Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set. Proverbs 22:28

The Bakersfield Californian asking for “Treasures from the past” is sparking quite a bit of interest. For those of us who can look back over seventy or more years there is much to remember, and I capture quite a bit of this history in the autobiographical novel I wrote about two children growing up in WWII Bakersfield. But while the Clock Tower was moved and the Fox Theater renovated there is no duplicating many of the places such as the little church my grandfather built on the corner of Cottonwood and Padre. Fortunately, I still have a picture of it and together with memories is all that remains of the little church.

I cannot but wonder at the longevity of the ancient Egyptian civilization. It epitomized the meaning of “ancient landmark.” Those ancient Egyptians had something remarkable to hold on to, landmarks the fathers had set. But as with all civilizations, removing those landmarks eventually led to the demise of ancient Egypt.

But what of the America oldsters like me remember? Suffering as we do from a Federal Triune Dictatorship from hell that America some of us recall now only exists in memories of the past, and when we speak of that America it seems to many of our listeners we are recounting fables rather than actual history, stories like the days of King Arthur and Camelot. But America now seems led of lunatics bent on the destruction of America and the whole world wonders how our nation could have fallen into the hands of such lunatics? A great part of the answer is to be found in the cautionary words not to remove the ancient landmark, which in this case our Founding Fathers set.

There is no explaining an America such as that depicted by Norman Rockwell, but for those of us who lived such an America there is no forgetting it. And even though I was born in Weedpatch and raised among Dust Bowl Okies and Arkies, that America was real enough and we pledged allegiance to our flag, we sang “It’s A Grand Old Flag” as lustily as any in the more privileged and sophisticated schools of the time. We had pride in that America, we trusted our leaders, and the Bible remained our primary textbook both in homes and schools.

As my friend Byron, the Episcopal Priest, and I were discussing that America we knew as children it was with a great deal of melancholy we have lived long enough to witness the removal of the ancient landmarks, the loss of so much of the America we knew as children, an America children today will never know, an America Byron and I remember that was once held in such esteem by the nations of the world, but is now seen as led of lunatics, and thoroughly corrupt lunatics at that, all of them on the Devil’s payroll.

It was when our discussion turned to the Bible things became interesting rather than melancholy. My thought it may have been Satan and his crowd that caused the “confusion of tongues” in Genesis might explain the extreme evil of Homo sapiens not having a common language. It may even explain why the story uses the plural form of gods involved, crediting the story in Job of Satan being included in the “sons of God” and Jesus designating some as “children of the Devil.”

Imagine if you can what it would mean throughout history if all of humankind had a common language from the beginning and continuing to this day. Would this prove a greater threat to God or to Satan? Room here for much philosophical speculation.

But when it comes to “false prophets,” those that make a mockery of the plain words of Jesus that true prophets of God do not wear soft clothing or live in king’s palaces organized religions of all beliefs come under condemnation. While the Roman Church for example can no longer say in the words of Peter “Silver and gold have I none,” neither does it say “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” Wealth invariably makes a mockery of religious pretensions.

As to wealth Byron and I found agreement that in the Temptation even though all the kingdoms of the world were the Devil’s to give to whomsoever he chose and this claim was not disputed by Jesus, these meant nothing to him. In the words of Jesus, “What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul, or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul.” So it was Jesus knew Satan had nothing of value to offer him. But why should it have been of such importance to Satan that Jesus worship him; so important the Devil was willing to give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if he would only bow to the Devil? At this point the conversation with Byron became quite interesting indeed; after all politicians settle for much less, as with most others on the Devil’s payroll. However, I never think of wealth but a memory from the past in Bakersfield comes to mind: The Dump.

Living the solitary life of a writer and author I do not generate much in the way of household trash. The resident cat certainly does not contribute in this regard; a real advantage compared to some pets if you insist on not living in a fur free zone. As a result it takes two or three months for it to be worthwhile to make a trip to the landfill and empty my old pickup. At that, sometimes I just make the trip as an excuse to take the drive all around the lake and enjoy the natural grandeur of our valley. And I’m ever mindful to be grateful for the lack of traffic that makes the drive a pleasure.

    None of us way back when I was a kid had ever heard the word Landfill. The Dump was its progenitor. There were few as exciting places to visit as the Dump. Whenever grandad had to make the trip I was quickly in the old Ford pickup with him, all eagerness to explore this wonderful treasure trove of people’s castoffs. Truly, one man’s trash is another’s treasure, but to us children it was all hidden riches only awaiting discovery.

    I will never forget the time I became wealthy as Croesus as a result of one such exploration. Nothing escapes the sharp eye of a child. No eagle is a match for the gimlet eye of the child seeking treasure. I was making my way up a hill of paper, cans, broken glass and other debris when I spied it: A crisp, brand new one-dollar bill! It was folded into a square no larger than about one inch. But I saw it!

    To understand the magnitude of such a find, one must remember that at that time penny candy was really a penny, bread was five cents a loaf and an entire peach pie could be bought for fifteen cents. Royal Crown Cola, Pepsi, Coke, Dr. Pepper, and Nehi were a nickel each. An entire dollar was real wealth.

My strict, religious upbringing as a child caused me to give ten cents (a tithe) of my treasure to the church (The church in this case was the little one my grandad had built himself and pastored in Little Oklahoma in Southeast Bakersfield). But what was a dime to ensure that God would undoubtedly bless me in finding even greater wealth? Not to disparage those that believe in tithing, but such is the sometime thought always unspoken, never admitted, of somehow putting God in our debt by some act on our part.

While the barbaric woman-hating religion of the sword Islam epitomizes the doctrine of putting God in one’s debt by even acts of murder and other atrocities to the “glory of Allah” and his pervert “prophet,” the same thinking is common to all religions, and in the end it all comes down to wealth whether in this world or the next for all those that believe they can put God in their debt by whatever means. Even, as Paul points out, though they speak in the language of angels, have faith to move mountains and give their bodies to be burned, without being motivated by love these profit such people nothing in the economy of God and the kind of wealth motivated by love Jesus said was to be laid up in heaven. But this is the kind of love that hates evil, and confronts it for what it is recognizing there is never an instant’s truce between vice and virtue, between the children of God and the children of the Devil.