From The Storyteller
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February 11, 2019 Choir
Approximately 100 old guys, who probably don’t even sing in the shower, suddenly (without prompting) begin singing. There is no music, and they sing loud enough so that even the people in the next room can hear them. Who are they? Business men from literally every denomination in Harlingen. Where did it happened? The Wednesday Noon Community Men’s Bible Study. No, the song was not some familiar church hymn. Each week the study opens with a prayer and closes with a prayer. Being the only Methodist preacher attending, occasionally I would be asked to do one or the other. This was the last Wednesday before the summer break, and I was asked to do the closing prayer. Considering this to be the last gathering for a while, I begin my prayer by singing, “Happy trails to you, until we meet again.” Suddenly 100 men joined me singing the next verse of the song, “Happy trails to you, keep smiling on till then.” Then silence. All I could say was, “Thank you” and sat down. A special moment happened, and I was blessed to be there when it did. That song was sung each week by Roy Rogers and Dale Evans at the end of their TV show in the late 1950s. It had been over 50 years since any of these men had even heard the tune, yet out it came. On that day, the men in that room were reconnected to something that had deeply influence their lives. The impact this show had on the lives of these men and their families will never be measured, but their reaction indicated it sure did something. This left me wondering about what the memories of today’s youth will be, 50 years from now. Moral: Things that touch us deeply stay with us for a life time. |