October 8, 2021 – Click here to listen
Yesterday I had a good workout in the morning. It was so strenuous in fact, that I decided to lay down and rest for a while. In a little while a buddy came over and interrupted my rest so he could talk. Ugh . . .
Finally, he left, and my wife and I decided to ride south to Big Pine Key to check out the precise location of a church down that way that we had heard good things about. It has proven to be very difficult to find a church with good preaching and worship music located in close proximity to our home. Some friends strongly recommended this one and though much further from our house than desired we are going to give it a try this Sunday.
Another buddy called while I was driving down there and when he found out where we were heading, he told me the best place to see the federally protected endangered Keys deer which are quite numerous on Big Pine. It was a place called “No Name Key.” We saw quite a few of the little critters there and then we went to a place on “No Name Key” called “No Name Pub.” that my buddy had also recommended to get “really good” pizza.
It was difficult to find this place in the middle of nowhere, even using Google, and a sign out front said, “Congratulations you found it!” It turned out to be the oldest bar in Pine Key and was originally established to house a brothel located upstairs. It later became a general store and then a bait and tackle store and finally a pub with good pizza and other food.
The walls and ceiling were covered with one-dollar bills. I would estimate probably 5-10 thousand one-dollar bills adorn the walls and ceiling. My buddy texted me while we were eating and asked if I saw his dollar.
Really? How was I supposed to see “his” dollar bill in that mess? Apparently, he had folded it like an airplane and located it near a vent. I did not see it.
This place looked like the Mississippi beer joints I grew up in. It was dark and dank and smelled like stale beer. Country music was blaring out tune after tune that would make any hound dog howl from the tip of his tail to the tip of his nose. I saw one old man passionately making out with a much younger girl at the bar and various rough-looking characters who could have had roles in the movie Deliverance or fit in nicely with the Hells Angels motorcycle gang.
Just then they brought our pizza. Now I always say grace prior to eating no matter where we are. My wife gave me a timid look and I could read her mind, are you really going to say grace in this place??? I bowed my head and asked God to bless the food, and our nation, the poor, our family, and the sick, and so on. I said Amen as did she and we dug in. The pizza was indeed delicious, and we enjoyed it. As we were leaving, I bought a tee-shirt insert photo here which I will wear fishing, and hope it stimulates some conversation from some of my lost fishing buddies. Some of them will no doubt ask me about it which will afford a convenient way to speak about God and invite them to church and afterward some pizza at the “no Name Pub”.
Sunday I will attend this new church and later I think I might drive on down to No Name Pub for a grouper sandwich and coke. In my misspent youth, I would probably have returned on Saturday night and tried to drink the place dry. My how things have changed for me since that day Jesus sought me out and saved me.
Luke 19:10
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
Have a great weekend and go to church this weekend . . .