A Marked Man

Van · Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2003 7:38 pm Post subject: A Marked Man

A MARKED MAN

If you drive down Griffin Avenue in Canon City, Colorado today you will see large old trees shading simple and old houses. Some of the houses were built in the nineteenth century. At one house a low fence guards the front lawn and forces passerby’s to keep their distance. You might see an old dog sleeping on the lawn or front porch, but the old gentleman in his white shirt is no longer at home. He had been a teacher and a State Senator. He had been a father and a grandfather. He passed on years ago, as did the mark, made low on the fence with a chunk of coal, looted from the spillage along the rail tracks.

He had married a little orphan girl named Nellie and only one of their children had lived to maturity. He was a Republican, headed the Temperance Committee, and worked hard all his life. During the depression there was no work, yet the “rules” of the day denied aid to families if there was a “man” of the house. So the men left, rode the rails, lived in hobo shanties, and were bums in order that their wives and kids could get food and clothing.

Unemployment still exceeded 25% in 1941. America got angry and started working on the tools of war after Pearl Harbor. That is what ended the depression. Before that the country tried lots of ideas. The old man had some ideas, too because he knew that some “rules” were bad. And so he left the mark on his fence, and did not scrub it off, because it was a sign left by the “bums.” It said, to those that knew the code, “At this house you can get food.” When questioned by his neighbors, he said you could not get much for apples anyway, so why not give them away. Then he smiled his Christian smile and changed the subject. Later he hung a sign above the “mark”, it said Free Apples and Eggs.

After he finished his public service, he “retired” in Canon City. But he was not quite finished. He started a school at the state prison located in Canon. He thought teaching the young prisoners how to read was a better idea than strapping them on the “old gray mare”, and flogging them. He was at the prison when the riot broke out. Guards were killed. Hostages were taken and he was taken too. Finally the prisoners agreed to let the hostages go. After he had walked out, he remembered his hat and returned to the prison area held by his captors to get it. He had treated them with dignity and he trusted them. And he was not stupid; it was just that he was willing to risk his life, if it might help his fellow man. Not that he did not know fear, he did.

Anytime a thunderstorm passed over Canon, he became very quiet. As a child, he had sat with his brothers and sisters, in a semicircle at the feet of his mom. She had an open bible on her lap. They remained in prayer until the storm passed. You see, when Jesus returns, they expected it to be stormy, with lightning and thunder. Oh, and in case you cannot read the code, the mark that distinguished the old man, the beloved Prison Professor, is the mark of Christ.

[This message has been edited by Van (edited 01-29-2003).]

Dshadna · German Shepherd Joined: 21 Apr 2003 Posts: 344

Very Nice story....do you by chance know who the person was....I may have missed it if it was in the story.

I wish that we all would put the mark of the "bums" on our fences. And the Mark of Christ on our lives.

Thanks for sharing this.