"It's as easy as 1-2-3!"  It's often a lot more difficult...but in the case of the final three weeks of the month the saying applies.  When lists are drawn of the people over the last two millennia who have most influenced civilization, three folks often top the list.  And while these three each have their 'big day" in October, we'll also take a bit of time to highlight their lowlights...mistakes, failures, and flaws both professionally and personally.  So we've come up with a new title for our column... T his Month in History.

Last week was Columbus Day... he's #2.  He deserves the distinction for "discovering" America...a "game  changer" for the world.  But we also know his mistake in naming the indigenous peoples already living here as "Indians"...and history has proven his treatment of them to mostly be reprehensible.  

This week we're onto #1.  Tomorrow we'll be in New York City to see the kids and grand kids...and Penny my grand dog!  If you've seen NYC at night, you'll probably agree with the choice.. Thomas Edison.  I, for one, am not about to argue with the invention of 

electric light bulb as the single most monumental advancement for these last 2,000 years.  If you think otherwise, think again when your power goes out!  So it was on October 21st, 1879 that Edison successfully tested an incandescent lamp with a carbonized filament at his laboratory in Menlo Park, NJ...keeping it lit for over 13 hours.

I want to also say that a person's public accomplishments should not be overshadowed by personal foibles and failures...and Edison had many.  When asked how he fashioned a successful lamp, he replied that he didn't fail in the first 10,000 attempts at it...rather discovered 10,000 ways  it wouldn't work!  His efforts toward marketing an ore-separator and electric pen weren't so hot...although his ideas, even if he couldn't pull them off, about a record of the month club and a talking doll were accomplished by others.  His biggest loss was in backing Direct Current in the war with Westinghouse and Alternating Current.  I'm certainly no scientist...look it up and read more about it.  But his broken promise to Tesla, his unfair business practices bordering on collusion, and his trying to undercut his competitor by electrocuting thousands of dogs (I hate him for that!) are legend.

We all do crummy stuff...I hope that in the end I might be remembered for the occasional positive thing instead of my manifold shortcomings.  Only one person has never had to worry about that...it was all good stuff!  He wasn't given consideration or allowed on the list...the compilers thought he held an unfair advantage, you know, being God and all.  Jesus' accomplishment was lifted up when he was...on a cross.  So now while our flaws, foibles, and failures are not discounted, God just doesn't count them against us.  And even if we are way down on any such list of notables...because of Jesus' currency we are #1 in the sight of God.

We'll finish this out with #3 next week...

Hope you stay plugged in!

Pastor Brent,