What’s Up with Howard Black

By The Grace Of God  And Contitutionally Guaranteed,

Howard Black Pokes Fun At Life, Politics, And Human Insanity!

The man that marches to a “beat of a different drummer” eats everyday in my restaurant.  His name is Gary Murphy, but we affectionately call him Murph.

When he first started coming into the restaurant, he had long hair and a beard down to his chest.  At first glance, he would easily be mistaken for Rip Van Winkle.  I admit that when I first talked to him, I thought that he might have been astronaut, but never went into space.  But, in time that all changed!

To my staff, Murph is one of our special customers. He’s 55-years old, and has boyish style, charm and a positive attitude that conceals the fact that he has Parkinson’s disease.  His upbeat approach to life hides the reality of shaky hands and uncoordinated motions.

After coping with this disease for many years, he decided to have a neuro-stimulator placed in his chest that would send electrical impulses to his brain.  The electrical impulses would help control much of the jerky motion associated with Parkinson’s disease.  While the neuro-stimulator isn’t perfect, it has helped him tremendously.

But, it is his attitude that has always impressed me.  Everyday he comes into the restaurant and never fails to smile, say hello, or sometimes tell a joke.  He always has a kind word for every waitress, and he assumes the role of father figure to many of the younger staff.  To this day, I have yet to hear him complain about anything, and he just seems to accept life as it is.

When I asked Murph why he had never married, he admits that he is scared of commitment and that he never found the perfect woman.   “What is the perfect woman,” I asked.  He smiled and answered, “She’s got to look like Cindy Crawford and have plenty of curves.”

Over the years, Murph lost both his parents.  He admits to being a “mother’s boy” forsaking starting his own family to help take care of his mother and father.  Through his mild-mannered speech you can tell that his parents had a big effect on his life.

One of Murph’s few regrets is never having children.  He grows annoyed when he talks about today’s parents and how they neglect their biggest responsibility.  He admits that if he had kids that he would spoil them rotten.

Just like Murph’s father, it is easy to tell from the emotion in his eyes that he would have made a great father.

He said, “The more things that you desire, the more things you find wrong with life.”  I asked him if there was anything that would make him happy?  After explaining that he really didn’t have many desires, he did let it slip that he would like to live at the beach for a while.

Murph hears a different drum, and he marches a little slower than the rest of us.  Maybe that is a good thing.  I asked him about his philosophy to life, he simply said, “This is a hurry-up world, I try not to hurry.”

What’s Up in Local Sports

By Calvin Hastings - WADA 1390AM, Shelby, NC

Listen Live To Real Country

Believe it or not, the Area IV American Legion Baseball playoffs get underway this Sunday, June 26th.   That’s right!  PLAYOFFS!  It seems like we just got started with Legion baseball last week and now you say its time for the playoffs!    Regular season play will wrap up Saturday with the pairings set Saturday night.   Action will begin at higher seeds on Sunday.   Area teams to watch include Cherryville Post 100 who at the time of this article had suffered only one division loss with an 11-1 division record.   Shelby Post 82 had won 11 in a row at the time of this article including a three game sweep of the North/South Tournament in Sumter, South Carolina and a three game series sweep in Cincinnati, Ohio.   Keep and eye on Hickory Post 48 who were 9-4 in conference play along with the Gaston Braves who are 9-6.  Gastonia at 8-6 along with Rutherford County and ever dangerous Caldwell County could also make some noise.   The Shelby Post 82 playoff games will be broadcast on Real Country 1390 AM WADA and the Cherryville Post 100 playoff games will be broadcast on 1590 AM WCSL.

The American Legion Area IV All Star showcase has been cancelled because of all the rain we’ve had.   The game had been scheduled for 7:00 pm this Saturday at Shelby’s Veteran Field at Keeter Stadium.   Teams are having to scramble this week to make up missed rained out dates to complete the first round.

Crest High School has a new girls varsity basketball coach.   Tracy Beaver was  named to take over for Jeff Melton, who recently took over the varsity boys head coaching position at the school.   Beaver coached the Crest Middle School girls basketball team and won two conference championship in 2004 and 2005.   Beaver is a 1994 graduate of Burns High School and a 1998 graduate of Appalachian State.   Beaver has worked in the Cleveland County School System since 2001.

Hats off to James Chapman.  Chapman shot a combined score of 146 last week in the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship sectional qualifier at the Gaston Country Club.   Chapman won the event in a four way playoff.   Champman will now move on to the U.S. Amateur Championship at Trump National in Bedminster, New Jersey on July 20th-25th.

The family of Cleveland County well known golfer Buck Dover has established a college scholarship to help local young golfers.   Maryland Dover endowed the Buck Dover Golf Scholarship in her husband’s honor through the Greater Cleveland County School’s Educational Foundation for students graduating for Burns, Crest, Kings Mountain and Shelby High Schools.   Candidates for the scholarship must play on their high school golf team and plan to play at the collegiate level or pursue a career related to golf.   Recipients may receive the scholarship for up to four years.  The 82 year old Dover is one of the owners of Printing and Packaging in Shelby.

The new South Mountain 2A/3A Athletic Conference has released its football schedule for the 2009 season.   The new league will include Burns, Shelby, Chase, East Rutherford, RS Central, Freedom and Patton.   The first week of the season is set for August 21st.

Congratulations to Gardner Webb linebacker Jeffrey Williams.   Williams has been named to the first team preseason FCS All America  squad by the Sporting News in its annual college football preview magazine.   Williams is the current 2008 Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Year and earned postseason All American Honors from several organizations last season.   He led the Big South last season with 119 total tackles including 61 solo.   He had three interceptions as well.

Belmont Abbey pitcher Andrew Morton has signed a free agent contract with the San Diego Padres.   Morton helped lead Belmont Abbey to the NCAA Division II College World Series last month and posted a 9-2 record with 3.76 earned run average.   Morton will report to the Padres’ Arizona Rookie League team.

What’s Up in NASCAR

By Clint Spencer

Kasey Kahne picked up his first road course win on Sunday by winning the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma California.  This was Kahne’s first win of 2009 and 10th overall.  Before Sunday, Kahne had not visited victory lane since June 2008 at Pocono, 37 races ago.  It was also a momentous occasion for co-owner Richard Petty who’s newly formed race team RPM celebrated their first win.  It has been over a decade since Richard Petty won a race as an owner.  His last win came at Martinsville in 1999 with John Andretti.  The rest of the top five were as follows:  Tony Stewart finished the race in second place followed by the #47 of the man from down under, Marcos Ambrose.  Fourth place belonged to Jimmie Johnson followed by #11 Denny Hamlin who rounded out the top five.  I will have to admit that in the past I have not been a big fan of road course racing but after watching the double file restarts at Sonoma, I have changed my mind.

Spencer’s Power Poll

1. Tony Stewart-What a season this man is having.  Sundays’ second place finish was the fourth runner up and eighth top five finish for Smoke in 2009.  He increases his lead to 84 points over second place.

2. Jeff Gordon-The King of the Road, Jeff Gordon, scored another top ten with his ninth place finish at Sonoma.  He keeps his second place spot for another week.

3. Jimmie Johnson-When he wasn’t busy running into Kurt Busch, JJ was doing was doing a pretty darn good job of racing.  Scored his seventh top five with his fourth place finish and stays seated another week in the third position.

4. Kurt Busch-Had a great run on Sunday until the #48 of Johnson spun him out. Kurt would finish the race in 15th and holds on to fourth in the points.  Busch needs to run well next week because only 33 points separate him and Carl Edwards.  Luckily for Kurt, he heads into Loudon as the defending race winner.

5. Carl Edwards-Moves up one spot in the points this week as he narrows the gap between him and fourth place.  He is still looking for that first win of the year.

6. Ryan Newman-Scores outside of the top ten for the first time in many races.  His 17th place finish moves him back one spot in the points.  Look for Newman to return next week in New Hampshire.

7. Denny Hamlin-After a streak of poor finishes, Hamlin has finally turned things around posting a second consecutive top five with his third place finish last week in Michigan and fifth place finish in Sonoma.  Hamlin is back on the march to the top as he moves three big spots in the points this week.

8. Greg Biffle- It was not a good week for the driver of the #16. A 28th place finish in Sonoma drops Biffle one spot in the points.  Look for Biffle to rebound as he heads into Loudon where he won the fall race back in September of last year.

9. Kyle Busch- Went into Sonoma as the defending race winner and left with a car that had been transformed.  Finished the race in 22nd and doesn’t move any in the standings but now only five points separate him from 10th place.

10. Matt Kenseth-Moves up one spot in the points after Sonoma as he manages to keep himself in the chase for another week

11. Mark Martin- After moving up five spots in the standings last week, Martin falls back three with his disappointing 35th place finish at Infineon.

12. Juan Pablo Montoya- Juan did not win as I predicted but he did a great job of staying out of trouble and keeping his #42 Chevy up front.  He would manage to finish sixth and post his seventh top ten finish this season.  Moves up two spots in the points as he makes his way back into the chase.

Prediction for the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway:  Denny Hamlin and the #11 team at Joe Gibbs Racing have turned things around in the past two weeks and they head into New Hampshire, a track where they won at in 2007.  Hamlin has not visited victory lane since Martinsville in March of last year.  He has been itching for a win all year and this week he picks up his first of the season.  Look for the #11 of Hamlin in victory lane.

What’s Up with Thinking About It

By Dr. Vincent Hefner

Pastor, First Baptist Church in Cherryville, NC

I read a story about a famous general who was inspecting his troops before an upcoming battle. As he was talking to individual soldiers, one soldier broke down and began to cry. The soldier told the general that even though he had been trained for war, he was scared to go into battle. Instead of being harsh to the soldier, the general told him that everyone gets afraid before any battle and to think about what he was fighting to defend. After talking together for a few more minutes, the soldier told the general that they shared the same last name. When the soldier continued to cry and act in a manner that did not fit a soldier, the general told him to either change his last name or change the way he was acting. The general did not want to share the same name with someone who would bring disgrace to it. I can see his point. In society are we identified by our names. It should be important to each of us to keep our names in good standing in the community in which we live.

I was talking to some local businessmen in town and they were telling me about how many bad debts they faced every year from people who would not pay what they owed. I was shocked (or appalled) by how much money they lost to people who said they would do one thing and then would simply go back on their word. I had to be convinced that people would go into a place of business, ask for credit for a product, tell the storeowner that they would pay over time and then not pay at all. I asked the businessmen how they handled someone taking something and not paying for it. They told me that when they would call to find out why no payments had been made, many times the person would say that God had blessed the business owner and that he (the borrower) should not worry about paying them (the storeowner) back what he owed! What a strange theology.

What concerns me is the people who live this way and claim the name of Christ. Romans 6:1 says, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” If you are a Christian and owe someone, be sure to pay him or her what you owe them. If you have had hard times, then call the person and tell them that you will pay them something until you have completed what you agreed to do. The Church cannot afford to have people claiming to belong to Christ and then living like a cheat. If this offends you, then I hope it convicts you to the point of doing the right thing to whoever you owe. What’s in a name? A great deal if the name is Jesus Christ. Remember, don’t give in to sin. Think about it!

Let’s Talk Bible - Since 1975

Dub Dellinger

By Evangelist W.C. “Dub” Dellinger - Age 90

There are so many who pass off Christianity as for God to do all the loving.  Not true, not even all the forgiving.  You must have a clear conscious with your fellow men and be willing to forgive all; and love the Lord with all your might to have a clear conscious toward your Savior.  A good Bible says know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which keeps covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations.  Prov. 8-17: I love them that love me; those that seek me early shall find me. John 14-21: He that hath my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me, and he that loves me shall be loved of my father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.  It pays to search oneself in these matters because your soul hangs in the balance, and you have the choice of where it goes.  The big question is what do you want from your Lord? Psalms 37-4 says to delight thyself in the Lord, and He will give the desires of thy heart.  If you have been a born again Christian for some time, crave and pray for Holy Ghost Baptism.  Always remember that He never gives it before you are reborn, or saved.  Some do teach it wrong, and even say there is no such thing as Holy Ghost Baptism.  What is that saying?  Follow the Ox, and both fall in the ditch.  Never be guilty of that  or a certain place will enlarge itself around your soul.  Psalms 145-20 says the Lord preserves all them that love him, but all the wicked will be destroyed.  A good Bible says it is a command to love the Lord with all your heart and to serve Him with all your soul.  I always write with the KJV Red Letter Bible.  Written with italics only for explaining.  I saw some well educated people on the television explain why it is the only right Bible to use.  The King James of England  at that time if they did write their opinion, would have their heads amputated. And, it was not just one person.  There were several, and from different towns and locations.

What’s Up with Linda Benfield

By Linda Benfield

Hello everyone, let me introduce myself. My name is Linda and I am here to encourage you and attempt to help you enjoy life.  My motto is: Life is an adventure and the best is yet to come.

Everything and everyone in life has two sides, a negative and a positive. The trick to staying happy and enjoying life is to concentrate on the positive.

The most important thing to know is God loves you, He is in control and we are not. Trust and Obey Him. Never, Never, Never give up. There is a light at the end of every tunnel and it seems the older we get, the more we realize that statement.

Speaking of older folks, I retired at 62 and have never enjoyed life more that I have being a Senior. Our surrounding counties have gone out of their way to make our lives healthy, happy, and terrific. We have beautiful Senior Centers and programs available to us that will appeal to anyone.   Personally, I have gotten involved in Jazzercise, line dance, Yoga and aerobic classes. All these are offered to you at no charge. You meet new friends, stay fit and have a reason to get up, get out and enjoy living. They also offer more sedentary classes like Bridge, quilting, and basket weaving. You can get involved in the Widows groups, monthly socials and many other programs.  For the more competitive minded, there is the Senior Olympics held every Spring which includes all kinds of talents, even sports.

The main thing I want to encourage you about is to keep learning and staying active all your life. Most of us work hard and overcome many obstacles in life and we can reap the rewards in later years if we choose to do so. Please check out these opportunities in your area and encourage someone you know to do the same.

I have many topics I would like to discuss in the future like: Healthy habits , Positive thinking , How to appreciate your mate, Doing the right thing when it feels wrong, Looking your best, Communicating positively with others, Knowing when to say no, Never giving up and Stress.

I would appreciate your input on topics you are interested in. I know in today’s economy it is hard to keep a positive attitude and look at the bright side, but it is possible and very rewarding. I urge you to encourage someone today. Make it a habit of finding some way to offer a compliment to everyone you meet. We are all fighting some kind of battle and a kind word is so refreshing.

Your family comes first, it seems to be harder to speak kind words to those who mean the most than to a stranger. Please, please change this behavior, you never know what the next day will bring. Appreciate those you love and tell them often. Remember, a smile is an instant face lift. Life is an Adventure, and the best is yet to come!

Til’ next time, Linda

What’s Up-town Shelby

By Janet Workman Berry, CPF

Frame Masters Gallery & Gifts, Shelby, NC

Destination Cleveland County (DCC) has a permanent home.  Thanks to the generous donation by Linton and Sallie Suttle, DCC is putting down roots at 102 Clyde Street (behind Chuck Lowery’s Jewelry.)

What is DCC?  “A non-profit organization made up of passionate citizen leaders who love Cleveland County and are committed to preserving our quality of life.”

Robin Hendrick stated, “When Linton called with this idea of DCC having an office space Uptown, close to its projects, we were overwhelmed with his generosity.”  “We support DCC and it’s goals.  Linton and I want to do everything possible to help.” said Sallie Suttle.

What are the goals of DCC?   “Creation of two significant catalyst projects (Don Gibson Theatre and Earl Scruggs Center) that were developed by community leaders from across the county.” said Brownie Plaster.

For the past 18 months DCC had it’s office in a space generously donated by Plaster Family Dentistry on East Marion Street.  “We will miss them in our building but this new office will give the organization an Uptown presence.  With the arrival of David Jenkins, Executive Director of the Don Gibson Theatre, DCC needed more space.” Said Dr. Will Plaster.

Earl Scruggs, legendary banjo player, is a native of the Flint Hill Community in Cleveland County, NC.  Earl perfected and popularized a 3-finger picking style on the 5-string banjo and is known for his innovative approach to music.  Along with his many honors and awards in the music industry, in 2008 Earl was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards.  This past Friday, June 19, 2009, Earl delighted and entertained his hometown with a concert to benefit the Earl Scruggs Center.

Don Gibson, also a Cleveland County native received many honors and awards in the music industry as well. In 2001 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.  It is reported that Don said, “I consider myself a songwriter who sings rather than a singer who writes songs.”  In 1973 Don was inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame.  Over 700 artists have recorded his song “I Can’t Stop Loving You”.  Though Don passed away in November 2003 his impact carries on through his songs.  He is buried at Sunset Cemetery in Shelby.

The mission of DCC is “To unite our county’s history, heritage, culture and arts to create a vibrant economy while embracing the future and preserving the past.”

These projects need your help.  For more information and learn how you can get involved contact Emily Epley, Executive Director of Destination Cleveland County, 704-487-6233 or email info@destinationclevelandcounty.org.

Be Inspired, Be Different, Be Uptown Shelby !!!

Shop Locally - Support Independent Merchants that Support Your Community.