"THE KID & HARLEY WILSON"

Hi folks, this is Two Texas PawPaw. Death is not a pretty sight, especially when it is someone very close to you. The apostle Paul did not write that Christains are not to grieve, but he did write that we do not grieve as if we "have no hope". There should be a lot of room in our theology for feelings of loss and tears, just as there is room for lighthearted, joyous feelings and great laughter. The spirit of God prompts both. 1 Thesalonians 4:13 says---(you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope): My story and poem today deals with the loss of a friend and it's called "The Kid & Harley Wilson", and it goes like this:-----THERE ONCE WAS A KID IN A WEST TEXAS TOWN, WHO LIVED ON KELSEY STREET---AN OLD GRAY HAIRED BLACK MAN AND THE KID, ONE DAY ,WOULD MEET---THE OLD MANS NAME WAS HARLEY WILSON, HE WAS A JOLLY OLD MAN---HIS WIFE HAD DIED A FEW YEARS AGO, AND WENT ON TO THE PROMISE LAND---ONE DAY THE KID WAS WALKING HOME FROM SCHOOL, IT STARTED RAINING REALLY HARD---THE KID WAS IN FRONT OF HARLEY'S HOUSE AND HARLEY WAS STANDING IN THE YARD---HARLEY MOTIONED FOR THE KID TO COME ON AND GET INSIDE OUT OF THE RAIN---AND FROM THAT DAY FORWARD, THE KID'S LIFE WOULD NEVER BE THE SAME---HE VISITED OLD HARLEY EVERYDAY FOR MONTHS, HARLEY ALWAYS HAD COOKIES AND CAKE---SODA POP AND CANDY AND COLD FRIED CHICKEN, AND SOMETIMES A CHOCLATE MILK SHAKE---THEY BECAME THE BEST OF FRIENDS AND TALKED ABOUT ALL KINDS OF THINGS---HE TOLD THE KID STORIES THAT HE KNEW WASN'T TRUE, BUT THE KID WOULD LAUGH JUST THE SAME---ONE DAY THE KID RAN TO HARLEY'S HOUSE, CARS WERE PARKED ALL OVER THE PLACE---THE KID KNEW SOMETHING WAS WRONG, HE COULD TELL BY THE LOOKS ON PEOPLES FACE---HE SLOWLY WALKED UPON THE PORCH AND THEN HE WENT INSIDE---AND THAT'S WHEN HE FOUND OUT, OLD HARLEY WILSON HAD DIED---HARLEY APPARENTLY HAD A HEART ATTACK, WHEN NO ONE WAS AROUND---HE LAYED DOWN ON HIS OLD DIRT FLOOR, AND THAT'S WHERE HARLEY WAS FOUND---THEY BURIED HIM THERE IN THE CEMETERY, AFTER HE PASSED AWAY---AND UNTIL THE KID MOVED FROM THAT TOWN, HE VISITED HARLEY'S GRAVE EVERYDAY---NOT LONG AFTER HARLEY'S UNTIMELY DEATH, A MAN CAME TO SEE THE KID---CARRYING AN OLD WOODEN BOX WITH A PAD LOCK ON THE LID---THE MAN TOLD THE KID THAT HARLEY HAD LEFT THE BOX TO THE KID IN HIS WILL---INSIDE WAS A BUNCH OF HAND WRITTEN POETRY, A JACK KNIFE AND A $10 BILL---NOT A DAY HAS GONE BY THAT HARLEY WILSON WASN'T ON THIS KIDS MIND---HE EVEN WROTE A LITTLE POETRY OF HIS OWN, OVER THE NEXT 60 YEARS OF TIME---HE NEVER FORGOT THINGS THAT HE AND HARLEY SAID AND DID---AND FRIENDS, THIS STORY IS TRUE, I KNOW, BECAUSE...I WAS THAT KID:-----This is Two Texas PawPaw, signing off, and, the good Lord willing and the creeks don't rise, I'll be back tomorrow.