September 11 - “The Tinkle Can”

When we were evacuating, me and the dogs drove our minivan and Chris and MeeMaw took the Explorer.  Fritz and Heidi were proving to be quite boring.  Heidi was asleep on the front seat and Fritz was pacing the floor behind me.  To keep myself awake, (we left at 5:30 a.m.) I turned on the radio.  After awhile, though, the Houston mega-stations faded out and the giant signals out of Dallas didn't quite reach me.  That's when playing with the Seek button got fun. 

The first thing that captured my attention was the appeal to send an email to graceland@lovelady.com.  Had Elvis evacuated, too?  Where exactly is Lovelady?  I stopped there and cranked up the volume.  I wasn't wearing my hearing aid, and Heidi didn't seem to care.

It seems I had found a station out of Crockett, Texas, with two of the most engaging conversationalists I have ever heard.  A man and a lady talked about garage sales and car washes and great deals down at the Dairy Queen.  And then I heard it.  Totally unexpected.  Completely random.  The lady DJ put on that voice of drama that only radio personalities can.  "It's time for ... Give me a drum roll, please."  (Yes, she actually said that).  "It's time for ... The Tinkle Can!"

Now.  You have to understand.  I grew up in a family of three boys.  I am the father of three boys, and I even have three grandchildren of the male persuasion.  I can't begin to tell you the images that flashed through my mind at that moment.  Long trips in the car.  Long classes at school.  Long services at church.  All made long by one thing ... someone has to go to the bathroom.  The Tinkle Can.  Did she really say that, or was I hallucinating on my cinnamon toast?  Yep.  There it was again, this time followed by the distinctive rattle of metal on metal.  The Tinkle Can.  I confess.  I completely lost my composure.  All the stress of the moment exploded forth from my mouth in uncontrollable laughter.  Both dogs woke and looked at me like I was a deranged animal control officer.  I couldn't stop laughing.  The Tinkle Can.  I said it out loud every time the announcers did.  Now, the idea was simply a game where listeners called in and tried to guess how much change was in the metal jar - The Tinkle Can.  Whoever got closest won a ten percent off coupon to the local cleaners.  The Tinkle Can.  What an idea!  A stroke of genius!  Just what I needed to hear, anyway.

You know what?  God's got a "just-what-I-needed-to-hear" for each one of us.  It might be, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that whoever believes in him might not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

It might be, "Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20)  Read here "... even on Galveston Island after Hurricane Ike." 

It might be, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:13)

The Tinkle Can.  God so loved.  I am with you.  I can do all things.  Just what I needed to hear.  Thanks, Father.