NEAR TRAGEDY AT HERMAN JUNCTION: POST #39

My heart almost stopped one day a few minutes after the phone had rung. My Lady answered and all that I heard her say was, "Oh, Marty!" She listened for a little while and then hung up and turned to me and said, "Marty just heard on the radio that Harvel has been killed in the deer woods." I could not believe my ears as she went on to explain that Harvel was in the deer woods near Mountain View, Arkansas hunting and was killed. I knew that he had a cabin there and that he was in the deer woods hunting. I immediately called the radio station and they told me that I needed to call the Sheriffs' office in Stone County. I called the Sheriffs' office and told them what I needed and the dispatcher asked if I was part of the family. I told her that I was Harvels' brother and she said, "You need to talk to the Sheriff." Almost instantly the Sheriff got on the phone and I told him that I had been told that my brother had died in the deer woods near Mountain View and he said, "No, he and his son Roger were up here hunting with another man and the other man died with a heart attack." When he told me who had died it stirred mixed feelings in me because I had known Mac McCool for many years too and he was the man who had died. I called Harvel's house and his wife Bobbie answered the phone. I asked her what she was doing and she said, "I am just sitting here by the phone answering it and telling people that Harvel is not dead." What a deal! I learned then that the news media needs to confirm things before reporting on the air.

Another time our phone rang and I answered it and a good friend on the other end said, "I sure am glad to hear your voice." I asked, "Why?" She told me that Ted Knight had been killed in an automobile accident up near Herman Junction and she just knew it was me. Well, it wasn't. But, I don't know who it was and what he may have been doing near Herman Junction.

I was in Andulusia, Alabama once with car trouble and when we got to the dealer where our car was towed, I walked up to the window to give them the information that they wanted and when the guys asked me my name I said, "Ted Knight." He just froze and stared at me. I figured that he was thinking of the Mary Tyler Moore character who was named Ted Knight. After he came unglued a bit he said, "Our general manager here is named Ted Knight." I was glad because that Ted put this Ted in a borrowed car and sent us on our way to preach and then delivered our car to us a few days later.

It seemed that we never lacked having something to excite us at Herman Junction but it all worked out to make Herman Junction OK today.