WILL THE REAL McCOY PLEASE STAND UP......

Most all of us have heard of the phrase "the real McCoy." Elijah McCoy was a black inventor from Canada in the 1800's. Mr. McCoy developed a lubrication system for steam engines for locomotives, which operated very well. There were other lubrication systems as well. It is reported that train engineers wanted and asked for the "real McCoy."

When I was a teenager, I had a youth pastor who made a tremendous impact upon my life.... Scott Smith. Each one of us have a certain amount of influence upon an individual's life. Scott's life and ministry helped shape my life and change the direction of my being forever. Scott was not only a preacher he and his ministry was the "real McCoy."

Scott helped change my life, my views, and helped me live a life that gave Jesus Christ all the glory. BUT, there was one thing Scott could not change about me....LOL!!! That was my love for Country Music and Hank Williams Jr. No matter what he did or what he said, my radio still cranked out ol' Bocephus, the Hag, and Garth Brooks. Only until a couple of years ago did I realize why Scott's inability to steer me away from ol' Hank Jr. did not work.

When I was a little boy, I would sit on my Daddy's knee and we would listened for hours of old country records. Hank Sr., Merle Haggard, Bocephus, Willie, Jerry Lee Lewis, and so on. I loved my Dad so much. He loved country music and so I developed a love of it as well. My Dad is in Heaven now, but I think of him almost instantly when Hank Sr. twangs out a line of "I Saw the Light." Country music was a part of his life and mine. It is a part of who I am.... the "real McCoy."

All people want is for the folks around them to be themselves, act naturally, and not portray themselves as something they are not. My Daddy was as comman and humble as any man I will ever meet. He told me once that he would rather sit on a sack of hog shorts with a poor old farmer, eating a can of potted meat; than sit in a restaurant with a rich man, eating a steak. My Dad lived and acted as who he really was on the inside. He did not act one way at home and another way in public.... Daddy was the "real McCoy."

So, if you enjoy a "cold one" be who you are and don't hide the brew if the preacher comes to visit. Be honest to your family, your friends, and most importantly to yourself and be the "real McCoy."

And thats the way I see it......