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The True Citizen, Wednesday, October 6, 2021 — Page 5A
Michael N. Searles
DANGER ZONE IS EVERYWHERE
Ronda Rich
BOB BRUMLEY, A NEW FRIEND
In 1996, Ray Charles wrote
and performed the song “The
Danger Zone is Every Where.”
If times were desperate in 1996,
how would the times in which
we currently live be described?
“Sad and lonely all the time;
that’s because I’ve got a wor
ried mind. You know the world
is in an uproar; the danger zone
is everywhere, everywhere.
Just read your paper; and you’ll
see; just exactly what keeps
worryin’ me. Yeah, you’ll see
the world is in an uproar; the
danger zone is everywhere.
My love for the world is like
always; For the world is a part
of me; that’s why I’m so afraid;
of the progress that’s being
made; toward eternity. Every
morning, noon, and night; finds
me hoping that everything’s
alright; mm-hmm, the world is
in an uproar; the danger zone
is everywhere.” It is hard to
think of a time when calamity
has visited us from sea to shin
ing sea. At the same time, the
social fabric that shapes our
lives seem to be unraveling.
The end of the war in Af
ghanistan has brought joy and
recriminations with a new re
frain, “Help as many Afghans
who want to leave and leave
no Americans behind.” For
those who wish to complain,
the reported 120,000 evacuees
seem to be an afterthought and
of little consequence. There
has been some debate as to how
many Afghans should be per
manently settled in the United
States. For some, the sacrifice
of the Afghan people is neither
here nor there. Immigration
continues to haunt us as we try
to find a citizenship pathway
for DOCA recipients and other
undocumented residents.
In 1965, the Voting Rights
Act seemed to settle the issue
of African Americans’ right to
vote. The VRA authorized the
Justice Department to pre-clear
any state election and voting
laws that restricted or tended
to restrict minority voting.
The Supreme Court decision
in Shelby County v. Holder de
clared the preclearance provi
sion of Section 5 was unneeded
and no longer enforceable. This
single decision opened a flood
gate of state laws that would
have been previously stopped.
The great outpouring of mi
nority voters in 2020 not only
led to the election of President
Joe Bidden but unleashed a full
frontal assault on democracy
itself. New voting laws in state
after state limited voting par
ticipation across the land. The
grave concern for those who
struggled for so many years to
win the vote was its possible
loss. Even in states that Repub
licans won, efforts were made
to restrict the limited gains
made by Democrats. In several
states, even if Democrats win
the vote, they could lose the
election. New elections boards
controlled by Republican state
legislatures have been given
the power to assess the legality
of votes and by implication;
the loser could be declared the
winner.
There is widespread sup
port for physical infrastructure
but practically no Republican
support for what has been de
scribed as social infrastructure.
Areas such as caregiving for
aging and disabled Americans;
semiconductor manufactur
ing; building, renovating and
retrofitting two million homes
and housing units; and advanc
ing U.S. leadership in critical
technologies are seen as items
of a Democratic wish list.
Americans pay more for medi
cines than citizens in any other
country and there is a signifi
cant effort on the part of the big
pharmaceutical companies to
keep those prices high. Efforts
to give Medicare the authority
to negotiate prices caused Big
Pharma to unleash its incredible
wealth and political power to
keep that from happening. Har
vard University researchers re
ported that the “most important
factor” that drives prescription
drug prices higher in the US is
the existence of government-
protected “monopoly” rights
for drug manufacturers.
We continue to face a climate
crisis as the fossil fuel industry
seeks to hold on as long as
possible. Senator Joe Manchin
chairs the Senate energy panel
and earned half a million dol
lars last year from coal produc
tion. The future of our climate
policy rests in the hands of the
Senator from West Virginia.
The danger zone is everywhere.
Our friendship goes back to
high school. We were room
mates, straight out of college.
We were bridesmaids in each
other’s wedding. She knows
the worst of me and, usually,
finds it funny rather than off-
putting.
In 40 years of friendship, I
don’t recall that Karen Peck, a
member of the Gospel Music
Hall of Fame, has ever asked
for a special favor. Perhaps
nothing more than to ask me
to keep a secret.
“I want you to call my friend,
Bob Brumley,” she said one
day. “I’ve told him about you
and he wants to talk to you.”
“Okay,” I replied. I meant to
call but I didn’t.
For months, Karen cam
paigned to get me on the phone
with Bob. She persistently
reminded me. One day, while
waiting for a flight in Atlanta,
she called. “Now, listen, I want
you to call Bob. I just talked
to him and he said he hasn’t
heard from you. His wife has
died. He is lonely and sad. And
Ronda, you know that ‘I’ll Fly
Away‘ is your favorite song.”
Yes, my favorite childhood
hymn was written by Bob’s
father, Albert E. Brumley. The
elder Brumley wrote a good
portion of the older songs
found in the Stamps-Baxter
catalog including “I’m Bound
For That City”, “Turn The
Radio On”, “He Set Me Free”,
“Victory in Jesus”, and many
more.
During one conversation, af
ter I finally called and launched
our friendship, I asked, “Did
you know that ‘If We Never
Meet Again (This Side of
Heaven)’ is Dolly Parton’s
favorite hymn? And it was her
daddy’s, too.”
Joy sprang into his voice.
“No, I did not know that but
I sure would like to hear her
sing it.”
I found an old clip from the
Porter Wagoner Show of Dolly
beautifully singing the song
and sent it to him. He called im
mediately. “That’s the prettiest
I ever heard that song sung.”
He explained that his father
had written it as a tribute to his
friends who gathered in various
places for convention singings.
After one convention ended
and good-byes were being said,
Albert Brumley realized his
friends were getting older so
there were probably some he
would not see again on earth.
“So, he wrote that song for
his friends. If he didn’t see
them again in this world, he’d
see them across the River Jor
dan on heaven’s sweet shores.”
Bob’s wife passed away a
couple of months before our
telephone calls began. She
died in April, making the sum
mer days that followed a mix
of sadness, grief, and sweet
memories. A couple of times
last summer, I went out on
the back porch after the sun
dropped behind the trees, leav
ing the beauty of a dusky sky
and the cooling of night that
arrives with fireflies in tow.
A small, still voice whis
pered, “Call Bob Brumley.”
Each time I did, he was grateful
and I was blessed: I was capti
vated by the history he shared
concerning the church songs
that had formed my earlier life.
“I sure would like to meet
you in person. Get on the bus
with Karen and ride out here.
And bring your husband.”
As Christmas Eve hovered,
Tink and I were having din
ner in Memphis. My phone
buzzed. I checked it to make
sure all was well on the Ronda-
rosa.
It was Bob Brumley, texting,
wishing me a Merry Christmas
and telling me how precious
my friendship had become
to him. I responded the next
morning but he never saw it.
Karen called with the news that
he had died sweetly in his sleep
after sending the text.
It was the words from one
of his father’s songs that com
forted me most: “When I travel
through the valley dim toward
the setting of the sun; lead
me safely to a land of rest if
I a crown of life have won...
Blessed Jesus, hold my hand.”
I believe Jesus was holding
Bob Brumley’s hand.
Ronda Rich is the best-sell
ing author of What Southern
Women Know About Faith. Visit
www.rondarich.com to sign up
for her free weekly newsletter.
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