The paradise report 10 2013 11 10

Number 10 - November 10, 2013 - by Stan Paregien Sr - Bradenton, Florida

NOTE: The Paradise Report is a free, occasional publication in which Stan Paregien, Sr reports on

life in Paradise -- otherwise known as Florida. Stan and Peggy moved from Edmond, Oklahoma to

Bradenton, Florida on June 24, 2013. So The Paradise Report covers their adventures in their new

state, with lots of photos and other information as well. All back issues are posted at

www.issuu.com/cowboystan/docs. Many may be downloaded.

This issue contains two poems by Stan Paregien, a note about home foreclosures in Florida, some

information about Bradenton, and several photos of nearby Palmetto, Florida.

Good mornin' to ya:

If you often feel like the guy in this graphic, you best pack your back and boogie

on down to Florida. Sandals, shorts and tee-shirts are always appropriate --

except for formal events where you might dress up with a shirt with a collar.

Email Change

So much for the plans of mice and men. My other monthly newsletter is "The

Paregien Journal." My plan to use "[email protected]" as the address

from which to mail that newsletter didn't quite work out. Despite repeated

attempts the last two weeks, I have not been able to retrieve my email or my

mailing list from that account. Little dots just whirl in circles or run across the

top of the page and nothing happens. Grrrrrr.

Very frustrating. But . . . upward and onward. This newsletter's resident email

address is now . . . . ta, dah . . . drum roll please . . . [email protected].

And all those who are on my "Paradise Report" mailing list should be receiving

this one about the 25th of each month (except December) from this new email

address.

Should you decided you don't want to receive "The Paregien Journal," please

respond to the [email protected] address and enter in the subject

line, "Remove from Journal". That will help me keep the two mailing lists

separate and current.

Quarterback Crisis by Stan Paregien Sr

Copyrighted 2013

Times were really awful tough

At dear ol' Hometown High,

As hopes for football greatness

Out the door did quickly fly.

The problem the coach faced

Was a career-threatening one:

His two quarterbacks got hurt,

And that left him with none.

With three days to go before

The opening football game,

Coach took a drive in the country,

His growing stress to tame.

He drove by Willie Walter's Ranch,

Passing cattle watering at the lake.

When he saw men harvesting squash,

He slammed on his brake.

Old man Walters stood in the pickup bed

And son Wilbur tossed squash with flair.

He rolled to his left and threw a squash

That spiraled on target through the air.

Coach's eyes lighted up and he thought

Maybe, just maybe he'd found a star.

He grabbed the football next to him

And he jumped out of his sports car.

Coach ran right over to young Wilbur,

For this opportunity he wouldn't miss.

"Son," he said, holding up the football,

"Do you think you could pass this?"

Wilbur Walters looked at the football

And stepped back like he'd been hit.

He said, "Oh, I could pass it, I reckon,

"Soon as I figure out how to swallow it."

Coach drove slowly back to the school,

Crying as he crept along in his car.

Wilbur went back to loading squash,

Unaware he had almost been a star.

This poem by Stan Paregien is copyrighted. Any commercial use requires written permission from the author

and compensation to him. Requests should be sent to 1127 48th Avenue East, Bradenton, FL 34203. Or email

him at [email protected].

Anybody else have this problem? I often write things down--particularly

names of new people I've met--and then . . . I cannot find the paper.

mailto:[email protected]

In 1539 the Spanish explorer Hernado De Soto first stepped on Florida's sandy

shore on the north side of what today is the city of Bradenton. A village called

Manatee was incorporated in 1888. One of the early Anglo settlers nearby was

Dr. John Braden. A village grew up around his place and in 1903 it was

incorporated with the name, "Bradentown." The two communities merged in

1943 and adopted the name, "Bradenton." It is the county seat of Manatee

County. And it is nicknamed, "The Friendly City." Bradenton has just over 12

square miles of land and 2 square miles of water within the city limits. The

population stands at just over 50,000.

Laramie Hargrave:

A Fan's Tribute

by Stan Paregien Sr

Copyrighted October 8, 2013

No, sir, I never knew Mr. Laramie Hargrave,

But I sure do wish that somehow I had.

For he was the kind of young gentleman

Who would make a man proud to be his dad.

Laramie had a contagious smile on his face and

A positive song in his heart every single day.

He sure loved the warmth of Florida sunshine,

If it was rainy, he still smiled along the way.

Some of his favorite places in Bradenton

Were along Manatee Avenue and the Riverwalk.

Even when he met up with a complete stranger,

He had a way of getting them to joke and talk.

Laramie only arrived here in Florida in 2008,

Moving all the way from New Mexico's Santa Fe.

And he made a concerted effort to fit right in here,

For he had plans and was determined to stay.

He even told an inquisitive newspaper reporter,

"I fell in love with the people down here."

That was in 2009 and his "let's do it" attitude

Gained him many friends he held so dear.

Now, Laramie really loved life in general and

Especially the Gospel Tabernacle Church.

He would greet members and visitors alike,

Not wanting any to fall into some kind of lurch.

His favorite music was about any kind of country,

And he would perform karaoke at the drop of a hat.

Just ask the regulars who go line dancing at Joyland,

For they all knew Laramie was a real, cool cat.

Laramie always started his popular karaoke sets

Singing "The Chair" by ol' George Strait.

He encouraged the more timid folks to perform,

"Come on, now, time to fish or cut bait."

Friday nights his church distributed free food,

And Laramie helped out as much as he could.

He always took several boxes to the homeless

And those in a real poor neighborhood.

He had a special bond with those hard-time folks,

Because he had his own troubles and strife.

You see, Laramie Hargrave was born to trouble

As he had cerebral palsy all of his energetic life.

Florida's adopted son, Laramie Hargrave died

At the age of 36 on October 3rd, 2013.

I have a feeling he would say he lived well,

Loved God and others, and it was in his gene.

So when life is dealing you a real bad hand,

Think for a moment of our friend Laramie.

He had no fame or wealth, not even good health.

But he blessed folks with his great personality.

Stan was inspired to write this poem after reading a fine article by Vin Mannix:

"Familiar face to be missed in Bradenton," in The Bradenton (FL) Herald on Oct. 4, 2013.

Lord, Please Deliver Me

from Technology --Unknown author

(An essay circulated on the internet. My thanks to friend Nancy Demuth for sending it to me. Enjoy)

When I bought my Blackberry, I thought about the 30-year business I ran with 1800

employees, all without a cell phone that plays music, takes videos, pictures and

communicates with Facebook and Twitter. I signed up under duress for Twitter and

Facebook, so my seven kids, their spouses, my 13 grand kids and 2 great grand kids

could communicate with me in the modern way. I figured I could handle something

as simple as Twitter with only 140 characters of space.

My phone was beeping every three minutes with the details of everything except the

bowel movements of the entire next generation. I am not ready to live like this. I keep

my cell phone in the garage in my golf bag.

The kids bought me a GPS for my last birthday because they say I get lost every now

and then going over to the grocery store or library. I keep that in a box under my tool

bench with the Blue tooth [it's red] phone I am supposed to use when I drive. I wore it

once and was standing in line at Barnes and Noble talking to my wife and everyone in

the nearest 50 yards was glaring at me. I had to take my hearing aid out to use it, and

I got a little loud.

I mean the GPS looked pretty smart on my dash board, but the lady inside that gadget

was the most annoying, rudest person I had run into in a long time. Every 10 minutes,

she would sarcastically say, "Re-calc-u-lating." You would think that she could be

nicer. It was like she could barely tolerate me. She would let go with a deep sigh and

then tell me to make a U-turn at the next light. Then if I made a right turn instead.

Well, it was not a good relationship.

When I get really lost now, I call my wife and tell her the name of the cross streets

and while she is starting to develop the same tone as Gypsy, the GPS lady, at least

she loves me.

To be perfectly frank, I am still trying to learn how to use the cordless phones in our

house. We have had them for 4 years, but I still haven't figured out how I lose three

phones all at once and have to run around digging under chair cushions, checking

bathrooms, and the dirty laundry baskets when the phone rings.

The world is just getting too complex for me. They even mess me up every time I go

to the grocery store. You would think they could settle on something themselves but

this sudden "Paper or Plastic?" every time I check out just knocks me for a loop. I

bought some of those cloth reusable bags to avoid looking confused, but I never

remember to take them with me.

Now I toss it back to them. When they ask me, "Paper or plastic?" I just say, "Doesn't

matter to me. I am bi-sacksual." Then it's their turn to stare at me with a blank look. I

was recently asked if I tweet. I answered, No, but I do fart a lot."

End.

Some Scenes from Palmetto, Florida

Palmetto is located in Manatee County, just north of and across the Manatee

River from Bradenton, Florida. It has about 12,600 residents.

Remember, Veteran's Day this year is on Monday, November 11th

Early Manatee County farmers and their barn

Henry Brown Parrish, early Manatee County rancher

Thomas Jefferson Russell

Auto repair shop with several oldies in the parking lot in Palmetto, Florida.

eBooks by

Stan Paregien Sr

The following nine (9) eBooks are available at various retailers online. Some are

available in only the Kindle format at www.amazon.com.

Most are also available at wwww.smashwoods.com in eight (8) different formats,

including Apple (for IPhones, Ipad, etc.), PDF and Kindle. Be sure to follow Stan

online at www.paregien.com.

1

This eBook is a carefully researched study of the life, music and myth of famed

singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie (a native of Okemah, Oklahoma).Many think

of Guthrie as the father of modern folk music, but he was also a talented novelist

and artist. In a easy-to-read style, the author shows why 100 years after

Guthrie's birth, his music is more popular than ever while his morals and

politics remain controversial. He was the author of such songs as "Oklahoma

Hills," "Philadelphia Lawyer," and the classic folk song, "This Land is Your

Land" and nearly 3,000 more.

2

Published on May 21, 2013. Because of the large number of photos (183) in this

manuscript of some 42,460 words, it was necessary to divide the book into two

parts. It is not your grandpa's boring history book. The author starts by telling

the unique stories of 148 towns, including those which are a county seat in one of

Oklahoma's 77 counties. He includes photos, prominent people and humorous

stories. Be sure to download both Part 1 & Part 2. You'll find photos of such Oklahomans as Will Rogers, Wiley Post, George Nigh,

Blake Shelton and wife Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Byron Berline,

actor Ben Johnson, Debra Coppinger Hill, Virgil R. Trout, Reba McEntire,

Anita Bryant, Ree Drummond, Henry Belmon, Jody Miller, Rev. Allen Wright,

Tom Paxton, Kristen Chenoweth, Bob Burke, Carl B. Albert, Bertha Frank

Teague, William ("Bill") Tilghman, Jr., Black Kettle, Frank Lucas, Patti Page,

Billy Vessels, Batsell Barrett Baxter, Gregory E. Pyle, Stan Hoig, Susan Powell,

Clara Luper, Harvey V. Pratt, Larry and Rick Simpson, Robert H. Rowland,

J.C. Watts, Maria and Marjorie Tallchief, Jana Jae, James K. Hitch, Dale

Robertson, Jim Shoulders, Tommy Franks, T. Boone Pickens, Darrell Royal, Bill

Grant, Sam Walton, Melvin B. Tolson, Jane Jayroe, Henry Ware Lawton, N.

Scott Momaday, Lauren Nelson, Patrick Hurley, Steve Owens, Clarence Tinker,

Tom Coburn, actor James Garner, Sherri Coale, Patience Latting, Edgar Cruz,

actor Will Sampson, William Gordon Lillie (i.e., "Pawnee Bill"), Don Hodge,

Chief Standing Bear, Bill Pickett, Les Gilliam, Jim Thorpe, W. David Baird,

Overton James, John Hope Franklin, D.C. Minner, Steve Davis, Barry Switzer,

Charles Page, Marques Hayes, Gary England, Enoch Kelly Haney, Gordon

Cooper Jr., Thomas Stafford, Dan Boren, William Grady Stigler, Mike Gundy,

Wilma Mankiller, Wes Studi, Bob Blackburn, Kings of Leon, Governor Mary

Fallin, LaDonna Tabbytite Harris, John Wooley, Guy Logsdon, actress Shelby

Grant, Fred R. Harris, Abe Lemons, Sam Bradford, Leonard M. Harjo, Roy

Milton, J.W. Parker, Garth Brooks and many more. Hundreds more prominent

people throughout Oklahoma are also named, but with no photograph.

3

"Cowboy Stan" Paregien began writing and performing cowboy poetry and

storytelling in 1991. He performed at many of the large cowboy poetry and

music festivals from Montana to Texas and Arkansas to California during his

20-year run. This eBook contains 100 of those original poems plus dozens of

photos of his pals.

4

Approx. 5,640 words. Published on January 8, 2013. Category: Nonfiction.

This eBook tells about the life and rodeo career of the legendary Oklahoma

cowboy Jim Shoulders. He was born in Tulsa but lived most of his adult life in

tiny Henryetta, Oklahoma. Shoulders was tough as a boot, mentally and

physically, until the day he died. That is how he won an astounding 16 world

championships in rodeo competition. And he still continues to inspire youngsters

today.

5


Though a school teacher by profession and proud of it, Clara Luper

courageously began early in her career a life-long battle against racism. She

made local and national news in 1958 when she organized a small group of

teenagers (including her own children) and led them in a sit-in a drugstore diner

which did not serve Black people. They persisted, day after day, and were

successful. She participated in the March on Selma (Alabama) and the March on

Washington D.C. And she spent all of her life encouraging everyone to bravely

stand up for their legal rights.

6


Guy W. Logsdon graduated from Ada (Okla.) High School, from East Central

State University, and worked in two of the family businesses in Ada before

becoming the owner of the former Stall Photography Studio.

Logsdon went on to earn a doctorate, to become a folklore professor at the

University of Tulsa, and to become a leading authority on (1) Woody Guthrie's

life and music, (2) Western Swing music, particularly the careers of Bob Wills

and his brother Johnnie Lee Wills; and (3) on "old time" cowboy music.

7

This eBook was published in the Kindle format in 2012 and currently is only

available through www.amazon.com . It contains over 300 pages of quotes from

many hundreds of men and women in various occupations. This is Stan Paregien

Sr’s personal collection, started when he was a college student in Tennessee

more than 50 years ago. Only about a third of his original collection (numbering

in the thousands) were included in this volume, with the balance coming from

his reading over the last twenty years or so.

Here are quotes from Hank Aaron to St. Augustine, from Francis Bacon to

Bono, from Pat Boone to Erma Bombeck, from Dr. Joyce Brothers to Margaret

Thatcher, from Jimmy Carter to Agatha Christi, from Bill Cosby to Bob Dylan,

from Hillary Clinton to Dale Evans Rogers, from Ella Fittsgerald to Henry Ford,

from Bill Gates to Woody Guthrie, from Billy Graham to Jane Goodall, from

Paul Harvey to Thomas Jefferson, from Michael Jordan to Max Lucado, from

Jay Leno to Joyce Meyer, from Willie Nelson to Sandra Day O’Connor, from

Lily Tomlin to Condoleeza Rice, from Charles R. Swindoll to Elton Trueblood,

and from Oprah Winfrey to Newt Gingrich. It is quite a collection.

8

Stan Paregien first wrote this religious/inspirational book in 1968. It had been

out of print for over 40 years before he revised it and published it as an eBook.

However, the topics discussed in the lavishly illustrated book are just as current

as today's morning newspaper.

One of the most important of the 18 chapters deals with "The Problem of

Unbelief". The author examines the meanings of "unbelief" and "faith," and

talks about ways that Christians and unbelievers can better communicate and

help each other to understand their respective positions.

Two other challenging chapters discuss the various forms of prejudice and

discrimination, including racial tensions, and shares ways for us to reduce the

friction between the elements of our multicultural environment.

Other chapters are titled "God's Cure for Sick Souls," "God's War on Poverty,"

"The Peace of God," "The Day Jesus Died, "The Conquering Christ," "The

Good News," "The Heart of the Good News," "The Invitation of Jesus," "How

to Find Success in the Kingdom," "The Storms of Life," "A Holy Heartburn,"

"Speech: An Index to Character," "The Empty Life," "The Forgotten Virtue,"

and the always current topic "The Importance of Truth".

9

First published in 1971, by Mission Messenger press (W. Carl Ketcherside).

Long out of print until the Ketcherside family posted it for sale on

www.amazon.com.

Thoughts on Unity addresses the paradoxically divided state of a Christian unity

movement that began to acquire notoriety with the publication of Thomas

Campbell's “Declaration and Address” at the end of the first decade of the

nineteenth century. It also provides valuable insight into the thinking of

recognized Christian leaders of varying hermeneutical perspectives as they

grapple with the difficulties that have dogged the movement almost from its

inception. The book further illustrates the subtle nature of the impediments that

confront any effort to unite men and women upon a consensus of interpretation

of scripture which they regard as normative for their lives.

What has happened throughout most of the two hundred year history of the

Stone-Campbell restoration movement, however, is instructive not only for the

heirs of that movement, but for anyone seeking to better understand the

obstacles that continue to prevent a credible witness before an unbelieving world

to the abiding reality that is in Jesus.

The publisher, W. Carl Ketcherside, wrote this on the book's inside flap in 1971:

"This book gathers up into one compact volume the best thinking of those men

in our day. It represents recommendations from the most legalistic to the most

liberal, as it should. There has been no attempt to sift and exclude, or to seek for

conformity to any school of thought or point of view. Indeed, the thesis is

accepted that, in this time of intellectual ferment, the astute reader, given all of

the facts, will be able to form his own convictions and be responsible for them.

"This is the first time that all of these writers have appeared together inside the

covers of a single volume. It is doubtful if all of them would consent to appear

together physically upon the same platform, but here they can be heard and

their presentation can be examined at leisure. And from unbiased scrutiny there

may be kindled a flame of concern which will glow with sufficient intensity to

light the pathway to a closer walk together in the decades which lie ahead."

The Subjects and the Authors are as follows:

Introduction (Stanley Paregien)

1. How to Attain and Maintain Unity (Jimmy Allen)

2. Fellowship (Arthur W. Atkinson, Jr.)

3. The First and Second Commandments (Dave Bradford)

4. The Unity of the Faith (Harvey C. Bream, Jr.)

5. Is Unity Possible in Diversity? (Grayson H. Ensign)

6. How Men Use the Bible to Justify their Divisions (Leroy Garrett)

7. An Abiding Basis for Unity (Perry Epler Gresham)

8. Why Are We Divided? (Lavern Houtz)

9. After Unity — What? (Vernon W. Hurst)

10. Dwelling Together in Unity (Ferrell Jenkins)

11. Agape: Foundation of Christian Fellowship (W. Carl Ketcherside)

12l Unity and Law (Thomas A. Langford)

13. Toward Unity (F. L. Lemley)

14. New Life Through Christian Fellowship (Ronald E. Osborn)

15. The Holy Spirit and Inevitabilities (Erskine E. Scates, Jr.)

16. The Path to Unity (Robert W. Shaw)

17. When Brethren Disagree (Gene Shelburne)

18. Unity and Fellowship (Carl Herbert Stem)

Bio for Stan Paregien Sr

Stan Paregien was born in southern Oklahoma. He spent much of his teenage

years living on the historic Newhall Ranch just north of Los Angeles, California.

He graduated from Fillmore (Calif.) High School, received his B.A. from David

Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tenn. and his M.A. from the University of

New Mexico. He did postgraduate work at the University of Oklahoma where he

majored in Speech Communication.

He has worked as a minister; sales person; newspaper reporter and editor;

director of mental health facilities in Texas and Oklahoma; and as a radio talk

show host.

He has been a freelance writer since 1967. His articles and poetry have appeared

in scores of magazines, including The Saturday Evening Post, Southwest Art,

Christianity Today, The Lutheran Hour, Christian Standard, Life Insurance

Selling, The Star, The Lookout, The Roundup, The Tombstone (Ariz.) Epitaph,

Sunday Digest, Farm and Ranch Living, American Cowboy Poet Magazine, Rope

Burns, and Rural Heritage.

His newspaper articles have appeared in the Woodward (Oklahoma) News, The

Amarillo (Texas) Globe, The Daily Oklahoman, The San Antonio Light, and The

Fort Worth Star Telegram.

His nonfiction traditional books include The Day Jesus Died (Austin, TX: Firm

Foundation, 1968), Thoughts on Unity (St. Louis, MO: Mission Messenger,

1971), and Twenty-six Lessons on the Gospel of John (Joplin, MO: College

Press, 1976).

Paregien became a member of the Western Writers of America in 1986. From

1988 to 1992, he served as both historian and publicist of that professional group

of writers. In 1988 he earned the prestigious “Stirrup Award” from WWA for a

series of articles he wrote profiling Western writers.

He has made many appearances at major Western events across the country,

from Springdale, Arkansas to Santa Clarita, California and from Abilene, Texas

to Great Falls, Montana. He performed several times at the National Cowboy &

Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. He has performed nearly 20 years

at the annual National Cowboy Symposium in Lubbock, Texas. He was also the

editor and webmaster of his web site, "The Cowboy Directory," for over 15

years. It was the largest database of biographies and photos and Western

entertainers in the world. Now retired to Florida, Stan Paregien spends most of

his free time writing material for his personal web site, www.paregien.com, and

writing more eBooks.

Peggy & Stan Paregien at home in Bradenton, FL

Recent visitors to our home included our long-time friends Glenda and James

Cotton from Edmond, Oklahoma. And as they were leaving another couple of

dear friends from Edmond arrived. Those were Darrell and Martha Russell,

along with their daughter Christy and grandson "T.J." When we ate supper,

T.J. got to sit in the old wooden high chair in which my mother sat when she was

a child (born in 1922) and in which my sister and I each sat, as well as our

respective kids and grandkids. We've just about gotten the original investment

out of it.

The next "Paradise Report" will be posted about December 10th. Until next

time, best wishes to each of you.

--Stan

The paradise report 10 2013 11 10

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