OLE BILL...FROM CHATTANOOGA

"NOR SILVER NOR GOLD HATH OBTAINED
 MY REDEMTION..."



                                  CHATTANOOGA

Ole Bill from Chattanooga
    was one of those dear,
priceless, and interesting fellows
   one happens to meet along
the journey of life--
   I reckon one of his most interesting
traits was his Southern drawl--
   He sounded a lot like the
current La. senator, with his quaint
   observations and philosophies,
ever abundant and ready...a bit droll
    and often humorous!

To some he might now and then
    seem...uncouth...
(I think he liked that!)

He was the only person in life
    I worked with...in two
separate jobs...a number of times
   we roomed together while
attending events...and he always
   had the neatest packed suitcase
ever seen, crosswords folded,
   and rubber-banded, ready to work!

Eating Mexican dinners with him
 was an experience: he'd order
extra bowls of spicy hot salsa
   and eat with a spoon,
as if they were a pudding, until
   sweat would break on
his forehead and lips...

Sometime in his younger life
   he learned carpentry
and he was a master at it!
   He loved people and
they loved him. He never
   met a stranger.
We went on two deer hunting
   trips together. He laid
our kitchen tile once...

He was thirteen years older
   than I, and sadly--he passed
away several years ago

Bill was a dedicated Christian
   and oft was heard singing
his favorite church song:

"Nor silver nor gold hath obtained
     my redemption,
Nor riches of earth could have saved
     my poor soul;
The blood of the cross is my only
     foundation,
The death of the Saviour now make the
    me whole.
I am redeemed, but not with silver,
   I am bought, but not with gold;
Bought with a price--the blood of Jesus,
   Precious price of wealth untold."

Ole Bill from Chattanooga..
     gone but not forgotten.
--------
Mil
24 August 2019