The Legacy of Doc Savage

I was in Denton having lunch with a friend today, and I decided to stop by the Recycled Books bookstore, which is located in the former Wright’s Opera House. I like to pop in whenever I’m on the town square to see if they’ve gotten any “new” books. For the last 25 years, I’ve been searching for Doc Savage books to complete my collection.

My stepfather introduced me to the series from the 1930s about a team of do-gooder adventurers when I was in high school. Apparently, he grew up reading them, and he was excited to find them again. Over the years, it sort of became our thing together. Whenever I’d go to a used bookstore, I’d try to find books to add to his collection. I’d surprise him on Christmases and birthdays with random finds, and he was always excited. With close to 130 books, it seemed a daunting task to ever find them all, but I never gave up hope.

When my stepfather passed away 10 years ago, my mother asked me if there was anything of his that I wanted. The only thing I asked for was his collection of Doc Savage books. They were precious to him, and I felt invested in them as well. It was the best thing I could think of to carry on his memory. Over the years, I have continued to build on the collection whenever I could find additional books. I always dreamed that one day I’d pass along the legacy to my son, and he’d continue the treasure hunt.

Well today, I found a treasure trove! I found 35 additional books that I didn’t have. Apparently, someone had brought in a large collection of the books just last week, and I was fortunate enough to find them before anyone else. Now, I’m only 23 books shy of finishing the journey I started so long ago. So close to fulfilling my stepfather’s legacy. I wish he was here to see it now, to see what it’s turned into. I don’t think either of us ever imagined we’d get this far. There’s still more to find, but the end is definitely in sight. I still intend to pass this legacy to my son. I just hope he appreciates its value as much I do.

Nachum Ish Gamzu

When something bad happens to you, it’s easy to immediately blame God or start to question why He let it happen. I heard someone once say to God, “I was serving You through this. Why would you let this happen?!” I have uttered almost those exact words myself at different times.

But I recently heard the story of Nachum Ish Gamzu, and I’ve changed my perspective on things. Nachum was a Jewish rabbi in the first century known for having unyielding optimism in the face of misfortune. He got his nickname “Gamzu” from a Hebrew phrase that he was known for uttering, “gam zu le-tovah,” which means “this, too, is for the best.”

There is a famous story of Nachum being sent on a mission by the Jews to the Roman emperor to deliver a treasure of great wealth to convince him to rethink a law that was detrimental to them. On the way, Nachum stopped at an inn for the night. The innkeeper and his son stole the treasure from Nachum and replaced it with sand. When Nachum delivered the box to the emperor, he opened it and was furious at the disrespect the Jews had shown him. He had Nachum thrown into prison, but all he said was “gam zu le-tovah,” believing that God would use this for good.

Later that evening, Elijah appeared before the emperor and said, “Surely you do not think the Jews would make fun of you and send you ordinary sand. Maybe it’s the kind that their father Abraham used to defeat his enemies at war? It has been told that Abraham threw handfuls of sand against his enemies that turned into swords and deadly arrows. Maybe it’s that secret weapon. Wouldn’t it be advisable to test this sand that the Jews sent you?”

The emperor was currently fighting a war against the barbarians, so he sent the sand to his generals and ordered them to try it against the enemy. And by a miracle, it thwarted the barbarians and sent them fleeing in terror. The emperor released Nachum, changed the law, and filled his own wooden box with jewels and gold from his treasury.

As he was on his way back home, he stopped at the same inn. Upon hearing of his story, the innkeeper asked him what he gave the emperor that had granted such favor. Nachum said, “Only what I carried from here.” So, the innkeeper and his son dug up their entire property and took the dirt to the emperor. They said, “This is the same dirt that the Jew brought, only we have brought more to make yo even happier!” The emperor tried the dirt from the innkeeper, but no miracle happened this time. So, the emperor ordered the innkeeper and his son to be hung and their bodies buried with the same dirt they had brought with them.

When Nachum heard what happened, he shrugged and said, “gam zu le-tovah.”

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

Romans 8:18

 

“Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth.”

Colossians 3:2

 

“The afflictions of the righteous are many, but the Lord rescues him from them all.”

Psalms 34:19

Jason Statham & the Aston Martin

Awhile back, my spousal unit moved to Los Angeles for three months to take an acting class. I asked her if she had had any celebrity encounters while she was there, and she said just one. She was parked at a stoplight one day when a beautiful Aston Martin pulled up beside her. She looked over and saw Jason Statham in the car. I asked her if he’d tried to flirt with her, being that he was a notorious womanizer. She said, “Unfortunately not.”

Wait…what?!

The Bone Bruise

So, I got the results from the MRI on my knee today. Apparently, I have a contusion, which is a bruise…on a bone. Leave it to me to do something strange like that. That I only had a contusion and not a broken bone or torn ligament was the good news. The bad news was where I managed to bruise the bone. I hit it right on the ball joint of the femur, exactly where it meets the tibia. So, every time I extend my leg, the two bones come together and hit the bruise. This is why it’s so painful. It also means it’s going to take a very long time to heal. The doctor said a minimum of three months, and only if I refrain from any sort of high impact activities, like running and jumping. I’m currently at six weeks, but honestly I’ve been running around with my son on occasion, so I’ve probably made it worse. Slowing down is going to be very hard for me.

The Voice of God

GR said that when we were in our old offices, he was sitting in his cube one day, and a loud booming voice said, “Hello!” He immediately looked upward and replied, “Yes, god?” because it could only be the Almighty who spoke with such a voice.

He said, “It was like my soul was talking to me.”

“Who are you?” he asked the voice.

“This is Samuel…James…Henderson, and I’ll be your ITL…on this project. If you have any issues…any issues at all…I’ll be the person…that will assist you.”

I guess I wasn’t the only one that had a run-in with that guy.

Bicycles in Delhi

GR was haranguing us with stories of traffic problems in India, specifically in Delhi. He said that normal people become monsters when you put them in traffic in Delhi. They might seem like the nicest person in the world in the office, but put them on a bicycle, and you’d never recognize them. And bicycles are the worst. Everyone rides them to avoid traffic more easily. And they’ll go anywhere…scooting between cars, riding on sidewalks…they’ll even ride through someone’s house if they open the door!

But he said the funniest thing was when two bicyclists would get into an altercation. They’d both pull over and have a “fist fight” on the side of the road. Of course nobody actually hit anyone. They’d both point at themselves and angrily ask, “Do you know who my father is?!” Because everyone has a father in a high position of government in Delhi.

Zero Sugar...Same Medical Side Effects

What is this big fad with trying to make sodas healthier by removing the sugar? All these companies are releasing “Zero Sugar” options. Instead they’re replacing sugar with Aspartame. Which was the same thing they did when they made “Diet” versions of soft drinks. So, they essentially just rebranded diet soda to sound more appealing.

And why the focus on removing sugar, as if that's the only bad thing that’s in a soda? Many studies have raised concerns that regular and diet sodas increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes. They have both been linked to obesity, kidney damage, and certain cancers. Regular sodas have been linked to elevated blood pressure. So, is sugar really the only thing to be worried about with sodas? I’ve never heard of anyone having an increased risk of any of these things from drinking water…just saying.