September 24, 1931 (Thursday)
I was born in 1931, the year our nation adopted The Star Spangled Banner as our national anthem. In that year, Congress gave approval for the construction of the San Francisco to Oakland Bay Bridge. The George Washington Bridge in New York City opened to traffic. A student movement adopted the name, “Jehovah’s Witnesses.” Dick Tracy made his first appearance in the comics, the first Merrie Melodies cartoon was shown in theaters, and the movie, Frankenstein, was the main attraction.
I was born on September 24, 1931 in an upstairs garage apartment on Davis Street in Houston, Texas, a few blocks from the Clark Street Baptist Church, later to become the Liberty Road Baptist Church where I would preach my first sermon almost 17 years later.
On the day of my birth the Dow Jones closed at 115.99, up 6.9 for the first time in many days. Gold stocks were at an all-time high in the wake of Great Britain’s abandonment of the gold standard a couple of days before. A round of exhibition baseball games were played between the New York Yankees, the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Robins (later to be named Dodgers), which raised thousands of dollars for the mayor’s unemployment fund. Players included Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and 9 more hall of famers.
Unemployment in the country stood at 25%. We were in The Great Depression. Instability was giving rise to Hitler and Nazism in Germany. President Hoover held a press conference the previous day and the following day, two of 62 for the year. A hint into the temper of the times was his response to a reporter, “That was not a very nice question to ask,” indicating that reporters were usually very kind to dignitaries. Time Magazine that week feature Ross Sterling, Governor of Texas, on the cover (Sterling was one of the founders of present-day Exxon-Mobil Corporation). Japan was invading Manchuria and the world seemed helpless to do anything about it. These facts give me a glimpse of the world into which I was born.
I am now 84 years of age. A web site offering demographics about aging classifies us elders in this way: 1.The Young Old, 65-74. 2.The Old, 74-84. 3.The Oldest-Old, 85+.
I am, therefore, officially “old.” I have one more year before I am the “Oldest-Old.”
This magnificently beautiful blue orb we call Earth has made its way around the Sun 84 times since I hitched a ride. A fun ride as we have twirled on our axis almost 31,000 times. An exciting ride as we had our ups and downs like a roller coaster. Much to see from the top of this ferris wheel of life. This trip is the gift of God.
“Only one life, ’twill soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.”