By Dr. Joel Philip Church The event filled journey of two young boys fleeing their unfortunate pasts A family oriented book for all ages |
The Thinking Tree
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email church@freedomministries.com or send your check to P.O. Box 1060, Rogers, AR 72757)
(The Thinking Tree is copyrighted 2005 Dr. Joel Philip Church All Rights Reserved)
Read Excerpts
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Other books by Dr. Church
Biblical Principles of Prayer
(Used as a college textbook)
(Biblical Principles of Prayer is copyrighted 2005 Dr. Joel Philip Church All Rights Reserved)
Messages from the Edge of Eternity
(The true account of Dr. Church's healing from terminal cancer)
(Messages from the Edge of Eternity is copyrighted 1998 Dr. Joel Philip Church All Rights Reserved)
Bible Stories go West
(Bible stories put in 1860s western setting)
(You will need Adobe Reader to view this file)
(Donations are accepted for the use of this free online book
email church@freedomministries.com or send your check to P.O. Box 1060, Rogers, AR 72757)
(Bible Stories go West is copyrighted 2000 Dr. Joel Philip Church All Rights Reserved)
(This page is copyrighted 2007 Dr. Joel Philip Church All Rights Reserved)
Also visit Freedom Bible College and Seminary
and
Concepts of Freedom Ministries
Email Dr. Church at church@freedomministries.com with your comments
Book Excerpts:
Billy Joe Adams never expected the hard, stunning blow from the razor strap. The force of the initial strike startled him. The blows flew harder, faster and more violent. His bare skin burned from the assault. The rage grew into a complete frenzy and he heard animal-like groans coming from somewhere like a caged bear struggling for freedom. Finally, after an imagined eternity, the whipping stopped.
Billy Joe examined Jake. There was no movement and he could see no sign of life. "I've killed him, now I done it. Now I've murdered him," Billy Joe gasped. Swiftly, he grabbed his flour sack and ran as fast as he could down the trail leading to Y Junction.
A young man sat on the floor (of the boxcar) with his legs hanging out of the door. He wore a new looking red and white plaid, long-sleeved shirt and well-worn khaki pants. The shirt was too hot for a normal person to be wearing in the arid weather. Beads of glistening sweat streamed down his smooth face. He brushed his sandy red, wind blown hair out of his eyes. He wore snake-skin cowboy boots. Beside him lay a straw hat with a brown sweat stain circling the brim. A "roll-your-own" cigarette dangled from the corner of his mouth.
Auggie stood inspecting the bovine pondering what to do next. He wasn't sure he could stab a cow, especially when she was staring at him with such a peaceful gaze. She inspected Auggie, continently chewing her cud, as he drew near. He imagined a smile on her long face.
"Get him," Billy Joe shouted, "before he gets away."
"Wonder where I should stab him?"
"In the heart, I reckon."
"Okay...Where you reckon his darkin heart is?"
Soon a man in his fifties stood before them. There it was! The missing link between riffraff and scum. He wore a yellowish-tan apron; it was probably white in a former life. Brownish stains of old splattered blood and ordinary slaughter house filth covered his ensemble. He was shirtless behind the apron. Like a sack of shelled corn, a corpulent stomach hung loosely over the waist of his baggy olive drab pants. His grubby feet were bare and his overgrown toenails tapped against the cement floor as he walked. Streams of perspiration flowed freely down his face and the exposed parts of his oversized mid-section. His hair was thinning on top and had been chopped off into a short crew cut. He placed his hands and forearms on the counter and slouched forward, an accumulation of something black lined his long fingernails.
Billy Joe’s imaginations turned into a dream as he drifted into a deep sleep. Dakota became a merciless vigilante putting every deserving bad-man into his grave. There was no place where killers, robbers, child-beaters, or rapists could hide. He was cleansing the country of all undesirables; he was the judge, jury and the executioner.
Billy Joe was in shock because he was building up courage to jump and didn't expect Auggie to push it. He fell with a thud to the end of the rope and the harness held, at least for a while. He was about to brag on Auggie's workmanship when a snap, so loud it could be heard by someone outside, turned the harness loose and let the noose tighten on Billy Joe's neck.
"Aghhhhh!" The sound continued. "Aghhhhh!" Billy Joe dangled from the rope. He was kicking and trying to touch the floor, but the tips of his toes would only brush as the rope stretched.
Auggie stood staring, he never saw anyone hang before. He saw lynchings in western movies, but it was really neat to see someone actually hang.
"I know how to do a rain dance," Auggie said then wondered why.
Billy Joe was in shock, "Why'd he say that...he's crazy," he thought.
His mind was on one thing. His hands were sweaty, his heart was pounding and his words didn't make sense. At times, he didn't even know which direction the conversation had taken. He knew that somehow he was going to kiss her, but he was afraid. He couldn't get the nerve to ask, so in a moment of strength he leaned toward her and lightly kissed her. She didn't resist. They talked awkwardly a few more minutes then said their goodnights and went to bed.
Billy Joe would hold, cherish and long remember his ordeal, his journey, the big city, and his special friend. He knew somewhere maybe in a railroad car, at the end of a gun, or in secret place sharing his first kiss, the boy who left home ceased to exist.