I don't know about you but I almost don't want to talk about an accident as that might be admitting that one is coming. That reminds me of the story about motorcycle riders, either you have been in a wreck or are going to be in one. Are there any exceptions out there? Let me know.
Ok, so here is my first accident: My red Chevy was sitting in front of the Dixie Dog in Shidler, Oklahoma and someone crushed my door. Luckily I was not in the car and because I lived where folks are honest and have integrity, someone came and admitted they had run into my car. What would you do? My second wreck was in Kentucky where I was selling books door to door, thanks to Harold Codding. You see I heard that Harold made over $6000 in one summer selling books and I knew that if Harold could do it, I could. So I called him up and said I wanted to try it. Now I should also tell you about Harold and how he took home a check for over $6000 from that summer job. Harold is and always was the All American Boy whom every mother wanted their daughter to marry. He was kind, thoughtful and good looking and very athletic. So during that summer he went to a local church and asked if there was anyone who would like to rent a room for the summer. This sweet old lady charged him $10 per week and fixed him breakfast and dinner. She fell for his sweet personality like every girl in school. Lucky guy!!! No wonder he came home with so much money.
Back to the story: I was driving in my Pontiac Lemans (big mistake in that I sold that 1963 red Chevy for $300 and bought the 1968 Pontiac, can you imagine what that Chevy would be worth today?) and this county truck was moving very slow and no blinkers were used. So I passed him and just as I did he turned left and caught my back bumper sending me sailing into the ditch which was more than a ditch because I was on the side of one of those smokie mountains and the ditch was very deep. Luckily it was about the end of the summer and I was delivering books to those who ordered them. Did I mention I was in Corbin, Kentucky and Colonel Sanders lived there and I got to meet him right by where I was living? My car was totaled and I was not hurt except for my feelings and pride. The car was laying on its side in the ditch and I crawled out and there were lots of folks trying to help me out. It was a huge crowd. I cannot tell you how many times that day I heard, "it's the bible salesman, is he OK?". God had a plan for me that day. One of the folks that saw my problem told me to come by their house and they would loan me a car to finish out the summer (about 2 weeks). Well, I went to their house and sitting in their driveway was an old late model Chevy. I assumed that was the one but you will not believe what happened. They let me borrow a brand new red Chevy Impala with less than 300 miles on it. On top of that they bought another $80 worth of books and many of their family members purchased as well. There are great people out there, you just need to get to know them.
There is a lot more to this story but it was one of those wonderful experiences that taught me a lot.
So what do you learn in the Osage?
- There are good people everywhere
- Do unto others as you want to be treated?
- Give and give until you can give no more, then gives some more and you will be blessed more than you can every imagine.
