Chris' Christian Blog

June 17, 2020

Captain's Blog

Yes.. I was in a case of mistaken identity. There was a man who lived in a city in another state just across the border from me who was always getting into trouble. His last name was very similar to mine and he had the exact same first name. I saw his mugshot once and it was like looking into a mirror. The sad thing is that our social security numbers were similar as well. They were different by two numbers.

I use to hitchhike everywhere I went. This was back when it was safe to do so. One morning I was hitchhiking through Moundsville WV when a deputy sheriff pulled over. He asked for ID and ran it through and began to prepare to drive away satisfied. Suddenly he stopped, got out of the car with a shotgun levelled on me and told me to hit to pavement face down. He arrested me with me asking what for. He said "Robbery".

He took me to the local jail and held me for fifteen minutes. Then he came in and carrying a picture of my double. He showed it to me, profusely apologizing for arresting me. I told him I understood and was glad he was doing his job. He offered to take me to my destination, which was the next town up the river. It all worked out well.

The last I heard my double was doing some hard time in federal prison. He will not be out for a while and maybe deceased by now. I had run into problems with him before so it was not surprising when I was arrested for him that day. The shotgun I could have done without!

Prompt: "I decided to look for a small stone every day. They are nothing special, yet they are because I am visually aware of my surroundings. I am taking note of things in a way I never did before.
What do you do to make yourself visually aware of your surroundings? Not just notice it but to scrutinize, engage with it even love it."

The primary thing I do to make myself aware of my surroundings is the study about them. Stones are oddities to me. They have been around since the dawn of time and will be around until the end of the planet. I took a geology class, well actually two geology classes and a biology class, and I can say that science is different. I didn't agree with much of it but it was eye-opening, to say the least.

"Prompt: Make a list of the 10 best moments of your life."

1. Birth, though I don't remember it

2. Salvation at age nine

3. Graduation from junior college

4. Opening my RBA and knowing I had graduated from undergraduate school.

5. Being accepted at graduate school.

6. Swearing in as a soldier at the Salvation Army

7. Becoming a local officer at the Salvation Army

8. Being accepted into the MSW program at Marshall University

9. Adopting my son

10. The highlight was being called to minister the gospel of Jesus Christ.

** Image ID #1967567 Unavailable ** Prompt: :Normal: What does normal mean to you? Is it good or bad to be normal?"

Normal fluctuates for different people. Normal for one may be sticking their tongue against a frozen pipe in the wintertime. Normal for another may be never seeing winter time. Normal varies.