About a year ago, a song introduced slow-learning me to the concept of an "Irish goodbye", and it is an Irish goodbye of sorts that Paul does here at the end of this letter. He always ends a letter with a doxology, and I saw at least four full or partial ones in the last two chapters of this book. Each one had to do with a topical concern, that can easily apply to us, and the doxology that followed addressed what Christ would do to get them- and us- past the concern.
First doxology: Concern- worry
2Th 2:16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God, even our Father, who has loved us and has given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, 2Th 2:17 comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.
The concern here, the main concern of the letter entire, was that some had come after Paul and tried to convince this church that Jesus had already come again- and somehow, they missed it. In the second of 3 chapters, Paul step-by-steps why this wasn't the case. It was a needless worry- as all worries are- and Paul reminded them that God was there to bring His comfort, and establish them in their stand against Satan and His lies. God has already given us the consolation we need, in that He sent Christ to ensure our eternal future, if we believe.
Second doxology: Concern- protection
2Th 3:3 But the Lord is faithful, who shall establish you and guard you from the evil.
This was in response to Paul's own request that they pray for him and his entourage (Silvanus and Timothy) to be protected against evil men and that they be left free to continue spreading the Word. By their prayers for the Apostle, they would likewise be girding themselves, that they might stand against evil and be protected from it.
Third doxology: Concern- obedience
2Th 3:5 And may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patience of Christ.
This came from the preceding verse where Paul expresses his confidence that they are doing- and will keep doing, what they have been taught. This, in a way, is the same prayer he has been praying the whole time- that they take comfort in God's love for them, and be patient in waiting for the Lord, thus diffusing the rumors that started their problems in the first place.
Final doxology: Concern- church divisions
2Th 3:16 And may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all.
The final problem that Paul addressed was that, as a result of the false teachers, several of the otherwise faithful "deduced" that since Jesus had already returned, they had no further need of earthly concerns- especially working for a living! Paul had to make sure they were firm with these people- since man has a vested self-interest in being lazy and idle- but to mind that they were still brothers, if mistaken. If they would do what was necessary to keep this heresy from spreading, the church would be at peace. If they let it go on, not so much.
Summing up, Paul, through their concerns, addressed the main concerns of all Christians. In worry, remember that God's got it handled. In fighting evil, he gives us an example of praying for others first, that God would take care of you as well. In obedience, he asks us to remember God's love- so great He sent His Son- and Christ's patience with us. And in divisions, to work firmly and lovingly for peace.
This week's FB posts- and thanks for all the comments on these!
The Better Part, Day #81:
1Co 3:21 So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours,
1Co 3:22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future--all are yours,
1Co 3:23 and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.
Today I heard Charles Stanley in tears, describing how, even though he'd read this verse so many times, he had had to get on his knees and ask Jesus to show him what it truly meant. What great truth brings such a veteran man of God to tears? That is between him and Jesus; for me, it was the thought that a man so long in the ministry STILL finds the treasures in God's Word so precious. What it meant might help me to knowledge, but those tears brought me to praise.
The Better part, Day #82:
Rev 21:4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."
In the midst of my afternoon prayer for refreshing, how is this for a refreshing thought? You're in heaven, and a friend says, "Hey, remember when?" And you look at them and smile, and answer, "No... I really don't!"
The Better Part, day #83:
Mat 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
There are days, and places, where you hear this and you think, "Wait a minute, does this mean everything gets easy when you become a Christian?" And no, else He wouldn't have also said, "In this world, you will have tribulations..." This is a promise for heaven; BUT... once saved, we are in the heavenlies, as Paul said. Which means, avoiding temporal mechanics, we are already seated with Jesus, and we are experiencing the lightened yoke. And, if we have that knowledge in hand, we have a bit of that lightness already, even in the heaviness of what we term "here and now".
The Better part, day #84:
Confession time: Last night, I took care of too many other things first and didn't get around to a post.l It had been a long day, and what I thought I'd post about was buried in my mind, and being to lazy to put it to thought, I told myself, "Even the Pastors we listen to have reruns once in a while."
Their excuse: They are cutting them from Sunday sermons in front of their congregations. I just have to find something to treasure in God's Word every day. In other words, I was full of it. I WILL be doing better. Some nights I will have a good reason- last night was not it. Remind me tomorrow, I need to tell the Chicken Wire story.
The Better Part, Day#85:
So yesterday Charles Stanley was talking about how sin attacks best when you're in HALT- hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. In the course of talking defense against this, he said something that hit me 'twixt the eyes:
"...and if you aren't daily seeking God's Word, you're not building a wall, you're making chicken wire."
And that so applies to me. I (not I, but God) have built a solid chicken coop, with battlements and walls thick enough to fend off all but direct strikes from a nuke (exaggerating for contrast), but there is one door, which one fox knows how to get in, that's made of chicken wire. And my own best efforts at security have only put a hook-and-loop lock on it. Lord, I need you to put a proper door there. Certain parts of me are unwilling to do it, because it reminds me of the 'old days' and the fox is a cute little fellow whose robbing me blind. I cannot count on me.
The Better Part, Day #86:
1Ti 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith. Lay hold on eternal life, to which you are also called and have professed a good profession before many witnesses.
When I struggle, when I want to fall, let this remind me. I have a claim through Christ of eternal life, I have a calling, and my witness ripples out to others.
Man, Boss, I was here and was wearin' shamrocks and stuff, and then Noodle tells me you ain't comin' in last week! I was bummin'...
Yeah, I'm sorry... I was sick, I was down, and just didn't have the heart for it... But that means this week is gonna be kinda messed up... for one, the Beatles had to be scratched, which is always a shame...
Yeah, ain't it...
And this week it's just me and you, and LAST WEEK'S hits from 1965, and 2 sets of M10 countdowns...
Man, I hate to say it, but we may NEED the Beatles to pull this one off!
Courage, Elvis, courage. There is one thing I would like to do before anything else. A couple nights ago, I was informed of the death of classic rocker Michael Stanley- another loss to the demon that is cancer, and with the demon hard at work as well on BJ Thomas, who announced he's in stage four. Michael, unlike BJ, never got the national notoriety that he warranted, and I want to feature him with one of his best. It only got to 39 nationally- a lot higher in the Midwest for the Cleveland boy.
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Y'know what sucks, though- we never did anything for St Patty's last week.
That would be the day I worked for a whopping 2 hours and 40 minutes and came home. But never fear- while you were up here whining, I looked at the charts and found the Martin Era 2.0 (1955-1977) songs that were #1 on the years Billboard and Cashbox published their charts exactly on St Patrick's Day! You will note, though, that out of 4 songs that had that distinction, as they published on all the same days, save once, there is ONE song that was #1 on SPD on BB but NOT on CB! Your job, is to pick which song was NOT a St Patrick's chart topper on Cashbox! Was it...
Nelson Riddle, Lisbon Antigua (1956)
The Champs, Tequila (1958)
Bruce Channel, Hey Baby (1962)
or Roberta Flack, Killing Me Softly (1973)!
Oh, wow, you made 'em green!
I just hope they show up on the background! Anyway, let me get to last week's M10, and... hey, who's at the door?
Hey, it's Ringworm!
RS: That's Rin-GO, Elvis Parsley...
Nice to see you! Did you come to help us out?
RS: No, I think I'm just late... were we supposed to be here last week? I don't see the other lads...
Yeah, it's a long story. But since you're here, how about you do last week's M10?
RS: Sounds like you lot are late as well! Very good, then...
Last week, Chris's top ten were...
Those lovely boys from Royal Blood with Typhoons at #10, down 5...
Dami Im is up one spot with Abandoned Pincushion...
EP: LONELY CACTUS. You oughtta leave the jokes to the professionals...
And should we ever have a professional in this place, we'll look into that. Carry on...
RS: The debut at #8 is this one by Matthew Sweet...
Then we have Leon Bridges and his mate with Like A Ship at 7, up 2...
Tommy James and the Shondells have a bit of a tumble, down 4 to #6 with Hold Ont Him... seems they should have held on a bit tighter...
EP: I have something for you to hold right...
THAT will do, bud! Carry on...
RS: Er, yes, the Fratellis move up to 5 with Action Replay...
Weezer holds at 4 with Grapes Of Wrath...
Pale Waves goes from 6 to 3 with You Don't Own Me... Is this a Leslie Gore cover?
EP: Are all you guys gonna ask that? NO!
RS: No need to twist yer knickers, Parsley...
EP: It's not Parsley!
RS: Sage?
Moving right along...
RS: Yes, quite. The Explorer's Club are up next with Don't Waste Her Time pulling into the #2 spot.
And finally, it seems American Pie has had quite an innings, 6 weeks now and counting.
EP: Yeah, I'll bet you guys couldn'tna done that...
Actually, I Want To Hold Your Hand was 8 weeks at the top on CB, and Hey Jude was 7....
EP: Whatever....
Anyway, last week we had 17 songs from 79 stations, including these songs that ended up on the year's hot 100:
Gerry and the Pacemakers, Ferry Cross the Mersey, #82
Beatles, Eight Days A Week, 55- a finalist
Freddie and the Dreamers, I'm Telling You Now, 48
Supremes, Stop In The Name Of Love, 24- a finalist
Herman's Hermits, Can't You Hear My Heartbeat, 22- a finalist
Jewel Akins, The Birds And The Bees, 20- a finalist
Roger Miller, King Of The Road, 17
and Gary Lewis and the Playboys, This Diamond Ring, 15.
And so, you have the four finalists there- Eight Days A Week (which was #1 last week), Stop In The Name Of Love (8), Can't You Hear My Heartbeat (12), The Birds And The Bees (3), plus the Seekers and I'll Never Find Another You (Debuts tomorrow), to choose from. In the meantime, here's the song that debuts on THIS week's M10 at #10... more Elton John from Jewel Box, this one a b-side to a 1997 hit...
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Just to let you know, the 6D victim would have been the Temptations, with My Girl at #2. Ringo, would you like to handle the Overseas If You Please...
EP: Oh sure, let him do everything...
RS: Elvis, just to show what a sporting chap I am, I'll let you do half... Here, let me do England and Australia, you can do Canada and New Zealand...
EP: That's mighty nice of you! You go first!
RS: All right, then, Australia had I'll Never Find Another You, which rather explains its spot in the finals...
EP: Okay, and Canada had... hey, it was your Eight Days A Week! You did that on purpose!
RS: Now, you're being right paranoid! In the UK, we had Mick and his lot, the Rolling Stones, and The Last Time. Elvis?
EP: Yeah, the New Zealand song was... HEY! This is that year they lost the data to their charts!
RS: Oh, right... guess that was a bit cheeky of me...
Before he blows a gasket, let's give my big buddy a chance to right the ship by telling which song was a SPD #1 on BB but not CB...
EP: Uh, yeah, that would be Tequila by the Champs. Guess that makes sense, being the one year that wasn't spaced away from the rest...
And the big mover last week...
EP: Sure, that would have been the Beach Boys with Do Ya Wanna Dance, up 31 spots, 74 to 43.
And this week's new M10 chart!
EP: All right! So, 9 was Hold On To Him, down from 6...
8 was Like A Ship, sinking one spot from 7- see, now that was a joke!
RS: What was?
EP: Never mind, you Brits don't understand the subtle stuff. 7 was Lonely Cactus, up 2...
6 was Grapes Of Wrath, down 2 in it's 7th week...
5 was Action Replay again...
4 and blowing up 4 was Blown Away...
RS: Now, that one I got. Wasn't funny, mind you...
EP: GRRRR.... Number 3 was You Don't Own Me, again...
OMG! American Pie is at NUMBER TWO! Which means the new #1 is....\
...The Explorer's Club with their fifth Number One, Don't Waste Her Time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice job. Ringo, the finals?
RS: Of course. If you took the Searchers or Mr Akins, that will be 7.6 %...
Peter Noone and his lot get you 12.6%...
The Supremes got you 17.7%...
But, no surprise to me, with 35.4%
...why it's me and the Lads, with Eight Days a Week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And there you have it! God willing, a fresh new TM next week, with the Beatles and 1966!
The main of Paul's ending of this letter was a series of instructions, which I could have just broke down verbatim to see another fine set of tools to live by. But I wanted it to mean a bit more, so I looked to see if that ol' stairstep analysis gave something more. And it did.
The two bottom rungs are the most direct warnings to us: Stay sober and awake (v8) and abstain from all evil (v22). Makes sense that if we are going to climb this pyramid, we have to start there. We can't make a journey to God- which is what this is- without preparing for the climb.
The next set have us encouraging each other (v11) and testing everything, keeping what is good (v21). As the mission spreads out from ourselves, we have two jobs- encouraging others to come along on the journey, and making sure WE are going the right way. Both of these first two steps make it clear, you aren't journeying if you just sit in the pew nodding.
Third steps call on us to keep the peace by respecting the authority of our teachers in the Lord (vv12, 13) and to make sure we listen to what they tell us (v20). So check this out: The first steps got us climbing; the second steps concerned those behind us; the third concerns those before us!
Fourth set gradually moves us toward the "God" end of things. We have to both make sure those following us are doing right before God, working with them on their weaknesses IN PATIENCE (v14), while making sure we are listening to the Spirit of God to work on OUR faults (v19), not quenching the Spirit to do the things that are making the others idle, fainthearted, or weak.
Fifth gets us close to God, and it is beginning to show: we begin to abandon the eye-for-eye attitude of men, and actively seek out how to do our enemies a good turn instead (v15), and giving thanks in all circumstances (v18). Note that this covers our actions with ALL people at ALL times.
This is even better than I thought it would be when I started! "Use your tools", the Lord says, and you'll be blessed!
Final step is you before God: Rejoice always (v16) and pray without ceasing (v17). And now we have made the climb from ourselves to God. I don't know if Paul ever had it in his mind to see this ending like this, but I can sure see the Spirit's hand on it!
This was a scuffling week; but I am back on the path, and hope what I did get done helps you as well....
The Better Part, Day# 76:
Luk 22:31 "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat,
Luk 22:32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."
David Jeremiah made the point that Jesus gave Peter the one thing he needed to overcome this sifting right after- He gave Him a command to pray with Him at Gethsemane. A tool he was "too tired" to use.
And as I listened, I was a bit disturbed in spirit, and asked God how to overcome it. God knew He'd already given me a tool I hadn't been using lately: my BLEST HOW FAVA acronym that walks me through the lessons to be learned from Peter's mistakes.
We need to remember when we feel like we're "on the ropes", Jesus has likely given us the tools to get back up.
(NOTE: That certainly applied this week!)
The Better Part, Day#77:
"Using the tools, part 2"! So it was a day last week, When I asked in prayer for someone to show kindness to, that I heard a news story on the way home. I don't remember if the subject of the report was a criminal or a politician (easily confusing), and I was restraining myself from wishing them ill when I felt Jesus saying, "Here's your chance- pray for them."
Knowing that this was a tool in the box He gave me took till today. Exhausted with about an hour to go in the day, I asked for refreshing. "You have the tools", was the response. Praying for those I might not normally think to pray for- not to mention a few that I would have anyway- did the job! Second wind accomplished, mood improved, day done!
The Better part, day #78:
This weekend, our pastor pointed out several ways that the story of healing the leper in Mark 'flipped' Jesus's entire ministry. I know how my own faith had to 'flip' after 30 years to grow. This morning I got an idea of why. Michael Youseff was having some fun with the Cain and Abel story- ideas like perhaps Cain brought grain because he founded PETA, etc.- and it struck me. Just like the way of this world, Cain had a problem killing animals- but no such problem killing a human... no wonder that to grow in faith, we need to 'flip' our world.
The Better Part, day#79:
This one sin, according to a recent survey by a group involved in recovery from it, has 40 million regular participants in the USA.
This one sin brings in more money than ABC, CBS, and NBC combined.
47% of American homes deal with it.
It is involved in 56% of divorces.
87% of women have done it. 68% of Christian men do it regularly.
Only 7% of Churches have programs to deal with it- maybe because 50% of pastors admit to having the problem.
Which sin is it? Doesn't matter. If you aren't in these statistics, you're still a sinner. Tony Evans says it's not an obedience problem, it's a love problem. We fail to obey because we don't put the work into loving Jesus.
Experts tell us you have to work at real love. Should love for Jesus be different?
The Better part, Day #80:
1Th 5:24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
I just had the most amazing look at God's blessings as I typed up my blog's Bible Study for Wednesday. I have mentioned several times the concept of "using the tools Jesus gave you", and in using one of them, I saw a passage open up in the most marvelous way! God constantly awes me with the way He hides the best wisdom in His word; Now, it's time to pray for the application!
Today's regular Time Machine post will not be seen this week. I don't have COVID, but something laid me out Wednesday, and Thursday typing night is not going to be a go. Tune in next week for what will then be last week's show!
The Song of Solomon is not a favorite to teach on; its intimacy between a man and a woman is what Chuck Swindoll means when he says the Word of God is " sometimes, downright raw." But one thing I have always known is, you can take this both as a work of beautiful poetry, a guide on love and marriage, and an allegory about Christ and His Church. But that doesn't make it easier to teach. Praying for insight on this this week, I heard David Jeremiah ask the question to his audience, "How do YOU read your Bible?" One thing that struck my mind is to read it like a letter from God, and the implications on this last chapter of SOS became quickly apparent to me.
Every letter written properly contains three parts: a beginning, an introduction, and a summary conclusion. And having been poring over this chapter, I saw it had all three.
Introduction
Son 8:1 Oh that you were like a brother to me who nursed at my mother's breasts! If I found you outside, I would kiss you, and none would despise me. Son 8:2 I would lead you and bring you into the house of my mother-- she who used to teach me. I would give you spiced wine to drink, the juice of my pomegranate. Son 8:3 His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me! Son 8:4 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases.
The introduction- if we go the allegory route- starts with the absolute devotion of Church to Christ, not in any base sexual way, but as a family, brother-sister level. A Level that brings Christ into the home, into every intimate part of life- yet with the admonition of propriety, remembering to Fear God.
The Body
Now here I have to step fully into allegory, and remember that of those who say they believe in God, there are two camps that criticize the True Church. The first come up in the passage that my Bible describes as 'the Kinsman':
Son 8:5 Who is that coming up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved? Under the apple tree I awakened you. There your mother was in labor with you; there she who bore you was in labor.
This would be the "I knew you when" crowd- those who haven't the wisdom to see the difference between one who is a Christian in truth and people who say they are, and commit all manner of atrocities in 'the name of the Lord'. The Shulamite- the Church- faithfully re-explains her desire for Christ; and then the second group comes in- "her brothers":
Son 8:8 We have a little sister, and she has no breasts. What shall we do for our sister on the day when she is spoken for? Son 8:9 If she is a wall, we will build on her a battlement of silver, but if she is a door, we will enclose her with boards of cedar.
These 'believers' do not believe the True Church has the proper wisdom or guidance. Bereft of the "Church fathers" and the interpretations they hand down, they are deemed children who know nothing, and need to be shut behind battlements and walls and not left to seek Christ for themselves. But she has an answer for these false brothers, as well:
Son 8:10 I am a wall, and my breasts are my towers. And he is satisfied with me!
Conclusion
Here at last we have interaction between the Shulamite/the True Church and her Beloved/Christ:
Son 8:12 (Her) My vineyard, my very own, is before me; you, O Solomon, may have the thousand, and the keepers of the fruit two hundred.
Son 8:13 (Him) O you who dwell in the gardens, with companions listening for your voice; let me hear it.
Son 8:14 (Her) Make haste, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices.
The Church submits her all to Christ; He calls out to her, and she cries out for His return!
So today apparently Blogger is celebrating "Put the pictures up in reverse order" day, but it was too nice a walk to worry about such things.
So here we are later on at the Swamp, where the flock is being quite noisy.
Here at Scrappy's Landing, you can see the river is way down...
That was moments after we arrived at the Duck Pond...
...where I would have already told you, "The last time we were here, the fox must have bagged a couple of geese. Thankfully, he came back the next night and finished the meal."
Here we are arriving at the Duck Pond. This is kinda like Time Machine, isn't it?
Winner, first ground hog false alarm picture.
And now, the next six pictures, which I assume will be backwards, as well.
Well, surprise surprise, this is the right order.
Meanwhile, back at the Swamp, let sleeping ducks lie.
Toldja the river was down...
Down enough I had to walk through this to let Misty get her drink.
Here come the last four, God only knows which way they'll be...
Well, there's the clam shell we found, so that's in the right order...
About to barge through a field of geese and killdeers...
Jas 5:17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.
When you tear apart the phrase, "Pray fervently", you see how some versions (the literal versions) translated this, "He prayed with prayer". What does that mean? Well, if you contrast with Matt 23:14-
Mat 23:14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
-you can see there's a difference between a fervent prayer and a LONG prayer. The phrase in Matthew means just what it says- a prayer with length. In James, it means "wishing forward to God".You pray fervently to God with just enough words to make your wish known- but remembering it is also submitting that wish to the idea that "Thy will be done".
The Better Part, Day# 71:
Me, griping about something, to God: "This thing is a pertinent question..."
God: "Not if My promises are trustworthy."
Me: "You're right again!"
The Better Part, Day #72:
So today, David Jeremiah asked, "Do you read the Bible like, 'Well, let's see what God wants me to know today, and how to get what I want'?" I thought to myself that no, I don't do that... but then I asked, "How DO I read it?" God reminded me I should read it like a letter, from Himself to me- with an introduction, a main body, and a conclusion. As you will see next week, this was the key to understanding what I am to do with a very difficult Wednesday Bible Study post. Try practicing this method- I know I'm going to!
The Better Part, Day #73:
Me, obviously inspired by Satan: I don't feel like all that prayer today, I need a day off...
God: Oh? A day without My refreshing, without my Strength for the day, without My provision...
Me: This has certainly been my week for stupid comments, hasn't it...
The Better Part. day #74:
A quote from Don Wilton, Billy Graham's personal pastor, in an interview with Decision Magazine:
"He always made me feel like I was the important person, that I had the answer, that I was the one who understood what the Bible was saying, that I was the one who needed to be consulted. And the Only way I came to understand this was that I was watching someone who reflected the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus humbled himself to the point that He became the servant...Mr Graham would be most unhappy with me for saying that because he did not see himself that way."
The Better Part, Day #75:
2Ki 23:24 Moreover, Josiah put away the mediums and the necromancers and the household gods and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might establish the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD.
2Ki 23:25 Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him.
2Ki 23:26 Still the LORD did not turn from the burning of his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him.
We all pray for revival, whether it be in our family group or a nation or a world. And we should live our lives and pray our prayers based on the idea that revival can spring up even in a day as evil as that of Josiah, if the Word is sought and obey. But comes a day when the faith of that one man, or that precious few, is not enough. On one side, I had been hearing a lot of people talking that they felt a day of revival was coming- until 2020, and now it shifts to judgment. In between, we have the truth of the matter- pray for that revival, hope in that revival- but recognize that it won't be enough unless the hearts of ALL the people change, and that this evil people who have self-righteously declared themselves 'post-Christian' may have made it too late for themselves.
Today is March 12, 1964 here in the ol' Tardis, and how's about THIS story...
The U.S. House of Representatives voted against raising their salaries by 45 percent (from $22,500 to $32,500 annually), declining, 184–222, to approve a bill that would have raised the salaries of 1.7 million other U.S. government employees. While the original intention was to have the measure made subject to a voice vote, where it would not be clear which individual Congress members wanted to give themselves pay raises, about one half of those present supported a motion to put the matter to a roll call vote. For the record, Democrats supported the measure 149 to 86, while the Republican vote was only 35 for and 136 against.
Just to be fair, I thought I would see how that stacks up today. In fact, the last time Congress VOTED themselves a raise was in 1991; since then, they have an automatic adjustment factor. To their credit, they have voted the auto-increase DOWN more often than not, the last raise, of 2.8%, came in 2009- before I started this blog! In fact, had they taken every adjustment allowed since they kicked in in '92, they would be making $44,600 more than they are- more than they made altogether in'64! Of course, they're also making 7.7 times more now than they were back then... Although by not taking the adjustment in 12 years, adjusted for inflation, Member salaries decreased approximately 17% from 2009 until 2020.
And as we are in 1964, you know this will be a Beatle-centric post, with 7 Beatles songs on the top 150, and 5 more about them.
Man, here we go again!
So I'm going to try and break this up with a three way contest this week- along with a live 6D, 2 new M10 debuts, and the mounting tension of, does American Pie redone become the first 5-week #1 in M10 history! All this and Skeeter Davis, too!
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First, the debut at # 10, and this is a familiar, if not seen in a while, face on the M10! With her third trip into the ten, here's Dami Im...
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Hi, Skeeter, welcome back!
Yes, it certainly seems like I'm the designated Beatle Lady!
Yep, we're about two weeks back of where we met last year, but you still snagged a win and once again, your reward...
EP: If you choose to accept it...
Thank you, Mission Commander... anyway, your reward, Skeeter, is to preside over this week's games, which- at 3 of 'em- is down from last week as promised, if only by one.
EP: Game one should be pin the tail on the...
Thank you! Ladies and Gentlemen, Elvis Presley! Now first thing's first. 7 actual songs from 59 stations- one of them not even a Beatles song!
SD: So first thing is, who is the song that is not a Beatle but IS a finalist! You get to choose from...
Fun Fun Fun by the Beach Boys, at #6 on Cashbox this week...
Navy Blue by Diane Renay, the #7...
It Hurts Me by Elvis at #69...
EP: SIXTY-NINE??? I'm getting tooken again!
Suspicion by Terry Stafford at 32- in fact, he's the big mover at a 27 spot climb from 59...
EP: Yeah well, he may kinda sound like me, but he's not better looking...
SD: I don't know, Elvis... he's not that bad looking, either...
What do ya think, ladies? If you wanna vote, just leave it in the comments and I'll bug Elvis with the winner next week! Anyway, you have one more of these prospective finalists, Skeeter?
Yes, your last choice is Dawn by the Four Seasons at #3.
Okay, so five chances to pick the seventh finalist- who also has a shot at being the Panel winner!
EP: Yeah, a very slim shot...
Would you kindly go play in the traffic? So what about the second game?
SD: Well, Chris, that game goes like this: As Chris wrote down the votes, he also wrote down which non-Beatle song was the highest on each of these charts. Your second game is, take those songs we named before:
Fun Fun Fun
Navy Blue
It Hurts Me
Suspicion
and Dawn
And guess which one was the best non-Beatle song on the MOST charts! Keep in mind, this does NOT necessarily have to be the same as the first winner, because that is based only on #1 votes, and this is any vote that was the highest non-Beatle on the list. Got it? Great! Now the third game is, of course the Panel itself! Choose from your game one favorite, plus these Beatles songs:
I Want To Hold Your Hand at #1...
I Saw Her Standing There, the flip of that song...
Please Please Me at #4...
She Loves You at #2...
All My Loving, which hasn't charted yet...
and Twist And Shout, which debuts at #64!
And just in case it helps, here's where all the Panelists and non-Panelists got to on the years top 100:
Bobby Goldsboro, See The Funny Little Clown (one 4th place vote), #90...
Navy Blue, 86...
Twist And Shout, #55...
Please Please Me, #37...
Suspicion, #30...
Dawn, #30...
Al Hirt with Java at #16 (and one time at #4)...
The Dave Clark Five and Glad All Over at #9 (with a #3 and a #9...)
Louis Armstrong's Hello Dolly! at #3 (with 1 #2)...
She Loves You at #2...
And I Want To Hold Your Hand, the year's biggest!
Okay folks, you got your work cut out for you again this week! In the meantime, here's that second debut at #9- another familiar voice on the M10. With some help from a young man named Keite Young, here's Leon Bridges...
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So who exactly are Hugo and Luigi? Let me take you the long way. In the mid to late 1970's they owned H&L records- a label that never placed a single higher than #69 on the pop charts. However, they had once upon a time ran Avco records, and the dude that had that #69 had a number one on Avco- Van McCoy and The Hustle. Luigi Creatore and Hugo Peretti had long been in the record business- at one point, they were creative directors and helped found Roulette records- getting out before its ties to the Genovese mafia family came out. Before that, yet, they were producers for acts other than Hugo and Luigi, including working on the Tokens' The Lion Sleeps Tonight, the Isleys and Shout, and Little Peggy March's I Will Follow Him. I believe Elvis can add something here...
EP: Well, I could, but I'm out playing in traffic...
Have it your way... Hugo and Luigi...
Okay, okay. They were co-writers on Can't help Falling In Love, too!
And, they were a large part of Sam Cooke's success, including producing the song Good News, which is our 6D victim at #9 without a Panel second...
Skeeter, you wanna give us those game 1 and 2 winners before we roll on?
SK: You bet! The one song that got on the Panel that wasn't a Beatles hit was- Terry Stafford, Suspicion!
EP: Of course it was...
SD: Oh, jealous, your song had 2 number two votes, that's not bad...
EP: Bet that means I didn't win game 2 either...
SD: I'm afraid so, sweetie. You see, Navy Blue had 3...
EP: Well, at least I was cl...
SD: and Suspicion had five...
EP: UH-oh...
SD: and Fun Fun Fun had six! But the winner with 23 times they were the next best...
...the Four Seasons!
EP: Those guys get on my nerves about as bad as the Beatles! Why I wish I...
Frankie Valli: Hey, shut it, cry baby!
Hey, Frankie, nice to see you! As a dude with no small success on the M10, why don't you go ahead and do the Overseas, If You Please- if Skeeter don't mind...
SD: No sir, go right ahead!
EP: Gettin' crowded in here... guess I'll go see what's up in the commissary...
FV: All right, Paisans, here's what was riding the radio this week:
New Zealand and Australia both had I Saw Her Standing There at the top...
Canada had I Want To Hold Your Hand...
Now, England had already been through stage one of Beatlemania, and had moved on. Their number one was a song also on the American charts, but by a different artist. There, it was Cillia Black singing Anyone Who Had A Heart at #1, while here Dionne Warwick was at #55.
Hey, thanks a lot, Frankie! Skeeter, how about the M10?
Well, okay, but I don't know most of these...
Neither do most of the readers, unless they play the videos!
All right, so at #8 is Crack The Sky with Blowing Up Detroit- is this like a Motown thing?
Not really...
Number seven is the Fratellis with Action Replay, up 2 spots...
Six and moving up 4 are Pale Waves and You Don't Own Me... not a Leslie Gore cover, is it?
No...
Didn't figure it would be, somehow... number five and holding is Royal Blood and Typhoons...
Weezer drops 2 to #4 with Grapes Of Wrath...
The Explorer's Club is up 3 to #3 with Don't Waste Her Time...
Tommy James and the Shondells up to #2 with Hold On To Him....
Which means number one, for a record breaking 5th week, is...
Home Free with Don McLean and American Pie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks, Skeeter! Hey cry baby, you want the Panel?
No. I do not.
Suit yourself. Last chance to shine before the Beatles take over...
Gimme that! So here's the thing. Voting for Stafford got ya exactly 5%. Not looking so good now, huh!
Same for Saw Her Standin' There, Please Please Me, an' All My Loving. Twist an' Shout did even worse, with 1.6%.
So the real battle was Hold Yer Hand or She Loves You. One got 47.7%, the other'n got 30.5%. An' the winner...
She Loves Ya! So be here next week for them guys once again... and probably watch them win again!
