First up, some bizarre but really fun pictures of an “alien sighting,” via last weekend’s getaway to Palm Desert.
I love quirky stuff like this, don’t you?
Using the unfamiliar to instill fear, not so much.
This being Throwback Thursday (#TBT), I’m harkening back to a time when that happened. You see, alien beings aren’t a foreign concept for those of us who grew up in the 1960s, when the Space Race was at its peak and tales of UFO sightings ran rampant. It was then, right before President Kennedy was shot, that an evangelist stood at the platform of my father’s nondenominational church in Dallas, whispering conspiratorially to an enthralled congregation.
Dr. Frank Stranges first recalled for us Ezekiel’s prophetic vision of a fiery, whirlwind-driven, wheel-within-a-wheel in the skies–proof, he suggested, of ancient astronauts. Louder still, he spoke of extraterrestrials, come to earth. “The End Times are drawing nigh,” Stranges warned, and he illustrated that belief with a series of grainy black-and-white glossies of Unidentified Flying Objects, pinned in dramatic fashion to a clothesline he’d strung from one end of the platform to the other. “Read it for yourself,” he said, “It’s in the Bible. It’s also in my book.”
4th edition, via ResourceBooks, LLC
Dr. Frank Stranges went on to make a name for himself, in that he became something of a cult figure who authored several books. He also appears in my own book, CAN I GET A WITNESS? Memoir of a Tent Evangelist’s Daughter. Why, you ask? Because aside from that revival meeting in Dallas, Stranges was the assistant minister at a church my father owned for a short time in Oakland, California.
Oakland Tribune Classifieds (Friday, 13 March, 1959)
Say what you will about his theories, Frank Stranges was a great storyteller. He knew how to rub together two sticks of implausibility until they generated light and heat. And so it was that, after forging a link between ancient prophesies and “modern science,” Stranges whirled around the platform, hoisted his Bible above those 8 x 10″ glossies and brought the congregation to its knees with a fiery sermon about sin and redemption, the Rapture and Armageddon.
Did I fall under the spell of his stories? I hope you’ll read the answer for yourself someday…It’s all in my book. Which, by the way, I’ve just recently sent out on submission.
Wow, your “alien sighting” is a bit unnerving, floating there all by itself! I’m reading The True Meaning of Smekday (the book the movie Home is apparently based off of) to my 6YO right now, so we have aliens and Roswell on the brain. 🙂
LOL, it was bizarre.
I haven’t read that book, but it sounds fun! Love that you read with your kids!! Oh, the places you’ll go, the creatures you’ll encounter 🙂
I hope to read your book someday!
I clicked on several of those links and was surprised to find that Rolling Thunder, the name of the Bob Dylan concert that I saw in 1985, has a Biblical reference. I shouldn’t be surprised, though. Dylan did like subtext!
Rose’s comment reminds me that I really want to read The True Meaning of Smekday.
It’s true, what you said about Dylan. He’s not the only one, as you’ve probably noticed. 🙂
So many cultural references find their origins in Bible passages, same as with Shakespeare’s works! I am lucky, in that I was steeped in its language, stories, and metaphors. Say what you will about religions on which they’re founded (or vice versa), familiarity with religious texts is a building block for cultural literacy & the search for common ground.
I really can’t wait to read your book. 🙂
Thank you, Jenn!! I hope I have the privilege of delivering a copy to you, in person. <3
Cool story. And you know I’m joining those eagerly awaiting your book! Hope the ms. falls into just the right hands.
So interesting, isn’t it, the way sermons become time capsules of a sort? The content — and a preacher’s delivery style–mirrors the times in which they are delivered.
Thank you for your encouragement, Jeannine! It does me a world of good to know you are out there, holding good thoughts for WITNESS.
“It’s in the bible. It’s also in my book.” LOVE IT. Says it all. Can’t wait to read your book – sounds fascinating.
A familiar refrain, isn’t it, even if/when the specifics are a bit…out there. 🙂
Thanks of stopping by to read & comment! I’m wishing you all the best as you begin submitting your book to publishers.
Especially love this: “He knew how to rub together two sticks of implausibility until they generated light and heat. ” Awesome– can’t wait to read the whole thing!
Hey, thanks! It’s a storyteller’s trick, isn’t it? Works especially well around the proverbial campfire. 🙂
I can’t WAIT for the day when I’m finally able to tell the whole story! Hoping that happens sooner than later, and that I’m able to share some of it with you in person.
I see reading in my future. Love what you write or would it be more accurate to say I am enchanted?
Ah, thank you so much! I hope you’ll be able to read CAN I GET A WITNESS? someday soon.
In the meantime, I’ll hone my reading skills on “A Cup of Sun” and “Holy Ghost Girl” if they arrive before I depart. Otherwise, I just might have to relax in Paradise.
I was reminded of our trips to see Grandma when I saw your photo of the railroad crossing.
As we drove the 90 miles to get to her house, we’d count railroad crossings. One, two, three, and by the time we crossed the 4th one, we’d be at her chicken ranch and run into her arms and snuggle our faces in her apron.
We will be visiting the place next Sunday and look forward to holding my great niece who now lives there with her parents.