Truth crushed to the earth is truth still . . .: Some Thoughts on the Occasion of My Retirement (in March of 2015)

This week I go on terminal leave from my secular job. Yes, I’m retiring! Forgive me for some personal recollections and reflections.

In my 65 some years of life I have been employed in any number of occupations and/or careers. Those that come to mind are listed below, Some were after school or summer employment in my youth. I’m certain that I’ve missed some:

Electrician’s helper for my granddad, Homestead, FL

Distributor of “handbills” for a funeral home door-to-door. Homestead, FL

Worker at my dad’s used car lot (including an occasional repossession of cars), Homestead, FL

Grandstands & pits Coca-Cola vendor, Florida City Speedway, Florida City, FL

Newspaper delivery boy, Wooster, OH

Employee at Burger Chef, Wooster, OH

Landscaping laborer, Wooster, OH

Stock boy, J.J. Newberry’s Department Store, Wooster, OH

Spot welder at Crown Steel Mfg., Wooster, OH

Production worker, R&D Metals, Kidron, OH

Midshipman, USNR (NROTC at Ohio State University)

Tomato grader at a packing house in Princeton, Florida (I lasted for half of a day)

Worker & supervisor pouring concrete driveways, Homestead, FL

Officer of United States Marines
(2ndLt – Captain | Infantry, Intelligence, Administration | 1^st Division; 2^nd Division; 3^rd Division)

Security Officer, Pinkerton Security, Watertown, WI

House painter, Watertown, WI

Handyman, Watertown, WI

Print shop worker, Bethesda Lutheran Home, Watertown, WI

Warehouse supervisor & purchasing agent Aero Vans, Miami, FL

Bank Teller, Barnett Bank, Homestead, FL

Information Specialist (Web master, graphic editor), Office of Conferences & Institutes, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL

Pastor, Landmark Baptist Church | Administrator, Landmark Baptist School, Homestead, FL and Archer, FL

Knowing what I know now, I would have done some things differently. Of course, in God’s Providence I had to travel the path I traveled to “know the things I now know.”

There are a few things that I think I’ve learned and will pass on for whatever they may be worth.

1. I don’t think that I would ever have gone to college. It is a glorious waste of time and money. I would rather have sat at the feet of “dead men”, reading and studying the books of my forbears and reaping the combined wisdom that they passed on. I realize that some folks might tend to give more heed to a man with a college degree, but some folks are idiots.

2. On a similar note, I never would have gone to Seminary either. What things the Lord has been pleased to teach me are in most cases directly contrary to the things I was “taught” in Seminary. In fact, Seminary drove me to the writings of the Old Saints that I might repudiate the garbage that was being taught in class. So, I guess Seminary did serve some purpose.

The venerable dead are waiting for me in my library

to entertain me and relieve me from the nonsense

of the surviving mortals -- Samuel Davies

3. For “secular” employment I would have cultivated a skill that could be practiced with the minimum of government knowledge and/or interference. Gun smith, carpenter, electrician, etc. The best path may have been farming, as I believe that a return to an Agrarian culture and economy is the last best hope for our land.

4. Most importantly, I would never have joined the empire’s military. Certainly there is a need to protect our folk and property, but there is no protection for true liberty from a large standing national military. We need a return to local militia that truly protect folk and property -- if need be from the standing army of the Empire. (And such a time seems to be fast approaching).

By the Grace of God I shall continue as husband, father, grandfather, pastor of the Lord’s church in Archer and chairman of Free Florida First until the Lord calls me home.

Below is a transcript of a poem that my grandpa kept on his wall. It is now on one of mine.

Lord Keep me working

Lord Keep me working, Keep me fit,
At windows I don't want to sit,
Watching my fellows hurrying by,
Let me stay busy until I die.
Grant me strength and breath and will
Some useful niche in life to fill.
A need to serve, a task to do,
Let me each morning rise anew,
Eager and glad that I can bear,
My portion of the morning's care.

Lord, I don't want to sit about,
Broken and tired and all worn out.
Afraid of wind and rain and cold,
Let me stay busy when I am old.
Although I walk at slower pace,
Still let me meet life face to face.
Let me a garden plant and sow,
Set phlox and peony row and row.
New wood for winter's cozy fire,
And at some useful labor tire.
This is MY PRAYER: As time goes by,
"Lord, Keep Me Busy, ‘Til I Die."

Free Florida First advocates for a Free, Independent, Godly, Prosperous, and Traditionally Southern Florida.