It is so amazing to me how many of you want to hear more stories about the adventures of Johnny and Vic. John and I were talking about it the other night. We grew up in a tiny village nestled within, but not part of the Cincinnati city limits. Our houses were in Elmwood Place. To get a good feel for what Elmwood was like when we were kids, just visualize Sheriff Andy’s Mayberry, and you would be close. Some of my fondest childhood memories go back to those days in that place. If the LORD would let me go back and relive any part of my past, it would be with Johnny and Vic in Elmwood Place.
As I was saying, last evening Johnny and I were discussing the smells and sounds we remembered. Cincinnati surrounded us on three sides, and St. Bernard filled in the gap. There were factories all around us, and depending upon which way the wind was blowing, determined what factory smell you got. One such factory to the north of us just a few miles was National Distilleries. The smells from them were nice, especially when they were making vanilla flavoring. It was my favorite then, and I’m still partial to it today. A bit closer to us was Fries and Fries. They made perfume. As I recall their smell was also nice, but could be overwhelming. Going the other direction, in St. Bernard was P&G. Crisco, Joy, and Prell were made there, as well as their flagship pride, Ivory Soap. Back then you could buy Ivory Soap, Ivory Flakes, and Ivory Dish Washing Liquid. When we had winds coming from that direction, Ivory filled the air. It was oppressive; it burned your eyes and nose, and was horrible. I wish I could describe it to you, but you would have had to have been there. We still played outside, but there was no doubt as to what Procter and Gamble was cooking.
However, in our little village, we had smells unique to us. Johnny reminded me about the Mill Creek, and the Chili Kitchen. The Mill Creek was a block west of us, and we occasionally went down there. Basically it was an open sewer. Many of the factories along its path released sewage into it because it had a chemical smell. We never played in it as I recall, but we often played beside it. I was in Elmwood about two years ago and I started to walk down to the creek. I was told it had been cleaned up and “improved.” I turned around and walked away, preferring to remember it as it was --- a nasty place that holds many precious memories for me. Funny, it did not seem nasty to us back then. (For more on the Mill Creek, go to Wikipedia.com and search Mill Creek Ohio.)
Also unique to us was three distinct chili restaurants. The smells coming from them was mouth-watering. There are no longer chili parlors in Elmwood, but our little village was chili and cheese cony heaven back when Johnny and Vic had their adventures. Next week I’ll tell you about the sounds. Let’s just say they were bone rattling.
Yesterday at Friendship Harmony was one of those services where you could go home feeling good about being in church. At this time of the year, we are at a seasonally low attendance. All of our snowbirds are back in their northern nests, and many of our full timers are taking their vacations. Still, the attendance wasn’t bad and the service was awesome. The morning message dealt with covenants; one covenant of God with man, and another man with death and hell. God’s covenant sign we examined was the rainbow. Not only does it signify that God will no longer destroy the earth with water, but God validates that it is indeed Him talking by the use of the colors in the rainbow. The colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, and they always appear in that order. ALWAYS! God has given it a sense of order, and it does not stray from it. God is not the author of confusion, as 1 Corinthians 14:33 tells us. He is a God of order, and the rainbow has order. The video will be available, and you can get a 10 minute version of the message. You can find it at www.facebook.com/friendshipharmony. It’s an excellent way to invite me into your home and not have to feed me. Speaking of food, I believe I’m going to have a 4-way today. If you don’t know what that is, meet me in nearly any neighborhood in Cincinnati, and we’ll show you why Cincinnati is the chili capital of the world!!
Have a great week and I’ll see you tomorrow on the video, and again next Monday Morning With Pastor Vic!!!
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