Rascal Stories- A Collaboration

I would like to propose a collaboration for readers of the RASCAL book: please share with the rest of us anyone you know who has exemplified Rascal-like behavior by commenting accordingly on this blog. You can take as much space as you like to tell us the story. The person featured may be a figure from history or someone contemporary.  Their Rascalinity may be large or small. But we are all encouraged by the behavior of Rascals, and I would welcome hearing from you about them! Thanks for participating.

Comments

[Cathy - Team Rascals]

Chris,

Okay, but remember, you asked for it . . . My family history is full of Rascals. Here's the story of 2 of them, one on my father's side, and one on my mother's.

He was born in England sometime in the late 1700's or early 1800's, to a family of merchants and traders. They were an educated family, and he followed tradition and went to college. It was there his Rascalinty first surfaced, as he heard God's siren call on his life and changed his major to theology, and prepared to go, not into business, but into the ministry. This was totally against the wishes of his family, but he was adamant.

Settled into a pastorate in the English countryside, he heard of the need from his Bishop for ministers to the wilds of the American wilderness. Contrary to the wishes of his extended family, though with the support of his loving wife, he accepted the call he heard on his heart once more. He eventually became a circuit riding minister and church planter in what is now the Orange County region of New York.

As his life came to a close in 1875, there in the parrish of the final church he planted (which still thrives in Eldred, NY), he wrote a letter to his daughter, which still remains in the possession of his descendants. In it, he wrote of his dream and prayer that his children's children's children would come to bow before the feet of his Master, Savior and King.

That letter is in a coffee table, especially designed and crafted to hold it, his saddlebag and Bible, and currently sits in my living room. I am the ninth generation since this Rascal, and I am proud to call him my ancestor, Rev. Felix Kyte.

My mother's family is full of Rascals. The earliest one we know of is her great-grandfather, an Irish sea captain. His daughter, my mother's grandmother, was a famous painter of her day, in a time when women were expected to keep house and care for their families, and not accomplish anything beyond that. But it was my her grandson, my mother's own father, who stands out head and shoulders above the crowd in his Rascalinity among them. His Rascalinity is so legendary, Hollywood even made a movie about it!

He was born in New England, to an Irish-descended family that had emigrated sometime previously from Canada. He had hazel green eyes, rose-gold hair and fair skin, and my mother's family says I am the only one of my siblings to carry resemblance to him in my eyes and my coloring.

He was intelligent, and clever. He did well in school, and was well known in the area for his pranks both in and out of it. Nothing he did ever had evil purpose, so far as anyone could tell. He just showed a strong contrary streak and mischeviousness early and often.

However, somehow he managed to graduate high school, at or nearly at the top of his class. Entry into VMI, the Virginia Military Institute, a prestigious college, followed. It was there his high spirits, Rascalinity and mischevious pranks reached their full flower and legendary greatness.

My grandfather managed to graduate VMI with what stands even today as the highest combination of grade point average and demerits for behavior possible. He was constantly running afoul of the established heirarchy there, whether through deliberate pranks or unthinking transgressions of the strict disciplinary code.

The movie they made of him was due to his career at VMI. It was made in 1938, and his name was changed in it to protect his reputation, as he matured from there to become an entrepreneur in Upstate New York. It starred Wayne Morrs, Eddie Albert, Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman (it was the movie that introduced them to each other). Eddie Albert played "'Bing Edwards,'" the character on whom my grandfather was based, the title character of "Brother Rat", and the child who was to be secretly soon to be born was my mother. It was so popular, Hollywood also made a sequel, that was not at all based on his life, "Brother Rat and Baby". His real name was Augustus Lambe, and I am proud to call this famously legendary Rascal my grandfather.

[Chris Brady]

Great stuff Cathy! Exactly what I was looking for! Definitely in the RASCAL mold!

[Texasnena]

Chris,
I would like to nominate my BFF/ biz partner,Glenda,as being a true Rascal. It is said numerous times that we haven't met our best friend until we get in this profession. I can concur with that. 2 yrs. ago one of my partners, Karen, boldly contacted her college billing & coding instructor. When we introduced her to our business opportunity, we knew immediately she had to join us. As a single mom, her dream was to develop a ministry for other single parents & their kids. Well...she enrolled & her journey began. She had recently built a house and upon moving in her overtime was completely cut out. The day she left to attend her very first Major, she received notice that her house was being foreclosed. She came anyway. Over the past 2 yrs. I can't begin to tell you the struggles, Obstacles, & distractions that have presented themselves to her. I will not get into details as that is her story! She remained on system, attended seminars, Open meetings & Majors. She even stopped teaching at the local community college in order to fully focus on her business. She has risen to the occasion of a true leader and had began mentoring people on her team. She is helping her daughter raise 3 grandchildren. Because of the system, she testifies she has developed a greater relationship with her family. Her J.O.B. would drive me to poison people (Kidding...a little!) & she attributes her "sanity" to the system and our TEAM culture.
When she shares her "story" with people they are in disbelief of how she has maintained her posture & faith.
I applaud her strength, perseverance & determination to push through regardless of the circumstances. She was able to discuss a little of this with Terri at this past Major during the Grown Up Girlfriends breakfast. Leaders are born in adversity and she has earned the title of a RASCAL! I will introduce her to you Monday!
Thank you for letting me share her courage, faith, & tenacity with others. Most of all.....I know what you have done for all of us and I appreciate you greatly.
Blessings,
g

[Cathy - Team Rascals]

A legendary historical Rascal, who only died a few years ago, was born in The Netherlands in the late 1800's to a family of merchants. The youngest of 3 surviving infancy, she was at first a sickly child, and her mother, who was somewhat older at her birth, was often bedridden due to the infirmities caused by it and her own other health issues. Both her brother and sister were somewhat older, so she grew up in a home of what to her seemed like mostly adults, punctuated by the maiden and widowed aunts who lived with them to care for the family during her mother's frequent illnesses. She became, as a result, somewhat sheltered, shy and studious.

The home in which she grew up and lived was an unusual construction. Really, it was 2 or 3 small homes, thrown together with crooked hallways and odd rooms and staircases all over the place. It was a historic home in her beloved Haarlem, and is now a museum dedicated to the actions of her and her family.

It took a great deal for her family to get her to go to school. Finally, her beloved father managed the task, and she found she actually eventually liked it. She became involved in Scouting-type activities, and youth activities associated with her church as she grew.

Of the children of the family, only her brother went to college or got married, and he became a minister. For a while, her older sister tried out the family trade, and she ran the house. However, during a time when her sister was ill, she took over the trade-work and her sister, as she recovered, took on the household chores. They were quickly astonished to find they'd been, up to that point, mismatched in their duties! Her sister joyfully and creatively ran the home, while she thrived in the family business.

The business was watch making and repair. Eventually, she wanted to learn more than her father could teach her about the more modern timepieces, so she went to school, becomming the first woman to be a graduated and certified watch repair specialist in The Netherlands.

She remained physically active as an adult, preferring her bicycle to learning to drive a new-fangled car, which was by then becoming popular. She also led Bible studies and Scout-type activities for girls, and was very popular among the young women as a mentor.

It was, however, during a time of hardship, trial, tragedy and war that she truly began showing the Rascalinity for which she is now so justifiably famous. Her beloved Holland was invaded by Hitler's Nazi troops, and occupied. Overnight, the freedoms she'd taken for granted as a free Dutch citizen were stripped. Worse, her Jewish neighbors were made to wear yellow Stars of David on all their clothes, and gradually began to be persecuted and eventually rounded up.

She and her family had long been Christians, and lovers of Israel and the Jewish people, from whom they believed their Messiah Jesus came. To sit by while this happened to His Chosen People was, to them, unthinkable. In her closet, they built a tiny secret room, just big enough for a small group of Jewish people to hide in times of danger. Then, they managed to smuggle some inside.

Some stayed. Some, they helped to escape the country. She became active in the networks to get Jews out of Holland, and later, standed Allied troops, also. She became creative in working the black market, to use the food rationing coupons they were "supposed" to have (according to the Nazis), along with black market goods, to feed themselves and their constant parade of guests.

Eventually, they were caught. Someone betrayed the family, and they were imprisoned. The Jews escaped, and all but 1, who foolishly left the home, lived to tell the tale. Her father died in Holland in prison. She and her sister were transported to the notorious Ravensbruck death camp, where her sister later died. Her brother and nephew were also imprisoned, and she later learned her brother was permanently disabled from his sufferings.

She was a Rascal there, even in the face of torment and death daily. She and her sister had each managed to smuggle in portions of a Bible, and they held Bible studies for their fellow prisoners at night. None of the guards wanted to come into their dorm, it was so ridden with vermin, so they could hold their Bible studies in relative freedom, even in the death camp.

Miraculously, days before she was to have been executed, she was freed. Sent home, she found herself cared for by nuns, who sheltered her from the Nazis in the closing days of Holland's war.

After the war, she continued her Rascal life. She started a home for survivors of the death camps. She began to speak of her experiences there in churches and Christian events, at first all over Holland, then all over Europe, and eventually all over the world. She had forgiven her captors and tormentors, and often told of meeting one at an event in Germany, and the healing that had taken place for both of them in forgiveness.

Her travels took her eventually to the U.S., where she eventually purchased a home in southern California the 1960's. After a few more years of travel, she settled down to write and rest a bit. A couple of years later, she suffered a first in a series of strokes over the course of 5 years, which eventually took her life on the early morning of her 83rd birthday. The first stroke took from her the ability to speak. However, her ministry hardly suffered a bit, and she continued her Rascalinity with the help of her caretakers and friends, lovingly helping people who came to see her and those in her neighborhood, even in her silence.

Her name was, of course, Corrie ten Boom. Books have been written and movies made of her remarkable, Rascal life. As I said before, her family's home in Haarlem, The Netherlands, The Beje, stands today as a museum and tribute to the strength, courage and conviction for justice for the oppressed in the face of overwhelming odds of this unique and memorable Rascal lady.

[Chuck Summers]

What about this lady, Chris?
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=158348990848143

[Mike]

A young man came to the US from Italy in the early 1900's. He only had a 4th grade education. He took any job he could get living with what ever family he could until he was old enough to live on his own. He eventually got a job in a factory for one of the former Big 3.
It didn't take him long to figure out that working for someone else was not what was meant to be. He eventually started his own business in the residential cement industry which is what he retired from and invested enough money to keep his wife living comfortably for 23 years and counting after he passed away.

None of this so far qualifies him as a Rascal. What does qualify him is the code by which he lived his life. None of the things he believed in were formally taught to him and he was not without his faults, but here is a short list that all rascals would probably live by:

In his business he did all his work as if he were doing it for his house.

He made friends with everyone he met.

He never conformed to what was popular, only what was right.

He defined common sense.

He never believed in debt, he had one car loan ever, to buy his first car. After that he paid cash for every car till he died.

He rented a house until he was able to pay cash to build the home he eventually died in.

He believed his word was his worth and his worth was his word.

He believed on time meant 10 minutes early.

He provided for his family.

He knew that the people that worked for him were to be honored for who they were not for what they could do for him. He once said: "They built this house, I only had it built"

When his bills arrived in the mail the checks were written before he would take his coat off.

He esteemed all he met.

His funeral procession was a mile long.

And the biggest reason he is a rascal is because he was an example, in many ways of good honorable and right living.

He was my Grand Father

[Matt Foote]

Peter Maravich was in the 8th grade in 1959, but he was already dreaming of playing professional basketball. By the time he was 12 he was already spending 4-5 hours a day practicing with the basketball. It was over 8 hours a day during the summer.

The way he handled the ball had never been seen before and got him ridiculed by the other players in the school. But by the end of his 8th grade year he was starting on the varsity team.

He would go on to hold the record for most career point in the NCAA and the highest average at 44.2 pts/game, and that at a time without a 3-point line. An analyst went back over Maravich's career and applied today's rules and under the current college 3-point line, Maravich would have averaged over 57 points/game for 3 years straight.

In his professional career he averaged over 30 points/game and was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

For more on how Pete Maravich became the Pistol, check out http://goo.gl/okeG

[Cathy - Team Rascals]

I had to go a bit farther back in history for this Rascal. But this is the time of year when his deeds are most discussed and celebrated among those who follow his teachings even today, some 450 years or so after his death.

He was born in 1484, in what is now known as Germany. His parents were tradespeople, with upwardly mobile aspirations for their son. Thus, he received the best schooling his father's money could buy.

His father's ambitions were that he be a lawyer, but the Rascal in him found law dissatisfying. So he dropped it almost immediately, and tried philosophy. That, however, proved unsatisisfactory, as he found it questioned his religious faith too much. He later wrote philosophy is good for the questioning of man, but that man could only learn of God through divine revelation and the Scriptures.

Shortly into his college career, he had an experience that led him to believe he should be a monk. This was very much against his father's wishes, who felt he was abandoning his education and family. His friends were skeptical of his suitability to it, also. Individualistic Rascal that he was, he continued the course once he decided it.

He tried very hard to be a monk, and this Rascal later wrote if trying had been all it took, he would have been the best. But his superiors knew he was cut of different cloth (they perhaps knew a Rascal when they saw one!), and sent him off to university to study theology, Biblical studies and the priesthood. He became a priest and earned a Doctorate in Theology, becomming a professor in it at Wittenberg University in Germany, a post he held for the rest of his career.

It was here his Rascalinity finally flowered and attained his now famous greatness. A representative from Rome came to his beloved city, and began to sell tokens, called indulgences. These indulgences were meant for people to have the souls of their loved ones released from Purgatory upon the purchase of them. The church's purpose in selling them was to raise money for St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The church at the time taught faith alone cannot justify people, and that acts of charity, not faith, were also necessary to be saved.

By now I am sure you have guessed the identity of our Rascal, so I will use his name from now on. Martin Luther was incensed at the selling of these indulgences to the people of the church over which he was pastor. He initially wrote to the Pope by way of his Archbishop in protest, with the first draft of his 95 Thesis, saying the wealthy Pope and church should pay for the building projects of Rome, and not the humble peasants they were supposed to be serving. He claimed he wrote it as a scholarly dissertation and objection, not a direct challenge to Papal authority and power. His 95 Thesis were also printed and posted on the door of the cathedral of Wittenberg on October 31,1517, now known widely as Reformation Day, in accordance with the Wittenberg customs of scholarly debate.

The 95 Thesis were quickly reprinted from Latin to German and spread throughout the land, one of the first known historical controversies so spread. The word, spread thusly, went like a wildfire.

In direct Rascaline contrast to the church's teachings, Luther spent the succeeding years preaching and teaching (and writing) on justification by faith. Eventually, the catch-phrase, "By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone" became the hallmark of his growing group of followers.

However, the church did not take Luther's perceived challenges laying down. They launched investigations, set up heresy hearings that devolved into shouting matches, attempted to arrest Luther (the German King protected him) and threatened him with excommunication. Finally, he was officially excommunicated. But it just didn't seem to matter. No one would silence this Rascal, and nothing would deter his beliefs.

Finally, the secular authorities had at him at the now infamous Diet of Worms at Wartburg Castle in January to May of 1521. Emperor Charles V presided, and the Elector of Saxony (and Luther's patron) provided safe conduct through hostile terrority for him to attend.

The Emperor and an Archbishop finally demanded in exasperation he recant. Luther replied,

"Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. Here I stand and can do no other. May God help me. Amen."

The Emperor and Archbishop, of course, voted agaist him, declaring his life forfeit. The Elector of Saxony helped him escape to safety on the return trip. He found chaos on his return, started by disciples who had taken Reformation too far. He cleaned up the mess, preached and wrote against the excesses and generally worked to lead people back to where he envisioned the Bible was telling them to go. Much to his dismay and distress, the radicals did have their way in larger Germany, igniting what is now known as the Peasants War, against which he preached and taught.

Luther rescued a group of nuns who no longer wished to serve as such and were being held against their will after he returened from Worms. Among them was Katharina von Bora, who he married, and with whom he had 6 surviving children. He had long advocated a married priesthood within the church, and now that he was out of it, enjoyed the benefits of it as a married pastor.

Opposing the Roman church's central system, Luther organized the church that today bears his name in a decentralized system of synods, loosley aligned in common purpose. He declined to be leader of distant synods set up in his model, and preferred to merely advise them. He successfully laid out theology and catechisms (Large for pastors and teachers and Small for everyone to memorize and learn) for the church's doctrine and its teaching for all ages. He rewrote the Mass to be a simpler service, a celebration for all ages that allowed for freedom of ceremony within synods and churches. Pastoral care and Christian education were both addressed as well, as he had seen problems with both of these areas in his prior service.

While in Worms, one of the things Luther did to pass his time was to translate the New Testament into German. This was the first time the Scriptures of any kind had been in the language of the people of the land since the fall of Rome to the barbarians. Later, he also worked with Bible scholars to translate the Old Testament, also. His version influenced William Tyndale, who translated the Bible into English, and the translators of the King James Bible, the first authorized English version.

Rascals not being content with the status quo in anything, Luther also wrote hymns for his church. "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" is, one might argue, his most famous.

In 1529 to 1531, Luther participated in a series of debates hosted and convoked by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, involving doctrinal unity among the emerging Protestant regions. It is out of these debates the Augsburg Confessions arose.

In a war with the Turks, Luther had to deal with the differences between Holy War and secular war. He urged the German people to defend their country on a secular basis. However, he told them it was not a Holy War, and believed the Turks could be left alone in their Islamic faith. He continued in his beliefs until he read a translated copy of the Qur`an.

No Rascal is perfect, and Martin Luther certainly wasn't. His writings on the Jews introduced into German thought and culture an anti-Semetic thread that just wasn't there prior to him. He held them in disdain, and his veiws on the subject were repudiated by the Lutheran church in the 1980's.

Luther's final acts were on behalf of his extended family's financial interests. The count who ruled over the city of his birth had in mind to take over their means of livelihood, which was the same as their father's, and Luther stepped in to negotiate. The successful negotiations were barely concluded when he suffered what appears in retrospectus to be a series of heart attacks, followed by a major stroke and then shortly after by his death. Just before the stroke, he was asked by his assembled followers and protogees,

"Reverend father, are you ready to die trusting in your Lord Jesus Christ and to confess the doctrine which you have taught in his name?" A distinct "Yes" was Luther's reply.

The Rascal Martin Luther died at the age of 62 in the town of his birth. He was buried under the altar of his beloved Wittenberg Cathedral. Later, when the soldiers of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V invaded Saxony, the Emperor strictly instructed his troops not to disturb his grave. He is celebrated in the Calendars of Saints of the Episcopal, Church of England and, of course, Lutheran churches. The final Sunday of October is Reformation Sunday in the Lutheran church, celebrating this Rascal's revolutionary 95 Thesis, now from almost 500 years ago.

(My thanks to my Lutheran teachings and books, and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther for some of the specific details herein!)

[kirk birtles]

Chris Brady..... you and ORRIN WOODWARD are the ultimate rascals. Thank you for being leaders worth following! LIFE and TEAM rock. I am so excited for the launch of LIFE on 11-1-11! We all should be Living intentionally for excellence!

[north face vest]

s they did back then.Posted by: JohnE | Nov 15, 2012 1:55:30 PM | 13@13 One can imagine some heated altercations in the departure lounge.Posted by: dh | Nov 15, 2012 2:18:41 PM | 14