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PHILISTINES RETURN

Details: Published: Monday, November 09, 2020 14:46; by John Campbell; Hits: 867

About twenty-seven hundred years ago, two battle lines were drawn on opposite hillsides with a valley between. One side had iron weapons while the other did not. The first to move into the valley to attack would be slaughtered when they were in the open so it was reasonable that neither moved but tried to outwait the other side. Days passed until the iron-wielding side offered a plan to decide the outcome without killing most of those fighting. The Philistines would send their champion into the middle of the valley to meet the champion picked by the Israelites. King Saul had to make a decision that could determine the fate of his future and the future of the Hebrew nation. A young boy stepped forward and offered to be the champion to meet the giant waiting for him. His name was David, and we do not know how big or tall he was—only that he was about to meet a giant who was nine feet tall or thereabouts. It did not make any sense to send a boy into a grown man’s fight, but there seemed to be no alternative. I’m sure that most of the Israelites did not think there was any chance that they would be the winners in this battle. A young boy against a giant did not seem to give them much of a chance, but the king went forward with David’s offer. We all know the outcome from our Sunday School lessons, and it still is a lesson that we need to remember. A small boy with a sling and a stone felled the giant and then chopped off his head with the giant’s sword. The battle was over, and David saved the day.

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ELECTION 2020

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Published: Sunday, November 01, 2020 12:14

by John Campbell

Four years ago, I went to bed on election night thinking that we had elected the first woman to be president. I woke up the next morning to find out that the polls had been very wrong, and Trump was the new president. It had been 68 years since the polls were drastically wrong. I was eleven years old, and the presidential race was the first one that I remember being aware of. My family went to bed sure that Thomas Dewey had defeated Harry Truman and would be the new president. We found out that we were wrong the next day, and Harry would continue to be president for the next four years. This is interesting, because I am writing this three days before the 2020 election and there is speculation that it may happen again. By the time you read this, the election will be over and the mystery that I am wondering about will be solved. Either the polls will be wrong again, or we may have to wait another 68 years for it to happen again. One pollster said that if Trump wins this time, against the polls, he (the pollster) may be out of business.

SPORTS ANNOUNCING

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Published: Monday, October 05, 2020 09:11

by John Campbell

Just watched the WVU versus Baylor football game, and I actually watched one game and heard another. There were two men in the broadcast booth and one man on the field. I heard what the next play should be and then what the last play should have been. I saw the referee’s call and then heard what the call should have been. When there was a second look at a play, I heard what the outcome should be before the referee made the call. I watched two plays while I heard about the postponement of an NFL game and then a discussion of NFL football. I had to turn down the volume to pay attention to the game. The announcers became more important than the game itself. It does not make sense to televise an athletic event and then distort the game with announcers’ discussions and opinions. I played football in high school and junior college and know a little about the game, as do most of the people watching. We do not need a tutorial about the game every time we watch one. I have watched NFL games with the same treatment as if I knew nothing about the game and had to be spoon-fed the happenings during the game. Many times the announcers who were former players are spending more time telling about their exploits than explaining the events we are watching.

BLUE JEANS

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Published: Monday, September 28, 2020 14:10

by John Campbell

I have not written anything for the past few weeks because every time I try to think of a subject, politics, Covid-19, or riots come to mind, and I have already said enough about those. But, then I was listening to the evening news when they mentioned that one of the designers was offering a pair of blue jeans for $1400.00 a pair. It seems that these jeans are prewashed, faded, and have built-in grass stains. It made me laugh, but there are people who will buy them and think they are being fashionable.

KNEELING KNUCKLEHEADS

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Published: Friday, August 07, 2020 12:46

by John Campbell

It was 1957, and I was working at a gas station in Morrisville, NY, helping the owner when he went to tuneup school. That evening Trooper David L. came in and was upset because he said he had to buy a new five-cell flashlight to replace his that was broken. He had been called to a migrant labor camp to break up a fight, and when he arrived one of the men fighting came at him with a knife. He said he did not have time to drop the flashlight and get his night stick, so he hit the man over the head with the flashlight. It stopped the attack and broke his flashlight. I was in my late teens, and at that moment was in awe of what the trooper had done but soon forgot about it.

Commentary by John Campbell

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PHILISTINES RETURN

ELECTION 2020

SPORTS ANNOUNCING

BLUE JEANS

KNEELING KNUCKLEHEADS

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