"THE OLD RUGGED CROSS" MOST LOVED HYMN OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

Hymnal committees and hymn pollsters tell us that "The Old Rugged Cross" was by far the most-mentioned and most-requested hymn of the Twentieth Century. Actually it is a "gospel song" but we use the word "hymn" in the all-inclusive sense.

Both words and music of the song are ascribed to George Bennard (1873-1958); he was a Methodist evangelist/song leader. He is said to have had assistance on the harmonics of the tune, by Charles H. Gabriel, a noted musician of the time. The song was completed in 1912 and first performed in 1913 by a five voice choir accompanied by a guitar.

As in most gospel songs, this one speaks of the singer's personal experience and feelings, rather than his adoration of God. A "hymn" in the strictest sense of the word is usually more poetic, more stately, and directed toward the Heavenly Father in praise and worship.

TORC has been enormously popular, as we have noted, through all these past decades. It has been recorded by several dozen of the leading entertainers of the time. That is all well and good, but this writer tends to prefer good choral music, and not so much the crooning-type treatment of pop singers. (However, yes I know: "De gustibus non est disputandum") Please note however, that we have included a very nice rendition by Gordon Macrae and Jo Stafford, and also a very worshipful arrangement (listen to all of it) by
Cathedral Methodist Choir. But I am getting ahead....

For the author, the song was not written to become the great success which it in fact did, but in answer to a deep personal need in his own life. Perhaps this is the reason it has meant so much to others as well. He loved the verse in Galatians 6:14, "May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified unto me and I unto the world." (St. Paul)

This hymn is well-known to all my readers so I am quoting the third stanza here:

In the old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine
A wondrous beauty I see;
For 'twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.
So I'll cherish the old rugged cross
'Til my trophies at last I lay down.
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.

It is written that at age 85 George Bennard "exchanged his cross for a crown.". A twelve foot
cross stands in Reed, Michigan, his hometown, and on it a plaque reads: "The Old Rugged
Cross--- Home of George Bennard, Composer of the Beautiful Hymn."
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Jo Stafford/Gordon McCrae:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR3ys-XbJpA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Cathedral Choir of Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN0uv4G9Rug&feature=youtube_gdata_player

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WHAT HAPPENED TO THE RAISINS?

What happened to the raisins...you know, those little snack boxes? We used to get a nice-size
little box---- enough for a good snack, or to dump into your cereal--now the box is half as big.

What happened to the coffee? It is now 11 or 13 ounces.
What happened to the sausage? Now a roll is 12 ounces.
What happened to the tissue rolls?
What happened to the French fries? Now a regular order is 1.75 and YOU DON'T GET MUCH!

What happened to the juevos rancheros at that...GREAT PLACE? A friend told me that they have cut down the amount of food and gone up. Does that sound familiar? Ring any bells?

Most people will pay more, somewhat willingly, but don't cut the quality or amount. Going up always seems to accompany a lesser product, DONTCHAKNOW?

What happened to eggs? Nothing yet...what can you do, a carton of eleven?

Moving on in this uplifting article, whatever happened to help in a store? Sorry,
no clerks. (Heard any "May I help you" lately?)

What happened to COURTESY TO CUSTOMERS?? Like "Thank you for shopping with us,"
or "Come back to see us." (We were taught in high school Marketing to say all those things.)

At a noted Mexican restaurant that serves great food, you pay your check up front. Three times an almost identical thing has happened. This very visible representative of this restaurant took my money and guess who said "thank you?" It was I who did the "thanking," not the cashier. Isn't that strange...but are we surprised?
What happens when you have most any kind of problem whereby you have to call on the phone for service? Not to worry, if you speak fluent Farsi, you will do fine.

If I were manager of a business, I would in no uncertain terms instruct the personnel that good old fashioned friendliness is the name of the game in our establishment. Friendliness like Baldridges had and you can still find at Starbucks.

BUT...back to the RAISINS....I am like Captain Queeg and his strawberries, the raisins totally ticked me off.

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RAT-KILLING, AS A CAREER

Poverty in India is rampant. Some 800 million people live below the "Indian Dream." (India's population is approximately 1,155,347,700 people.)

Also rampant in India are rats. Much of this problem can be ascribed to crowded and unsanitary living conditions. Cities are overrun by rats to the point whereby sizeable crews of rat-killers are employed for night work. Each rat-killer must work hard all night to find and dispatch his quota of 30 rats per night, six nights a week, or he doesn't get his pay.

You see, it's not just a matter of putting in your time--you must deliver, or soon be without a job. After the critters' demises, they are bagged and taken to the designated lab for disease testing.

When there are openings for rat-killing positions, there may be 4000 applicants applying, perhaps 30-40 of them college graduates.

Let's look at an example of a typical exterminator whom we will call "Sam." If he meets his quota, he makes 271.00 dollars a month. He lives in a small 140 square foot hut, with his family of 16 people. They keep their clothes in trash bags and sleep on the floor with one fan to ventilate their domicile. Have you figured out that their hut is 10 feet X 14 feet?

Dear Reader, you say, how could a person who writes about beautiful hymns, etc., write a sordid things about rats? Depressing... Well, walk through this with me...I sorted through a stack of old crosswords out of the Amarillo paper---which my son had brought me. On the reverse side from the crossword was an article on the above subject. I read it, and thought about it...and it got to GNAWING on me.

We should ever remind ourselves that in our time on this earth, we are so incredibly blest...and it just seemed to happen that way. Time to count our blessings that we at times overlook...and be thankful.

(For more in-depth reading, see Google, "India Poverty, Killing Rats in Mumbai, A Job to Die For.").
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