February, 1920 



GI. EANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



107 



I 



r 



Blessed are the meek ; 

 irth.^ — Matt. 5:5. 



you (perhaps 

 several times) 



of "running 



away from my 



funeral, riding 



a bicycle," when 



the doctors said, 



about 30 years 



ago, that I 



would never be a 



well man again. 



Yes, they said 



further, I prob- 

 ably had but lit- 

 tle time to live. 



Well, dear 



friends, I am 



continually 



thanking God, that now at 80 years of 

 age I am still keeping that funeral away 

 back— in fact, almost out of sight, off in the 

 distance. By the way I verily believe that 

 my coming to Florida in the winter time is 

 a great lielp in getting the start of my es- 

 pecial funeral. 



On one of those wheel rides across the 

 State of Ohio, I got caught in a summer 

 shower, and, when I reached a hotel in a 

 little town just about dinner time I was 

 too muddy to go into the nice dining room 

 without a good brushing. My shoes were 

 especially untidy. The landlord said there 

 was no bootblack in the town, but he guess- 

 ed at the little shoe-shop across the way 

 they would fix up my shoes. My applica- 

 tion, however, didn't suit. 



" TMio sent you over here to have your 

 shoes shined?" demanded the proprietor. 



" TVhy, the landlord said he guessed yoii 

 could make me presentable." 



At this, being a profane man, he gave 

 his neighbor a blessing for sending him 

 such a customer. 



"Plere, stranger, are blacking and a brush 

 and you are quite welcome to them, but 

 — ! — !" etc. 



The above was brought to mind by a re- 

 mark in the Sxnday School Times, by our 

 good friend Ridgewav% as given below : 



Lesson 9. — .Tesus Teaches Peter True Greatness. 

 (John 13:5-16, 36-38.) The great man is the man 

 who wants to serve the other fellow. The tendency 

 of the time is less work. Is this a good thinsc or 

 not? No work, no eat. Are we comins to the time 

 when class lines shall be no more? Every fellow 

 ready to black the other fellow's shoes, instead of 

 his eyes ? 



" Every fellow more ready to black the 

 other fellow's shoes, instead of his eyes." 

 Many thanks, friend Ridgewaj-, for the 

 bright suggestion. Rut come to think of it, 

 it is only the old, old story of loving even 

 vour enemies and doing good to them that 



OUR HOMES 



A. I. ROOT 



a 



And whosoever will be chief anion? you, let him 

 be your servant.- — Matt. 20:27. 



If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed 

 your feet; ye, also, ought to wash one another's 

 feet.— John 13:14. 



for they shall inherit the 



hate you. This 

 is what the 

 world, yes the 

 whole wide 

 world, needs 

 most of all just 

 now.* It isn't 

 men folks alone 

 that need Ridge- 

 way's beautiful 

 figure. We want 

 girls and women 

 that will be 

 more ready to 

 " shine each oth- 

 er's shoes " than 

 to damage repu- 

 tation by 

 thoughtlessly re- 

 peating an-d spreading careless gossip. In 

 regard to taking up menial sendee when 

 asked, without being offended, my old, old 

 text comes in nicely here: "Great peace - 

 have they who love thy law, and nothing 

 shall offend them." And again, some one 

 has said, "No insult can be given, where 

 none will be taken." 



There is a new potato out in the garden 

 that I hope is going to bless the world. I 

 will tell you more about it later. 



In closing this Home paper permit me to 

 tliank the many kind friends who have sent 

 Llrs. Root and myself not only a multitude 

 of Christmas and New Year greetings but 

 so many kind words that we really cannot 

 reply personally to all of them. As the 

 new year opens up before us, the second 

 electric windmill is ready, and only waiting 

 for some delayed freight that contains the 

 belt. 



" THE PEACE OF GOD WHICH PASSETH ALL 



UNDERSTANDING." 



(Written for the Tennessee State Beekeepers' 



Convention.) 



Dear friends, while I write on this 

 Thanksgiving Day, great things are coming 

 to pass, not only in this nation of ours, but 

 tilings that are of late getting to be world 

 wide. Things are happening that we 

 should be most devoutly thankful for; 

 and also some things that are not exactly 

 in line with our proud boast that this is 

 " the land of the free and the home of the 

 brave." 



While T write, my latest news is that the 

 coal mines, at least many of them, are de- 

 serted, right as winter is coming on. I 

 learn that in Ohio not only factories but 

 even schools are closed for lack of fuel. 



* Suppose the parties in the recent coal strike 

 (yes and other strikes) should turn about and show 

 a readiness to " shine shoes " or " wash feet," what 

 would happen to this world of ours? 



