CLEOEJACKSONIII.COM
  • My Home Page
  • My Life and Ministry
  • My Ongoing Thoughts
  • My Favorite Bible Verses
  • My Favorite Stories
  • My Favorite Jokes
  • My Favorite Quotations
  • My Favorite Web Links
  • My Contact Info
"Helping Others Communicate"

PIPELINE

10/4/2021

 
A recent news article by Cortney Moore on www.foxbusiness.com titled “Albert Einstein’s Tobacco Pipe Collection Up For Auction with Bids Over $20K” related how the RR Auction Company out of Boston, Massachusetts has now put up for sale a collection of tobacco pipes that is said to have once belonged to none other than Albert Einstein.
 
It seems that the historic collection is a part of something known as “Remarkable Rarities”; and bidders have already driven the price up to more than $20,000.  The collection purportedly includes nine intricately carved pipes once owned by Einstein that came into the current owner’s possession in the mid-1980s through their ties to the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey – roughly three decades after Einstein’s death.

According to the letter of provenance, the owner stated: 

​"My father was employed at the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), Princeton NJ as a caretaker of real estate properties owned by IAS from 1969 to 1995.  When these houses became vacant he would have to clean and prepare them for the next professor to move in."


According to records published by the Institute itself, Einstein did indeed work there as a mathematics professor (at the Institute for Advanced Study) from September, 1933 to April, 1955.

This story resonated with me for two reasons.  First, as a student at Princeton Theological Seminary back in the early 1980s, I often walked by the Institute of Advanced Studies (on one side of the campus) and Einstein’s home, located at 112 Mercer Street (on the other side).  At the time, Einstein himself was long deceased; but his stepdaughter, sculptor Margot Einstein, still lived there. 

I have always regretted that, by the time I arrived in Princeton, it was too late to meet this distinguished man, who not only postulated “E=Mc2”, but who also wrote a personal letter to FDR advocating the development of an atomic bomb to use against our enemies and bring a quick end to WW2.

In any event, this particular news story came at an uncanny time for me.  I had just spent the better part of the previous week unboxing long stored items to use in decorating my new “man cave”.  In one particular box, I came across a wooden pipe holder with six pipes that had once belonged to my grandfather and namesake, Cleo Jackson. 

I treasure that collection!  And while this man was no nuclear physicist, he was, for me at least, a giant among men.  And these six pipes all in a row represent for me a “pipe” line of descent straight back to this amazing man.

Famed country music artist Randy Travis once wrote a song with these lyrics:


“He wore starched white shirts buttoned at the neck,
and he'd sit in the shade and watch the chickens peck.
And his teeth were gone, but what the heck,
I thought that he walked on water.

He said he was a cowboy when he was young.
He could handle a rope and he was good with a gun.
And my mama's daddy was his oldest son,--
and I thought that he walked on water.

If the story's told, only heaven knows.
But his hat seemed to me like an old halo.
And although his wings, they were never seen.
I thought that he walked on water.

Then he tied a cord to the end of a mop,
and said, ‘Son, here's a pony, keep her at a trot.’
And I'd ride in circles while he laughed a lot.
Then I'd flop down beside him.

And he was ninety years old in sixty-three
and I loved him and he loved me.
And lord, I cried the day he died,

'cause I thought that he walked on water.”


Now upon closer inspection, it is obvious that Travis is here referring to his great-grandfather, as opposed to his grandfather.  But the principle remains the same.  As a little lad, he obviously held his forbear in great esteem. 

​The same can be said for me.  I have always thought of my grandfather as unique - sort of as a man among men.  And from my perspective, at least,  indeed he was.


Cleo Jackson was born back in 1909.  The oldest of three children, he had to quit school after the third grade in order to stay home and farm, all because his own father had contracted pellagra, a debilitating disease that comes from a diet consisting of almost 100% corn products - corn meal, corn bread, corn muffins, grits, etc…  (Obviously, corn was the cash crop of the era.)  As a result, his father, John Bunyon Jackson, was was forced to declare bankruptcy.  

Cleo later came of age and got married to my grandmother, Junie Mae Turner, just as the Great Depression unfolded.  Thereafter, he was destined to be a sharecropper for another nineteen years before he was finally able to afford to buy an obscure, rock-strewn hillside, and finally begin to earn a living (as a hardscrabble farmer) for himself and his family alone.

All these things notwithstanding, when he died in 1975, he had managed to amass two forty-acre farms, a whole herd of cattle (along with another of swine), and right at $65,000 cash in the bank.  All of this amounted to a small fortune at the time.  But more to the point, he had loved, married, and honored a single woman, my grandmother; and with her, had produced three children and ten grandchildren, of which I alone bear his name.

That name is important to me.  For when I received it, it bore no shame.  It had never once been tarnished.  And it was held in esteem, not only by me, but by every other person in our community.  And I have done my best to pass it on just as I received it.

Ironically, perhaps, all of the above unfolded virtually on top of “National Grandparents Day”, which occurs each year on the first Sunday after Labor Day.  And this leads me to my point…

Whose name do you bear?  Are you a “Jr.” or a “III” (like me) or even a “IV”, or more?   If so, how do you remember them?  Do you (even) know their story?  And if so, can you appreciate the time in which they lived, how they responded, and the integral effect this all had on their life (or lives)? 

More to the point, how do you honor them?!  If you bear their name, do you do so honorably?  That is to say, do you live your life in such a way as to show that you value and appreciate what they represented in their time in this world?

It’s a long way from rural Fayette County, Georgia to Princeton, New Jersey.  It’s even longer from a third grade education to a Master’ Degree.  Just as it is from a net worth of $65,000 to what is considered financially successful today.  But none of these things matter if I have not recognized, remembered, and honored those who came before me and imbued me the values I now have.

The Old Testament Book of Proverbs (chapter 22, verse 17 through chapter 24, verse 22) contains a collection of thirty “Sayings of the Wise”.  Among these, saying five (found in Proverbs 22:28) says:  “Do not move an ancient boundary stone which your fathers have placed.” 

I take this to mean that God would have me to honor the boundaries set my forbears.  And these boundaries are not just physical, but also ethical, moral, and spiritual!

I last saw Cleo Jackson on Monday, April 21, 1975.  He was at our house that evening.  I did not know that he would die the following morning, on Tuesday, April 22, 1975.  (Believe me - if I had of known any such, I would have cherished each and every moment with him!)

Since then, the Lord has since blessed me with more than forty six years of life.  And when I next see Cleo Jackson face to face, I sincerely hope that he will be proud of both who I became and of what I accomplished as one who bore his name.

Of course, all of this reminds me that Heaven will surely record, not just what all I have done in my earthly name of Jackson, but also what all I have done in my eternal name of Christian. 

By comparison, all else will be of little consequence.  In fact, it will be about as fleeting (and meaningless) as pipe smoke! 

In the meantime, as Dierks Bentley puts it, "I may never make it famous, but may I never bring it shame.  It's my last name!"


SOURCES:

https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/albert-einstein-tobacco-pipes-rr-auction-20k;

https://genius.com/Randy-travis-he-walked-on-water-lyrics;

https://nationaltoday.com/grandparents-day/.

SCRIPTURE:

https://biblehub.com/proverbs/22-28.htm.

NOTE:  In 2003, Dierks Bentley released a hit song titled "My Last Name".  The lyrics seem apropos for this blog post...

"
I learned how to write it when I first started school,
Some bully didn't like it, he said it didn't sound too cool,
So I had to hit him, and all I said when the blood came,
It's my last name

Grandpa took of to Europe to fight the Germans in the war,
It came back on some dog tags nobody wears no more,
It's written on a headstone, in the field where he was slain,
It's my last name

Passed down from generations too far back to trace,
I can see all my relations when I look into my face,
May never make it famous, but I'll never bring it shame,
It's my last name

Daddy always told me far back as I recall,
Son, your part of somethin', you represent us all,
So keep it how you got it, as solid as it came,
It's my last name

Passed down from generations too far back to trace,
I can see all my relations when I look into my face,
May never make it famous, but I'll never bring it shame,
It's my last name

So darlin' if you're wonderin' why I've got you here tonight,
I wanna be your husband, I want you to be my wife,
I ain't got much to give you but what I've got means everything,
It's my last name, oh, it's my last name


I learned how to write it when I first started school..."

Cf.: 
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/dierksbentley/mylastname.html.

Comments are closed.

    Cleo E. Jackson, III

    Occasionally I will add
    a few thoughts to my blog. If you find them inspirational, I will be
    honored.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010

    Categories

    All