America’s Evangelist, Billy Graham

As a kid, I was like (I'll bet) almost all the other kids...it's was tough sitting through a sermon!

Now, I'm not saying it was the Minister's fault, he may well have been delivering the best sermon in the history of sermon's!  But when I was little, it was hard to listen, the words seem to kind of melt together and before long my mind was off on some playground playing 'Red Rover Red Rover'.

And truth be known, I happened to notice a few of the 'older folks' nodding off too!

But then there was this guy, this Billy Graham.  As I recall, it was once or twice a year the 'Billy Graham Crusade' would come on one of the two channel's we got on that old black and white set.  It seems if memory is correct (and by the way, it probably isn't) he be on for a few nights or so in a row, at 7PM, for an hour.

And for some reason, I was mesmerized.  I mean, this guy could talk!! 

I didn't realize it at the time, but I think it was the cadence of words, the passion, the authority that flowed from him that captured me.  Now, I'm going to be brutally honest here...I wasn't overcome with an ocean of spirituality, but I'm sure some of the things he said soaked in and made me a better person, at least a little bit.

I became a fan of Billy Graham when I wore a much younger person's skin and have always enjoyed looking back at his powerful words and message.

He's 95 years old now.  Still 'America's Evangelist'.  And still, at least in a memory, speaking through an old and large black and white TV set on a little farm in southwest Minnesota.