In order to set the stage to tell you about the time my wife "lost it" I'll need to give you a
short autobiography.  My grandfather's Ford was the actual location of my birth, on the
way to the hospital at Rochester New York on an inclement January 26 in 1949.   Many
of the usual childhood experiences were mine, turtles whose shells turn soft and died,
falling from a tree and breaking my arm, making igloos in the snow, and listening to the
Lone Ranger Show on a crystal radio.  My mom and dad divorced around the time I was
ten, which was certainly traumatic, but I do have numerous good memories of summer
trips with my dad, like the time we crossed Lake Ontario and cruised up the St. Lawrence
seaway in the cabin cruiser he bought with his half of the money from selling the house.
It was also my fate, since I was Catholic, to attend catechism classes taught by some of
the meanest nuns ever created in a laboratory.   So when, I told my mom I didn't want to
attend catechism any more she simply agreed.  From that point on Christianity was
simply irrelevant to my life, and  I entered the ranks of the American Heathen.

     After seventh grade my mom, her boyfriend, my older brother, and I moved to Phoenix, a
place I grew to eventually refer to as "the stinking desert."  I finished eighth grade and
went on to graduate from North Phoenix High, flunk out of college, and through a strange
turn of events end up as a U S Marine.  Three years in the corps provided me with plenty
of traumatic events and ample time to consider the spiritual realm.  Thanks to Uncle
Sam's G.I. Bill I was able to return to college, this time graduating with an A- average.
College also introduced me to the Children of God, the Mormons, and Yoga, among
other things.

     Morenci, Arizona is a company-owned copper mining town in Eastern Arizona, where I
found my first teaching job, and my wife, Sally.  I met her as she was moving in and as I
was doing laundry.  We hit it off great right away and within a few months were visiting
the local JP to tie the knot.  One thing that impressed me right away with Sally was her
ability in astrology.  For our first several years together Sally would consult her
astrological charts before every major decision, and she was always right!   Shortly after
marrying we decided we wanted to live the back-to-the-land lifestyle and left Arizona
following  the advice of John Denver in his song "Blow Up Your TV."  (Yes, we still do
not own a TV.)   In a very round-a-bout way we ended up in Tennessee on thirty acres of
land that we bought for forty-two hundred dollars. (Yes, hundred!)  Sally was the first to
land a job so I began work building (single-handedly) our home-in-the-woods.  It was a
warm comfortable home that we heated on 1/2 cord of wood a year, with an electric bill
of seven dollars a month.  About a year later, when Sally became pregnant with Leia I
insisted she quit her job at the chemical factory laboratory, and I landed a job teaching in
Pulaski, Tennessee, the birthplace of the KKK.  After two years, thanks to the Jimmy
Carter economy, I found myself with twenty-two other teachers being laid-off.  However,
I had built a good reputation as a teacher, and shortly before the next school year was
offered a job that I had not applied for, but was essentially created for me, in the
neighboring county in the town of Summertown.

     I know this has taken a long time but now we're at the point where Sally started acting
weird!  I began some night classes in school administration and Sally started attending
tent revivals!  Soon she was wasting gas (Our Honda 600 got 45 mpg!) driving to town
for church!  I felt betrayed!  We had our religion!  What was she doing going to church?
I visited once and was totally put off by all these people trying to look spiritual, singing
so loud and raising their hands in the air!  I would end this!  Sally was really losing it!  I
made a secret call to Sally's sister for her advice, which was to try to spend time with
Sally doing other things;  she was lonely because of my attending night school.   That's
when I became interested in High School Basketball.  And the great part was that the
games were held on Saturday night and lasted quite late, so there was a good chance
Sally would be too tired for church!  But she wasn't, and so I became ever more obstinate
and difficult.  Little did I know that at this time Sally and her mother had both their
churches praying for me.  So I was little prepared for the Holy Spirit "trap" I was about to
get into.

     Our Basketball teams were doing great that year under the coaching of our assistant
principal, Gene McBee.  (Unknown to me both Gene and Ken Hay, our principal, were
faithful Baptists.)  Gene organized a fund-raiser to go towards the purchase of a van for
the team.  The fund-raiser was a ham and bean dinner followed by a concert featuring
some students from our school who were talented bluegrass musicians, and a
contemporary Christian group (What was that?).  Best of all It would run late Saturday
night.  So I finagled (How's that spelled?)  two tickets from Gene and Sally and I picked
out the ham and ate our beans and cornbread.  We were vegetarian.   Then we went to the
school theater for the concert.  The bluegrass was better than I expected!  We'll just stay
for one of those religious songs then leave.  Hey, wait a minute!  This religious music is
different!  There was a young woman playing some of the best drums I'd heard, a young
man turning out some great stuff on an electric piano, and a beautiful young woman
singing.    They were about my age, and they were singing songs I'd never heard before,
about a Savior who loved me so much He came down to my level because I couldn't get
up to His,  with a strong arm He would lift me up and show me what living is.  This was
totally different from the message I had heard as a kid!   So I didn't stay for just one song,
but for all, and in the midst of that concert the Holy Spirit (I didn't know who it was at
the time.)  spoke to my heart and told me to "give my heart to Jesus".   So I surrendered.

     I'll never forget that night!  It was like a thousand pound load was lifted from my
shoulders.  I felt clean and new.  I went up after the concert and told Ken he should have
this group back for the student body.  On the way home, knowing no Christian songs, I
began to sing that old Blood Sweat and Tears song, "You Made Me So Very Happy, I'm
So Glad You Came Into My Life."  Sally looked at me and asked me what had happened
tonight.  She knew.  I told her and she began to weep and praise the Lord.

     That was the beginning of a whole new direction for me.

     To read about what happened next read "Bro. Eddie"

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