Creekbank Stories Curt Iles, Storyteller
Stand by your Friends
as of 1
Have Terry proof against plagiarism against original paragraphs in Hopkins’s story. Scroll below to read the original text.
CLOSE FRIENDS WHO’LL STAND NEAR
As of 18 FEB
24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
PROVERBS 18:24 KJV
A man who has friends [a]must himself be friendly,
But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. NKJV
TO CURT: Which version best fits?
“It tells a lot/MUCH about a man if he’ll stand by/with his friends.”
-Ed King
ORDER OF TWO STORIES?
It was the worst night of our lives. DeDe and I sat in a darkened hospital/surgical unit.
It was in the early hours of the night.
Just hours ago, we sat in the stands cheering on our East Beauregard Trojans.
Our son, Clint, ran a QB keeper before being tackled by two Merryville players. When Clint failed to get up, I knew he was hurt.
He’d suffered a serious hip dislocation. Two ambulance rides later, we sat in a Lake Charles hospital, worried about our son. Worried about his future.
The night was such a blurry fog.
At about 2:00 am, our friends Joe and Judy walked in. We were neighbors and mostly dear friends. We’d raised our children together in Dry Creek.
I faintly recall some drink or fast food they’d brought.
But I’ll never forget the sight of our dear friends coming to sit with us. I cannot recall anything they said.
I just know they were there.
And I’ll never get over their kindness to DeDe and me on that long night.
That’s what good friends do. They show up. I call it the ministry of presence.
It was being there.
I have a mental photograph of Joe and Judy walking in.
It’ll be there until the day I die,
Because that’s what friends do. They show up.
Real friends show up in our hour of greatest need.
* * *
Real friends show, even as an entire nation.
I’m touched by the story of President Franklin Roosevelt’s closest aide, Harry Hopkins, trip to Great Britain during the darkest days of World War II in 1940.
Author Christopher Hohlman shared the following story.
The Nazi war machine controlled Europe.
Bombs rained down on London, and the entire country was preparing for an expected land invasion by the Germans.
Harry Hopkins spent two weeks with Prime Minister Winston Churchill to assess the situation and report to President Roosevelt on what America could do to help our Ally.
It was near the end of Hopkins’ fact-finding mission. In Glasgow, Scotland, Hopkins, Churchill, and company moved to the Station Hotel, where they ate dinner together. Dr. Charles Wilson sat beside Hopkins.
Invariably, the time for speeches arrived. When Hopkins’ opportunity to speak came, he stood and began his speech by making a few jokes about the English Constitution and Churchill.
Then, he turned to Churchill and said, “I suppose you wish to know what I am going to say to President Roosevelt on my return.”
Indeed, this was the moment Churchill had been waiting for; the fate of his entire nation hung on Hopkins’ next words.
“Well,” Hopkins continued, “I’m going to quote you one verse from that Book of Books in the truth of which Mr. Johnston’s mother and my own Scottish mother were brought up”—
Hopkins lowered his voice to a whisper, quoting from the Book of Ruth, “Whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.”
Then, Hopkins added his own personal touch to the beautiful verse, softly saying, “Even to the end.”
Churchill broke down in tears.
Everyone present understood the significance of the words Hopkins had uttered.
Dr. Charles Wilson wrote of the moment that, “Even to us, the words seemed like a rope thrown to a drowning man. President Roosevelt’s man had spoken,”
Ruth 1:16
Once again, a friend standing by a friend in their time of greatest need.
Because that’s what friends do.
And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Ruth 1:16 KJV
SOURCE stmuscholars.org St. Mary’s University. Dec 15, 2021 Christopher Hohman
END OF STORY
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SOURCE stmuscholars.org St. Mary’s University. Dec 15, 2021 Christopher Hohman
Hopkins and Churchill. On the way back to London, Churchill’s train stopped in Glasgow, Scotland, where he reviewed brigades of civilian volunteers such as firefighters, members of the Red Cross, and those working in the Air Raid Precautions Service (ARP) and the Women’s Voluntary Service. Churchill would stop to introduce Harry Hopkins as he reviewed the members of each organization. This proved to be too much for Hopkins, who hid among the crowds of spectators gathered to see Churchill, but to no avail. Each time he hid, Churchill would coax him out of the crowds, shouting, “Harry, Harry, where are you?”46 Next, Hopkins, Churchill, and company moved to the Station Hotel, where they ate dinner with journalist and member of Parliament Tom Johnston. While at dinner, Dr. Charles Wilson sat beside Hopkins. He was struck by his disheveled and unkempt appearance; he looked worse than he ever had before. Invariably, the time for speeches arrived. When Hopkins’ opportunity to speak came, he stood and began his speech by making a few jokes about the English Constitution and Churchill. Then, he turned to Churchill and said, “I suppose you wish to know what I am going to say to President Roosevelt on my return.” Indeed, this was the moment Churchill had been waiting for; the fate of his entire nation hung on Hopkins’ next words. “Well,” Hopkins continued, “I’m going to quote you one verse from that Book of Books in the truth of which Mr. Johnston’s mother and my own Scottish mother were brought up”—Hopkins lowered his voice to a whisper and quoting from the Book of Ruth said, “Whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.” Then, Hopkins added his own personal touch to the beautiful verse, softly saying, “Even to the end.”47 Churchill broke down in tears. Everyone present understood the significance of the words Hopkins had uttered. Dr. Charles Wilson wrote of the moment that, “Even to us the words seemed like a rope thrown to a drowning man.”48 President Roosevelt’s man had spoken, but his speech was tinged by his partiality to Churchill and his lived experience of The Blitz. In truth, many people in the United States held deep reservations about assisting the British in a “European” war. This great
