This series of posts has quickly become an interesting exercise for me as I think back on those men who have helped shape and mold me into the man I am today. Even at my age I find that there are men that continue to influence me. One of the questions that keeps popping up in my mind is "am I making an impact on those men that are in my circle of influence?" I feel that if we can influence other men for the better, that this is a great legacy.
A man who made a great impact on my life in a very short period of time was an Assistant Scoutmaster of my Boy Scout troop. I was a Boy Scout from about age 9 through age 12. The man I am speaking of is Ken Ray. Again, a name you will probably not recognize. In fact if you google his name and add the tag, Springdale, Arkansas you will find little if any information. I am recalling events from almost fifty years ago, so I will try my best to remember all I can about Ken.
Ken grew up in southwestern Arkansas near DeQueen, Arkansas. He was different from the other kids he grew up with in that he was born without arms. He had a single finger, like your pointer that grew from his right shoulder area. This finger had a muscle just like your arm has a muscle. I had read a newspaper article forty some years ago about Ken as a football player at DeQueen High School. He was a barefooted kicker and had become a great field goal kicker and had helped his team win many games.
As I recall Ken was probably in his early twenties when he was our scout leader. He always wore flip flops or slip on sandals so that his feet could be readily available. Most of the time he wore shorts. I can remember that he was a smoker in those days (I am sure he no longer has that habit) and that he had carved a long stick with a hole in the end that would hold a cigarette tightly. Ken would grab the pack out of his shirt pocket with his teeth and shake the pack till a cigarette would pop out and he could slip the stick over the cigarette. He then would produce a fire via a lighter with his feet and light his cigarette. I mention this to show that the guy was amazing in his creativity in overcoming his handicap.
A time I will never forget involved our troop going on a weekend survival camp out. We could only bring Bisquick as our food for the weekend. I am not sure why Bisquick was chosen but that was the case. Our bags were searched and a large cache of candy and other contraband were confiscated and we were off to the woods. Early Saturday morning we awakened with one goal....to find food for our survival. I had a few of my fellow scouts who found a pigeons nest in a barn and they robbed the eggs and made pancakes with the Bisquick. Others raided a farmers garden for fresh tomatoes and other veggies.
We were paired up with another scout to work together to search for our food. I can remember kids with bows and arrows (nothing like the ones available today) and they were trying to shoot squirrels. This was truly an exercise in futility. I think the squirrels were probably rolling in the leaves laughing at these crazy kids. I was blessed that day in that we did not have an even number of scouts and I was paired with Ken Ray. I experienced something that day that I shall never forget. Ken had a fly rod and we were camped on a river that weekend. So Ken and I headed to the river. I will try to explain as best I can how he was able to fish with a fly rod. He would hold the rod with the finger protruding from his right shoulder and he would strip line with his teeth. He could flip the fly rod with the finger and after stripping out enough line, he could reach the center of the stream with his fly.
In a short amount of time, Ken began hooking large bream and I found out my reason for being there. He could take off his own fish but it would take him some time and it was difficult for him to put them on a stringer. So that day I did not even cast my line into the water. I took off fish after fish for Ken and put them on the stringer. We headed back to camp and used the Bisquick to make a breading for the fish and had ourselves a feast. I had a great time and I guess the real thing I received from Ken was that we should never let our handicap keep us from living our lives to the fullest. I also learned that we should never give up when life deals us a tough hand. Ken could have given up at an early age and never enjoyed all that life has in store for us. I watched Ken over the next year or so shoot a bean flip and hit targets consistently (with his feet). He could turkey hunt with a crossbow (again using his feet) as he called the turkeys with his mouth. He could also shoot a shotgun with his feet.
Ken went on to receive a degree and the last I heard he was a social worker in Northwest Arkansas and he drives a car just like we do. I had the privilege of attending the same church with Ken when I lived in Northwest Arkansas. Ken married, had children and I would say he has lived life to it's fullest. I think Ken probably had choices to make as a young boy. Either quit and let others take care of him or ignore his handicap and get on with living. I think one of the things I took from my time around Ken was that whatever situation we find ourselves in (Cancer,etc.) that we should live our lives as normally as possible. We should not quit and give up and go home. It is really hard to keep your chin up when things are tough but I can always think back to Ken Ray, flipping a fly rod with his finger, or shooting a turkey with a shotgun (using only his feet) and I can say, I can do this....I will not give up...I will persevere through this ordeal.
Ken is a devout man and I am sure he would say with me "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength". Thanks Ken..
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