Farewell, Mike Cuellar

When I was reading the sports section of the paper this morning I was saddened to read of the passing of Mike Cuellar. He died of stomach cancer at the age of 72. Seeing his name again reminded me of what a great pitcher Cuellar was, and that he was part of the worst trade in the history of the Astros.

Cuellar came to the Astros in 1965, as the team was moving into the Astrodome and became know as the Astros, after their first three seasons as the Colt .45’s. Mike was a left handed pitcher with a truly wicked screwball. I loved to sit in the bleachers in center field next to the tunnel when he pitched, just to watch the ball dance! Cuellar was a 16 game winner for one of the most woeful teams in the league, in those days after the MLB expansion that brought them into the National League.

I the winter of 1968 the Astros traded Mike Cuellar to the Baltimore Orioles for a first baseman named Curt Blefry. I was outraged at the time. And time only confirmed that the trade was worse than any in team history, worse that Joe Morgan going to the Reds, worse than Kenny Lofton for Eddie Taubensee, the absolute worst! By 1970 Blefry proved to be so worthless that he was traded for a washed up Joe Pepitone!

Cuellar went on to help take the Orioles to three World Series appearances and to be a part of a staff that had four 20 game winners in one season. If Mike had been with the Orioles his whole career he would be in the Hall of Fame.

Farewell, Mike Cuellar.

Quitting Too Soon?

In Genesis chapter 18 we have an account of a visit God made to Abraham by the Oaks of Mamre. That's the day that Abraham was told that a year later he and his wife Sarah would have a son, despite the fact that they were well past the age of childbearing. As the visit was ending, God told Abraham that he was about to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah.

There is an interesting dialogue that takes place between Abraham and God beginning in verse 22. Abraham calls on God's righteousness, suggesting that he wouldn't wipe out the silly survey found 50 righteous people within them. God agrees that he will not destroy cities for the sake of 50 righteous. Abraham then asks if he would spare them if they found 45 people who were righteous. God says of his 45 righteous that the cities would not be destroyed. Abraham then appeals to God not to destroy the cities if 40 righteous were found. God agreed. Abraham proceeded, asking that the cities be spared if only 30 righteous were found. Again God agrees. Abraham persists. This time asking that if 20 righteous were found that the cities be spared. And God agreed.

Abraham comes to the end of his admonition and says to God, "Oh let not the Lord be angry and I will speak again but this once. Suppose 10 are found there." And God consents to this request as well, saying "For the sake of 10 I will not destroy it."

The question I want to ask here is "Did Abraham quit praying before God quit answering?"

What Did You Do For Fun On The Weekend, Johnny?

This is the favorite joke I heard at the Get Motivated seminar on Monday. I believe Rudy Giuliani was talking about integrity when he told the story.

A first grade teacher told her class on Friday afternoon to have some fun on the weekend, and to remember what that fun was because on Monday they would each have a turn to tell what they did for fun on the weekend.

When they all assembled in class on Monday morning, the teacher began to ask students what they had done for fun and each one told their story in turn. When she got to Johnny, she asked him what he had done for fun. He said "My father and I went fishing, we caught 75 catfish and each of them weighed 75 pounds." The teacher said, "Johnny, this is not a time for make believe this is a time for telling what you did for fun on the weekend."

Johnny said, "We went fishing, we caught 75 catfish and each weighed 75 pounds." The teacher told Johnny, "now that's just not possible, and I want you to quit telling stories and tell us what he really did this weekend." Johnny repeated his proclamation. In exasperation the teacher said, "Johnny, if I told you on the weekend I was in my yard and a big grizzly bear came into my yard was about to attack me, but a big yellow dog came and grabbed that grizzly bear by the nose and slammed him to the ground on one side and then slammed into the ground on the other side and when he let him go that grizzly bear ran away. Would you believe that, Johnny?"

Johnny said, "Yes Ma'am. That was my yeller dog!"

Get Motivated!

We had a great day today, a bunch of us from the congregation went to a seminar called Get Motivated. It was aimed at business people and entrepreneurs, but I thought anyone would have benefited from hearing the messages from the speakers. The line-up included Sarah Palin, Rick Belluzo (former COO of Microsoft), Rudy Giuliani, Colin Powell, Lou Holtz, and four others.

We heard a lot of things that could make a difference, if we will act rather than just having enjoyed the speakers. My favorite over all was Colin Powell, he stood out among those giants. His practical solutions to problems of life and common sense were very uplifting and inspirational.

The one thing I want to give some thought to was asked by Lou Holtz--"If you were to never make it home again, who would miss you and why?"

Screwtape on Stage!!!!!!

I am not sure I can put into words how impressed I was this afternoon at the stage presentation of Screwtape Letters. Max McLean portrays the demonic Screwtape in this adaptation of the book by C.S. Lewis. The only other character in the play was Karen Wight, who played Toadpipe, a scribe/servant/minion of Screwtape. She never said a word, only made some horrid noises and displayed some repulsive poses, but she was vital to the impact of the play.

McLean was the writer as well as the star of the show, and his work was excellent. He really projected the cunning of the Devil and the passion for his job. And the use of Toadpipe to exhibit his ideas was exceptional. Of course the material he was working from is classic, but the adaptation was first rate. There was very little need to modernize the basic ideas of the book; the truths are still very vivid, even nearly 70 years since they were first penned.

The show was only in Houston for the weekend, and all the seats were sold in a very short time. I am very glad I got to see the production. It will be in Austin next weekend, If you are in that area, go and see it!

Surprise for Phil!!!!!!!!!!

One day while preparing to close our donut shop for the day, my oldest daughter told me she wanted to send a thank you to Jimmy Wynn for the autographed baseball he had given her. She was only four years old and we wanted to nurture in her a spirit of gratitude, so I told her I would write down what she wanted to say, and we would mail it on the way home. I don’t remember the exact words of the note, but she thanked him for the ball and for calling her beautiful. She told him if he ever came to our little town he should come to our shop and she would give him a free donut.

We did not know the actual address, so we just sent the note to Jimmy Wynn, Astrodome, Houston, Texas. I had my doubts it would ever reach the Astros’ star, but I did not tell my little girl. We dropped it in the mailbox on the way home that night.


A few weeks later we went to another game at the Dome. As was usual for us, after the game we went to the loading docks gate, which is where the home team players exited the building. We were waiting at the base of a long ramp, maybe fifteen or twenty yards from those crowding around the door. I saw a boy from the summer league team I coached among the gathering; he was working hard for autographs. He greeted us and asked what we were doing so far back from the action. I told him we were waiting for Jimmy Wynn, so my girl could say hello to her friend. Phil had his doubts that Jimmy Wynn was her friend, and he went back to the door to obtain more signatures.


A little while later Jimmy came through the door. He had a box under one arm and a couple of bats in his other hand. He was walking fast and obviously was not interested in signing a bunch of autographs that night. Phil was trailing him all the way down the ramp, trying to get him to stop, without any luck. As he approached, my daughter called out, “hi Jimmy.”


Wynn walked directly to where I was holding my little one, switching the bats to his other hand so he had an arm free. He said, “Good Evening, Stacey, I received your card. Thank you very much.” He took her from me, kissed her on the lips and proceeded to visit with her about what kind of donut he should get if he came to the shop.

Phil’s jaw bounced off the sidewalk!

Bearing Burdens

I got an email late last night from a long time friend. She had had a day of car trouble. She has also had a hard time finding a job, not to mention a life with health and family issues that seem to plague her. I read the message before I went to bed, but could not think how to reply, so I went to bed to sleep on it. Below is what I wrote to her this morning.

I hope all is better today. Car troubles are a pain in the back side, but usually we can figure out how to deal with them in a relatively short period of time. Some of the other things in life are a lot more difficult to deal with in a way that really fixes the problem. They mostly demand that we take another step today, even if we don't feel like making the effort. Prayer and trust are key elements of coping, but they are often laid by the side of the road so we can carry the load on our own shoulders. Wouldn't we be a lot wiser, and a lot more blessed, if we did it the other way around--lay the burdens down and proceed in prayer and trust?

That's all I've got today, hope it helps a bit!

I love you.