Man's man meet The Man

Ben Johnson was a man’s man but he met more than he could handle

Behind my desk on the ledge of my bookcase is a prized photo of Ben Johnson and me. It is a constant reminder that God can take a man out of a small unknown town and will make him something. His early days were rough and his running pal’s tough, but in the end he saw a greater star.

A long tall 6' 3" western star that was born in Oklahoma was about all I knew about Ben Johnson on the day I met him. He was in his 70’s, but still a large western type.

I learned he had been a ranch hand and rodeo performer when, in 1940, Howard Hughes hired him to take a load of horses to California. He decided to stick around (the pay was good), and for some years was a stunt man, horse wrangler, and double for such stars as Wild Bill Elliott, John Wayne, Gary Cooper, and James Stewart. His break came when John Ford noticed him and gave him a part in an upcoming film, and eventually a star part in Wagon Master in 1950.

He left Hollywood in 1953 to return to rodeo, where he won a world roping championship, but at the end of the year he had barely cleared expenses. A prize belt buckle that he won for calf roping was stolen from his car when he visited Houston in 1976; but on a repeat visit a decade later he was on radio station KIKK when a caller returned the buckle to him.

The movies paid better, and were less risky, so he returned to the west coast and a career that saw him in over 300 movies. Johnson's weather-beaten features made him an icon for any filmmaker chronicling the American West.

He initially turned down the role in The Last Picture Show (1971), for which he won an Academy Award, because the script contained too many curse words. He later changed his mind when with the permission of the director, Peter Bogdanovich; he rewrote his part with the offensive words removed.

Ben received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994

He died on April 8, 1996, in Mesa, Arizona, of an apparent heart attack while visiting his mother in the 'retirement community' where not only she but he himself lived. His wife of 53 years had preceded him in 1994.

"You know, I'd say that aside from Mr. Ford's help in my career, I'd lay any success I've had to not expecting too much. I never expected to become a star and was always content to stay two or three rungs down the ladder and last awhile. When I do get a little ahead, I see what I can do to help others," he had once said.

I met Ben and Carol Johnson at my former pastor’s church in Gilbert, Arizona, only a few years before they died. The Johnson’s had a beautiful home in Scottsdale but had no problems in attending the small mission church near them in Mesa where another friend, had befriended them and told them of a greater success. My young friend preached the funerals of both to a host of their Hollywood associates and friends who had watched him from his humble beginning until he became a true western star.

Many amass millions in this life only to leave it in a bank or invested away never to see it again. But what is laid up in heaven is forever. Their days were blessed on earth but they have a brighter forever.

Matthew 6:19-20

“ Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: “

Come with me to Rio

Rio de Janeiro a city of delight

I should have known better than to take a cheap airline flight from Columbus to Miami, but like many I tried to save on a self funded mission trip. As fate would have it the plane was detoured at Orlando via Fort Lauderdale instead of direct to Miami causing me to miss my plane for Brazil.

When I finally arrived at Miami the connecting plane had been gone for over four hours, but my chief worry was my friends in Brazil were to pick me up, and they had been on the road for more that seven hours to meet me. Since there was no way to contact them, I was hoping they would check on other planes coming from the states.

To farther complicate things my Varig airline tickets would not be accepted by Pan Am airlines so I had to pay dearly to get a roundtrip on the next flight which was about five hours later. Thank goodness for trip interruption insurance which later repaid me.

Finally, I was in the air and trusting nothing else would mess up this trip since I was scheduled to speak for a week at a missionary’s conclave about six hours north of Rio. My prayers were answered because my friends had checked with Pan Am and knew I was on their coming flight. Being a seasoned traveler I knew customs awaited me immediately on deplaning and hoped it would not be a problem. I was glad when I got a green light and was able to proceed without stopping to open all my luggage, etc.

Since this was a night flight my friends asked if I had ever been to the Rio (River of January) and I said no. My friends had known me for nearly 25 years and knew I was a scenery lover and suggested a few places before we headed north.

Rio de Janeiro is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, justly bearing the nickname Cidade Maravilhosa - "the wonderful city". It was not long until we were high above the beautiful bay viewing the most familiar statue of Christ the Redeemer which stands on top of Corcovado Mountain. The statue stands 30 meters tall and is one of the worlds largest and most photographed. Then we hastened on to take the cable car up Sugarloaf Mountain for a most grand view of the bay and city of Rio.

From here we could see the famous beaches of Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon and Barra da Tijuca and even the Maracana Stadium which is the largest football (soccer) stadium in the world. On our return we noticed an open café across the street from the base of the cable car. Here we had my first Brazilian meal which was a large steak prepared for all of us and cut later into the size we wanted. The favor was outstanding and cooked to perfection.

Before leaving Rio I was advised that Brazil has the largest population in Latin America and ranks sixth in the world with most living in urban cities like Rio that has a population between seven to ten million. Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas. It was a surprise to me that Brazil has the world's fourth largest television broadcasting system.

With the morning spent and we had to leave this spectacular area. Reaching our destination late in the afternoon, we checked into the hotel where missionary families from Brazil and Uruguay had assembled. The beautiful hotel was set on the top of a hill overlooking the city of Barbacena known as the world’s largest producer of roses. You could see field after field of roses as far as you could see. From the hotel height it was breath taking. Not only did the beauty abound but the hotel is a training hotel from people who come from around the country to be trained the hotel trade in every area. Not only did we get the best treatment but the food was great and beautifully designed for our delight.

Following this week of teaching and training, I was able to stay for three more weeks speaking in many churches and visiting some of the most beautiful areas as we moved from state to state in the interior of the country. The beauty of this country is only exceeded by the wonderful people I met.

Rio is a beautiful city and so is the country, but one is yet to come that will exceed it.

“And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, “-- Revelation. 21:10

The Other Lexington

The Other Lexington
There are so many things to see in Lexington, Virginia. I will list only a few of them. First, you will find a Virginia military Academy, which was the first public, all military Academy in the country; a cemetery where Stonewall said he is buried; and beautiful Washington, and Lee University, where Robert E. Lee is buried in the campus chapel.
Being an avid Civil War student, always a background searches on a specially the famous general’s. Since, I had already been a number of years ago to Stratford Hall Plantation in Westmoreland County, Virginia, where Robert E. Lee was born; I sought for more information on him at the visitor’s center. He was the son of Major General Henry Lee III "Light Horse Harry" (1756–1818), Governor of Virginia, and his second wife, Anne Hill Carter (1773–1829). One of Lee's great great grandparents Henry Lee I was a prominent Virginian colonist of English descent. His mother grew up at Shirley Plantation, one of the most elegant homes in Virginia. Lee's father, a tobacco planter, suffered severe financial reverses from failed investments.
Little is known of Lee as a child; he rarely spoke of his boyhood as an adult. Nothing is known of his relationship with his father, who, after leaving his family, only mentioned Robert once in a letter. When given the opportunity to visit his father's Georgia grave, he remained there only briefly, yet while president of Washington College, defended his father in a biographical sketch while editing Light Horse Harry's memoirs. In 1809, Harry Lee was put in debtors prison; soon after his release the following year, Harry and Anne Lee and their five children moved to a small house on Cameron Street in Alexandria, Virginia, both because there were then good local schools there, as well as several members of her extended family. In 1811, the family, including the newly-born sixth child, Mildred, moved to a house on Oronoco Street, still close to the center of town and with the houses of a number of Lee relatives close by. In 1812, Harry Lee was badly injured in a political riot in Baltimore, and Secretary of State James Madison arranged for Harry Lee to travel to the West Indies. He would never return, dying when his son Robert was 11. Left to raise six children alone in straitened circumstances, Anne Lee and her family often paid extended visits to relatives and family friends. Robert Lee attended school at Eastern View, a school for young gentlemen, in Fauquier County, and then at the Alexandria Academy, free for local boys, where he showed an aptitude for mathematics. Although brought up to be a practicing Christian, he was not confirmed in the Episcopal Church until age 46.
While traveling through Lexington, we passed by here’s home and the Episcopal Church where Robert E. Lee was a devoted member.
Lee entered West Point in the summer of 1825. At the time, the focus of the curriculum was engineering; the head of the Army Corps of Engineers supervised the school and the superintendent was an engineering officer. Cadets were not permitted leave until they had finished two years of study, and were rarely permitted to leave the grounds of the Academy. Lee graduated second in his class and did not incur any demerits during his four-year course of study. Lee was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers.
One of the highlights four may wish to be able to visit the Chapel at Washington and Lee and to view the tomb were Robert E. Lee is buried just behind the pulpit area. In the basement of the Chapel is the Museum of many of the historical items of Lee’s. Also, there is a bookstore where one could buy books on the life of Lee and other related material. Just outside of the Chapel is the gravesite of “Traveler” Robert E. Lee’s horse.
Washington and Lee University is a great now school whose curriculum is well respected. The school is named after George Washington, who donated to keep you from ceasing to exist, and Robert E. Lee to after the Civil War came as its president.
As we continue to drive to the city we came to the cemetery where Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson (January 21, 1824 – May 10, 1863) was buried with a large statue stone above his grave. He was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, and probably the most well-known Confederate commander after General Robert E. Lee. His military career includes the Valley Campaign of 1862 and his service as a corps commander in the Army of Northern Virginia under Robert E. Lee. Confederate pickets accidentally shot him at the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863, which the general survived, albeit with the loss of an arm to amputation. However, he died of complications of pneumonia eight days later. His death was a severe setback for the Confederacy, affecting not only its military prospects, but also the morale of its army and of the general public.
The Virginia Military Academy, while it is an old-school, has many beautiful buildings and adds to the beauty of the city and is worth the visit.
Since there are sure many historical places in the city we decided to take a carriage ride, which lasted nearly 2 hours. We agreed to later that this was the way to go.
Afterwards, we went to a coffee nook for a delightful lunch before leaving.
Just north of the city are the birthplace of Sam Houston, of Texas fame, and the home of McCormick, the inventor of the McCormick reaper.
No one should visit this part of the Virginia without a stop in Lexington.
“And there was great joy in that city. “ -- Acts 8:8 (NKJV)

Greenbrier Resort

Greenbrier a Favorite Stop

On a recent trip driving through West Virginia, we came to a beautiful area where the famous Greenbrier hotel and resort is located.

Since it was nearly lunchtime, I asked if anyone was ready to eat, which was answered by all with a resounding, yes! Unbeknown to the others, I called and asked if we needed a reservation to eat in any of their restaurants, and received no as an answer.

In about 25 minutes we departed the interstate at White Sulfur Springs, and headed toward the resort, leaving them in wonderment.

When we finally drove into the entrance of this famous resort, which is one of the largest hotels in the eastern United States, it soon came into view, surprising my wife and friends since we had been in mountainous and rural West Virginia for miles.

The Greenbrier is an award-winning resort located in the Allegheny Mountains and is listed as a National Historic Landmark. The Greenbrier's classic architecture, exquisite interior design, abundant scenic beauty, and outstanding amenities have hosted distinguished guests from around the world since 1778.

A spring of sulphur water is at the center of the resort property. It issues forth below the green dome of the white-columned springhouse that has been the symbol of The Greenbrier for generations. Mrs. Anderson, a local pioneer, came to follow the local Native American tradition of "taking the waters" to restore her chronic rheumatism and for the first 125 years the resort was known by the name White Sulphur Springs.

The property soon fell into the hands of a prominent Baltimore family, the Calwells. Under the Calwells, the resort would begin to take shape. They sold cottages to prominent Southern individuals, many of which still stand today. Notable guests of the time included Martin van Buren and Henry Clay.

This renowned hotel offers 721 rooms, including exquisite guest and estate houses and more than 50 recreational activities including three championship golf courses, indoor and outdoor tennis courts a 40,000-square-foot spa and more.

To many travelers, this property is unknown, which is surprising because of the history and age of this famous hotel. Since I had been here before, a number of years ago, I have spent some time researching its history, and I’m including it below.

In 1857, a hotel was built on the property. This original hotel, The Grand Central Hotel, known by the moniker "The White" and later "The Old White", was torn down in 1922, several years after the addition of the current building. During the Civil War, the property changed hands between the Confederate Army and the Union Army, who almost burned the resort to the ground.

As a Civil War student I found it interesting that at White Sulphur Springs in1870, following the Civil War, the resort reopened. It became a place for many Southerners and Northerners alike to vacation, and the setting for many famous post-war reconciliations, including the White Sulphur Manifesto, which was the only political position issued by Robert E. Lee after the Civil War, that advocated the merging of the two societies. The resort went on to become a center of regional post-war society, especially after the arrival of the railroad.

In 1910, the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway purchased the resort property, building additional amenities and The Greenbrier Hotel in 1913. At this time, the name officially changed to The Greenbrier, as the neighboring town adopted the name White Sulphur Springs. During World War II, the resort served both as an army hospital and as a relocation center for some of the Axis diplomats interned as enemies of the United States.

After the war ended, C&O bought back the property from the government and reopened the resort, now redecorated by Dorothy Draper. Its reopening was a social event of the season, attracting such luminaries as the Duke of Windsor with his wife, Wallis Simpson, Bing Crosby, and members of the Kennedy family. In recent history, the resort has hosted several presidents and vice-presidents, foreign dignitaries such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Debbie Reynolds, and Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco. Twenty-six presidents have been hosted at The Greenbrier. The Presidents' Cottage Museum is a two-story building with exhibits about these visits and the history of The Greenbrier. The building is open seasonally. The last U.S. president to stay at The Greenbrier was Dwight Eisenhower.

On March 20, 2009, the resort filed for bankruptcy, listing debt of up to $500 million and assets of $100 million. The resort lost $166 million in 2008. On May 7, 2009, the Justice family of West Virginia publicly claimed that it had purchased the resort for $20 million. The Justice family, headed by patriarch James Justice, has extensive farm and milling operations in West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina including 50,000 acres that it farms through its Justice Family Farms group headquartered in Beckley, West Virginia. In early 2009, it sold its Bluestone Coal Corporation network of West Virginia coal mines to Mechel.

Due to the proximity to Washington DC an interesting development occurred in the late 1950s, when the U.S. government approached The Greenbrier for assistance in creating a secret emergency relocation center to house Congress in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust. The classified, underground facility, named "Project Greek Island", was built at the same time as the West Virginia Wing, an above-ground addition to the hotel, from 1959 to 1962.

Although the bunker was kept stocked with supplies for 30 years, it was never actually used as an emergency location, even during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The bunker's existence was not acknowledged until The Washington Post revealed it in a 1992 story; immediately after the Post story, the government decommissioned the bunker. The facility has since been renovated and is also used as a data storage facility for the private sector. It is once again featured as an attraction in which visitors can tour the now declassified facilities, now known as The Bunker. For a fee one can tour it, but due to our time we forfeited it.

This whole area is beautiful and has many stops for a traveler, but one should never be near the Greenbrier without stopping as we did for lunch or to stay in this spacious and beautiful hotel. I will remind you that the accommodation expense far exceeds the Holiday Inn.

Today, extremely expensive homes surround the hotel and resort grounds and are a beautiful tour in itself.

After a tour of the hotel and a sitting to eat a tasty meal, we drove around the grounds before leaving for Virginia to spend the night.

“In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” -- John 14:2 (NKJV)

Unexpected Grave

A Grave by Surprise

One of my desires in London was to visit the tomb of John Wesley near his home and the church where he preached many years ago. As my wife and I viewed the home, and then found the grave behind the church and the house, I inquired of the groundskeeper, where Mrs. Wesley was buried, after which he suggested that I go to the street and looked to the right and cross the street and go down through the Bunhill Field cemetery, where I would find her gravestone. Not only was I to find her stone, but would find the stones of other notable religious people whose history reflected itself in America.

I find it interesting to note that all the grave stones were small and just above the ground. I saw only two that were above the ground tombs. One was that of Daniel Defoe, who wrote Robinson Crusoe and the other John Bunyan, who had been imprisoned for twelve years for preaching without a license. It was while in prison, he wrote Pilgrim's Progress, an allegory of a man named Christian fleeing the City of Destruction and directed by Evangelist to follow a narrow path to the City of Zion. Unknown to many, it was the friends and dangers he meets along the way inspired the modern story Wizard of Oz.

This classic of John Bunyan, who died August 31, 1688, was translated into over a hundred languages and found in nearly every colonial American home.

Pilgrim’s progress has been read by many because it is such a classic and has been quoted by many great leaders, such as Ronald Reagan, when greeting Australia's Prime Minister, said: "Robert Louis Stevenson wrote, 'We are all travelers in what John Bunyan calls the wilderness of this world. And the best that we find in our travels is an honest friend-they keep us worthy of ourselves.'"

Also Franklin Roosevelt said: "When Theodore Roosevelt died, the Secretary of his class at Harvard, in sending classmates a notice of his passing, added this quotation

from Pilgrim's Progress: 'my sword I give to him that shall succeed me in my pilgrimage, and

My courage and skill to him that can get it. My marks and scars I carry with me, to be a witness for me that I have fought His battles who now will be my rewarder.'"

I have visited the graves of many great men but this memorial to one of Christianities great writers was a real blessing, especially since I was not searching for it but rather the grave of Susanna Wesley.

Afterwards, I found this bit of history and thought you might like a brief on this great man.

John was tried by magistrates in Chapel of Herne for not attending the parish church and for holding unlawful meetings. He was jailed for 3 months but, after just one month, he was visited by the magistrate’s clerk, who sought to persuade John to give a promise to cease preaching at 'private gatherings'. He told John that what the magistrates were concerned about was not the fact that John was not a licensed preacher but that he was preaching at conventicles) A secret or unlawful religious meeting, typically of people with nonconformist views.) These were private gatherings around England which the authorities suspected were being used as a cover for meetings where plots were being made to overthrow the King.

John argued that he had a higher obligation than to the king, that he had an obligation to God, to preach His word wherever and whenever he could. John argued that, if he promised not to preach in private places, this would prevent him - for example - from preaching to his neighbor in the privacy of his home and thus John would be failing in his obligation to God.

And there he remained, mostly, for the next 12 years. I find it interesting that in history people have done many great works, because in that same year Bunyan published “Profitable meditations”. In the years to follow he wrote and published “Praying in the Spirit”, “Christian behaviour”, “Serious meditations” , “Ebal & Gerizm”, “The Holy City”, “Resurrection of the dead” , “Prison meditations” , “Grace abounding” ,“Confession of faith” , “A defense of the doctrine of justification by faith”

In 1672 under King Charles' Declaration of Indulgence, John is released from prison and May 9^th was licensed as a teacher. He was officially pardoned by Charles in September. John was elected church pastor and a barn at end of Mill Street, Bedford was purchased and this becomes his new chapel, but in 1675-6 John's preaching licenses are recalled was imprisoned for six months in Bedford County Goal where and he wrote the first part of “Pilgrim’s Progress” and in1684 the second part of “Pilgrim’s Progress” was published.

Of his works, “Grace Abounding”, “The Holy City”, and “Pilgrim’s Progress” are my favorites.

On August 31st, during a visit to a friend, John Strudwick, in London - John Bunyan contracted pneumonia and died. He was buried in Struthwick’s family tomb in Bunhill Fields, City Road, London.

^“And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!" -- Romans 10:15

From my weekly column.

Dr. Alton Loveless is the former CEO/President of Randall House Publications, Nashville, Tn.; He is a freelance writer and has written for assorted publications printed both nationally and internationally. To see photos and read other stories click on http://altonloveless.blogspot.com/