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Dalton
Roberts |
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One of my old barbershop jamming pals, Ray Sinor, died today. It brought a deep sadness and then a deep gladness. The sadness comes from being a human and enjoying the physical presence of my friends. No matter how “spiritual” we get, we never advance to some point where we don’t miss friends who die. Neither should we aspire to such an un-human state. It is good to settle in as a human being. Recently I spoke to a church and said our human side is just as important as our spiritual side. I reminded them that Jesus called himself “the Son of man” more often than anything else. Others called him “the son of God” but He stuck with “the son of man.” The gladness in Ray’s death is that I got to know him, to enjoy him for many years until he became someone I loved as a friend. I admired his long and effective work in behalf of the mentally ill. Another significant gladness was that I influenced him to record two CDs. I have those two CDs and as long as I live, I can make instant contact with his very being through those CDs. We access each other through the sounds of our voices. The human voice directly conveys the soul. I keep tapes of conversations with friends. Several have left the physical realm but when I put on a tape of an old conversation, they are right there with me again. It is truly amazing. If you don’t have tapes of the voices of your mates, family and friends, get you a decent tape recorder at once and start taping them. Then when you lose them you won’t lose them. Pictures are great but there’s nothing like their voice to bring them back. My father preached thousands of sermons in his lifetime and I don’t have a decent tape of a one. That is one thing that induced me to start taping people. I do have several talks with my mother on tape and several of her paintings. Paintings are also a good way to keep soul contact with loved ones after death. Ray Sinor sang a lot like one of my favorites, Red Foley. He sang a lot of Foley’s songs. I kept urging him to go into a studio and record a CD. He did and often told me he would have never done it if I hadn’t encouraged him. His first CD was some of his favorite pop and country songs and his second was gospel songs. I do believe when my good Lord sits down with me to review my life, He will put two gold stars on my report card for Ray’s two CDs. Ray will be buried Tuesday but those two CDs will never be buried. Over time there is no telling how many people will be entertained and touched by them. Don Gibson is my favorite country singer. I have every song he ever recorded. Now and then, I will spend a day with Don, listening to my favorite songs. He is still very much alive to me. It won’t be the same at the barbershop jams without Ray but now and then I will take him out of my CD rack and spend some time with him. Those CDs are just one facet of his immortality.
Dalton’s website is www.daltonroberts.com and his writings are gathered at www.ipsfeatures.com.
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