What’s Black and White and Read all over?
“O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph.” Psalms 47:1 KJV
The excitement of a newborn is difficult to describe, especially if it is the first child. The nervousness that existed before the birth is soon replaced with love and amazement. Perhaps the only thing that comes close to eclipsing the birth of a child is the birth of a grandchild.
As the new entry into the world gets tossed from arm to arm, the eyes of those holding this gift are opened to the vast potential before him. The canvas is blank and the possibilities are endless.
In a caring and loving environment a child is eager to learn and is so excited about approval. You can see him smile as two fully grown parents stand in front of him making funny faces and sounds in an attempt to get him to say either “Ma, Ma,” or “Da, Da.” As they grow older, especially during those early years, it is an incredible fact of the important role parents play in their educational growth.
Proud parents often gloat at how quickly their children learn to talk or read. Tryon and Phoeba were proud parents just like that. Using printed letters and word cards from her Sunday School class, Phoeba had her son reading by the age of four years old. The boy was a natural talker and at the age of four years old he entered his first oratorical contest. In fact, school would never be much of a challenge for him. Phoeba was always impressed with her son. Even at a young age, Phoeba said her son would one day grow up to be President.
Phoeba wanted to name her son Winfield. Tyron, the father, overruled and they gave the young lad the first name of Tyron’s grandmother’s maiden name. The child’s middle name was after an uncle. Phoeba would just call her son Winnie.
Personally, I’m not very musically inclined. You have probably been to a concert where they get the crowd to clap in unison. It never fails that there is that one fellow who can’t seem to get it right. That fellow would be me. I’m not sure if I just don’t get that beat thing or if I’m just not coordinated enough for my mind to get the information down to my hands soon enough. Either way, I know there are a vast number of people who do it better than I do. Music is one of those things people are gifted with a lot of times, but even if you are gifted it still takes practice and determination to really get good at it.
The Shofar is a musical instrument that is largely used for religious purposes, but it has been used in some modern songs, too. Jerry Goldsmith used it in the scores of the films Alien and The Planet of the Apes. The Shofar is made from the horns of the Bovidae family of animals. The horns are made of keratin, the same material the human toenails and fingernails are made of. This also makes it possible to hollow out these horns. The choice of horns comes from (in order of preference): curved ram horns, curved other sheep horns, curved other animals, and straight horns from rams. A crack or hole in the horn affects the sound and often renders them useless. The horn is flattened and shaped with heat. This also means the instrument harmonics can vary. Like the bugle, it lacks pitch-altering devices.
An expert who blows a Shofar is called a Tokea (“Blaster”) or a Ba’al T’qiah (“Master of the Blast”) and being the latter is considered a great honor. Every Jewish male is eligible for this office. There is even an International Day of Shofar Study where someone can go to improve their skill as a Shofar blower. So to be a horn, Shofar, blower is actually a talent and not just picking up an instrument and blowing into it.
At the age of fourteen years old Winnie entered Ohio Central College. He was able to work his way through college by painting houses and in the summer he would work heavy construction. He graduated at the age of seventeen. After college he tried teaching grade-school pupils in a one room schoolhouse and the law. To supplement his income he played in a band while selling casualty insurance. He heard the local paper, the Marion Star, was going to be auctioned off at a sheriff’s sale and he got together some partners and they purchased the paper. He was the editor and the publisher, as well as an officer in the company called Star Publishing Company.
Winnie took the paper from a “publish-when-we-can-manage-it” newspaper to a regular daily newspaper (Monday-Saturday). The paper’s profitability greatly improved when his wife, Florence, took over the financial books, worked on increasing circulation, and refined the use of the news carriers. This allowed Winnie to concentrate on what he did best – writing, editing, and bringing in advertisers. The Marion Star eventually became the largest paper in Marion, Ohio.
The Israelites had encountered another one of those cities that seem to intimidate them. Yes, it was a great walled city and how could the unprepared troops overtake it. Joshua was the leader and he had the knack for listening to God and following God’s instructions. God instructed Joshua to do one of those strange things that absolutely made no sense. Joshua did what was requested because he never questioned God.
Joshua was told to circle the walled city with his soldiers once each day for six days. Seven priests, just carrying seven ram horn trumpets (sounds like a Shofar to me), were to march in front of the chest (the Ark of the Covenant) on these rounds. On the seventh day everyone would circle the city seven times as the priest blew the ram horn trumpets. As they finished the seventh lap the priests were to blow one loud blast and all the people were to shout as loud as they could. Guess what? Just like the song says, “the walls of Jericho came tumbling down.”
Because Phoeba took an exceptional interest in her son, her encouragement lead him to develop into a great newsman and Warren G. (Gamaliel) Harding is considered the only newsman ever to become President. In 1923, the year of Harding’s death, the Harding family sold the newspaper to Brush-Moore Newspapers. Today the Marion Star is owned by Gannett, the publishers of the USA Today.
Education is the best tool to lift someone to a higher standard of living. The best teachers in the world fight an uphill battle in that learning process, if they alone, are the only ones involved in teaching a child. Parent’s personal involvement and encouragement, combined with a good teaching environment, are the one-two punch to put a child on the right path to a better future. Even the Shofar blowing priest, facing the walls of Jericho, probably would not have knocked down those walls had someone not taken the time and effort to teach them to develop their talents.
Prayer: Dear Mighty Father, Thank you for giving me great parents that encouraged me to learn, even when I fussed. Even more, Father, I ask you to be with those kids whose parents don’t take their roles in the education process very seriously. Learning is a discipline that begins at home, so please encourage all parents to do their parts. Amen.
