Butch Renfroe

A message from non-smokers.

Hey smokers: Your habit stinks.  It makes you smell.  It is foolish that you still do it in this day and age. The majority of us are now non-smokers in this country.

I say this with all the fervor of a man who used to be a nicotine addict like you.  My brand of tobacco habit was the “Just a pinch between the cheek and gum” variety. And while my smokeless tobacco habit was disgusting, at least I did not give anyone cancer from second hand dip.  My spit cup never caused someone with asthma to have an attack.

As a group, I have found hardcore smokers to be among the most selfish people because of their addiction. I have seen family members light up around small children during holiday gatherings.

I have watched people go to great lengths to get that smoke in at work places that have instituted no smoking policies. Want to see where the property line is at a work place with no smoking rules?  Just see where the smokers gather, they will be the first to know.

Quit.  Do whatever it takes, but quit.  You will save money and feel better. Plus, do you really want to be an addict?

I quit dipping.  You can quit smoking.

I was going through some old boxes from mom and dad’s old house and found a bunch of old brochures. One was for the 1983 season of Dogpatch U.S.A.

For those of you under the age of 35, you might not remember the place.  It was, before Magic Springs came on the scene in the late 1970′s, the theme park in Arkansas. It was a theme park based on the comic strip characters created by Al Capp and was located between Harrison and Jasper on highway 7.

Oh, sure you had Animal Wonderland in Hot Springs (if you remember that, you are over 40), but when I was in elementary school, we all wanted to go to Dogpatch.  All those ads that ran during the Bozo show sold the place to us.  I remember thinking it was just awesome the first time I went when I was about 7 or 8 years old.  I had a Dogpatch wallet that was the envy of all in my 3rd grade class. It was made of denim and had a picture of Lil’ Abner on it.

I returned again to Dogpatch in 1985. Debbie and I took a day to visit the park.  Looking at it from a young adult’s eyes, it had lost a lot of the shine it had when I was younger. The Park closed down for good in 1993.  It has since fallen into ruin.

Links:

Underground Ozarks has lots of photos from a few years ago showing the park in decay.  Kind of sad really. - http://www.undergroundozarks.com/gallery/dogpatch

Good Wikipedia article on Dogpatch U.S.A. –  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogpatch_USA

I haven’t posted in a while.  To be totally honest I haven’t felt inspired or motivated to write a post since dad passed in November.  Too many things going on that have to be handled and  it seems there is not enough time to do it all.

I do want to take time to talk about my new job with the Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Back last October, I was contacted by Mark Epperson with the ARUMC about a position they had that I may be interested in. We had a good conversation.  I was open and upfront and told Mark I was a Christian, but not a Methodist and asked if this would  be a problem. He assured me it would not.  Excellent, because it was not a problem for me.

My hiring did not happen quickly.  In the midst of this process, my dad had his final struggle.  But finally, I did get the offer to come to work for the ARUMC. My first day was January 22, 2013.  It has been a fantastic experience for me professionally and personally.  I have made several friends in the two months I have been there.  They have made allowances for the steep learning curve this lifelong Baptist boy has had to face and have been there every step of the way to help and support me.

A few may wonder why I left Lafferty Equipment.  Let me say first that I have nothing but good things to say about the folks at Lafferty Equipment.  They were there to hire me after my lay-off from THV.  My bosses there were nothing but stellar to me when dad passed and were very understanding about the time I had to take off.  But, after much prayer and consideration taking the job with ARUMC just felt like the right thing to do.

So, that is how and why a Baptist boy ended up working for the Methodist Church.  In the short time since starting the job, I have come to love the job and the people I have been blessed with meeting through my new position.