What Day is it? – Page 2 – Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

Thanksgiving carols

November 16, 2025

I have always wondered why we have a few Halloween songs and there are a lot of songs for other holidays, but Thanksgiving only has lame songs about giving thanks. I want songs about turkeys, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie and all that other great stuff.

Yes, I know there are football songs. Do not get me started on football on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Maybe you just did. I might just do that. Write a column on the evils of Football on Holidays. I wonder if the government has commissioned a study on that, yet.

We can find everything on the internet, so I searched and found many options. The first was very interesting, “Gobble, Gobble” by Matthew West. He begins like I did wondering why there are no songs about Thanksgiving. Watch it and if you don’t like the adult version check out the kid’s version.

As I was searching, I found “Five Fat Turkeys” which I first head when my daughter came home from school singing it around this time of year when she was in elementary school. I have no idea how long it has existed. All three of these girls are in their forties.

Then there is “A Thanksgiving Prayer” by Johnny Cash which I first heard when he sang it to his wife, June Carter Cash, on “Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman.” This one had slipped out of my mind as well.

Then there are some that I did not even think about considering for this holiday. “Mashed Potato” by Dee Dee Sharp was one I heard back in the 1960s. Is there one about cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, or stuffing? Yes, there are, but they are for kids, bad humor, or stuck in insignificant albums by people I’ve not heard of before.

Unless you consider Ray Charles and James Taylor’s “Sweet Potato Pie” from the “Genius Loves Company” album or “Country Bumpkin” by Cal Smith to be a Thanksgiving Song. There are many tunes like these that we could stretch our imagination to include them. “Autumn Leaves” by Nat King Cole and “Harvest Time” by Luke Bryan is two more that fit this category.

There is one more that I would like to mention before I encourage you to do your own research and discover that I was wrong. “Thanks Giver” by Crowder is absolutely a Thanksgiving season song. It is on their “Milk & Cookies” album which is a Christmas project.

Check all of these and others out and make your own playlist for your family feast. If you put the videos on a live stream on a TV and lose the football during dinner, maybe no one will notice while they are laughing. It could happen.

Canceling Christmas

November 2, 2025

No, I do not want to stop Christmas from being celebrated on the twenty-fifth of December. I want to discontinue Christmas in October, November, and especially in July. Any month except December. Christmas is not what it should be. The name means a celebration of Christ.

What we call Christmas is an advertising gimmick. Companies want to hook you into their products, movies, or TV shows. I know many people find Christmas as enticing as pumpkin spice everything. Personally, I like pumpkin pie, but all these other concoctions that seem to be everywhere around the holidays seem to me to be just stupid marketing ploys.

Christmas was designed by the Catholic Church to replace a festival held in December. The trees and some of the other traditions that we have today were part of the original feast. What has created this monster that covers almost the entire year is the legend of Saint Nicholas and his desire to give gifts to local children.

Gifts are one reason that the Christmas season has been extended. Another is that many seem to enjoy decorating. Does it seem to you that some go overboard in decorating? I have also noticed this same desire to decorate for other holidays.

Halloween is over, and there are many who may not be into Christmas but enjoy decorating. If Halloween is their thing, that is why they go all out for this holiday. The thing I noticed in previous years is that many of these decorations are adapted to the upcoming Christmas season. I understand why they make these conversions.

The worst offenders are the TV networks that inundate me with Christmas year-round because some folks want to watch Yule tidings all year. This article is to advise these stations or networks that they are wasting their advertising money, telling me about these out-of-season premieres.

They probably don’t care any more than the networks that air football and other sports all weekend and two or three nights a week. I do not watch sports at all. I am sure I am not the only one.

It is not that I want everything my way. I would just prefer that those who have the power to force their opinions on us would slacken it off a little. Let’s not cancel Christmas; let us simply concentrate on the birth of our Lord and Savior.

All Hallows Eve

October 31, 2025

In 1971 I was the Feature Editor for the Hilcrest Herald my high school newspaper. Something I tried was writing stories about historical facts about each holiday. Some were published on page three with other features. Others were editorials and published on page two and one or two made it to the front page.

I do not remember where the one with this title appeared before Halloween. This column is not an exact duplication of it because over the years my files of these published stories have been lost. As any good author is always willing to do, this is a rewrite from my original idea.

All Hallows Eve is a pagan festival that celebrated the dead and the spirit world. Part of that celebration was to dress as the dead and walk around in public on the 31^st of October. There were other times when it was part of the feasts for children to go door to door pulling pranks as the spirits were believed to do. Residents would set out treats to discourage the spirits and the children would accept these for payment.

This was how trick or treating began. Decorations representing the spirit world would be hung from trees and placed on buildings. They also posted many items that were thought to serve as talisman or good luck charms to keep evil away. What we call Halloween was a celebration of the spirit world of the pagans.

That is what I remember from my original article. Today, I will elaborate on things I have learned in the last fifty-plus years. Many Christians have opposed the celebration of this holiday for over three decades. Fall or holiday festivals are rampant at churches.

Trunk or treat celebrations are also popular now. The interesting modern developments to me are the number of businesses and not for profits that provide treats for children and how many young adults dress up and have parties. While some Christians want to tone down the spookiness others are spooking it up.

Remember to stay safe tonight when you are out with your children or grandchildren. Have parties without alcohol or drugs and stay off the roads if you have imbibed. We don’t need any tragedies while families are having fun.

July 4th, 1975

July 29, 2025

I have a few more stories about fifty years ago that I thought you might enjoy. A few days before Marianne and Phil, and the rest of the family left on their annual vacation to see their other son in Tennessee, he showed me how to light the heater in the house I was staying in.

I thought this was unusual and said as much. This Ozarks boy knew that you did not need a heater in July. Apparently, that is not true in the Allegheny Mountains. The weather forecast predicted a cold front coming to the area during the next week. On the morning of the fourth, the temperature was 32 degrees in Gifford. I lit the gas.

I mentioned in a previous column that I had made two trips to Niagara Falls that summer. The first was on the church bus with the youth from Bolivar Road and Hilltop. A month later, my brother Sam and I went back when he stopped to see me on his way from Chicago to Florida.

We visited some museums and spent a lot of time on the Canadian side. On more than one occasion, a young boy kept crawling under the ropes that were designed to keep tourists from getting too close to the cliff edge. Each time this happened, we remarked that the parents should keep a closer eye on him.

After we drove back to Gifford, we went to bed, and after seeing him off the next morning, I had my regular Sunday schedule. That evening, I went into the main house with the family to relax and watch television. The broadcast was from a station in Buffalo.

A story was headlined about an accidental death on the previous day in Nagara Falls, Canada. As we watched this story, they showed a photograph of a boy who had fallen off a cliff because he had gone beyond the safety barricades. It was the same boy we had seen the day before.

After returning home, Michelle and I spoke to a few churches about our experiences during the summer. Remember, Michelle was another student from SWBC who was in Bradford. Summer missionaries are out there right now working in churches and ministries all around the world. If you know one, thank them for me.

THE MARSHFIELD PARADE

July 3, 2025

Around thirty miles from Springfield, Missouri, east on Interstate 44 is Marshfield. President George H.W. Bush visited there in 1991, and he was the second sitting President to do so. Harry S. Truman came in 1948 to be in the annual Independence Day Parade. This is the longest-running parade west of the Mississippi. For the Christian, it is a family-friendly event.

The square around the Webster County courthouse is filled with rides, food vendors, music, and during election years speeches. This will not be one of those years. This is no sophisticated big-city event. This is a county fair celebration.

The parade features antique tractors, horses, classic cars, bands, and patriotic floats by churches and civic organizations. Those who like the glitz and glamour of the Macy’s parades may want to skip Marshfield. No show-stopping here. Unless the livestock gets loose. If you are anti-American or atheist, do not attend if you are offended easily. Almost every area of America has a small town that goes all out for the Fourth of July. Marshfield is one of the Ozarks.

At one time it was unusual to visit Marshfield for the parade without running into a cousin or someone else from childhood. Most of the family have left Webster County, but a few family members and friends are still around. The crowds are larger and as with any gathering, more people mean crowding and rude behavior. Because of this and the fact that Springfield now has a Mid-Town parade, Marshfield no longer has the draw for my family that it once did.

These days you will find us at the Midtown Springfield Independence Day Parade. You do not have to ask about the date. The parade steps off from Central and Benton at 10:00 a.m. Bring your own folding chairs, a blanket, and anything you need while you wait until it starts. The route is down Benton Ave. to Washington Park.

At the park, there will be an ice cream social with games and fun activities for the whole family. Food trucks and other vendors will be available. Remember that fireworks are illegal inside the city limits of Springfield year-round. There is no permission for them even around the fourth of July.

Enjoy your Independence Day celebration wherever you are. The Fourth of July is about the anniversary of the signing of The Declaration of Independence. Without that brave act by dedicated men, the United States of America would not exist. Have fun and support our Constitution and the government that President Lincoln said is by us, for us, and through us.

CHUCK AND THE DEAD HORSE

June 16, 2025

This is a story I heard many years ago. I wrote it out and saved it in my files. It went into my files for my columns years ago. Before I tell you the story I must make a disclaimer. Although my friends call me Chuck, this story is not about me.

“A fellow named Chuck encountered a farmer one day. The farmer said he had a real deal for him. He was selling raffle tickets to win a horse. Chuck purchased one of the tickets and went on his way.

A few weeks later Chuck gets in touch with the farmer who tells him that he won the horse. Chuck says that is great and asks when he can pick up the horse. The farmer tells him that he regrets to report that the horse died last night.

Chuck demands to claim the horse even if it is dead and shows up at the farm with a truck. The farmer is perplexed as to what Chuck plans to do with a dead horse.

Several months later the two meet up again and the farmer asks about the horse. Chuck tells him he made $2500.00 off of the horse. When asked how he was able to get that much for a dead horse he is told that Chuck raffled the horse off and when the winner came to pick up the horse and was told it was dead, Chuck gave him his money back and disposed of the dead horse.

The farmer then explains that Chuck is now a congressman.”

There are many morals to this story that I could give you. One is that a creative person can accomplish a great deal even with a dead horse. Or I could tell you that caveat emptor is Latin for “let the buyer beware.” I could even explain to you the U.S. economy. It is based on buy low and sell high.

This is Father’s Day and as a dad I am enticed to just accept this as a good dad’s joke. Or you might call it a bad dad joke. I have told a lot of those over the years and a few of the former.

My favorite story about my joke telling experiences is the time we were moving our youngest daughter from one dorm at Rolla to a different building to become a residence assistant. Some of her friends brought trucks and we were using our van to load, move and unload her possessions.

We were all visiting with each other and my daughter told first one and then another of my tales. After a while I had the opportunity to speak to her alone and I mentioned that she was using the material that she always told me was not funny. Each time she told a joke her friends laughed.

Her response was that she knew how to tell a joke better than I did. This was a line from another of my anecdotes. On this occasion I want to wish all dad’s a happy Father’s Day and apologize if once again I have confirmed what Kayla said.

Good, good Father

June 14, 2025

I had a good father. Some of you may not have been as fortunate. In our current society fathers are in short supply. Good fathers are a rare commodity. I’d like to tell you about mine. He was the fourth of five children. He had two older brothers and one older sister. His other sister was the youngest.

All born in the 1920s or 30s Their names fit the era. Clyde was the oldest, then Pauline. We called her Anie, pronounced with a long a. I never heard why we called her this. Raymond was next followed by Evan, my dad, and Virginia.

I have noticed in recent years that our younger generations are taking up dad’s name again. My brother was the only other Evan I had known of for most of my life. When I mentioned this to a cousin’s wife that their son had the same name as my dad He was surprised to learn what dad’s name was. He was a third cousin and had never met my dad.

Dad was always doing things for someone else in the family. A story that my mom’s sister Rosie told often was of her son Jeff being asked by his first teacher if he had a father. His dad left shortly after he learned they would soon have five children. I don’t know when they got a divorce, just that when Jeff started school, he had never met his dad.

Jeff attempted to explain that he did not but that he had what the teacher understood as an uncle in heaven. When asked about this my aunt explained that he was speaking of her brother-in-law, Evan.

Dad was close to all his family. We went to Anie’s house after school when my mother started working at Zenith. She would often give us toasted Cheerios for a snack. Before that, she worked evenings at different restaurants.

We often went to Paul and Virginia’s house in the evenings or on the weekends. Their daughters were some of the first girls I dated. I went with Loretta to a Valentine’s Day banquet at their church and would ask Bonita to go to movies or plays with me when I wasn’t dating anyone.

For one winter when I was in grade school the city of Springfield, MO experienced a natural gas outage during a very cold spell. We were advised to find an alternative way of heating our homes. Electric heaters were not common at that time.

Grandma and Grandpa Kensinger lived about three blocks away from us. They had a wood stove in their living room. I don’t remember if it was the only heat source in the house. Most of us gathered at their house for that night except for Paul and Virginia and their girls. That upset me.

I’ve spoken of Mel and Pauline’s son Russ and his brother Jim before. Remember, Russ sang the song “Running Bare.” We often had them at our house or went to their homes to play cards. We played Old Maid or Crazy Eights while they played more adult games like Canasta and Rummy.

I remember crying the first time I saw the original “Cars” movie at a theatre with my wife and kids. There is a scene where Mater tells Lightening about the interstate bypassing Radiator Springs, and they show some of the cars on a hill overlooking the construction.

I saw my Dad, brothers, Uncle Clyde, and his boys standing behind a gas station across the street from their home on Highway 66. We were watching the earth-moving equipment prepare the roadbed for Interstate 44. That was the first time I could remember that story.

Uncle Raymond was my Dad’s boss for most of his adult life. They worked for what is now Springfield Underground. My Uncle was called Ken, and he managed the trucking company and warehouse. My Dad was a truck driver, and everyone called him little brother.

In my career, I have worked in positions where I have been around many truckers. When I signed my name for deliveries of our freight pick-ups some would ask me if Ken was my dad. My response was always, “No, my Dad was little brother.” They all knew him but very few knew what his name really was.

I hope you have fond memories of your father and that you can join me in calling him a good father. For you men, strive to be that for your children. Remember dads, that Counselors tell us that most women who had positive relationships with their fathers have an easier time finding and keeping a husband. I give Mom and Dad the credit for teaching me how to be what my girls need.

A GREAT DAD

June 13, 2025

Last year I turned seventy. My Dad was sixty when he died. Kayla was just a baby. She now has babies of her own. Michelle remembers her grandpa from stories we tell her. Her own memories of him have been erased by the years.

I am a great father. How do I know this? Not because my children have told me, but because Dad taught me how to be a great father. He taught by example. Every day of my life he demonstrated to me what it meant to be a man. When times were easy, it looked easy. When times were tough, it still did not look that hard, because he made it look easy.

I also have a heavenly father. My brother, Jesus, teaches me about Him. He talked about His Father and said He was our Father. I read the scriptures, and Holy Spirit tells me who God is. We’ll talk more about what I have learned about the triune God, Jehovah, in future columns.

One of my favorite columns about my Dad was written more than fifteen years ago. I am reprinting it here for you.

The big rig was parked on Campbell Street. The driver was waiting patiently to back into the Positronic Industries facility. I worked in that building. I knew that driver.

There was not enough room at the loading dock to pull in and then back into the dock. The drivers had to wait on the street until the gates were opened and then back in. Some truckers parked on the street and unloaded the cargo there. Our receivers had to bring the forklift to them. They did not enjoy backing into the small area with employee cars on both sides. This driver was not one of them. He watched as the gates opened and carefully backed between them. My mind wandered.

I was a young boy. I don’t remember how young. We stood and watched another driver. This time I was with my father and brother. It was not a truck, the driver was backing, it was a large fifth-wheel camping trailer. Our family was tent camping in another part of the campground and we three had walked to where we could fill our water jug. The owner of the huge, expensive camper was making his fourth attempt to get the rig onto the pad straight while his wife stood on the pad and directed him. When the wheels fell off one side of the pad again, the driver cursed how small the pad was. He cursed his wife for not directing him properly. He got out of the pickup and cursed my Father. “What are you staring at?”

“Nothing”, Dad replied. “I just wondered if you wanted help.” The angry man looked at us and grumbled, “I’ll bet you a hundred dollars you can’t hit that pad with this thing.” “I don’t want your money, but I can try to park it for you.” The scowl on the trailer’s owner said nothing and Dad stepped past him and swung into the seat of the truck. He checked and adjusted both side mirrors. “I’ll spot you from the pad”, the other man offered. “If you and your wife stand with my boys so they’ll be safely out of the way, it would be more helpful,” he said as he started to pull the truck and camper forward.

“He’ll need to pull up more than that”, the other man said as the trailer started to move back up the pad. In less than a minute the trailer was centered on the pad on all four sides. “How could you do that so easily?”, was the question from the owner. “I’m a truck driver”, was the reply. “I do this all day for a living.”

A hundred-dollar bill was offered but was refused by the trucker. After tough negotiations and a whispered plea from the wife, he accepted twenty dollars to take his family to dinner. The walk back to the campground was a quiet one, but Mom was not quiet when she was shown the newly acquired twenty. When told by my brother that they could have had a hundred, she said Dad was right to only accept twenty dollars. “Christians shouldn’t take advantage of others”, she replied.

As I watched the trucker swing out of the seat of the tractor, a tear dropped from my eye. I wished I could call Dad and tell him about the distant memory that had come back. A whispered, “Dad, I love you and miss you.” was all I could do that day.

Ash Wednesday for Baptists

March 6, 2025

Yesterday was Fat Tuesday. Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent. What are you giving up for Lent? Do you celebrate Carnival, Mardi Gras, and Lent? How familiar are most Christians in Springfield, Missouri, with these pre-Easter traditions?

Many pre-Christian traditions were put into the tradition of the Easter season. Even the name Easter is taken from a non-Christian god. Fat Tuesday began as a traditional house cleaning of the meat and other food products that were not to be consumed during Lent. It became a party such as Mardi Gras. The non-Christian aspects of Carnival and other celebrations came from pre-Christian festivals.

Fat Tuesday is 46 days before Easter. This period of fasting and cleansing involves intentionally depriving yourself of meat, dairy, or other foods. This tradition has allowed the celebrants to give up something without fasting for the entire 46 days before Easter.

Many Christians no longer speak of Easter. They celebrate Resurrection Day. Remembering the day Jesus came back to life is more important than bunnies, chicks, eggs, and all the pagan customs that make up the Easter holiday.

Celebrating Mardi Gras or Carnival with its, sometimes, sinful activities before the celebration of the event that is crucial to Christianity seems counterproductive. If you believe that Christ has saved you from sin, why return to it?

Paul tells us that we have been buried with Christ and raised to a new life. We should not intentionally sin and expect God to forgive us. Paul says, “God forbid.” In the Old Testament, the prophets told the Israelites they should make sacrifices to pay for their sins. These sins were not to be intentional. The law was to be obeyed as much as was humanly possible. Jesus came and died because we will all miss the mark.

The sinful conduct before the season of Lent is not sanctioned by Christ even if some churches accept it. I just want all my readers to be aware of what these kinds of actions say to those who do not know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.

Christianity is not a religion. It is a relationship with a person. This one person is perfect when no one else is. If you have accepted Him as your Lord and Savior, He has forgiven you for all your sins. Why would you spit in His face by returning to the debauchery of a life that He has led you away from? Anyone who promotes this type of lifestyle is lying to you.

Weather or not

February 3, 2025

Cindy and I celebrated the second day of February in a manner that we have had for years. Yes, it is ground hog day. Not because of some rodent in Punxsutawney, PA that came out this morning and did or did not see his shadow. We ate link sausages for breakfast.

Years ago, I told my daughters that we were going to celebrate Groundhog Day by eating ground hog. I am a man of words. I like to use them to communicate with you. Do not believe an animal that is far away can predict your weather. I could believe that this universe happened accidentally before I could accept that.

There are four meteorological seasons in our world. Scientists who are smarter than I have set these up. Winter begins in December. March starts in spring. Every different part of the country has a Winter or Spring feel. Here in southwest Missouri winter is not filled with snow and temperatures below zero. Other parts of the country enjoy more snow and cold than we receive.

If we ignore the meteorologists and look at what we expect our local forecasts to give us we can see warmer temperatures six months earlier than usual. Where I have a problem with a groundhog in Pennsylvania telling me my weather goes back fifty years. I spent ten weeks there in 1975.

On July 4^th it dropped to 32 degrees in Gifford, PA up in the Allegheny Mountains. In my seven decades in Missouri, I never had a single July below forty. I had to light the heater in my house. This Ozarks boy never needed the heat on in the summertime at home. My hosts warned me this might be needed before they left on vacation.

If you have done any traveling, you know that what is expected in one area is uncommon in another. One December I was speaking to a business associate in Fort Worth. He told me they had an ice storm coming in. I was worried it would be like the ones we have. They can mean days of things being shut down.

In Texas, these storms normally hit in the evening, and the ice melts by the next morning around nine or ten. I could not believe it. I checked that out with other Texans and discovered how usual these temporary ice storms are in warmer climates.

This winter, Texas, Louisiana, and other southern states dealt with days of below-freezing temperatures and snowstorms. Phil could not predict that. The Farmer’s Almanac did not even suggest this possibility. No one knew the frozen north would drop thousands of miles this year.

So, in conclusion, I would like to wish you a Happy Ground Hog Day. For next year, celebrate it by eating your ground hog instead of letting him predict your weather. And remember, it’s all related to your zip code.

Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

Walk With a Servant

Category: What Day is it?