Doug's Place

Seventy-five years ago today, Prohibition came to an end in these United States. And what better way to celebrate than going out for a drink? Such will be the case all across the country.

For example, word is there will be celebrations throughout California’s wine country. If you’re a Vulcan, you have to admit that’s logical. At least one Boston-based bar is also celebrating with an end-to-Prohibition party. If Norm, Cliffie, et al, were real people, they’d join in.

And to mark this milestone in Indianapolis, I’m sure a former co-worker in Fred Scott Sands will enjoy plenty of booze, buy women a few rounds of drinks, get them to… uh… well… if you knew Scott the way I knew him, you have a pretty good idea of the likely remainder of the story. Ladies of the Circle City, unless you *really* want to have Scott’s babies, it’s best you keep your distance from him.

But seriously, tonight and any night, after you’ve indulged in adult beverages, remember to leave the driving to someone else.

If you have not heard the story of Shane Stanford, you need to.

Shane currently serves as host of The United Methodist Hour: Time That Makes The Difference from its Hattiesburg-based headquarters. The program has been a statewide and regional program for decades — and it recently went national thanks to FamilyNet.

Doug’s Place Flashback: The first time I saw the program, it was on Tupelo’s NBC affiliate while visiting relatives in Alabama. Its then-host was Sam Morris. My father’s name is Sam Morris — but the preacher and my father are two different Sam Morrises. It became quite a running joke in the family when we all moved to Mississippi in the early ‘90s.

But back to Shane. Life has dealt him many a setback over the last several years. He’s a hemophiliac. He contracted HIV and hepatitis-C through a blood transfusion. Through it all, Shane’s happily married with three daughters (the Mrs. and girls are all healthy) and he continues to preach the Gospel.

Shane’s also an accomplished author. His story is told in the book When God Disappears. Shane and Pokey’s recently discussed their story on Life Today with James & Betty Robison. If you missed that program, click here.

A note of disclosure, as well as pride: Shane’s wife worked with my wife at William Carey University. When I relayed a message to Cindy that Shane was becoming the next host of the Methodist Hour, her reaction was, “Pokey’s husband?” Shane and I have since talked about Cindy’s story and her favorite verse of scripture: Jeremiah 29:11.

Bottom line: Just like Timex, Shane’s taken a licking — and, yet, he keeps on ticking.