Lines in the Sand

I was perusing my high school yearbooks the other day for a photo of a former classmate who recently posted a message on my Classmates page. I remember his name, but don’t remember much else about him. But it got me wondering about all the people I could have known but didn't. Why is that?

You probably recall what it was like in high school. In my school there were three types of kids. I gave them these names: the “haves,” the “could haves”, and the “have-nots.”

The “haves” were the jocks, cheerleaders, and other kids whose parents were pretty well-to-do. These were the “popular” kids and most of the time they were cruel and unkind to the “could haves” and the “have-nots.” Some of them were good athletes and some were not. Some were good musicians, vocalists or actors and some were not. Some were straight A students and some were not. However most all of them were popular merely because they’re parents were in the higher income bracket.

The “have-nots” were the kids who came from the other side of the tracks and in my small home town of Willard, Ohio this was a literal term. I think we called it the “East side”; although I don’t know why, because the part of town that most of the have-nots lived in was actually north of the main railroad line that ran through town. Some of them were good athletes and some were not. Some were good musicians, vocalists or actors and some were not. Some were straight A students and some were not. But most were “unpopular” merely because they’re parents were much less well-to-do than others.

Then there were what I have termed the “could-haves.” These were kids who sort of teetered between the haves and the have-nots. Some of them were good athletes and some were not. Some were good musicians, vocalists or actors and some were not. Some were straight A students and some were not. Their parents were in the middle income bracket and lived in the areas of town that were between the Eastside and the newer homes. None of them had any particular advantage over others.

I’m not sure why we drew lines in the sand except to say that we all tended to gravitate towards others in similar situations. We were all above average in some ways and below average in other ways; but most were average (see the italicized descriptions above). We all wanted to have some degree of popularity. None of us liked others looking down their noses at us as it made us feel less than important. What was it that makes us want to be better than others?

As I looked through my old year books I couldn’t help but wonder who people were; but not merely because I of the 30 year time span between then and now. I wondered what it might have been like if we hadn’t drawn lines in the sand. I think we all wanted desperately to belong in some way. How different might it have been if we all realized that we were all God’s children and made in his image: “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:27) This is the one thing that we all had in common and still do to this day.

In the Distance

Today I was flipping through an old accordion file folder that had a bunch of guitar chord charts I had hand written over the years, looking for a particular song and I ran across some poetry I had written quite a few years ago. I wrote in this one March of 1991. I was at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, living in a tent. We were there in support of Operation Desert Storm. As I read the verses, I was trying to remember exactly what I was thinking at the time. I guess the poem gives a pretty good idea. At the time I didn't title the poem, but I think "In the Distance" works.


In the distance I hear a heart beat
I wonder what life force it will bring
Will it be that of hope
Only the life bringer knows

In the distance I hear the thunder
I wonder what storm it will bring
Will it be a storm of hope
Only the storm maker knows

In the distance I hear the rain
I wonder what gift it will bring
Will it be a gift of hope
Only the rain maker knows

In the distance I hear the cries
I wonder what message they bring
Will they be cries of hope
Only the maker of those who cry will know

In the distance I feel there is hope
It is there for those who seek it
In this life there is always hope
It is there in the distant heart beat


When I wrote this my English writing and editing skills were not what they are now, but I think it's a good poem nonetheless. I only changed one line (Line 4, verse 4) because the original line didn't seem to fit the theme. As a read and re-read the verses, I think the underlying theme is obvious. I would be interested to know if you see it as well. Please post a response if you have times. Thanks.