Isn’t it strange that some people will needlessly place themselves in harm’s way merely for the sake of an adrenaline rush? To be honest, I find this a lot stranger at age 66 than I did at 16. As a young man, I often acted as though I were invincible. Fortunately, due to a few hard knocks, and a bit of maturity gained as a result of them, I’ve come to realize that tights, a cape, and an “S” emblazoned on my chest, really isn’t my strong suit. A “Man of Steel” I am not. And yet, there are those who live just to push the envelop of safety and sanity. Often, such foolhardiness ends badly. Allow me to illustrate with a true story:

In 1969, in Pass Christian, Mississippi, a group of people were preparing to have a “hurricane party” in the face of a storm named Camille. Were they ignorant of the dangers? Could they have been overconfident? Did they let their egos and pride influence their decision? We’ll never know.
What we do know is that the wind was howling outside the posh Richelieu Apartments when Police Chief Jerry Peralta pulled up sometime after dark. Facing the beach less than 250 feet from the surf, the apartments were directly in the line of danger. A man with a drink in his hand came out to the second-floor balcony and waved. Peralta yelled up, “You all need to clear out of here as quickly as you can. The storm’s getting worse.” But as others joined the man on the balcony, they just laughed at Peralta’s order to leave. “This is my land,” one of them yelled back. “If you want me off, you’ll have to arrest me.”

Peralta didn’t arrest anyone, but he wasn’t able to persuade them to leave either. He wrote down the names of the next of kin of the twenty or so people who gathered there to party through the storm. They laughed as he took their names. They had been warned, but they had no intention of leaving.
It was 10:15 p.m. when the front wall of the storm came ashore. Scientists clocked Camille’s wind speed at more than 205 miles-per-hour, the strongest on record. Raindrops hit with the force of bullets, and waves off the Gulf Coast crested between twenty-two and twenty-eight feet high.

News reports later showed that the worst damage came at the little settlement of motels, go-go bars, and gambling houses known as Pass Christian, Mississippi, where some twenty people were killed at a hurricane party in the Richelieu Apartments. Nothing was left of that three-story structure but the foundation; the only survivor was a five-year-old boy found clinging to a mattress the following day. 1

If you think the loss of life in this situation was a bit meaningless, I’d have to agree with you. Why were these people so quick to gamble with their safety, and so willing to pit their human frailty against Camille’s ferocity? They wagered their earthly lives on a prideful whim, and lost.

However, what’s even worse than gambling with one’s earthly life is gambling with eternal life. God’s Word tells us, “…he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent” (2 Pet. 3:9b—NLT). But while salvation is offered freely to those who put their faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work on Calvary, one must be willing to turn from their sin and turn to Jesus in full commitment to Him as the Lord of their life. Through the prophet Ezekiel, God once said, “As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die?” (Ezek. 33:11—NLT). Rather than dying in sin, God says there is an alternative; that being, “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (Isa. 55:6-7—KJV).

A divine storm is coming in which God will judge sin and the sinner who has rejected God’s Son. Jesus Christ is the only Shelter from that storm, for God’s Word tells us, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16—KJV). John went on to say, “And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment” (John 3:36—NLT).

Dear friend, do you know Christ as your personal Savior? Ask Him to forgive you of your sins, and then tell Him that you want Him to be your Lord and Savior. Invite Him into your heart. “For why will ye die?” (Ezek. 33:11c—KJV).
1Christian Values Qs Quarterly, Spring/Summer 1994, p.10

Seadrift Masonic Lodge Number 1098, 4444 4th Street in Seadrift, invites you to an OPEN HOUSE on Sunday, October 23 from 2:00 until 4:00 p.m. The Lodge members will be available to explain all aspects of Masonry, including the Order of Eastern Star (Women’s organization), Rainbow Girls (young ladies organization), the Demolay (young men’s organization), Masons (men’s organization), the York Rite, the Scottish Rite, and the Knights Templar.

If you have questions about Masonry or just curious about it, the Open House will be the place to come. There will be light refreshments available.

For additional information please contact Jim Washek at 361-526-3022 or Raul Guitterez at 210-865-6219.

The Way Christian Fellowship in Seadrift where we don’t go to church, we are the church. We are a grace filled, Spirit lead church family who is walking through life together. Join us Sunday mornings for a service of love, grace and contemporary praise and worship. We meet at the Civic Center on Main St. at 11 am. Pastor David Holley

I predict, given a few variations of the word predict, is an uncommonly common theme in our world. At the present time the news is full of polls about what will happen in early November. The articles in the news are full of why this one or that one will or won’t be the winner.

In addition, every week there are a multitude of predictions about who will win this week’s game. It is important to the sport fan or the gambler. All gambling is a prediction of some sort. The Casinos don’t gamble, the players do. As I look around there I don’t see many laughing. However, if you spell it gambol, I guess horses have fun when they gambol.

The polls use statistics to tell you how a few can tell you what the nation thinks. Don’t get me wrong. In an earlier life I was deeply involved in statistical quality control. I know that stuff works. I also know it only works to a degree. When you are measuring dimensions on a series of parts you can predict the accuracy of the whole lot of the parts by measuring only a few.

Seemingly complicated math methods give you a range of that accuracy. Manufacturers call that the tolerance. If the range of the prediction falls within the acceptable tolerance the entire group of parts being tested are considered good.

The polls have many more problems than the type of statistics described earlier. One of the requirements of poll type of predicting is you have to have a truly random set of people who you ask the questions. The questions themselves have to be unbiased. The math to minimize those problems is order of magnitude more difficult and less accurate.

One of the things that bothers me is that I have rarely been one of the participants of those polls. I have been in a few surveys. Let’s say a company wants to know if I liked something they did for me. The people who did the service have often told me that if they get anything but a “perfect 10” they will be punished in some way. I had to be really mad at what happened to not give a high score. So much for accuracy in that case.

Also, if a poll says that my favorite isn’t winning my first thought is they didn’t ask me. Or the question was something like have you stopped kicking your pet. Sometimes the answer should have been “None of your business”.

This year they say neither of the major candidates are popular. However, the major media seems to like one over the other a lot. But then, when can you trust major media?

Some even say the system is broken. That is to be discovered. It certainly seems to have worked these last 240 or so years. On that basis I don’t think a revolution is in order . . . yet, Sad to say George and Thomas are long dead.

The Calhoun County Republican Party and Club will host a “Republican Candidate Visit” dinner on Monday, October 3, at the Grace Episcopal Parish Hall at the corner of Austin St (Hwy 238) and Guadalupe in Port Lavaca.  Dinner is $10 per person, including drink and dessert.

Dinner will be served from 5:30 – 6:00 p.m.  Candidate visit time will be from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Candidates invited are:  Congressman Blake Farenthold; State Senator Lois Kolkhurst; State Representatives Geanie Morrison and Todd Hunter, District 267 Judge Bobby Bell.

If you are interested in attending, please call Connie Hunt at 361-552-0917 (leave a message). Come, visit with our candidates, enjoy good food and fellowship.