Over the years, I have had people come to me and suggest that the reason that someone is going through a difficulty or a tragedy is due to (a) God’s punishment; (b) God’s displeasure; or (c) God removing His protection.

Let’s get one thing out in the open. I’m a hugger — have been all my life. I’m proud to say I come from a long line of huggers. My dad is 80, and he still hugs. Grandpa Jed died at age 92; the last thing he did was give Grandma a hug.

I was mildly surprised that this family, which had lots of children and married into many of the well-known families in Coweta and Meriwether, was not well represented in either the local history books or online. These Kempsons were the descendants of Harmon Kempson, a German immigrant who made his way from Hanover, Germany to South Carolina, and later to Meriwether County, Georgia and left many to carry on his name. His children were Henry, Elizabeth, Peter John Michael, Frederick Harmon, Benjamin and Susannah.

Seems like I wrote this column once before, but I promise you, this one is different. This one’s about Farmer Pope and why he’s shutting down his farm stand.

The Bush administration’s announced goal for Israel and the “Palestinian people” has been two states, living side by side in peace. The administration is two-thirds there. There are now two states — one in Gaza, headed by the militant Hamas organization, which shot its way to power; and another in the West Bank headed by accused Holocaust denier Mahmoud Abbas. Unfortunately for Israel, there is no peace, which should not surprise those who have been predicting exactly what is now coming to pass.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Addressing a Republican fund-raising dinner at the Washington Convention Center last Wednesday night, President Bush declared: “If the Democrats want to test us, that’s why they give the president the veto. I’m looking forward to vetoing excessive spending, and I’m looking forward to having the United States Congress support my veto.”

Digging through my purse for a receipt, I discovered another piece of paper with numbers scrawled across it. I pulled it out, read the numbers and smiled.

President Bush was so buoyed by the warm reception he was given in Albania that he immediately gave all 3 million Albanians American citizenship, provided they learn Spanish. The offer was withdrawn when Bush found out most Albanians haven’t broken any U.S. laws.

On Monday, June 7, 1982, President Ronald Reagan arrived in Rome to meet with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican, a little over a year since both men survived near-fatal assassination attempts. The two shared not only a commonality of personal experiences but also of political interests — interests that each felt could change the boundaries of the world and the course of history.

Today, the bald eagle is a symbol of America, representing the pride, courage and strength of its people. For a long time, however, the symbolism and its symbol were separated and the eagle remained down, unappreciated and endangered.

“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to relive it.”—George Santayana

On May 9, 2007, with little attention from the snoozing media, George W. Bush issued a “presidential directive” that allows him to assume control of the federal government following a “catastrophic emergency.”

After Saigon fell to a North Vietnamese onslaught on April 29, 1975, Americans experienced a “Vietnam hangover” lasting until the electorate emerged from its grogginess to elect Ronald Reagan to the presidency in 1980.

Answers to your questions about life, religion and the Bible

Father Paul: I have a good friend who dabbles in the occult. He says he sees nothing wrong with this. Does the Bible say anything about the occult?

— Franklin

It sure does. It’s great that your friend is interested in supernatural/spiritual things, but the source of occult practices is Satan (The Deceiver) ... NOT the God of the Bible. Things like Ouija boards, tarot cards, casting spells from “roots,” channeling, witchcraft, black magic and the like ... things some people call “harmless fun,” are all condemned by God in the Bible which calls them, “an abomination unto the Lord,” (Deut. 18: 9 - 12). Some translations of this passage say, “detestable to the Lord.”

This week we continue with Robin Parker's story of the children of David and Nancy Leitner Gable. Robin names the children in order and writes of them:

“(1) Noah Gable married Sallie A. Wilson in 1858 and they had 10 children. In 1859, Noah purchased the medical practice of Dr. N.B. Drewry in Brooks and, for the next 72 years, Noah and two of his sons practiced medicine there. Noah enlisted in the CSA and was captured and held POW at Camp Douglas in Illinois. Since he was a physician, his services were greatly needed. At the end of the war, Noah had to walk the long distance from Illinois back to his home in Brooks. Noah was the grandfather of Miss Nina Gable, who was a well-known personality in the Brooks community.

Life is filled with unexpected interruptions and undesired events that may send us reeling. A few years ago, I was driving to a hospital in Atlanta when the cell phone rang. My secretary instructed me to pull over and, when she was certain that I was off the road, told me that she didn’t know how or why or what his condition was but that my son, a police officer, had been shot.

In a brightly lit washroom at Underground Atlanta, there is one lonely attendant, an old man, somewhat hunched over with age. When I saw him he was holding a fresh towel with one hand — a small broom and a dust pan on the end of a stick in the other. With eyes fixed on the ground directly in front of his tattered shoes, in his mind he was someplace else. It was Father’s Day.

On April 29, 2007, Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki made the baseball history books in a game against the Atlanta Braves.

Should anyone remain at the real end of history to chronicle a list of humanity’s worst systems for the benefit of any left to read it, the legacy of communism is sure to be at, or near, the top.

One of the problems with the world – just one, mind you – is that people don’t do enough porch-sitting anymore. In fact, it is a trend these days to forego porches and settle for patios and decks.

George Gilbert said, “Marriage is a three ring circus: engagement ring, wedding ring and suffering!”

Milton Berle said, “Marriage is one of the few institutions that allow a man to do as his wife pleases.

Henny Youngman said, “The secret of a happy marriage is a secret.”

Or is it? We live in a day in which the American family is still plagued by the disappointment of divorce, yet one recent study revealed that the national per capita divorce rate has declined steadily since its peak in 1981 and is now at its lowest level since 1970. One reason? More couples are living together without the commitment of marriage. Another is an intentional effort to strengthen marriages and the determination to make marriages work.

(Editor’s note: this column was originally published in June 1979.)

There it is again, that uncalled-for glimpse of life in perspective. It must be the great plan of things that graduations and Father’s Day come close together, another milestone and that sense of awe in having been much bigger than my own life.

Moving on to the next family in the newspaper article of 1907 about the "fruitful" families of Line Creek, we come to the family of George Washington Gable, to whom Robin Parker, author of the two previous articles, also is related. From 1907: " ... These three families (Hutchinson, Thompson, Kempson) live on adjoining plantations and are in sight of each other. Within sight of these three mentioned is the family of our late worthy County Treasurer George W. Gable, deceased, which is composed of ten children and the widowed mother. All of the children are at home with the mother. Thus the four families are 46 children all living within a mile of each other ... "

Like most people, I’ve had many more good days than bad. So why are the bad days so prevalent in my memory than the good ones? And why can’t I forget them?

There is a popular notion that ministers have emptied themselves of ambition and that they do what they do without regard or consideration for position or prestige. It is a myth.

Former senator and probable Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson brought Virginia Republicans to their feet last Saturday night in Richmond when he said the public no longer believes in politicians who promise to secure the U.S. border as part of a bipartisan immigration bill.

Rodney Crowell is a Grammy-award winning artist, the writer of hundreds of hit songs and the former son-in-law of Johnny Cash.

There should be some rule in nature that gives grandparents an extra boost of strength when their grandbabies are at their fastest. Instead, just at the time the little ones are adding speed to cunning, their seniors are being slowed by arthritis or some other geriatric malady.

I guess most of you have noticed that John Hatcher is no longer doing the religion column for our Wednesday religion section. John decided to resign a few weeks ago after writing for us for nearly 15 years ... actually since the paper began back in February of 1993.

We hate to see John go and sincerely wish him well. We appreciate all those faithful columns over the years.

I'll get straight to my question of the day: Is Nascar a sport?

A number of years ago, I left my home in northeastern Tennessee. I am, after all, a member of the clergy and one either goes where the churches are or one plants and pioneers a new church. In those days, I went where the opportunity presented itself which, in 1980, was in Colorado and, in 1983, to Georgia.