June 3, 2019 - In 1951 I hitch-hiked to Springfield, Missouri (with three dollars in my pocket) and enrolled in the newly-established Baptist Bible College. The school was kind enough to help a bunch of “pore” preachers get a start. Springfield had more colleges than any city of its size in the U.S. Since jobs were hard to find, some students sold encyclopedias or Bibles… and I found a job washing dishes at The Colonial Hotel in downtown Springfield.
It was snowing when I got off from work one day and as I was returning to the campus, I passed a movie theatre. I was tempted to buy a sack of popcorn and go inside to warm up. But several fellow preachers at college let us know that all movies were sinful and that no preacher should go near one. I almost watched the movie that day (don’t know what movie) but since I didn’t want to be a stumbling block to my preacher bothers, I pulled my coat up around my neck and trudged back to the dorm.
I’m an old feller now --- never have cared much for movies --- but if I had that day in 1951 to do over again, I know just what I’d do. I would come out of the snow, buy some popcorn, go in the theater... and hope that all my preacher friends saw me go in. And who knows… the movie that day might have been a really good western…
… like “Shane” or “Red River.”
