"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise." Ralph's basso profundo voice boomed anyhow. Add a microphone, and the concrete floor of the church basement, and it boomed even more.

No sooner had he read this verse to the father-son banquet than there was a crash from the adjoining kitchen. Apparently, someone walking past a tray of dirty dishes had fallen off the counter, as the ladies were cleaning up. "Damn," came a familiar voice. Hattie was the sweetest little old lady, and nobody could make egg noodles like Hattie, but when she was stressed out, her language was unladylike.

Let The Floods Clap Their Hands

"Tonight's scripture reading comes from Psalms 98." Ralph continued. "When he got to verse 8, he no more than read out let the floods clap their hands" when the lights in the basement blinked, and thunder that must have rolled 3 or 4 seconds began.

"Praise the lord," Ralph said, and then he halted, and held his hand to his ear. Silence. He wiped his brow with the back of his arm, and said, "Whew." Then he introduced the guest speaker.

It Was A Climber

It may have been Jim Whittaker, the first American to climb Mount Everest, but I seem to recall it was a lesser member of Norman Dyhrenfurth's 1963 expedition. Jim Whittaker, now 81, is a motivational speaker, but he probably would have been too expensive for the frugal fathers of our small church back in the 1960s.

Halfway through the talk, he paused, and then he said, "You know, when I give this talk, people ask me about my age." He explained that the team had mostly consisted of men in their 30s and 40s, but when someone got hurt before they staged their assault, the leader reluctantly allowed an athletic college-age man to join the climb. That was a mistake. He nearly died because he didn't know his limits.

No Spring Chicken

Again, he paused, but the first time, it was like he was thinking, and this second time, it was clearly so that we would have time to think. Young men are stronger, more fit, and have more stamina. That's dangerous atop a mountain, he explained.

Older men have learned to pace themselves, and that's critically important. That's important in a lot of things, he said. Slow and steady wins the race. Today, in doing research for this post, I saw that they had 907 porters, and National Geographic gave them a budget of $400,000. In 1963, that was a lot of money: hamburgers were 25 cents, and $4 would fill an empty gas tank. Having sufficient resources is important to winning the race, too.

Blondie's Take On This

Blondie asked me to do something the other day, and I didn't jump into action immediately. Ten minutes later, she repeated her request, and I indicated that I intended to do it, but slow and steady wins the race. Blondie said that I had the slow part down pat, but I needed to work on the steady part.

Pushy broad! I've never raised a hand to a woman in anger, but at times, I consider that a flaw in my character.

Photographs, under Fair Use, from Jim Whittaker's private collection.Website

Other Bloggers On Related Topics:
father-son banquet - Jim Whittaker - Mount Everest - National Geographic Society - Norman Dyhrenfurth - Psalms 98