Our Children in the Eighties (11)

My Own Return to Academia

While Ruby was in school, she not only involved herself in the life of the Hillcrest church, but she also found ways of serving in other situations.  She worked on the spring break campaign in Seattle, Washington.  At one point she and her co-workers were on the street in a rough part of town.  They felt they were being eyed suspiciously by people on the street, who did not like what they were doing.  So how did they respond?   They began singing.  The song they chose started this way, “Troublesome times are here, filling men’s hearts with fear….”  Suddenly the song took on a different meaning to them.

During this time I was told that I could get more financial aid for the children if I would enroll in some classes myself.  I took six hours of work at ACU in 1989.  

I enrolled in a couple of classes on church growth under Flavil Yeakley.  When I arrived for the first class, I discovered that I was the only student enrolled.  Dr. Yeakley handed me ten books.  He said, “Skim read those tonight, and we’ll talk about them tomorrow.”   It amounted to a tutoring situation, and I got more attention than I really wanted.   The next day I met with him and discussed the books.  He decided that the course would consist of a guided study program.   I would spend the week on the ACU campus, and for all practical purposes the library would become my home.   We may have spent an hour a day discussing the material.   After I went home, I had six weeks to submit my research paper.  

Later I enrolled in a second course.  This time the number of class members tripled.   I studied with a preacher from New Zealand, and a black preacher from somewhere in the Deep South.   It was an interesting class.  We did meet class on a regular basis, and I was not required to read 10 books in one night.   Again I had six weeks to conclude a research project.    I ended up using the library at the University of Iowa and Cornell College to complete my research.    I did all right in the courses, however.  Dr. Yeakley chose to give me an A for both my efforts.  

There are lots of ways to help your kids through college.   By going to school myself I was able to trade one dollar for three.   I gave up my vacation that year, and the church paid my tuition.  It wasn’t a bad deal.  

Our Children in the Eighties (10)

Hey, You - Out of the Pool!  Now!

Ruby graduated from Washington in 1985. She enrolled at ACU that fall.  She eventually received a degree in human communication.  In 1987, I asked Ruby to drop out of college for a year because the financial pressure was just more than I could stand.   I’ve always felt badly about having to do that, but there just didn’t seem to be any way around it.

 Ruby spent the year back in Cedar Rapids.  She was quite active in church life.  She spent part of that year working for a law firm.  She was something of a “gofer.”  She would have to wear tasteful dress clothes to work because she sometimes had to deliver documents to attorney in the midst of a trial.  On those days, she would take both her sneakers and her dress shoes. She would head out for the court house with the legal documents in one hand, and her dress shoes in the other hand.  That was important because she had to walk to the court house, and that meant sloshing through the snow.  Once inside the courthouse, she would slip on her high heels and enter the court room looking like a very professional business lady.  

Later she worked as a lifeguard at the Y.  At the Y, she learned to be assertive.  Being a lifeguard meant that she had to corral a lot of bratty kids.  One day, I think she even surprised herself.  She caught a young man misbehaving, and she yelled, “Hey, you – out of the pool!  Now!”  That was a different side of Ruby that was emerging.  Today, she manages a business.  I wonder if she could have ever pulled it off had she not come down hard on that smart aleck boy.

During that time she got acquainted with fellow life guard, Susan Peter.  She brought Susan to church, and Susan found the Lord.  After we moved back to Cedar Rapids, a lady dropped by the church building one night to find out of there was anybody she still knew.  It was Susan (now Susan Kearney a responsible wife and mother).   We are still in touch with Susan.   She’s lives in Dallas and is still walking with the Lord. 

After staying out a year, Ruby returned to ACU, where she pursued her major in human communications.  She involved herself with the Hillcrest church in Abilene, and served as an RA.  As an RA (college dorm person who enforce the school’s rules in the dormitory, like curfew and other things, Ruby learned even more assertiveness, and also how to listen to people when they have problems.

Our Children in the Eighties (9)

“My Name’s Ruby.  What’s Yours?

Ruby was a year younger than Jim, and seemed to have a lot of interests that paralleled his.  Ruby was also interested in the performing arts.  She sang in the concert choir and the show ensemble at Franklin Junior High and did the same thing at Washington, and she played the viola in the school orchestra.  At Washington she was also active in theater.  I suppose her most memorable role was in Mame.  She played the part of Mame’s cynical, alcoholic friend, Vera Charles, a role that won Bea Arthur a Tony award for her performance on Broadway.  I think the performance that I enjoyed the most was Ruby’s version of “Send in the Clowns,” which was featured in MuDaCo – the annual Washington talent show.  

Ruby has always made friends easily.  Every time we went on vacation, she introduced us new people.  If we were at a motel, she would encounter some other swimmer, and say, “My name’s Ruby.  What’s yours?”  Until we left, she would have a person to hang around with. I shudder to think what it would be like to have a child like Ruby in the world today.  I’m sure we had predators back then, but that wasn’t high on our list of concerns.   I feel certain God was looking out for her.

Midwest Bible Camp was huge for Ruby.   She set a camp record for memorizing the most Bible passages.  Many of her closest friends were people she met at camp.  Most Churches of Christ in Iowa are small congregations.  Most don’t have an organized youth group, although the Central church in Cedar Rapids is an exception to that rule. Even so the young people in those churches tend to be very close to each other, thanks to MWBC and youth rallies that have been held across the state.   Prayer was and is a big thing in Ruby’s life. Sometimes we think, “If you’ve got a problem, you just to get on Ruby’s prayer list.

Our Children in the Eighties (7)

Jim – Graduation, Corn Detasseling, and Moving to Dallas

Jim graduated from ACU in May of 1989.  His graduation was an event that we will remember for a long time, although the reason has nothing to do with the graduation itself.   After graduation we attended a reception for those who had completed accounting degrees at the Abilene Country Club.  We noticed the lettuce in the salad looked a little suspicious, but we didn’t pay much attention it – at least not right then.   In the middle of the night Ann became acutely ill and I drove her to the emergency room at Hendrick’s hospital.  The guy at the ER concluded that she probably had food poisoning, but then he thought that was strange since the last place we had eaten had been the Abilene Country Club.  Things quieted down, and we went back to the motel, but we had to spend another couple of days in Abilene before Ann could travel.  Fortunately Ted and Beverly Starnes came to our rescue.  Now we’re pretty sure it wasn’t food poisoning at all.   At that time we didn’t know that Ann has a congenital pancreas problem, and that was a big time flare up.

Jim spent came back home in time to start his last corn detasseling experience.  Every July, when it’s time to detassel corn, I think he’s glad he got a college education and found a way to make a living with his brain. He wanted to settle in Dallas.  His college roommate was living there, and a lot of the ACU graduates thought Dallas was the place to be.  He came back to Cedar Rapids in the summer and detassled corn for the last time.  He made enough money detasseling corn to survive until he could get a job.

At one point, we weren’t sure he would stay with accounting.  A well known Christian singer was looking for a backup singer to travel with him, and Jim gave some thought to that, but he ended up going to work for a small accounting firm in Allen, and he nvolved himself in the life of the Preston Road church. 

After he enrolled at ACU, he began attending church at Highland.  Having spent several years working with Ann in children’s Bible hour, he volunteered to work in the children’s classes at Highland.  While he was there he formed a friendship with Lynn Anderson, who was the pulpit minister at Highland at the time.  About that time Lynn moved to the Dallas area.  That would eventually lead to a career change, which I’ll discuss at a later time.

Our Children in the Eighties (6)

Jim – Traveling Troubadour 

Like all the other children (except Elliott), Jim attended Midwest Bible Camp, and later served as a counselor.  In 1984 Jim graduated from Washington High School.  That fall he enrolled at Abilene Christian University and formed several friendships with people who have been important to him throughout his life.  At ACU, he sang with a contemporary Christian music grown known as Daybreak. Later he spent a summer traveling with a group called Take Four. They were involved in recruiting students for ACU.  They traveled from the Midwest to West Coast.

The group had some remarkable experiences during those summer travels.  They visited churches, youth camps, and other venues.   Sometimes church imposed strict rules about their performances.  Some churches let them sing, but insisted that there be no applause.  I guess it didn’t seem reverent enough.  They sold tapes along the way, and managed to make meal money that way.  They read books aloud while traveling and that triggered some active discussions.  Jim was the tenor, and Brandon Scott Thomas, who later headed up the group known as Zoe, was the bass.  

On one occasion, they sang for the Yosemite Encampment in California, which was held in the national park.  They got there in the middle of the night and learned that the camp had overlooking making arrangements for their lodging.  Burl McCoy, an ACU faculty member, had a family singing group, and they had gone there for the entire week.  Burl is the grandfather of Colt McCoy, who would later distinguish himself as the quarterback for the University of Texas football team.  Burl and his family managed to find a place for them at their camp site.  In lots of ways they barely survived, but they had some rich experiences along the way.

When they returned to Abilene, they were invited to sing for the incoming Freshmen at ACU.   They were somewhat excited to learn that Barbara Mandrell was going to be in the audience.  Her son was among the new freshmen.