At the Old Ball Game

Kathy and I celebrated our 44^th wedding anniversary the other day with a family get-together in the Metroplex. Our older daughter Brittany, who lives in Baltimore with her husband, John, couldn’t be with us, but our other three kids joined us for a terrific weekend. The first stop was to Abilene early Saturday morning, to meet our younger daughter Erin, and her husband Joseph. Erin drove their car, so Mom and I got to be chauffeured all the way over to the Metroplex and back.

Our son Drew lives in Dallas, so we met him and his girlfriend Reid for lunch. They suggested we go to an upscale food court in downtown Dallas known as “The Exchange.” It’s located in sure-enough Down-Town Big D, in the heart of the AT&T Discovery District. Like any food court at a mall, they had a number of eating places that specialize in fast service, with lots of tables and chairs around the area. What was different was the quality and wide variety of the types of food being offered from the 16 different eateries, serving everything from gourmet burgers and pizza, to Middle Eastern street food and Asian noodles, and from seafood and tacos to soft-serve ice cream topped with your favorite sweet breakfast cereal.

Kathy and I ate at a place called Baboushi. I have been blessed to go to the Middle East twice and really enjoy the food there. We had gyros made with shredded lamb, stuffed in a pita bread pocket, with lettuce, tomatoes, and an amazing sauce. We also shared a side order of falafel – if you’re not familiar with that, think of a hush puppy made of ground chickpeas, fried up nice and crispy and served with tahini (sesame) sauce. It was delicious and reasonably priced. They also had shawarma wraps, made with roasted chicken (think of a really good chicken soft taco), a great salad bar, and many other options.

Drew and Reid were excited to see us and to show us around “their” city. After lunch, we went to a park in downtown there where a giant “street fair” was in progress, with lots of craft booths and food trucks, and people selling all kinds of handmade items. We didn’t buy anything, but it was fun to see all the different kinds of vendors and their wares, and to do a little people-watching. It was also a good spot to “walk off” our lunch and stretch our legs after the ride over there.

Next we went to the Dallas Museum of Art, also downtown. Part of Drew’s contribution to the anniversary trip was to treat us with tickets for a touring exhibit at the museum, featuring jewelry made by the Cartier family of Paris, especially brothers Louis and Jacques. The exhibit focused on the influences that shaped their jewelry creations, especially from the Middle East and India – such incredibly detailed creations of gold with diamonds, turquoise, and gemstones too numerous to count.

We went to our hotel, where our other son Travis was waiting for us – he had driven over and met us there, and we all piled into Erin’s car to go to Globe Life Field and the Rangers game. It was “Michael Young Bobblehead Night” at the ballpark, so we wanted to make sure we got there early enough to get one – he was always one of my favorite Rangers, and he is still the all-time club leader in several categories. It was also induction night for the Rangers Hall of Fame, so we were able to see another all-time favorite Ranger, Ian Kinsler, honored with being named to the team’s HOF, along with the club’s outstanding PR guy, John Blake. Several other favorite Rangers from down through the years also made appearances, either in person or by video, including Jim Sundberg, Pudge Rodriguez, Ferguson Jenkins, Adrian Beltré, and Nolan Ryan, so that was fun. And former President George W. Bush, who was a co-owner of the team several years ago, also sent a video message.

Then it was time for the game. We had good seats, down low in the first deck above left field, just inside the foul pole. Drew and I enjoyed talking strategy as we watched the fielders adjusting their positions, based on the ball and strike counts to each hitter. The Mariners jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, but our boys tied it up, then took the lead for good and won the game, 7-4.

Here’s the whole bunch of us, all decked out in our Rangers gear – (from left) Son-in-law Joseph Santana, daughter Erin Beth, Kathy and myself, son Drew, his girlfriend Reid, and son Travis.

It was a fun trip, and I’m thankful we got to go. More than that, I’m thankful for the love and companionship of family. The scriptures teach that “God sets the lonely in families,” and I’m very thankful for ours.

My One Thing

The late, great Christian singer Rich Mullins once wrote a song about the need to have right priorities. It begins, “Everybody I know says they need just one thing; what they really mean is they need just one thing more.” The song celebrates following Jesus and what it looks like when we make pursuing Him the highest priority of our lives. The title of the song is, “My One Thing.”

In thinking about that song and its title, I did some checking, and discovered that there are five times in the scriptures where the phrase “one thing” is used. It’s instructive, I think, to look at those and see what we can learn from them.

Psalm 27:4 – One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. King David is dealing with powerful and unnamed enemies who are threatening his life in this psalm, yet it opens with “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” He goes on to proclaim his unshakeable faith in the goodness of God and his supreme confidence that God is always with him. And so, for David, his “one thing” is to keep his heart fixed on God, rather than being focused on military power or political intrigue.

Mark 10:21 – Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” This is from Mark’s account of the rich young ruler who came to see Jesus. As we learn from the full story, this young man had scrupulously obeyed the law his entire life, yet he knew something was lacking – a heart that loved God more than things, money, or possessions. If we would truly follow Jesus, we must be willing to sacrifice anything and everything that is in the way of being completely devoted to Him.

Luke 10:41-42 – But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” In this well-known story, Jesus is visiting in the home of His friends Mary and Martha, in the village of Bethany, near Jerusalem. (Their brother Lazarus is not mentioned in this story.) Martha is hard at work in the kitchen, getting everything ready to feed all the guests, when she becomes angry that she is doing it all by herself. When she interrupts Jesus and asks Him to order Mary to help her, Jesus gently reminds her to examine her own priorities. It’s not that wanting to fix a nice meal is bad, but rather that staying fully focused on Jesus is better. For many of us, remembering that must be our “one thing,” especially amid the distractions and the “busy-ness” of our numerous church activities.

John 9:25 – He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” This is from the story about the man who had been born blind and who was healed by Jesus. The religious leaders were going crazy because their hatred for Jesus was so intense, they refused to even acknowledge that a wonderful miracle had occurred. For this man, though, the evidence was overwhelming. As far as he was concerned, this was his “one thing” – recognizing what Jesus had done and responding with gratitude. Those are good questions for each of us: what has Jesus done in my life, and how am I living out my thanksgiving before God and others?

Philippians 3:12- 14 – Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. In this letter from prison, the Apostle Paul reminds his friends in Philippi that they should not spend too much time enjoying past accomplishments or worrying about past failures; instead, they should “keep their eyes on the prize,” and stay focused on the ultimate goal of becoming like Jesus in every way. That should be the true “one thing” for each of us that claims to follow Him.

May God give us the grace to make that our highest priority.

Aviation Movies x5: To the Wild Blue Yonder

Kathy and I saw the new Top Gun: Maverick movie recently at The Grand in Stamford. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it got me to thinking about other classic movies dealing with aviation, planes and pilots. All of these movies listed here were made before there was any such thing as computer-generated effects, so when it looks like the pilots are performing amazing feats of aerial daring-do, they really are.

As always, I’m not saying these are the best films ever made, and it’s certainly not an exhaustive list of aviation movies. And remember this is for “Classics,” which for our purposes applies to movies that are at least 30 years old. Otherwise, I might have to include 2004’s The Aviator with Leonardo Di Caprio and Cate Blanchett, or 2012’s Red Tails with Cuba Gooding, Jr, Terrance Howard, and Michael B. Smith.

But I digress.

5. Top Gun, 1986 – Tom Cruise stars as “Sierra Hotel” naval aviator Pete Mitchell, call sign “Maverick.” He gets sent to the Navy’s elite school for air-to-air combat, learns what it means to be part of a team, struggles with great personal loss, and finds love along the way. Tragically, veteran stunt pilot Art Scholl was killed while filming a flat-spin maneuver for this movie. Also with Anthony Edwards, Kelly McGillis, Meg Ryan, Val Kilmer, and Tom Skerritt, and directed by Tony Scott.

4. The Right Stuff, 1983 – Who’s the best pilot you ever saw? Okay, yes, the book by Tom Wolfe is better, but this is still pretty good. The movie opens with Chuck Yeager (Sam Shepherd) breaking the sound barrier and goes on to cover the development of the American space program, the origins of NASA, and choosing the first seven Mercury astronauts. Also with Scott Glenn, Ed Harris, Dennis Quaid, and Barbara Hershey.

Robert Redford stars in 1975’s The Great Waldo Pepper, one of my favorite movies about planes and pilots.

3. The Great Waldo Pepper, 1975 – Robert Redford stars as a barnstorming pilot in the 1920s, a veteran flyer of World War I, who struggles to find the same honor and chivalry on the ground that he knew in aerial combat. Directed by George Roy Hill, and co-starring Susan Sarandon, Edward Herrmann, Bo Svenson, and Geoffrey Lewis. Most of this movie was filmed in (and above) the Texas Hill Country, and the aerial shots were not filmed in a studio – that really IS Robert Redford out there, climbing out of the cockpit, without a parachute.

2. The Blue Max, 1966 – Young George Peppard plays handsome but obnoxious pilot Lt. Bruno Stachel. Disliked as lower-class and overly ambitious, he tries to gain acceptance among his fellow pilots in the German Air Force of 1918 by earning the “Blue Max,” the highest German medal awarded for aerial combat, given for shooting down 20 enemy planes. Also starring Ursula Andress, Jeremy Kemp, and James Mason. This movie has a number of absolutely amazing aerial sequences.

1. The High and the Mighty, 1954 – Written by aviation writer Ernest K. Gann from his novel, and directed by William Wellman. What does it really mean to be a “pilot,” to push the envelope and test the limits? John Wayne stars as the First Officer on a commercial flight from Honolulu to San Francisco, under airline Captain Robert Stack. Also with Claire Trevor, Paul Fix, and Phil Harris. This movie would become the template for every big disaster picture made in the 60s and 70s, and Robert Stack would parody his character in the 1980 spoof, Airplane! But this is truly a classic.

Five more favorite films about flying –

Wings, 1927 – Winner of the first Academy Award for Best Picture, and the only silent movie ever to win it. Clara Bow, Buddy Rogers, and Gary Cooper star in a great flick about pilots who fall for the same nurse.

Only Angels Have Wings, 1939 – Cary Grant as a pilot trying to run an aerial cargo service in South America and deal with Jean Arthur and Rita Hayworth. Also starring Thomas Mitchell (1939 was a busy year for him!) and directed by Howard Hawks.

The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress, 1944 – A documentary about an actual B-17 bomber successfully completing 25 combat missions over Europe; directed by noted filmmaker William Wyler.

Twelve O’Clock High, 1949 – Gregory Peck as the tough-as-nails commander of a “hard-luck” squadron of B-17s in World War II. This is an awesome story of real leadership. Dean Jagger won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor and Hugh Marlowe co-stars.

The Spirit of St. Louis, 1957 – Jimmy Stewart stars in a docudrama about Charles Lindbergh’s first successful trans-Atlantic flight. Directed by Billy Wilder.

Well, that’s about it, so now please return your seat backs and tray tables to their full upright and locked positions and prepare for landing. And save me some popcorn.

The Regency Bridge

A Sight Worth Seeing – A Site Worth Visiting

Kathy and I were in the mood for a little daytrip recently. We didn’t really have the time (or money!) to go on a long trip, but we just wanted to get away for a few hours and see some different sights. After talking about it, we decided to head south towards Goldthwaite and San Saba, and see the Regency Bridge. It turned out to be a drive worth taking.

You may not be familiar with the Regency Bridge by name, but you have probably seen pictures of it, crossing high above the Colorado River between Mills and San Saba Counties. It’s the one-lane suspension bridge featured on the opening of the TV program Texas Country Reporter, and it was visited by then-Governor George W. Bush when it was dedicated and reopened following repairs in 1997. It has survived long enough to become the last suspension bridge in the state still open to vehicular traffic.

The Regency Bridge is a one-lane, wooden-decked suspension bridge high above the Colorado River between Mills and San Saba Counties. The bridge is 16’ wide, and the main span is 343’ long; the total length with approaches is 403’. It soars about 75’ to 100’ above the river that it crosses.

It is at the intersection of Mills County Road 433 and San Saba County Road 137 (both gravel roads), near the tiny community of Regency (population 25). It’s a little hard to find – there aren’t very many signs pointing the way – but in my opinion, well worth the effort if you enjoy Hill Country-type scenery and interesting Texas history.

Speaking of history – the current bridge is the third to span the Colorado at that location. The first was a traditional truss bridge, built in 1903. It only lasted 21 years – in 1924, a local rancher and his two sons were taking a herd of cattle across the bridge, which collapsed under the combined weight. The father and one son managed to survive, but the man’s nine-year-old son and several head of livestock were killed in the tragedy. There were no state funds available, but it was the only bridge for miles around, so Mills and San Saba Counties went in together and had the bridge rebuilt in 1931. Unfortunately, THAT bridge was lost in a flood in 1936.

Then in 1939, the counties hired the Austin Bridge Company out of Dallas to raise and improve the bridge at a cost of $30,000. They put up two tall welded-steel towers and strung – by hand – hundreds of feet of cabling to make the suspension bridge. The cables are 3.25” in diameter, each consisting of 475 strands of No. 9 galvanized wire, extending 16 feet beyond the bridge abutment towers and secured with tons of concrete. The wooden deck roadway is supported by timber stringers and steel floor beams with steel suspension rods.

To get to the bridge from Goldthwaite, take FM 574 West about 12 miles. Watch the County Road signs and turn off to the left – that’s south – on CR 432. You’ll go about seven or eight miles when you come to a dead end and a T-intersection. TURN LEFT – this is CR 433 – and go maybe a quarter of a mile, and you’ll see the approach to the bridge. Be advised this is a one-lane bridge with traffic coming and going from both sides. If you are approaching the bridge and see a vehicle coming towards you, be sure to stop short enough to allow them to get past you before you drive across. Also, please understand that cellular service is spotty at best, so don’t count on using the Maps app on your phone for navigation help.

When you cross the bridge in your car (and you’ll want to drive slowly to enjoy the magnificent views of the Colorado River), you can hear the rattle and rumble of the timbers as you drive across. And you can actually feel the bridge sway in the wind. Locally, it’s known as “The Swinging Bridge,” and this is why. But to really enjoy the bridge and the scenery, besides driving across, I’d suggest parking under the shade of some nearby live oaks and walking across. Anyone with a fear of heights, and families with young children should probably skip that part.

The Regency Bridge provides gorgeous views overlooking
the Colorado River between Mills and San Saba Counties.

Suspension bridges have several lessons to teach us. For one thing, as my dear friend, former Haskell pastor David Page used to teach: there are many spiritual truths which must be held in suspension against each other, just like the two ends of a suspension bridge – what he used to call “Biblical Tension.” Another lesson is to consider that the individual strands of cable that are used to hold up the bridge are tiny, almost flimsy. Bundle enough of them together, though, and look at the weight they can hold.

It’s an object lesson about teamwork and about the good we can accomplish when we work together.