"Rocky II / '32 In '64: Mays's Greatest Day' / Clint Eastwood is 89"

June is the 40th Anniversary of the movie "ROCKY II," my all-time favorite!!  In this inspirational sequel to "Rocky," the irrepressible Italian Stallion WON the World Championship for the first time and the movie debuted exactly one month after I started my business, "All-Out Carpet Cleaners." I related to the movie VERY much as I also came from poverty and was "fighting my way up" in life.  And just as Rocky got married and then Adrian was expecting their first child in "Rocky II," Beth and I had just wed and SHE got pregnant with our first, soon after. I related to this movie a LOT.

My business began on May 15th, 1979 and "Rocky II" debuted on June 15th.  I get a LOT of flak for admitting how much this movie "got me going" but I don't care, obviously...God used it in my life to motivate me to get "All-Out" off the ground!! ("All-Out" was my THIRD attempt to start a carpet cleaning business and it lasted 35 years, by God's grace!!)



Mays's Greatest Day---Today is also the 55th Anniversary of my favorite baseball player of all-time, Willie Mays, having what *I* call "Mays's Greatest Day." You see, 55 years ago today, 5-31-'64, Willie played both games of a doubleheader against the New York Mets...Game 2 went 23 innings and so Mays played a total of 32 innings that day!! Additionally, Mays had just been named THE FIRST BLACK CAPTAIN OF A MAJOR LEAGUE TEAM IN BASEBALL HISTORY and it was even thought that he might be the first black MANAGER one day!! He had a chance to STILL be hitting .400 as the month of May ended and was on pace to be the one to break the career home run record...meaning he would have had a shot to surpass two venerated WHITE players, Ted Williams (last to hit .400 in a single season) and Babe Ruth (who held the career home run record, at that point.) All of this was in an era when minorities were allowed to PLAY Major League Baseball, but were minimized in subtle ways.

Five years ago I wrote a book (never published) about that day and I've recently RE-READ it, and tweaked it slightly, hoping to self-publish it one day SOON.  It WAS called "Mays's Greatest Day" but I'm now retitling it "32 In '64: Mays's Greatest Day."



Clint Eastwood is 89 Today---Clint is getting OLD.  As I wrote when his last movie came out (see blogs in December of last year), I pray he'll get SAVED.  As with "Rocky" and Mays, I draw SOME inspiration from Clint, and the way he has expanded his talents over the years, even into his 70s and 80s, though he could have "rested on his laurels."  For years, I had a blog site named "CLINTSPIRATIONS" because of how Clint inspired me when "Million Dollar Baby" came out as he turned 75.  But again....Clint Eastwood needs to be SAVED, and it's very, very obvious, in his case!!

"Franklin Graham Boldly Standing for Truth!!"

Franklin Graham recently called for this Sunday to be a special day of prayer for President Trump.  Many, even amongst professing Christians, will oppose him for this, but he is BOLDLY TAKING A STAND and I admire that!!  On May 1st, I wrote here about his MAY "Decision" magazine and now I want to mention the new JUNE issue (pictured above) which I just received. That's Vice President Mike Pence on the cover, by the way...Franklin endorses him, stating that his Christian faith IS genuine.

In the June issue, Franklin (above left, with Pence) exposes the phony "Christians" who think that homosexuality is perfectly compatible with their "Christian faith."  They call it "Progressive Christianity" and say they're part of the "Christian left" but FRANKLIN tells them the truth...it's a "different gospel that is no gospel." The TRUE Gospel doesn't allow us to keep our sins.

Next, the mag takes on 2020 Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg (above), who is openly gay and married to a man, yet actually calls himself a Christian.  This is pretty gutsy of Franklin Graham...LAST month, his magazine correctly identified FORMER President Obama as the ROOT of our present problem with the acceptance of this sin, and now it looks at the FRUIT (no pun intended) of what Obama sowed. Can you believe that an openly gay man will try to get elected in America...while calling himself a CHRISTIAN, no less??  KUDOS TO FRANKLIN FOR CALLING IT WHAT IT IS.

THIS (above) is good reading!!

There is also a great piece (not pictured) on "WHY PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIANITY EMBRACES HOMOSEXUALITY." The political Liberals are trying to hide their sins under a mask of VIRTUE now...let's be informed!!  It's amazing that Franklin takes this stand WHILE preaching the Gospel (just finished a crusade in the Northeast) AND helping folks via Samaritan's Purse constantly.  We need to keep HIM in prayer!!

A timely message from the late BILLY Graham (above.)  The mag uses terms like "Front Lines" and "War" to show how Franklin ACCURATELY sees the situation America is in.  We ARE in a spiritual war...have been for some time now.

Finally, the testimony of the great former Met and Yankee DARRYL STRAWBERRY rounds out the mag on a VERY positive note!!  Franklin Graham, and "Decision" magazine, are both doing a GREAT job boldly standing for truth month-by-month!!

"God Never Forgets to be Gracious!!"

Those who follow Baseball will always associate the name BILL BUCKNER with failure. Buckner, who died yesterday at the age of 69, was infamous for an error in the nationally televised 1986 World Series. This miscue led to the opposing team (the New York Mets) winning that year's Fall Classic, though they were one out away from losing everything. Some attributed Buckner's error to a "Curse" but all it was, in reality, was a flub that made his name BECOME a curse to many who will speak well of him now, only temporarily, because he just passed away, you see.

Despite the fact that Buckner had a GREAT career otherwise (2,700 hits), most news items about his death will always contain a prominent mention of his error somewhere near the beginning of his obituary. And when he's buried, that mention of his error won't be NEAR the beginning, it will BE the beginning of the synopsis of his life. Though I'm a YANKEES fan (and thus NOT a fan of the team Buckner played for in '86, the Red Sox), I say it's really kind of sad the way he's remembered.  It's truly unfair to remember someone's uncharacteristic LAPSE like that, but that's how this cold, cruel world often does things (unfortunately.)

Contrast this with how GOD remembers His children after they've departed!! For example, DAVID lived in Old Testament times and, at one point had a tremendous moral lapse....he committed adultery then had someone murdered to cover it up.  Yet, he truly repented before God after about a year, and, faithful to His own Word, God "remembered his sin no more." For in the NEW Testament. we find that God described David as "The man after his own heart, who will fulfill all of His will"....God looked at the PATTERN of David's godly life, not the aberration...He remembered the REPENTANCE and not the SIN. In His Grace, God didn't even MENTION David's sin as He recounted the tenor of his life, yet what Buckner did wasn't EVEN a sin and yet merciless man remembers it well. How very, very sad!!

They say Buckner had Dementia before he died...maybe HE was then able to forget that ground ball which went between his legs but thankfully GOD never forgets to be gracious and merciful to His own!! David was only ONE example of how God never forgets to be gracious to His children which was mentioned in the Bible. The number of those of us who will praise Him for His amazing grace in Heaven is beyond all human calculation!! WE forget HIM at times, but HE never forgets US and always sees His Work in us, because of Christ. Unlike human beings HE never forgets that we are human, and He never forgets to be gracious when looking over the totality of our lives as His children.

"There Is A Difference!!"

A friend of mine who served posted this meme on Facebook last night. It gives a very helpful, clear distinction between two special days that many have been confused about (myself included) at times.

Note that under each special day, the word "HONORS" starts it off.  Both those who died AND those who served in our military SHOULD be honored!! But as the meme points out, there are two separate days for that.  And while we should ALWAYS have the "If you love your freedom, thank a Vet" mentality, thanking a Veteran you may encounter on MEMORIAL Day may or may not be welcomed. Also, though your intentions would be good, ignorance is never good.

Look around you this weekend, see the freedom you have in this great country...freedom to go where you want, freedom to worship God OPENLY, with others, if you choose to (tomorrow), freedom to enjoy LEISURE on MONDAY. Look around you and remember that freedom ISN'T free....many we may never know died so that we may have it.  And honor those worthy of honor, on the day set aside for that purpose...pray that we may KEEP what they've given their lives for.

I Wish the Culture Would "Get Back"

50 years ago today, the Beatles' song "Get Back" hit #1 in the U.S., where it remained for 5 weeks (according to my "1969" book, which I consult regularly.)  And oh, as I look at our popular culture TODAY, how I wish we could "get back, get back, get back to where we once belonged."  There is such a lack of imagination, creativity and MORALS in today's music, movies and TV shows that it's alarming.

Take television...we have more channels than ever before, but far less CREATIVITY.  The recent remakes and reboots of old shows only "show" how bankrupt TV is...and the new incarnations of old classics only makes me yearn for the originals. A "season," which was once 30 episodes or more, is now often 10-20 episodes...and who needs "Reality TV," anyway?? (If I wanted reality, Lol, I wouldn't even WATCH the Boob Tube...TV is supposed to provide a safe and temporary escape from the pressures of reality!!)  And who wants to see gay people all over TV?? Some do...I don't and I make no apologies for it. I don't think gay people should be mistreated or persecuted, but I don't wish to see their sin glorified, EITHER.  With the exception of "Bull" there is virtually nothing on TV that I find worth watching...I prefer DVDs of the OLD shows.

MOVIES (for the most part) are now boring and predictable, also. (MARVEL movies are the exception, but don't forget, these characters were all created in the 60s even BEFORE "Get Back" was recorded!! They've only made it to the big screen NOW.) And how many movies, even MARVEL movies, are soiled by foul language and ruined by nudity, sex and gratuitous violence today?? I just saw an article online which said that "Midnight Cowboy," a groundbreaking movie that was first released 50 years ago this week, would not be considered so radical today...and given its Homosexual subplot that is NOT a good thing.  ANOTHER writeup has gays mad because Marvel won't bring forth an openly gay character.  Remember, "Groundbreaking" is what's done for BURIALS as well as for BUILDINGS, people.

As for MUSIC, it seems like RAP music has far too much influence, as they've popularized and commercialized the "N' word and lyrics which degrade women...(as if the women singers don't degrade THEMSELVES enough by the outfits they wear and the way they carry themselves!!) The deep, thoughtful lyrics of many in the 60s are GONE for the most part...SAD how it's been dumbed down.

Yes, part of me wants our culture to "Get Back" to the days when things weren't this way, but then I remember, the Beatles NEXT song in '69 after "Get Back" was "The Ballad of John and Yoko" where they used Christ's Name as an expletive.  This marked the first time The Beatles "cursed" on a recording and since then, it's become MAINSTREAM in our popular music.  (Thanks, Beatles.)

Yes, I wish our culture would "Get Back" to its former high standards but until our COUNTRY gets back to GOD, it simply isn't going to happen, and I know that. May God grant America repentance from our sins and maybe THEN perhaps He will bless us with a better culture once again!!

"Shake 'Em Up, Shake 'Em Down"

Recently I've become aware of an UNJUST legal action against a local institution.  It so happens that, Providentially, I have personal knowledge of the situation, and so I've decided to intervene and offer my support to the (wrongly) accused party.  This involves my writing a kind of "character reference" letter and giving supportive testimony in COURT, if this silly complaint even gets that far.

I simply HATE frivolous lawsuits.  I don't think this one WILL get to court once the "sue-r" sees that someone is standing with the "sue-ee"...the suit seems to be of the "Shake 'Em Up, Shake 'Em Down" variety (initiate legal action against a business and hope they'll pay you off out of court so that the matter WON'T get to court, and thus possibly out into the media.  What business or institution needs bad publicity??) In my opinion, these types of suits often wither on the vine when the accused gets credible help from an unexpected source.

Two blogs ago I wrote about my now defunct business, and the "Shake 'Em Up, Shake 'Em Down" scam I'm seeing now reminded me of the TWO times I was sued in my business career. One was in 1982 and once was in 1999.  BOTH were initiated by unscrupulous people, BOTH were bogus and BOTH were short-circuited...but not because I gave them a payout!! I refuse to validate lies by rewarding liars financially!!  Rather, they both came to naught because God was with me, He raised up people to help me and He VINDICATED me against false accusations. That SECOND potential suit was for a million dollars, by the way and put a cloud over our 20th business anniversary. So, even though the legal actions against me didn't cost me financially they DID cost me and yes, I had many sleepless nights and a lot of anger about what was happening. Call me unspiritual if you want, tell me I should have had more faith that God would get me out of this if you'd like, but just don't JUDGE me till you've worked hard in a business only to get unjustly sued by people who DON'T work but want to profit off of YOUR labors!!

          If you are in business and are victimized by a "Shake 'Em Up, Shake 'Em Down" scam you are NOT alone, trust me.  Others HAVE been there, raise your prices if necessary to cover yourself for when (I didn't say "if," I said "when") it might be YOUR turn to get sued if it hasn't happened already.  And when it does, you'll realize in a new way why many choose to work for someone ELSE rather than be the owner.

          If you're someone who INITIATES those scams, shame on you!!  It's sinful, what you're doing.

          And if you see somebody BEING scammed like this and can help them somehow, HELP them...don't just complain about our lawsuit-crazy society, or the high cost of doing business with companies or institutions...high costs OFTEN are necessary for legal fees and insurances BECAUSE of scams like the one I've described.  Do your part.   GET involved.  "Fighting injustice" doesn't always mean OPPOSING institutions or companies or businesses...sometimes it means DEFENDING them.

Anyone who is targeted with "Shake 'Em Up, Shake 'Em Down" NEEDS a little help!!

"Sirhan Sirhan"

50 years ago today, Sirhan Sirhan, the cold-blooded assassin of Sen. Bobby Kennedy, was sentenced to death.  Three years later, 1972, his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment (mind you, he's STILL alive TODAY, and eligible for parole again in a few years!!)

And, in January 1973, the year AFTER Sirhan was spared the death penalty he richly deserved, ABORTION was legalized in this country.

Is there a connection, between the highly publicized cheapening of  a Presidential candidate's life and the cheapening of innocent lives in the womb?? I don't know.  I'm not saying there is.

But I will say that those who plead for the sparing of a cold-blooded murderer's life, while at the same time remaining silent  about innocent babies who are killed by the millions every year in America, have ZERO CREDIBILITY with me.  Zero. 

I'm no Democrat, but the person who killed Bobby Kennedy (a Democrat) like that deserves to have HIS life taken...if for no other reason than to warn others what happens when you do such evil things. Perhaps John Lennon would be alive today if HIS killer saw Sirhan put to death like he should have been.

We'll never know.

But instead of Sirhan being EXECUTED as an EXAMPLE  of how highly we regard the life that was taken, we have to wonder (at least I do) if the example of keeping him alive at taxpayer expense was the "inspiration" for legalizing murdering BABIES as we all...all who were around then...saw human life cheapened.

Sirhan Sirhan....was HE where the scourge of legalized murder began??  Ecclesiastes 8:11 warns us that "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil."

They got it right when they sentenced Sirhan to death 50 years ago today.

But something went WAY wrong because he's still alive, 50 years later.

"Business Blessings"

Mercedes and I watched the EXCELLENT Christian movie "Flywheel" after church yesterday.  Without giving anything away (hopefully), let me say that "Flywheel" was the FIRST Kendricks Brothers movie but it's not as well-known as "Fireproof," Facing the Giants," "Courageous" or "War Room."  And "Flywheel" was about a Christian businessman who, by God's Grace, served the Lord (and his customers) with his business...I'll say no more except SEE IT.

Last week was the 40th anniversary of my now-defunct business's inception  and I was reminded of how God was SO good to me, honoring ME as I honored HIM...both tokens of HIS AMAZING GRACE. 

I wrote the following on May 15th, reflecting on how He gave me insight what to NAME the business, and how His "Business Blessings" were with me for 35 years AFTER that, until I retired 5 years ago.

MAY 15th---It was 40 years ago ***today*** that I thought of the name of my now-defunct business (pictured). See, in those days, most advertising was in the Yellow Pages and I wanted an "A" to get a prominent alphabetical listing. "AARDVARK" was already taken (Lol) so I wracked my brain until I came up with "ALL-OUT."

I remember my JOY as I told Beth, who was pregnant with Jenna at the time...it was as if our first child was given a name, not the business!! I told her about it in that bright orange kitchen that SHE had chosen the color of...that was the very room where I got inspired for my name pick. I loved "ALL-OUT" because it started with "A," it was symmetrical, the hyphen made it UNIQUE and it sounded APROPOS........"ALL-OUT CARPET CLEANING"!!
Wow.

It took me a few years to realize that the "ING" on the end was inaccurate, though.

You see, NO amount of cleanING truly gets the dirt "ALL-OUT" so I changed it, after about 3-4 years, to "All-Out Carpet CleanERS." This way, the "All-Out" described our EFFORTS and not the RESULTS...the PEOPLE doing the work, not the PROCESS. (This, I thought, was even more truthful and that's why the photo shows the name THAT way.)

No one in New Jersey, to my knowledge, ever tried to steal my name while I was in business but when I began to write for trade mags, and mentioned my company name, a few from around the country swiped it. I didn't care...as long as they were far away from my market area "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," Lol!!

***I can't believe it was 40 years ago since that day but I'm thankful that God helped me to PICK it and to work well for THAT name (and ultimately, for the blessed Name of our Lord Jesus Christ) for 35 years.***

As for the Kendrick Brothers, well, THEY have known God's Business Blessings ALSO!!  Their newest movie will debut, Lord Willing, in about 3 months!!  It's called "OVERCOMER" and judging from the trailer, it looks superb.  Check it out...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeeIqkmNjEU

"We Shouldn't Let Ourselves Get Stepped On!!"

This week, my good friend Gene Cilberti released a new, self-published book wherein he personified yours truly as a very noble......ANT. (Check this book, and 15 OTHERS of Gene's works, on Amazon.)

Anyway, in light of the fact that I was the inspiration for "Dante" the Ant in Gene's book, the title of this blog may seem a bit. ....unusual, so let me explain (Lol)!! You may recall my blog of April 30th where I (once again) felt that the local paper who printed my stuff deliberately botched it because I'm a Christian. Three days ago I wrote the paper to say that I quit, and I've received three very nice responses urging me to STAY.  Below is my letter of resignation, followed by the other e-mails....

MY E-MAIL TO EDITOR ON MAY 15th---

Hi, _____

After 5 years (this month) of submitting art / poems to your paper, I thought it's only fair that I should tell you that I'm out and not to expect any more from me in the future.  I do thank you for the times you printed my stuff, but this note to tell you why I'm out in the hopes that it might do you good.  

As you never answered my last inquiry, sent twice, regarding why my last poem's title was botched, you leave me free to draw my own conclusions...and I conclude, with abundant evidence from my own experience and the experience of others, that I am / we are the victims of anti-Christian bias by your paper and that this is the latest manifestation of it.  This bias began a few years ago when you started allowing the Muslim man a full page spread to write errors about Christianity and would not allow myself and others the chance to merely correct the misinformation about us.  There are several examples showing a pattern of bias which I'll not get into, but when I saw my latest poem (which mentioned Jesus) with the title inexcusably botched by you, and the Muslim man's new full-page piece obviously given favoritism and carefully reproduced to reflect what HE wrote (and while you did not answer my e-mails asking why my piece got messed with), well, that's the last straw, _____. Now, no one in their right mind and with a right heart would deny the Muslim man "equal time" but I have personal knowledge of some fellow Christians, who, along with myself have seen that we have been biased against by your paper, while the other gentleman gets favored. And THIS is not right, either.

I could go on and on, but I'll spare you and just say again....I'm out.  And thank you again for 5 years when (MANY times, at least) you printed my stuff "as is" without what appear to be deliberate screw-ups reflective of your paper's bias.

Chet Jelinski

FIRST RESPONSE FROM PUBLISHER, MAY 16th

Chet,

On behalf of ______ Publishing we sincerely apologize for any errors that have been printed in the last few issues. We have been intercepting _____'s emails on her behalf to make sure the paper still went to production. She has been out due to a medical emergency and has been unable to respond to emails. We are sorry for any errors that went to print but assure you it was not due to any bias. We would be happy to reprint your poem that had run with error in the upcoming June Issue.

Thanks

______ Publishing

AFTER I DIDN'T RESPOND, SOMEONE ELSE WROTE ME YESTERDAY...

Dear Chet – I am writing in response to your email to _____ ____ editor at _________ ___. I work at ___ and we layout and print the paper. _____ has been out for 2 months after a serious surgery. That is why she did not answer any inquiry from you at this time. I only had one poem in the paper from you last issue (May) issue and that was the poem about the Waxwing bird. I put it along with other poems together on one page. I’m not sure what exactly was wrong with the poem you mention the title was botched. We are extremely sorry for whatever mistake was made on your poem, but hopefully you will reconsider sending articles in to _____ as she wasn’t able to correct any mistakes to articles last issue as she was and still is recovering from her surgery. Thank you – _____. - ___

AT THIS POINT, I REPLIED AS FOLLOWS (YESTERDAY)...

Thanks _____, 

I will reconsider but just to clarify, the mistake in the title of my poem did not come from me....as I demonstrated in the two e-mails I sent, I had "Eloquent" spelled correctly in my original submission.  In any event, THANK YOU and God Willing, I'll send something next month.

THE FINAL, HAPPY RESPONSE LEADING TO A PEACEFUL RESOLUTION...

Hi we all appreciate your reconsideration. _____ is on the mend after surgery and looking forward to getting back to working on the _________ ___ as soon as she feels up to working again. Sorry for the mistake in the headline, and hopefully your poems will be in the paper once again. Thank you again – _____. - ___.

I'm reprinting all of this because it shows that sometimes when you take a stand, very positive things happen.  I got to make my point and the paper's reps got to SEE it.  I'm going to give it another shot with them, and if I'm given equal treatment, FINE but if the "petty persecution" continues, I'm gone for good with no further explanation, or communication, needed.

Some of us, especially CHRISTIANS, need to start standing up for what's right.  Yes, we're to suffer persecution quietly and without resistance FOR THE GOSPEL'S SAKE but when we see discrimination in POLICY we need to speak up more and not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of.  And Christian WIVES should never think that godly submission to husbands means being a doormat!! NO CHRISTIAN SHOULD BE AN ENABLER OF EVIL, BY THEIR SILENCE. Take it from "Dante" the Ant, Lol....we shouldn't allow ourselves to get stepped on!!

"Too Bad 'Rocketman' is not 'Rifleman,' BUT....."

WARNING: This post may upset some who are FOR Homosexuality and even some (like myself) who are AGAINST Homosexuality.  So be it...I aim to please God, first and foremost and I'm too old to care much what most other people think.

That being said, "ROCKETMAN," the biopic about Elton John, is coming soon...just in time for "Gay Pride Month" (June). The movie WILL be a big hit as the Liberal media pumps up the story of the most famous Homosexual in the world.  In fact, they are ALREADY boosting it!! There are even special edition magazines about "Sir Elton" and the movie. And, I see some slick marketing to make Homosexuality seem "Mainstream"...the promo poster pic for the movie (above) for example shows Elton at DODGER STADIUM (where the All-American sport of BASEBALL is played) and the huge crowd is cheering as if Homosexuality, itself is Apple Pie-ish, like Baseball. This movie is a "commercial" for Homosexuality as much as it is about Elton John and lyricist Bernie Taupin's story....and the movie will be huge.

Of course, it's sad that the world celebrates the sins of "Gayness" and "Pride" (as in "Gay Pride"), but again, like it or not, ready or not here comes the movie (two weeks from today.)  Personally, I wish they'd do a biopic about Chuck Connors, the actor who once actually PLAYED for the Dodgers.  They could call it "RIFLEMAN," after Chuck's most famous TV show.  I'd prefer "Rifleman" to "Rocketman" ANY day!!  But, I digress.

Here's the part that some who are AGAINST Homosexuality won't like....I like Elton John's music, and I have 10-11 of his CDs.  And though I do not approve of his gay and hateful lifestyle*,  I do plan to see the movie.  Lord Willing, I plan to write an honest REVIEW of the movie here in my "Chetitorials" blog and I can't do a review of that kind without seeing it for myself.

So, Lord Willing, my Review will be June 1st...if you choose NOT to see the movie or NOT read what I write, I won't think any less of you...same holds true if you DO read my blog and disagree with what I write.  Either way, "Rocketman" is coming, I am GOING to see it, and write about what I see.

(Just too bad it's not "Rifleman," not "Rocketman"!!) **



* See my previous blog about Elton John, to see why I call him "hateful".....
....http://chetitorial.blogspot.com/2018/12/merry-christmas-maggie-thatcher-example.html



** I love Chuck Connors in his OTHER series, "Branded," also.
Kind of like "The Fugitive" and "The Rifleman" blended into one seies...

"Guest Blogger: My Wife!!"

My wife wrote this amazing piece on her Facebook page last night and I got permission to share!! 



"Our nation is becoming sicker by the minute! Once it comes to a point where there is even discussion about legalizing perversion and pedophilia, we need to stop and ask ourselves if we have one shred of morality left in America. When we vote to teach our children that what's wrong is right and what's right is wrong, we ensure the demise of this nation and guarantee a descent into chaos. When we say "yes" to allowing men who call themselves women ( but remain genetically male as God made them) to participate in all level of women's (genetic women's) sports, we spit in the face of all women who have fought for women's equality in sports. Genetic women will be pushed aside in favor of men with lipstick because they are genetically superior athletes. Women, once again, will face discrimination in sports. 

"In addition, the sharing of restrooms between both genders puts women and children at an increased risk of rape, harassment, and abuse because there will be men who will exploit the situation in both restrooms! (If men were at risk, no one would even consider the sharing of restrooms) And when we try to use government to call the exercising of Christian beliefs (and those of other organized religions) discrimination in order to force participation in practices that run contrary to religious beliefs, we are no longer a free nation. Women especially are insane to believe that these propositions and more are for our benefit and the benefit of society. We will lose many of the rights that we fought for. Men will be pushing us out again. I love people and I have no problem with people exercising their beliefs in a manner that is not harmful to others or society as a whole. But the things being considered for law stand to change the landscape of our society by endangering women and children, destroying the nation's moral fiber and eradicating many gains of the Civil Rights Movement."



What Mercedes wrote was partly inspired by "H.R. 5," to be voted on TODAY.  Pray for our nation!!

To learn more about "H.R. 5," the "Equality Act," and to take action against it, click this link........

https://www.focusonthefamily.com/socialissues/take-action

"Peggy Lipton, My First Crush"

Within the last two hours or so I've learned that Tim Conway (today), Doris Day (yesterday) and (ulp) PEGGY LIPTON (Saturday) have all passed away.  And no, I am NOT going to write another "Famous-People-Die-In-Groups-of-2-or-3-Because-God-Mercifully-Wants-Us-To-think-About-Our-Own-Mortality" blogs!!   Here's why.  A.) You guys don't BELIEVE me (Lol) and   B.) It's a THEORY that I cannot prove from SCRIPTURE.  But what I certainly AM going to write about is the death of PEGGY LIPTON as I remember her from "Mod Squad" 50 years ago.  Of the three of them, news of HER death hit me HARDEST.

At age 14, you see, Peggy Lipton was My First Crush.  She was absolutely LOVELY as the sweet and sensitive Julie Barnes...my teenage Hippie Heart went all a-flutter when I saw her on TV!! I recently bought Season 1 of that show ('68-'69), and when I did, I googled how she looked "today"...she looked pretty good, still!!  The sad thing is I didn't know anything about her, except that she married Quincy Jones, and I didn't LIKE anything about her except for her BEAUTY.

Pretty shallow....but then, I was only 14.

Her "Mod Squad" fellow cast members were good looking GUYS...Clarence Williams III (Linc)  was my main man!! ("Solid"!!)

Which leads me to the SECOND thing I have to say about Peggy Lipton.  I find it ironic to learn that on the day this beautiful woman died, Saturday, I wrote a blog about the LIMITS of "Outward Beauty." Here's a quote from my blog, written of course BEFORE I knew that My First Crush would die that very day...

"............a woman who is PROUD of her outward beauty (or a man who worships it) is not wise.  In 'Morning and Evening' just now, I read Spurgeon's words 'Remember....all the flowers in the world's garden fade by turns, and the day cometh when nothing will be left but black, cold earth.' I'm amazed when even DEAD female movie stars are idolized...do the folks who idolize them realize they are idolizing....dust??"

To read my ENTIRE blog, go here....
.http://chetitorial.blogspot.com/2019/05/outward-beauty-thoughts-for-mothers-day.html

In closing, I don't know what else to say about My First Crush, I really don't.  This being the third day since she passed, it's quite possible that Spurgeon's "black, cold earth" is becoming a tragic reality once again.

So...anyone want some Chetitorializing about why famous people die in groups of two or three??

"Untitled"

Yesterday, Mothers Day, I woke up in an unusual mood.  Because yesterday was Mothers Day AND what would have been the 93rd birthday of my adopted mom, Bea (who died in January), I expected to be a bit sad for my loss.  Instead, I woke up thinking about OTHERS who might be sad on Mothers Day, and wrote this poem about 5 fictional people (but real situations) that might make each of THEM sad.  It turned out to be a blessing from God....I'll explain that later.  First, the POEM which I wrote in "Notes" on my phone yesterday in the wee hours of Sunday morning....

Writing this poem (above), focusing on how OTHERS might be sad on this holiday, was something God used to prime my heart for a special task.  You see, at church, we had a visitor to the Men's Sunday School class I teach.  When it came time for prayer requests this poor man, sobbing, mentioned how his wife of over 40 years had recently passed away and he couldn't stop grieving.  My heart naturally went out to him because I'd lost MY first wife, after 38 years, a few years ago but there was MORE than that...I felt more compassion for him than I ordinarily would have because GOD PRIMED MY HEART FROM THE MOMENT I'D AWAKENED YESTERDAY, TO THINK OF OTHERS, you see.  

And had I been feeling sorry for myself that it was Mothers Day and my adopted mom was dead now, I probably would have felt pretty stupid next to a man who recently lost his WIFE of four decades!!  

I might have felt embarrassment , instead of empathy.  As it turned out, I directed this brother to the man in the church who gave Grief Counseling to ME when I became a widower...but I believe he trusted me to make that recommendation because he could see I really, really felt his pain and it was NOT just that I wanted to push his pain on someone else, having had enough sadness of my own to deal with yesterday.

I didn't know what to title this blog except to say that I thank GOD for the gift of overcoming my native selfishness and self-centeredness yesterday.  It may have robbed me of the blessing of TRULY being able to enter in to the pain of another, and helping him!!  I thank God for the ability to have an "Others-Focus."

"Outward Beauty: Thoughts For Mothers Day"

MOTHERHOOD and BEAUTY are two subjects which have always fascinated me.  In fact, some of my best poems over the years were regarding those very subjects!!  "The Sculptress of Souls," "True Beauty" and "Her Heart Hears" are just a FEW...and from the titles alone, I trust you can get an idea of the "gist" of the poems without me reproducing them here.

     BEAUTY is something that has long been on my mind.  How often have you heard something like this..."A young woman was killed in that crash, what a shame, she was so beautiful"?? I've heard it (or something like it) MANY times in my 64 years and it troubles me.  (I mean, was her life worth MORE because she was outwardly "so beautiful"??  Would it NOT be "a shame" that she was killed were she....PLAIN??  Apparently so, in our super shallow society.)  There is nothing inherently WRONG with outward beauty, mind you...God created it...but it should be the ICING on the cake, not the cake itself.  CHARACTER should be the "cake."

     MOTHERHOOD amazes me because I've  known so many godly women willing to give up their figures, at least temporarily, in order to bear children and I admire them so much because our culture WORSHIPS a "good figure."  And in this decadent society where getting pregnant is now commonly described with the violent term of "getting knocked up," where babies are referred to as "baby bumps" as if they are "Wounds in the Womb" and where many ENCOURAGE abortion by who they vote for, to bear children in America today is a wonderful, almost BRAVE thing.

And maybe that's why MOTHERHOOD and BEAUTY are two of my favorite subjects, poetically speaking...they are so closely connected in my mind, you see.

The pictures above show singer JONI MITCHELL, as she appears today at age 75 and how she appeared 50 years ago.  (Thought they were two different women, right?? Perhaps a mother-daughter?? No, they are the same woman at different ages / different stages of her life.)

When I was about 15, I recall opening up one of Joni's albums at a friend's to read her lyrics and I might as well have opened a Playboy magazine.  There was Joni in her naked beauty, showing off what only her husband should see.  Yes, she was beautiful, but NOT beautiful....Proverbs 11:22 would say she was "as a ring of gold in a swine's snout...a beautiful woman who lacks discretion."  Not to pick on Joni, but she is a prime example of how outward beauty fades and why a woman who is PROUD of her outward beauty (or a man who worships it) is not wise.  In "Morning and Evening" just now, I read Spurgeon's words "Remember....all the flowers in the world's garden fade by turns, and the day cometh when nothing will be left but black, cold earth." I'm amazed when even DEAD female movie stars are idolized...do the folks who idolize them realize they are idolizing....dust??

Contrast this to a godly, modest MOTHER...she surrenders her body not to be SEEN by STRANGERS, but to be LOVED only by her HUSBAND and then INHABITED for nine months by their CHILD.  And the child has an eternal soul which "The Sculptress" helps to shape (hopefully, with her Creator's, and hubby's, help.)

THIS, my friends, is "True Beauty"...and HAPPY MOTHERS DAY tomorrow to all who are so blessed, and who ARE such a beautiful blessing!!

"Howard Stern"

I never listened to Howard Stern, and I know enough about him to know that, unless he really, REALLY changes, I never will.  But I read a news item about him yesterday which interested me.

Seems that two years ago today, Howard had a "health scare" as doctors told him they were 90% certain he had cancer. He thought he was going to die, and examined his life's priorities.  (Apparently, it WASN'T cancer, thankfully, and he's okay now.)

I truly hope that Mr. Stern will CONTINUE to look at his life's priorities, even though he's apparently not dying of cancer...for the truth is, he, and WE, are dying every second we're alive.

And I truly hope he looks BEYOND this life, and realizes the truth of the Bible..."it is appointed unto man once to die, and after this comes the judgment." God's Judgment will be devastating to him if he does not repent WHILE HE'S ALIVE and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of his sins.

I was shocked to read of the amount of money Howard Stern makes, but all of that wealth won't help him "buy off the judge" if he dies without Christ.  Like so many of us, his only hope is that Christ will represent him BEFORE the Judge and plead for him, that he came to BELIEVE in Him and therefore should be spared BECAUSE of His death for sinners who believe.

May Howard TRULY "evolve," TRULY change into one who serves the Lord Jesus Christ now!! And may he one day say it was good for him to have had that health scare, for now he keeps God's Commandments!!

"The SIGNS of a Decaying Culture"

Before I start this blog, let me say that I'm a high school dropout and I make plenty of mistakes with things I write...however, I do THINK about what I put out there and I do CARE to try to do my best.  This "Chetitorial" is about those who DON'T think and DON'T care...not about those who are human and make mistakes like we all do.  Okay, having said that....I live in a set of SEVEN senior citizen Villages ("55 and Over."). When I moved here six years ago, I was glad to get into a community where the residents all grew up in "my" generation...where people were (I thought) a little more moral, a little SMARTER, and a little less lazy than most kids are today. However, I'm learning that our entire CULTURE is decaying, older folks and young...you might say I'm seeing the SIGNS of it all over.

The sign BELOW is a prime example of what I'm talking about (I took this photo last week, here in the Villages.) How do you have a Cinco de Mayo, "May the 5th," celebration on May 18th??  Isn't that as insulting as celebrating July 4th on July 21st would be to ME, as an AMERICAN??  I just can't believe that they'd put this sign up for the second year in a row, mind you, but because it wasn't in MY Village I didn't complain to the powers-that-be about it.  (Maybe I should have, because THIS week the sign ABOVE, at the top of this blog, was put outside the Clubhouse of MY Village!!)

In case you didn't have your morning coffee yet, that sign that should read "QuartERly Budget Meeting."  And almost as if to outdo the dumbness of the first sign, THAT message was messed up on BOTH sides, not just one. So instead of competing for Excellence, it's like my Village is doubling down and striving for a Mediocrity Medal or something. This time, because it IS my Village I called to alert the people in charge but the woman on the phone seemed to think it was much ado about nothing, frankly.  (And to those who may say "The signmaker just ran out of space, that's why he left out the ER," I've been doing outdoor signs for my church three years now.  Believe me, it all could have fit properly with a little reworking IF the person CARED enough to make it fit!! We need to stop making excuses for laziness and stupidity, rather than judging those who point out the problems and falsely accusing them of being judgmental!!)

In a society where everyone thinks there are no more absolutes (except, of course, as the late John Reisinger said, It IS absolute that there are no more absolutes), I guess it really doesn't MATTER if we spell "Quarterly" wrong or celebrate Cinco de Mayo on the wrong day...it's the INTENT that counts, right??  And the issues present on these signs are replicated constantly in our fading culture, day in and day out.  How many times do we get e-mails or texts with words spelled incorrectly, even though SpellCheck  could have easily helped prevent that?? There doesn't seem to be right and wrong anymore....unless you want to talk about what USED to be wrong is now right (and vice versa), you see.  This generation (old and young) is not faithful in the "small" things like these signs, and they're just as careless about the LARGER issues of life, sadly.  Well, for ME, I serve the true God Who has absolute standards of what is true and what is false, right and wrong, male and female, etc.......and He never changes

Let me conclude this blog as I began it, with this reminder: this "Chetitorial" was about those who DON'T think and DON'T care...not about those who are human and make mistakes like we all do. Mistakes are signs that we're human, but things like this are signs of a rapidly decaying culture..

"Why There's No Willie Mays MOVIE"

A good friend asked me last night why there was never a Willie Mays MOVIE.  That's a fair question considering that baseball movies have been made about Gehrig, Ruth, Foxx, Jackie Robinson, Mantle and Maris, and so on....yet the one who many (myself included) consider The Greatest All-Around Baseball Player of All-Time has NO movie about him, his life, his achievements.

My answer to my friend last night was as follows: Mays (who turns 88 on Monday, by the way) didn't create CONTROVERSY or "DRAMA" like those other players did.  And most of his milestone achievements are available on YouTube now, ANYway...who needs a movie??  A Willie Mays movie wouldn't be exciting, though HE was exciting.  You see, Mays was exciting as a PLAYER...but not as a PERSON.

And I love him for that, as well as for everything I wrote here about him last November 3rd.  He IS "The Greatest Living Player" and (in my opinion) arguably "The Greatest Player EVER."  But it's his character which I admire...as much as I can admire an unsaved man.  Willie was / is just a great guy.

     He wasn't a WOMANIZER like so MANY great players were or are.

     Willie didn't break baseball's color line, but if he HAD of been the one, he would have done it, I believe, a lot easier than JACKIE did....because he was more MELLOW and easier to like..

     He didn't drink ALCOHOL like Mantle and Ruth...he drank MILK.

     He BROKE UP fights rather than START fights (think Roseboro-Marichal).

     And, he obviously didn't die at a very young age, of a tragic disease, like GEHRIG did.

I could go on and on and on!!  But in short, Mays is NOT "Movie Material" for those reasons.  And other than a documentary about him in the 60s and many TV appearances, there never has been, and probably never WILL be, a movie about Willie Mays.

BOOKS, however?? That's another story (pardon the pun).  The photo above shows four by OTHER authors and the LAST one, "Human Heroes (How To Enjoy, Without Idolizing,Them)" was by me (I did the COVER sketch of Mays, ALSO.)  Willie has plenty of BOOKS about him...in fact, I wrote a SECOND book, "Mays's Greatest Day," which I never self-published like I did the FIRST.  (So the FIRST book is out-of-print, and my SECOND never got IN print, Lol!!)  Maybe THAT book will one day be made into a movie about Willie, who knows...but for now, that's why there has yet to be a Willie Mays MOVIE.

Perhaps when he PASSES there will be one...he certainly deserves it more than ANYONE!!

"Life After Facebook!!"

A year-and-a-half ago today, I "left" posting on Facebook, at least posting as often as I used to (8-9 times a day, Lol!!) I love to WRITE and I love to write about many different TOPICS, but I simply had to stop posting so often. One of the reasons I greatly REDUCED my Facebook postings was because I began teaching our church's Men's Sunday School class, and, last night at our annual business meeting I gave a report on my 2018 classes (see photo above.)  Doing this class involves more PRAYER time and more STUDY time, all of which equals less FACEBOOK time.  (By the way, for 2019 so far I'm doing a lengthy study on Roman Catholicism, contrasting it with Biblical Christianity.  Lesson #13 is this Sunday, Lord Willing.)

ANOTHER reason I stopped posting on Facebook so often is this very BLOG you are reading, which I am very much enjoying WRITING!!.  I only use Facebook now to write about special events (my recent 1 year wedding anniversary, today as the National Day of Prayer, etc.) AND to link to the BLOG!!  So far, in this last year-and-a-half, I've posted upwards of 175 separate blogs here.  I find this MUCH more beneficial for me than Facebook was, personally.

Oh yeah, since "leaving" Facebook I was voted as a Deacon in our church at the end of March. THIS involves a time commitment, ALSO.  Please note: if you are on Facebook and you post LOTS on Facebook, I am not judging you in any way, this blog is only about ME and my reflections one-and-a-half years after my big "switcheroo."

In closing, here are some samples of recent blogs which show I still love writing about MANY different topics...



"MANLINESS IS NEXT TO GODLINESS"  http://chetitorial.blogspot.com/2019/04/manliness-is-next-to-godliness-for.html


KATE SMITH CONTROVERSY  http://chetitorial.blogspot.com/2019/04/only-half-of-my-kate-smith-god-bless.html


NEWSPAPER MESSING UP MY SUBMISSION (WHILE MUSLIM APPARENTLY GETS SPECIAL TREATMENT) A SIGN OF "PETTY PERSECUTION" OF CHRISTIANS TODAY?  http://chetitorial.blogspot.com/2019/04/petty-persecution.html


And, from just yesterday....


JOE BIDEN'S PHONY PLEA TO "MAKE AMERICA MORAL AGAIN"  http://chetitorial.blogspot.com/2019/05/bidens-lie.html

"Biden's Lie "

2020 Presidential Candidate JOE BIDEN (D), the Human Gaffe Machine, recently announced that his campaign slogan is "Make America Moral Again," a takeoff on Trump's call to make us GREAT again. And, in so doing, my initial opinion was that Biden committed the "Mother of All Gaffes."  You see, by pleading that we should "Make America Moral Again," is Biden not DEMANDING his Party's DISBANDING??  Democrats are an Immoral party...only GOD can make America moral again but if He does so, this evil Party is going to have to be scattered to the wind.

Biden, of course, is NOT really calling for disbanding the Deathocrat Party...but if he was serious about "making us moral again," he SHOULD, frankly.

But don't take MY word for what an immoral Party the Democrats are...let's consult FACTS. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association's magazine "DECISION," in their current  May 2019 issue, featured FACTS regarding the 2020 Presidential candidates...

18 Democrat candidates for President are listed on page 13, and EVERY ONE OF THEM is Pro-Abortion, Pro-LGBTQ, and Pro-Legalized Marijuana.  This is NOT "Morality" as America knew it for most of our history.

And at the TOP of the list of these 18 immoral Democrats is....guess??  "Former VP Joe Biden."


But wait...there's more (I sound like an Infomercial here, Lol!!) On page 18, there is THIS....

I've circled the part where the author CORRECTLY blames the recent rise of the LGBTQ movement on President Barack Obama.  In case you can't read it, here's a quote..."...in 2008, Sen. Barack Obama had to lie about his views on same-sex 'marriage' in order to get elected president.  By 2012, he could fully support it, and by 2015, it was the law of the land.  What a dramatic, extreme and sudden cultural shift."

Every decent person wants to "Make America Moral Again" but let us not forget that BIDEN SUPPORTED OBAMA WHOLEHEARTED FOR 8 YEARS as Obama unleashed this flood of immorality on America.  

And just like Franklin Graham's magazine is correct to say that OBAMA lied to get elected, BIDEN is lying to try to get elected ALSO...(unless he really IS calling for the disbanding of the Democrat Party!!)

Bottom line: again, only GOD can "Make America Moral Again" but if He's going to use a President to lead us into a better path, BIDEN and those 17 other abortion-loving Deathocrats are not. the. ones. 

Tomorrow is the National Day of Prayer and I, personally, am going to call upon God for the disbanding of the Democratic Party.  Joe Biden's slogan is NOT a gaffe, but despite the nice VIBE "Make America Moral Again" has, it's a LIE because a man who condones immorality is saying it.  Our former Vice President will become ANOTHER "President of Vice" if we make the wrong decision to elect him, or any of those other 17, next year.