Scam Alert - May 26, 2021

My An Arkie's Faith column from the May 26, 2021, issue of The Polk County Pulse.

Ring, ring, ring. I crawled out of the vehicle I was working on and headed for the phone. “Richie’s,” I said, answering the phone. The voice on the other end of the line was furious. “I want you to stop calling me,” she shouted. I assured her that I had not called her. “Well, someone there is calling me,” she retorted. “I work alone, so I can assure you that no one called you from here,” I replied, adding, “my company never makes unsolicited phone calls.” “I know that the calls have been coming from you because your number is on my Caller ID,” she shrieked. 

I tried to calm her down by telling her, “I think that I know what is going on.” I explained that I had received telemarketer calls that showed on my caller ID as local phone numbers. A telemarketer knows that you are more likely to answer the phone if you think the call is from a local number. I’m not sure that she believed me, but at least she wasn’t yelling by the time our conversation ended. She and I had both been the victims of spoofing, and you probably have been too.

Spoofing is when a caller deliberately falsifies the information transmitted to your caller ID display to disguise their identity. Scammers often use neighbor spoofing, so it appears that an incoming call is coming from a local number or from a company that you may already know and trust. It seems that almost daily, I get robocalls that seem to come from local numbers.

The most common robocalls that I receive go something like this. “Hi, this is Susie calling with the vehicle service department. I see here that the warranty on your car is about to expire, and I was calling to see if you would like to extend this warranty to keep your car protected.” The Federal Communications Commission says that calls like this are the most common robocalls and were the top unwanted call complaint filed by consumers last year.

Unfortunately, we can’t trust the phone’s caller ID or the email address on the message in our inbox. The Facebook profile we just got a message from may not be our high school classmate. Spoofers and spammers have a lot of nasty tricks up their sleeve, from posing as a member of the IRS to lying about your car’s warranty. No matter who the spammer is, their goal is to separate you from your money. Spoofers and scammers are shockingly successful. Research from Statista, the number one business data platform, shows that Americans lost over nineteen billion dollars to scam calls in 2020.

Number spoofers are like modern-day pirates, commandeering phone numbers instead of ships. Spoofers’ and pirates’ goal is the same: to make a profit by dishonest means. According to the Federal Communications Commission and the Truth in Caller ID Act, call spoofing is illegal only when the caller intends to “defraud, harm, or wrongfully obtain anything of value” from the call recipient. In these cases, people found guilty of call spoofing can be fined up to $10,000 per call. Unfortunately, prosecutions are rare. 

Maybe, like me, you have received phone calls threatening that the Police, Sheriff, IRS, or DEA will be at your house shortly to arrest you if you don’t make payment arrangements. Or that the Police need donations for death benefits for officers who die in the line of duty, or the firefighters need money. The list goes on and on! We live in a world where we are unsure about who to trust.

On March 17, 2021, The Federal Communications Commission fined Texas-based telemarketers $225 million for transmitting approximately one billion robocalls, many of them illegally spoofed, to sell short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans. At that time, acting FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel issued a statement saying, “the FCC receives more complaints about robocalls than any other issue. It’s easy to see why! Robocalls are intrusive and annoying, and during the last few years, the number has skyrocketed.  Worse, many of these calls involve scams. To protect ourselves, many of us rely on Caller ID and only pick up the phone if we recognize the number.  

So one of the most insidious things robocallers do is trick people into taking the call. They disguise who they are by spoofing their number and instead use numbers that we trust—friends, family, and familiar institutions.  

This isn’t just frustrating—it’s dangerous. When we can’t trust that the number we see is the number that is truly calling, we’re less likely to pick up the phone and more likely to miss important calls from those we really care about.  

So today we do something historic: we impose the largest fine ever for the illegal spoofing of telephone numbers. The individuals involved didn’t just lie about who they were when they made their calls—they said they were calling on behalf of well-known health insurance companies on more than a billion calls.  That’s fraud on an enormous scale.

This is a just outcome. But the truth is that given the size and scope of the problem, we have to do much, much more.”

Gentle Reader, all of us are susceptible to being scammed. Whenever I hear of someone caught in a scam, I want to say, “What in the world were you thinking? Couldn’t you see that it was only a scam?” I may have never fallen for a telephone scam, but I have fallen for Satan’s deceptions many times. The Bible informs us, “Most importantly, be disciplined and stay on guard. Your enemy the devil is prowling around outside like a roaring lion, just waiting and hoping for the chance to devour someone. Resist him and be strong in your faith. 1 Peter 5:8-9 (VOICE) Satan is always stalking us, looking for a way to enter into our lives and destroy us. For some, he uses selfishness and greed. And for others, he uses doubt and fear. He suggests that we should hate those who are different from us or disagree with our views. Regardless of what tactic he uses, Satan intends to scam us out of our relationship with God. Please don’t fall for his scam.

Cutting Down Trees - May 19, 2021

My An Arkie's Faith column from the May 19, 2021, issue of The Polk County Pulse.

I love trees. I always have. When I travel in areas that do not have trees, I wonder how people can live there. One of the reasons I love the place where I live in Western Arkansas is that we have so many trees. When spring comes each year and the trees leaf out; it lifts my spirits. The various shades of green that cover the hillsides are beautiful. And I find autumn to be a magical time of year when the leaves on the trees change from green to many shades of orange, red, yellow, and brown.

Last week I had several trees taken out of my backyard. It was painful for me. Remember, I love trees. When I first saw the building lot where my house now stands, the thing that impressed me the most was the trees. Almost immediately, my wife and I knew that this was where we wanted to build our house. When we started building, it pained me to take out trees to have room for our house, but I knew it was necessary.

The story of the trees in my backyard started over a year ago. Our house is almost thirty years old, and the deck at the back of the house had deteriorated. I decided to replace the deck with Trex composite decking. I chose composite decking because composite materials offer outstanding durability and low maintenance. After removing the old decking and installing the composite, I needed a railing. My old deck had wooden planters and benches, but I wanted a proper railing on my new deck. Trex offers composite railing, but the cost was high, and I was not crazy about the way it looked. I investigated cable railing systems, but once again, the price was high, and I wasn’t sure that I could make it look nice when I installed it.

Another part of my plan was to pour a cement patio below the raised composite deck. I called several concrete finishers but could not get anyone to make a bid on the project. For several months, my project was on hold. I enjoyed the deck and the new outdoor furniture we purchased, but the lack of a railing made me nervous. While looking at my Facebook feed, I saw where someone had a local craftsman, John, build a beautiful gate. I contacted John and asked him if he could build a custom rail for my deck. He said that he could and came out the next day to make a bid on the job. Within a couple of weeks, I had a beautiful new railing on my deck.

But I still wanted a concrete patio. I learned about someone who did concrete work, and I hired him to pour the slab and build steps. The job that he did was terrible. Several people who saw the finished product told me it was the worst workmanship they had ever seen. I was devastated. Once again, my project was on hold, and I didn’t know what to do. After several weeks of feeling discouraged and helpless, I decided to call a local builder of fine homes and talk to him about my problems. He gave me the name of the concrete finisher that he used and told me that if anyone could figure out what to do to repair my terrible concrete job, Sam could. When I called Sam, he made an appointment to look at the concrete. He told me that the only thing he could do was cap the entire slab with another four inches of reinforced concrete.

When Sam gave me the bid for the job, I told him that I wanted him to do it. He told me that he would put me on the schedule, but It would be spring before he could get to it. Just in time for Easter, I had an attractive professional concrete patio. It had taken almost a year, but I was excited and happy to have my project almost finished. There was just one more thing that I needed to do to make it complete. Because I had caped the bad concrete with four more inches, I now had an eight-inch drop-off. I needed to bring in topsoil and raise the level of my backyard.

If I were going to do dirt work in my backyard, I would need to plant grass. When we called Kathy to ask her about doing the work for us, she told us to get grass to grow, we would need to take out some trees. Grass needs a minimum of four to six hours of sun a day. I resisted at first. I love my trees and the beautiful shady yard. But after thinking about it, I realized that I had a decision to make. I could have my trees or a nice lawn. But I could not have both. The trees are now gone, and my backyard is much more open. I know that when my yard has beautiful grass, I will be happy. But for now, I am a bit sad that my trees are gone.

The loss of my trees reminded me of a story I once read about Robert E. Lee. After the Civil War, the General visited a widow in Kentucky. She took him to see the remains of a once beautiful tree in front of her house. There the widow cried for the tree destroyed by Federal artillery fire. She looked to Lee for a word condemning the North or at least sympathizing with her loss. After a brief silence, Lee said, “Cut it down, my dear Madam, and forget it.”

The beautiful old tree in the widow’s front yard might symbolize something in your life. It might be something that an enemy damaged. You feel justified in your hate. Our nature is to hold on to offenses, to desire justice, repayment, or even revenge. If that “tree” is still standing in your life, it is a constant temptation to nurture hate and unforgiveness. Is this how you want to live? General Lee’s words apply here: “Cut it down, and forget it.”

Gentle Reader, forgiveness does not mean you are to ignore that someone has wronged you. Forgiveness does not mean that you close your eyes to moral atrocity and pretend that it didn’t hurt. Forgiveness means that you determine in your heart to let God be the avenger. He is the judge, not you. “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:31,32 (NIV) It is time to cut down the tree.

The Battle of Franklin - May 12. 2021

My An Arkie's Faith column from the May 12, 2021, issue of The Polk County Pulse.

It was 4:30 In the morning when Major General Schofield and Brigadier General Cox rode into the outskirts of Franklin, Tennessee, and commandeered the house belonging to Fountain Branch Carter. Cox’s division was the vanguard of the Federal army under General Schofield’s command. The Federal army had been marching all night after quietly slipping away from the Confederate army in Spring Hill. 

The day before, Confederates seemed to have the upper hand. By 4:30 P.M., they had almost ten thousand troops in Spring Hill with another ten thousand two miles away. The Federal army of around seven thousand men was pinned down, with the nearest reinforcements two hours away. At sundown, the situation seemed grim to the Federal defenders behind their barricades. There was confusion in the Confederate ranks as battle plans changed. Confusion gave way to frustration as night fell. The Confederates started fires, cooked supper, and bedded down for the night. Many of them were only two hundred yards from the main road north out of Spring Hill.

Under cover of darkness, the Federal army was able to make its way past the Confederate positions. After marching all night, they made it to Franklin. General Schofield hoped that the pontoon bridge he had requested from Nashville would be at the Harpeth River. Unfortunately, the pontoon was not there yet, so the Federal army was trapped between the river and the Confederates.

Around the southern edge of Franklin, there were old entrenchments dug by Federal forces a year earlier. General Cox put his troops in the old defenses and ordered them to improve the breastworks. The defenses passed through the property of Fountain Carter. By that afternoon, most of the Federal army was entrenched in a line from riverbank to riverbank of a loop in the river, hoping to retreat across the Harpeth River when it became possible. 

The history came to life for me as we toured the Carter House in Franklin. Our tour guide was able to help us understand the events of that fateful day. Her straightforward, concise storytelling brought the day’s happenings into focus and helped us visualize the battle. As I stood in the exact location, I could imagine the Federal soldiers in their breastworks watching as the Confederates appeared in the open fields to the south around 3:30 in the afternoon. From their vantage point two miles away, it looked like a grand military review, but the Federal soldiers were somber as they watched thousands of Confederate soldiers fall into formation.

Federal division commander, Brigadier General George D. Wagner ordered his men to take their position along an elevation about half a mile from the main Federal works. His three thousand men were between the Federal line and the amassing Confederate army.  Col. Emerson Opdycke led a brigade in George Wagner’s division. When General Wagner ordered Opdycke to join his fellow brigade commanders, he saw the folly of such a position and was in no mood to follow Wagner’s commands. The position was isolated, and already the Federals could see swarms of Confederates appearing on the next ridge. An attack was imminent, and there was no chance for Wagner’s small force to stop the assault. Instead, Opdycke deployed his brigade about two hundred yards behind the Carter House.

Wagner’s decision to move into the field between the two armies was a mistake. The Confederate line overwhelmed Wagner’s men. The Federal defenders stampeded back towards the main line after firing a single volley. The Confederates followed in close pursuit, using their Federal foes as human shields. Afraid of hitting their comrades, the riflemen on the Federal main line held their fire as they watched the intermingled crowd surge towards them. As a result, the last half-mile of the Confederate advance was largely uncontested, allowing the charge to hit the main line with full force.

As the Confederates poured into the breach in the Federal line, Emerson Opdycke’s brigade, instead of being in retreat with Wagner’s other men, was in reserve, about 200 yards north of the Carter House. Opdycke quickly ordered his brigade forward to the breastworks. Opdycke’s counterattack helped seal the breach. Thousands of men surge into a deadly vortex of combat with shovels, bayonets, sabers, and pistols. Hand-to-hand fighting around the Carter House was furious and desperate. Firing continued around the Carter house and gardens for hours. Each side fired through or over the top of the parapets at close range, trying to dislodge the other. After hours of fighting, the call came for the Confederates to fall back. 

Our group listens quietly as the tour guide tries to help us understand the extreme violence and carnage that happened that fateful November day in 1864. There were so many casualties in the area around the Carter House that men died standing up because there were so many bodies that they couldn’t fall. She showed us the farm office, a small clapboard building that is full of bullet holes. The house and outbuildings have hundreds of bullet holes still showing. Of 15,000 Union troops engaged, some 200 died, and more than 2,000 were wounded. The Confederates had 23,000 men at Franklin; around 1,750 died, and 5,500 were injured or captured. Private Sam Watkins of the 1st Tennessee called it “the blackest page in the history of the war.” When recounting the battle, one soldier said, “It was as if the devil had full possession of the earth.”

As I stood on the battlefield in Franklin and contemplated the carnage that happened there, I thought about another great battle. Revelation chapter 12 presents what I feel is a good way for a Christian to view history. It describes a great spiritual war raging behind the scenes. The apostle John saw a vision of war in heaven. He saw the dragon defeated and hurled down to earth. “Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.” Revelation 12:7-9 (NLT)

Gentle Reader, the book of Revelation presents a vivid image of reality. It is the spiritual reality behind the wars that rage around us. Just like Satan whispers temptations in our ears, he also creates dissension among countries and urges them to fight. I love studying history, and history reveals an unending cavalcade of war and struggle. But God has promised that there will come a time when there will be no more war. “The Lord will mediate between nations and will settle international disputes. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore.” Isaiah 2:4 (NLT) I’m longing for that day.

Supply Chain Disruptions - May 5, 2021

My An Arkie's Faith column from the May 5, 2021, issue of The Polk County Pulse.

Warm hues spread over the landscape as the rosy golden light of sunrise makes its appearance. The sun is just coming up as I pull up to the storage building where my supplier dropped off my glass order during the night. A sense of apprehension comes over me as I roll up the garage door. It has been difficult for my glass supplier to fill my orders for the past couple of months. I am never sure how much of my order will be waiting for me in the storage building. 

My fears were confirmed as I loaded my glass onto my shop truck. Five pieces of glass were missing from my order. Five customers would have to be called and told that I would not be able to do their job until a later date. I would have to reschedule five jobs. I let out a long sigh. “What a way to start my day,” I thought. 

My supplier is in Little Rock, but I can also order glass from warehouses in Memphis, Nashville, Birmingham, and Atlanta. When I order from out-of-state warehouses, I never know when I will receive the glass. I have had parts on order for over a month that I haven’t received yet. The wall of my office is covered with post-it notes for jobs. Many notes say, “call when the glass comes in.” I have been in this business since 1973, and I have never experienced supply disruptions like this.

When I called my supplier to find out about my latest batch of missing glass, I could hear the frustration in his voice. I’m sure that there were many calls that morning similar to mine. He told me that sales were the strongest he had ever seen. In the first quarter of 2021, sales were far higher than in any previous first quarter in the Little Rock warehouses’ existence. But their stock couldn’t keep up with demand. In the auto glass industry, the supply chain moves slow. When the warehouse orders more glass, it can take months to receive. It looks like it could be several months before their stock will meet the demand.

As I talk with customers and try to explain to them why I can’t get the glass that they need, many have told me of similar issues in other industries. I started researching the supply chain problems and found that many sectors followed a similar pattern during the COVID-19 pandemic. Manufacturers slashed orders from suppliers and reduced production when sales plummeted early in the pandemic. When sales started improving in the 4th quarter of 2020 and then took off in 2021, production and delivery could not keep up with demand, producing shortages.

Chris Rogers, a supply chain analyst for Panjiva, says, “the combination of stockpiling activity, a continued surge in goods ranging from electronics to appliances and a lack of air freight capacity has led to heavy congestion at U.S. ports. Also problematic is the shortage of empty containers and other equipment needed to haul products away from port facilities. Meanwhile, consumers are likely to wait longer for deliveries and face higher costs for in-demand items as container shipping rates jump.”

Phillip Sanfield, the spokesperson for the Port of Los Angeles, was recently asked about the supply chain problems. He said, “a total of 34 container ships mostly from Asia are now anchored off the ports of both Los Angeles and Long Beach, waiting to unload cargo including furniture, auto parts, apparel, and electronics. The system is definitely strained. Under normal conditions, it’s rare to have container ships waiting to get into the complex.”

Experts say that retailers are likely to face continued supply chain disruptions and delivery delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic for quite some time. “In 2021, organizations will face a challenge unraveling this complexity,” says Michael Ward, a web developer at Writemyx. “Sophisticated supply chain understanding is essential if organizations are to be resilient in the face of global upheaval.” Nader Mikhail, writing for Supply Chain News, says, “the global pandemic applied pressure to the supply chain in ways not previously seen. Much of the supply chain industry is still hanging on for dear life. Unfortunately, most companies with supply chains are far from where they need to be to deal with large-scale disruptions.”

It looks like we can expect supply chain disruptions for some time to come. I don’t think that there is going to be a quick fix in my industry. But there is a sure supply chain. Writing to the church at Philippi, Paul says, “this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 (NLT) We can be sure that God’s supply chain will not break down.

God’s supply chain works because God gives us the grace and strength to meet every new challenge daily. “God can give you all you need. He will give you more than enough. You will have everything you need for yourselves. And you will have enough left over to give when there is a need.” 2 Corinthians 9:8 (NLV) The world these days seems to feel almost helpless as everything around us is so unstable. Just watching the news can cause fear and uncertainty. Don’t fill your mind with all of the bad news around you. Instead, focus on God and his promises. Especially the promise that He will supply your needs.

Gentle Reader, “those who look to the Lord have every good thing they need.” Psalms 34:10 (NIRV) God doesn’t promise that you will have everything you want, but he has promised everything you need. The Apostle Paul wrote, “I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.” Philippians 4:11 (NLT) You can trust God when He says he will supply all your needs. His supply chain will never be disrupted. “We are confident that God is able to orchestrate everything to work toward something good and beautiful when we love Him and accept His invitation to live according to His plan.” Romans 8:28 (VOICE)

Inspector Javert vs. Jean Valjean - April 28, 2021

My An Arkie's Faith column from the April 28, 2021, issue of The Polk County Pulse.

When we lose a loved one, the pain we experience can feel unbearable. Grief is complex, and at first, we wonder if the pain will ever end. We go through a variety of emotional experiences such as anger, confusion, and sadness. Grief comes in waves. At first, the waves are so strong you feel they will sweep you away. But in time, those waves lessen and let the good memories in. Along with the pain, there are memories of smiles and good times.

This past weekend we had a mini family reunion. Cousins from Kansas and Missouri came to Mena for a visit. We had a wonderful time talking and reminiscing. I enjoyed the day very much, but it was bittersweet. A little over three years ago, my Momma passed away. The bitterness, anger, and pain that I struggled with for months after her death has eased over time. But I missed her on the day of the reunion. As cousins recalled stories from Momma and Daddy’s many visits to Kansas, emotions wafted over me. But the sadness I felt was tempered by the special memories that people had of her.

I thought about the last time I was able to do something special for Momma. When my wife learned that the musical theatre production of Les Miserables was coming to The Robinson Center in Little Rock, we made plans to attend. My wife thought that Momma would like to go with us. When I asked her if she would like to go, she was excited. She told me that she had studied Les Miserables in French class when she was a girl.

The Robinson Center was a bustle of activity as we made our way to our seats. With its towering buildings on either side of the stage, the set made us feel like we were in France in the early 1800s. The audience of the sold-out show waited in eager anticipation for the performance to begin. When the first strains of music started, a hush fell over the theater. For over three hours, the performers held the audience in rapt attention. 

The musical is based on the French historical novel Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. It tells a story of broken dreams, sacrifice, and redemption. It is an examination of law and grace and a timeless testament to the survival of the human spirit. Victor Hugo wrote in the preface; “So long as the three problems of the age—the degradation of man by poverty, the ruin of women by starvation, and the dwarfing of childhood by physical and spiritual night—are not solved; so long as ignorance and misery remain on earth, books like this cannot be useless.”

The story revolves around two men; Jean Valjean, imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his family, and Inspector Javert, who is always looking for Valjean and seeking to arrest him after he breaks his parole. The most intriguing part of Les Miserables’ story is the different ways the main characters deal with law and mercy. The story starts with the release of Jean Valjean after 19 years in jail. Valjean finds rejection every place he seeks refuge until he finds a priest who gives him food and a place to sleep.

Jean Valjean steals all the finest silver from the priest. He is caught and brought back and made to admit his sin in front of the priest. The police are ready to put Jean Valjean in jail when the priest stops them. He explains that he gave all of the silver to the man, but he forgot to take the most precious silver. As the priest hands over his valuable candlesticks, it is clear that his grace is more remarkable than Jean Valjean could have ever imagined. Having experienced such forgiveness, Valjean spends the rest of his life trying to replicate the grace given to him.

Javert is the legalist, and he holds strictly to the letter of the law. There is only one way to treat others, and it is by strict justice. The story leads up to a climactic scene when Jean Valjean has the opportunity to kill Javert. But instead of retribution for the lifelong struggles and pain Javert has inflicted on his life, Jean Valjean shows him mercy, cuts his bound hands loose, and sends his enemy off as a free man.

The mercy shown to him by Valjean sends Javert, the legalist, into a tailspin from which he cannot recover. For him, mercy proves to be an unsolvable problem. He sings, “I am the law, and the law is not mocked! I’ll spit his pity right back in his face!” And then continues, “my thoughts fly apart. Can this man be believed? Shall his sins be forgiven? Shall his crimes be reprieved? Does he know that granting me my life today, this man has killed me even so?” After experiencing unmerited mercy, Javert, the legalist, jumps off a bridge and kills himself.

The power of Les Miserables is the way it contrasts the life of the merciful with the life of the ruthless. The merciful have faced their guilt, and it has broken them. The ruthless have faced their guilt and hardened themselves like steel.

Gentle Reader, Les Miserables is a story of the contrast in how sinners respond to the offer of mercy and grace. At a profound level, this is the story of two responses to grace: one man is broken and lives, and one man is hardened and dies. Titus 3:5 (NIRV) tells us that “He saved us. It wasn’t because of the good things we had done. It was because of his mercy. He saved us by washing away our sins. We were born again. The Holy Spirit gave us new life.” Don’t be an Inspector Javert and refuse the mercy that God holds out to you, be a Jean Valjean and live a life showing mercy to others because of the mercy God has given you. Who do you need to show mercy to today?

Charles and His Corn Chips - April 21, 2021

 My An Arkie's Faith column from the April 21, 2021, issue of The Polk County Pulse.

In the summer of 1932, the United States was in the grips of The Great Depression. The stock market had declined by nearly 90 percent since 1929.  Twenty-four percent of the workforce was unemployed. Bread lines and soup kitchens were commonplace in America’s towns and cities. Farmers could not afford to harvest their crops and left them rotting in the fields while people were going hungry. Those that were lucky enough to have steady employment saw their wages cut or their hours reduced to part-time. Many people who had savings lost them as nearly half the country’s banks failed. 

It was July 10, 1932, and Charles Doolin was sitting in his family’s San Antonio café, Highland Park Confectionary. His parents started the business as a candy store and later added ice cream, soup, and sandwiches. Customers were few, and the café was struggling. Charles was looking for something to increase sales and keep the business from closing. As he read the classifieds in the San Antonio Express, he saw a short ad that caught his eye. “Corn chips business for sale. A new food product making good money.”

When Doolin responded to the ad, he met Gustavo Olguin, a Mexican cook who had perfected a recipe for curly chips made by frying corn masa. Gustavo needed cash to move back to Mexico, and Doolin was impressed with the chips. Charles pawned his mother’s wedding ring and paid Olguin 100 dollars for the recipe and a list of 19 clients who had been buying the fried chips. 

Charles and his mother started making the new corn chips every night in their kitchen at home. They could make about ten pounds of chips every evening. The fresh corn chips became a popular side dish to go with the soups and sandwiches in their café. Charles named his new chips, Fritos, and started putting them in wax paper bags to sell in local stores. Within a year, he had invented a machine to increase production. The corn masa came out in ribbons and was cut with scissors as it dropped into the hot oil. The operation moved from his kitchen into his garage, and soon he was producing one hundred pounds of Fritos an hour.

Before long, Charles was driving his Ford Model A all over Texas, selling his Fritos. There was no money for a salesman or even for Charles to sleep in hotels. On his selling trips, he would sleep in his car. He said, “I slept in front of the best hotels in the state of Texas.” Charles innovated new ways to get his product in front of consumers. He invented the clip rack that hung many bags of chips in a small space and talked stores into putting these new racks near the cashier. He understood impulse buying. 

Charles’ new product and his innovations in production and sales made Fritos a success. By 1955, the company owned more than fifty production plants. In 1961, The Frito Co. merged with the H.W. Lay & Company, and the new Frito-Lay Company became the largest snack food company in the United States. Last year, sales for Frito-Lay were up 6.5%, to over 16 billion dollars. Fritos has gone from ten-pound batches made in the Doolin family kitchen to sales all over the world. Frito-Lay sells twenty-nine snack brands in more than 100 countries. 

When you go through a cashier’s line in most stores, you are very aware of Charles Doolin’s impulse buying strategy. Rows of candy, gum and other snacks meet your eye. I’m sure that most of us have bought something that we didn’t intend to because of the strategic impulse buying layout that most retailers use. Impulse buys are relatively universal, with a study from CreditCards.com finding that 84 percent of Americans say they have made impulse buys. The same survey found that over 20 percent of Americans have made an impulse purchase of over 1,000 dollars. Being impulsive can have a significant impact on your life. 

Impulsive shopping and impulsive Christian living have a lot in common. Neither one is the best way to approach life. Making a good decision is essential whether you are shopping or making crucial moral life choices. The human tendency to be impulsive is the source of many bad decisions. When we decide quickly with very little thought or planning, we often make a poor choice.

Ideas and actions are continually presenting themselves to our minds. The best approach is to use time, thought, research, advice, and Christian ethics and morals to filter the good ideas from the bad ones. Nearly all of us have sometimes bypassed the usual filters and acted on impulse. The idea seemed so great, the urge so strong, that we immediately jumped at the thought. At times our impulsiveness works out all right, but often we pay a heavy price.

God wants us to be thoughtful and intentional in our relationship with Him. “Do not be hasty with your mouth or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter before God. For God is in heaven and you are on earth; therefore let your words be few.” Ecclesiastes 5:2 (AMP) God also wants us to temper our impulsiveness in our dealings with other people. “He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, But he who is impulsive exalts folly.” Proverbs 14:19 (NKJV) 

Gentle Reader, the reason that impulsive decisions often work out so poorly is that our sinful self is louder than God’s Spirit. When you are confronted with options and must decide, the first voice you will hear will be that of your selfishness. The Bible tells us that “our sinful selves want what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is against our sinful selves. The two are against each other, so you cannot do just what you please.” Galatians 5:17 (NCV) And Peter writes, “Dear friends, since you are immigrants and strangers in the world, I urge that you avoid worldly desires that wage war against your lives.” 1 Peter 2:11 (NCV) He does not say you will never experience worldly desires. He does not say those bad ideas will never enter your mind. He says we must avoid these desires and not give in to our impulses. Taking the time to think through our decisions allows reason and spiritual insight to take over. Don’t be an impulse buyer.

I Can See Clearly Now - April 14, 2021

My An Arkie's Faith column from the April 14, 2021, issue of The Polk County Pulse.

“I can see clearly now the rain is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way. Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind. It’s gonna be a bright, bright sunshiny day.” Whenever I hear these words and the lively, reggae-inspired music, I am transported back to my high school days. In the fall and winter of 1972, you couldn’t turn on the radio without hearing the beautifully fuzzed-out guitar, the lithe, supple bassline, and Johnny Nash’s effortless voice singing lyrics, full of life and joyous redemption. The song spent four weeks at #1 on the Billboard charts and gave us hope that there were better things ahead.

Johnny Nash was 32 when he hit #1 with “I Can See Clearly Now,” and he’d already had 15 years in the music business. Nash came from Houston, and he grew up singing in church. As a teenager, his beautiful tenor was compared to Johnny Mathis’s voice. In the 60s, he moved to Jamaica while co-running a record company and helped launch his friend Bob Marley’s career. He enjoyed some success in 1968 with the song “Hold Me Tight,” but “I Can See Clearly Now” was his most successful single.

The obituary that ran in the Associated Press when Johnny Nash died in October 2020 referred to his biggest hit this way. “‘I Can See Clearly Now” was a story of overcoming hard times that itself raised the spirits of countless listeners, with its swelling pop-reggae groove, promise of a “bright, bright sunshiny day” and Nash’s gospel-styled exclamation midway, “Look straight ahead, nothing but blue skies!”, a backing chorus lifting the words into the heavens.”

Seeing clearly is essential in life. A few weeks ago, I had a bad experience while floating the Ouachita River. During one of my unintentional swims in the river, I lost my glasses. I could no longer see things clearly. That week, I called my ophthalmologist, Dr. Ennen, and made an appointment to get my eyes tested.

On the day of the appointment, I checked in at the front desk, and then a technician led me to an alcove where there was an OCT Imaging System. The machine captures images of the eye, allowing Dr. Ennen to see certain diseases such as glaucoma and macular degeneration years in advance. Next, the doctor performed a refraction test. If you’ve ever had an eye exam, you’re familiar with the refraction test. You place your face up to the machine, and then the doctor flips down the first lens, then another, while you say which of the two helps you see the letters on the eye chart more clearly. Is it lens one or two, lens three or four? Which one is better? 

After the refraction test, the doctor dilated my eyes. Pupil dilation increases the pupils’ size during an eye exam so that the doctor can thoroughly examine the health of the optic nerve and retina. The exam is critical to preventing and treating eye conditions that could potentially lead to vision loss. Next, I picked out frames and paid my bill. My glasses would be ready in about a week.

As I reflected on the vision test, it made me wonder if I was looking at my life through the correct lens. Was it possible to flip down a different lens and see a better story? 

The Apostle Paul seems to have had problems with his eyesight. Many biblical scholars point to Galatians 6:11 (NLT) as evidence. Here Paul wrote, “Notice what large letters I use as I write these closing words in my own handwriting.” Even if Paul had poor eyesight, his spiritual sight remained exceptionally clear. During his time preaching the gospel, he was flogged, whipped, and stoned many times. He had been shipwrecked, bitten by a snake, outcast, and ridiculed. Several times, he was imprisoned, and some of his life was spent under house arrest in Rome, all for preaching the gospel. And yet he was still able to write, “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NLT)

While he was in prison, Paul wrote to the Philippians, “I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.” Philippians 1:12-14 (NIV)

Which lens helped Paul see more clearly? Was it lens one or two? Paul didn’t see himself as stuck in prison because of Jesus; he saw himself as stationed in jail for Jesus. He didn’t see himself as chained to a Roman guard; he saw the Roman guard as chained to him. The guards had to listen to Paul talk about Jesus day in and day out. Paul had time to write letters to the churches.

Who put Paul in prison? From the outside looking in, it appeared the Roman rulers put him there. But from the inside looking out, Paul knew God had positioned him there. He didn’t see himself as imprisoned; he considered himself stationed. And because he was looking through the right lens, he had joy even in a difficult situation.

Gentle Reader, I wish that I could see as clearly as Paul did, but I can’t. When things go wrong, I pout, I get angry, and I become discouraged. But I try to remember to flip the lens and look at my circumstances through the eyes of God instead of the lens of my selfishness. And that gives me a better outcome. Not because the storyline changes, but because my perspective does. When I allow God to help me see through the correct lens, I can sing: “I can see clearly now the rain is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way. Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind. It’s gonna be a bright, bright sunshiny day.”