Zachary Taylor – Not Answering the Presidential Nomination Mail

Knock, knock

Knock, knock!
Who’s there?
Adore.
Adore, who?
Adore is between us. Open up.

I must admit, I’m not a huge fan of knock, knock jokes, but when you have grandkids they become part of your life. These jokes always begin the same way: Knock, knock! Then the next person is suppose to say: “Who’s there?” I don’t know about you, but if someone knocks at my door I usually answer it or peek out the window and hide if it is someone I don’t want to see. Maybe I should run and hide the next time someone starts a knock, knock joke.

It could have been one of the key missed opportunities in the Bible. But business was booming, so I guess you just handle the business in front of you and worry about those other things on another day. Besides, if you’re sold out, you’re sold out. Right?

When I was young I started collecting US postage stamps. It used to be a fun, cheap, little hobby. The more I got into it, though, the more costly it would get. Older stamps are no longer printed, so their value goes up and they cost more. Then you branch into other types of stamp collecting. Do you collect single stamps? Do you collect used stamps? Do you collect plate blocks or first day of issue covers? Or, or, or….

Like most generals, he wasn’t into politics. He never even voted before. In fact, he once said, “My opinion has always been against the elevating of a military to that position (President).” Still, he didn’t like the current President and that left open the possibility of his running for election. One problem was that no one really knew which party he belonged to.

The strange part about the postal service is that it didn’t use to work the way it does now. At one point you didn’t pay for the postage on items you mailed. The person receiving the mail paid for it when he received it. If you didn’t want that junk mail, you didn’t pay for it and you wouldn’t get it.

Big events bring big crowds. I went to New York City once and I was absolutely amazed by how many people fit into Times Square and there wasn’t even an event going on. There were so many people. This sea of people all seemed to have somewhere to go because they were all in a hurry. But for someone like me, a tourist and not knowing his way around, it was very frustrating.

I’m glad I got online and booked my room in advance. But, in Biblical times, I’m pretty sure there weren’t any hotel websites or even credit cards for that matter. So the Bible story begins with a couple, in a crowd, without a hotel reservation or credit card. The streets were packed and did I mention she was pregnant?

So here we go: Knock, knock! Out pops the head from the half opened door and says, “Sorry we don’t have any rooms.” Let’s try this again because I don’t think you understand. Knock, knock! The growl comes again, “I told you we don’t have any rooms!” “But can’t you see my wife is going to have a baby any day now?” comes the plea.

The general went on to say: “Such an idea (running for President) never entered my head, nor is it likely to enter the head of any sane person.” So how do you get someone like this to run for President? They softened him up to the point he considered the idea, but he wasn’t going to put any effort into it. So in one of the party’s conventions they put his name forward as a candidate for President of the United States. On the fourth ballot he overtook everyone and won the nomination. The problem was he wasn’t at the convention and really had no idea what was going on. There were no TVs, radios or even telephones. So they mailed him the announcement that he had won the nomination of their party to run for President of the United States. As a general he received a lot of mail for which, if he took it, he would have had to pay for, so he rarely accepted any. He was probably a little bit of a cheapskate, too. So when the news came via the mail he refused the mail not knowing what he just refused. The letter sat in the dead letter office of the post office for a month. Everyone was probably getting a little nervous when they had not heard back from him. Was he refusing to accept the nomination? Finally, someone must have gotten through to him, because he did accept the nomination. I don’t know what ever happened to the letter.

Our little hotel manager must have sensed a business opportunity. As Mary and Joseph started walking away a little down trodden, he probably yelled out, “Wait, wait! I’ve got an idea.” With a puzzled looked Mary and Joseph probably turned back to him. “Hey, I’ve got this cute little stable in the back and you know if your wife does have a baby while she is there, I’m sure the scene will make a romantic little Christmas card if you get a picture of it. You know, maybe we can get one of those cows to look over your shoulders and get one of the cute lambs laying down in front,” the manager would say. Joseph might have turned to Mary and said, “We have been everywhere else and haven’t had any luck. We should probably just take it.” Then he would turn to the hotel manager and say, “Ok, we’ll take it, but can we get an ox instead of a cow, because we’re planning to have this little drummer boy come over and I think that would go better with the song he is doing?”

The election of 1848 was the first Presidential election in which all the states voted on the same day. According to one story, General Zachary Taylor went discreetly to cast his vote. When he came out someone asked him who he voted for and he said, “I did not vote for General Taylor; and my family, especially the old lady is strongly opposed to his election.” He won anyway.

Good news always comes from some form of communication. Whether it is a knock at the door, a letter in the mail, a telephone call, or some other method, and it usually requires some action on our part to receive it. Maybe it is opening the door, reading the mail, swiping your finger across your cell phone, or whatever else it may be. So when God calls, make sure you are there ready to respond to the knock.