weakest and most helpless citizens, cannot be trusted to do the right thing in any other area. So if you consider me narrow minded and rigid, so be it. I can live with that. Life is precious.

Whatever happens, my trust will remain in God, and I will worship Him on His Day, for there is no President who will ever be able to take that away from me.

I noticed on Twitter that today is World Teachers’ Day. Teachers come in all shapes, sizes, and levels of ability. Like any other occupation there are good teachers and bad teachers, and we have all experienced both kinds during the course of our lives. All of us have teachers who made a marked difference in our lives. I have my list: from elementary school, Mrs. Nies; from Jr. High, Mrs. Pinki Riess and Mrs. Matthews; from high school, Mr. Lennie Dauphin; from college, Dr. Ralph Wooster; from seminary, Dr. Tom Nettles and Dr. Curtis Vaughn. Of course, we also have those who robbed the tax payers and had no business being called an educator such as…you really thought I would name names?

There are two requirements of a good teacher. First of all, he (or she) must have a mastery of the material. One can’t “teach” what one doesn’t “know.” However, that is not enough. I once had a geology professor who I am sure knew all there was to know about rock formations, sediments, salt domes, etc. but could never keep any of us awake long enough to pass the information along to us. He was similar to a certain preacher of whom it was said, “could go down deeper, stay down longer, and come up drier than anyone on the face of the earth.”

A teacher must also have the ability to pass on his knowledge to his students. He (or she) must be able to communicate, and pass on his love of learning. The best example of such a teacher in my life as a student was Joseph Lambert, a history professor at Lamar University from the early 1970s until his death approximately twenty years later. There was no doubt that he knew the material, there was no doubt that he loved learning, and there was no doubt that he was able to pass on his love for learning to his students. He actually cared for and related to his students. I discovered this when I took his freshman World Civilization course. I had Spanish the hour before his class and often came in whining about Dr. Smith and the misery she was putting us through. So, lo and behold, when I received my blue book back from him after our first test, he had written all of his comments in Spanish (I later found out he took the time to get Dr. Pineda to translate what he wanted to say into Spanish so he could do that).

After two semesters of World Civ, he impressed me enough that I took him for two semesters of Russian history. He never tried to push his political views on us, or endeavor to become some great “change agent” (I am sure he would have been a great disappointment to John Dewey), he simply taught us the cause and effect of history, and taught us to desire to dig deeper, and go “ad fontes” (to the sources). Oh, by the way, you never came into his class late. If the door was shut, just head back to the Setzer Center and play spades because he wasn’t going to let you in.

So on this day that honors great educators, I tip my hat to one of the best, Joseph Lambert. May your tribe increase!