WELS Men Have Been Doing Drag for Many Years, But This Is Walmart!

 

Fayetteville’s Walton Arts Center, which is under fire lately for its decision to prohibit drag performances during Northwest Arkansas Pride, released a full statement on its decision Thursday.

In the new statement, the Walton Arts Center said it regrets that the decision has upset many in the community, and claimed that was not the organization’s intention. It included language from its original shorter statement that “drag is a performance medium that Walton Arts Center recognizes and presents on our stages regularly, and that will not change.” It continues that the drag ban was “not an easy decision, or one that we took lightly, but is one we believe was necessary for this year’s event. Walton Arts Center has not ended its support for our LGBTQIA+ community, NWA Equality or the Pride Festival.”

 La Vie en Rose

 Graduation from Martin Luther College, the WELS School for Ministry, before.

Dressed for Success, after.

WELS' Party in the MLC was copied directly from Party in the Fire Island Pines, but these MLC guys did not realize Fire Island was gay.

Michigan Lutheran Seminary - a tiny "prep high school" for WELS - did this drag event annually, decades ago. Forced cross-dressing was also part of initiating freshmen, under the watchful gaze of John Lawrence, principal.

WELS Pastor Adam Mueller was part of a congregational cross-dressing picnic in the park. Later he was the top speaker for WELS teachers at their national conference.

Do not criticize Walmart's Walton Center for almost having a drag show. WELS eagerly participated in the same thing, decades ago.

The Sprinter statue was used on the Watertown campus for hazing. The newbies had to...Northwestern graduates will explain it. They brought the statue to the merged Martin Luther College, because they did not want to leave The Sprinter behind.

 After after.

Church and Change was the semi-secret Gestapo for the Church Growth fanatics in WELS. Notice Adam Mueller and Lawrence Otto Olson, DMin Fuller, who did not go to Fuller. In fact there is a long list of WELSians who did not go to Fuller, did not earn precious DMins at Fuller yet goose-stepped the Church Growth marching theme.

 Fuller trained, Gospel profaned.

Just a Thought

 Banksy - Heaven's Gate. Bunyan's interpretation was a bit different.

I remember a night at Walmart where the assistant manager said in the backroom, "That does it. No more deliveries." A few seconds later we heard the backup beeps and saw a semi slowly backing toward the door for deliveries.

Panicked, the assistant manager said, "No! We do not have another one on the schedule!" He did some immediate checking, whether the truck was lost, or the driver confused. No, the palettes had to be pulled off the truck by forklift and broken down on the carts which were used to place the canned and boxed food near the aisles for the night crew.

I expressed no desire to drive a forklift. "Do you want to learn how to fix the machine that binds  the cardboard?" I said, "No." 

"Why not?"

I said, "If I learned how, I would be called upon to fix it every time it jammed." The stocker who asked me about the machine was promoted to the night shift, which made him very happy.

Now Sassy is demanding her morning time, which includes a drive to the gym after a walk to Pat and John's house. Today will be a summer break before the next storm moves through.

Patti LaBelle at Walmart, Cookbooks, Etc

Patti LaBelle is creating a new, secret line of food,
which she told the world-wide audience about at the Walmart meeting.

Team Jackson mustered in three places today for Christmas. First I woke up in the early morning to take Little Ichabod to the Walmart Saturday Meeting.  We always had these once a month, from 2009 on, until the WM schedule changed - about 90 or more monthly meetings in a row. Now they are quarterly WM meetings, so we pencil in the other dates.

Next we met with the Bentonville food headquarters, where some of the Christmas food was being prepared. Finally we teamed up in Springdale for the barbecue, salmon, bacon, and  homemade apple pie. Alex's first question was, "Where's the ice cream?" I said, "A teen now!"

We had a great time talking with our college granddaughters about their cats. They normally have six cats at a time, all rescues.

 I ran into this photo of our chapel when the roses were extra large and plentiful,the year of extended autumn.

A Little Salt - And the World Comes to Walmart

Mike Phelps is famous for his pre-competition scowl.

When Team Jackson has a BBQ, several traditions are honored. One is the Admonition To Avoid Burning the Bacon. Grandson Alex delivers that warning each time, sometimes with great emotion, simply because I burnt the bacon to ashes one (1) time. I asked him, "Why do you protect the bacon with such energy?" He said, "Because bacon is life." We bought him bacon band-aids, which he enjoys using.

He also likes to salt his own selection of meat. He uses generous amounts of salt and tosses some over his shoulder each time. His sister, now almost done with college, asked why he did that. "The Jewish people tossed salt over their shoulders for luck."

Josephine smiled and said, "I think they counted on more than salt for luck."

Latest Saturday Morning Meeting

We have so much fun getting together. I drove LI to the latest Walmart meeting. Mike Phelps spoke about saving water when brushing our teeth! I was thinking, "What about swimming pools, Mike?"

Rod Rosenstein and Rachel Brand in DC. She joined Walmart recently and interviewed Rob Lowe at the latest WM meeting. Rod's and Rachel's names may be mentioned again in the next few weeks: FISA.

 Rob Lowe maintained his smirky look while Brand interviewed him deadpan. She said, "You're looking good," and the audience began laughing about her termporary thaw and adlib.

We still laugh at the pastor from the Alcoholism Capital of America (Appleton) calling this area - Podunkville - in his fake blog. The whole world comes here, so we just sit in the 4,000 seat auditorium (usually the second row) and watch.

"Wie die Armen muessen leiden, Ja?"
"Ja."

Wal-Mart reveals new headquarter plans | NWADG

 "It's just a regional store."

Wal-Mart reveals new headquarter plans | NWADG:



"BENTONVILLE -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is putting together plans to build a new headquarters in Bentonville, a project that will move the company out of a building that has been home to its operations since 1971.

The new headquarters will be located on a 350-acre tract of land located on the east side of J Street between Central Avenue and Highway 102 near downtown Bentonville, according to the company.

A spokesman said Wal-Mart is in the early phases of planning and designing the project, but estimates a five to seven-year timeline for completion. An estimated cost has not yet been established.


“We’ve been here in Northwest Arkansas for over 50 years and we’re preparing now to cement the roots for the next 50-plus years,” Wal-Mart spokesman Randy Hargrove said.

Wal-Mart’s current home office operations include about 20 different buildings spread throughout Bentonville. The company said one purpose for building a new headquarters is to consolidate more of those operations on one campus to improve collaboration and efficiency. The company also said a new home will be an attractive tool to recruit future workers in a retail environment that is rapidly changing because of technology."

'via Blog this'

"Is This Your First Saturday Morning Meeting?" No, More Like My 80th. Just Another Walmart Team Jackson BBQ

 Grandson Alexander agreed to pose in my Tilley hat,
holding my walking stick.

This is our schedule for monthly Saturday Morning Meetings at Walmart:
5 AM - I wake up and do some cleaning and coffee brewing.
6:30   - Pick up Little Ichabod at the Little Ichabode.
7:00   - Arrive at a Walmart location or the outdoor, tent-like AMP for the 8 AM meeting.

We arrive so early at the famous Saturday Morning Meetings that we often sit directly behind the celebrity guests, Walmart executives, or Walton family members.

 LI did a hilarious imitation of Arnie discussing his early morning
shopping trips at Walmart, during delays in filming.

This Saturday, we had a row of reserved seats ahead of us, and some younger people sat there as special guests. LI wondered where they came from, so I asked. "We are interns at WM; we're in business school."

The young intern wanted to know about LI's job and mine. She looked at me and asked, "Is this your first Saturday Morning Meeting?"

 Geena Davis sat in the row ahead of us at one meeting.
She began an annual movie festival for Bentonville, a town which has no movie theaters of its own.

I said, "No, it's my 80th or so. We go to all the SMMs, unless he is out of town. And we attend the shareholders' annual meetings too. My wife and I have lived in the area for seven years - for the grandchildren - and their parents." We named a few of the celebrities we have seen live, from our press row seats. Our favorite remains - Hugh Jackman.

Sandra Bullock came to the SMM
immediately after her Oscar win.
Many military heroes are honored at the meetings - and their super-safe truck drivers are routinely honored and applauded.

We had a fun BBQ event for the whole family, where most of the birthdays fall within 30 days. Mrs. I has extra time to spend with our son, before the rest of the family arrives. So we catch up on all the developments and technology changes of the moment.

LI was my first Greek student, so I told him about how well the Bethany New Testament Greek classes are going.

 Hugh Jackman stayed afterwards to
meet guests and shake hands.
We did not miss that opportunity.

Team Jackson Battles Global Cooling with a BBQ

Megyn Kelly may be leaving Fox News for another network.

The Walmart Saturday Morning Meeting was another fun Christmas event. LI and I never miss a SMM unless he is out of town. We arrived super-early and had a seat about 20 feet from the stage, as we usually do.

Megyn Kelly drew scattered laughs and a little applause from her remarks in an informal interview. I snorted when she said Trump was obsessed with her. She went on to play the victim in the presidential debates, talking excessively about herself, but he was attending the Army-Navy game. We listened to Trump, and her name never came up when he was talking at the game. So who is obsessed?

Megyn expected us to believe she takes care of her children during the day, goes to Fox News at 3:30 PM, and writes her book at midnight. I whispered "Ghost."

Kellly's nickname is Me-Again, because every news story is about her, about being sick, about enduring terrible onslaughts and yet remaining strong, but constantly Settling for More.

I don't predict celebrity futures, but the rumor is that she will take a pay cut to move to another network.

Harry Connick Jr. entertained the audience with music and games with children from the audience.

Terry Crews has a TV show where they spruce up a family's life and food with Walmart stuff - saving Christmas for the family.

Retail seems to be soaring with new optimism. Those who lost the elections are still moaning about the results. Time will tell what develops over the next few years.

After the SMM, Team Jackson gathered at our home to enjoy an BBQ with lots of food and laughter. Grandson Alex brought up the time I burned the bacon to ashes, as he does every month. He explained, "It's my job, so you never do it again, Grampy."

 Hugh Jackman was the best Christmas meeting host ever,
leading in Christmas carols with his splendid voice.
He shook hands with LI and me afterwards,
the only celebrity - ever - to stay to greet people in the audience.

Dolly Parton Sang for My Birthday at the Walmart Meeting. And Walmart Sang Happy Birthday at the End of the Meeting

Dolly Parton promoted her TV movie
"Coat of Many Colors."

Dolly sang her famous song for the audience, little knowing that it was my birthday. She was about 20 feet from us.

Dolly was energetic, funny, and quite charming. I was surprised to learn that she began as a song-writer and gradually moved into recording and performing as well.

LI got up to ask a question about Jet.com, which meant he was seen and heard world-wide by the Walmart global audience. We are always near the front, because we arrive so early for each Saturday Morning Meeting. CEO Doug McMillon looked at him and me, and seemed to be thinking, "There they are again."

At the end of the meeting, the CEO of Sam's Club said there was a birthday boy in the audience. I turned to LI and said, "You told them!" He laughed quite hard at that one. Doug McMillon turned 50, so we all sang it to him.

Once we got home we enjoyed grilling and eating cheesecake. For once Alex did not bring up the time I burnt the bacon to ashes. But, perhaps feeling the absence of that monthly reminder, his mother brought it up again.

We had a great time together. The homemade cheesecake was heavenly.


==

Two Videos - A New One about Walmart and Martin's Work. An Older One about Coldstone Ice Cream

Martin sat with Yale theology professor Paul Holmer.

The recruiting video was just released from Walmart. Martin speaks on camera and then adds a bit later that retail has to move as quickly as the website.

---



Years ago we attended a Yakov Smirnoff show in Branson, wearing custom shirts. We gave him one too.

The Food Channel saw us wearing the same t-shirts and included us in the video about Coldstone Ice Cream. In the background you can see Martin wife Tammy and his younger daughter Danielle. Josephine speaks on the video about her favorite ice cream. As do I.

Yakov Smirnoff was happy to pose with us after the show.
We gave him one t-shirt and another one for his mother.
He was quite touched. He signed all our shirts.
Grandson Alex is savoring his soother,
so this was around 2006.

We Heard George W. Bush Today - Walmart Meeting, BBQ, Batman Gifts. Composting the Leaves

George W. Bush came to Bentonville, Arkansas
to promote his book about his father, George H. W. Bush.

We went extra early to the Walmart Saturday Morning Meeting, to hear to his former staffer Dan Bartlett interview him. 

Dan Bartlett now works for Walmart.

W. fascinated the audience as he spoke about his father, his presidency, and his father's. He brought down the house by admitting his birth at Yale New Haven hospital was a political mistake.

LI was born at the same hospital. Chris and I worked at the Yale Medical complex. She helped a famous professor, Dr. Joan Fassler, with research - as she had at the University of Waterloo. I gathered and copied medical articles for researchers in a government program.

More than once I wore LI in a baby carrier and met Chris at the Yale Medical Library, our joint employer. I found it convenient to leave the Yale Shuttle Bus for a Baskin Robbins French Vanilla malted. The owner asked, "How much malt?" I told the owner, a fan of malteds, "I want enough to make me cough." He said, "I know what you mean."

Laura Bush came another time to promote her book, charming everyone,
but we have not seen the current president or his wife.

Friends went with us to see the George W. Bush Library in Dallas. We went to Dealey Plaza the same day.

The younger Bush is often called W for short, so that became my nickname among the Intrepid Lutherans who organized around a blog. The WELS leaders always blame me for the trouble caused by their own corruption, dishonesty, and false doctrine. The Intrepids heard that so often that I became "W" as a joke on WELS.

After the meeting, Chris heard all about it from LI, who told her about the technical revolution and the new high WM stock price.

I fired up T-Rex and we had a great meal. Unfortunately, a brief spell away from the grill meant the bacon blazed up and turned to ash.  We had homemade cheesecake and other delights.

Alex got Batman birthday gifts. He suggested a Batarang for next year's birthday. I looked it up with him on Amazon and sent him one for Wednesday, not for next year. He went outside with me and the helper to rake leaves for the compost. Snow is coming. We filled up the compost and put the garden hose on branches of the dead tree. Alex told our helper how they would divide the job up - division of labor. Our helper wondered how he become junior assistant. Seniority! Alex was raking leaves for me several years ago.


Other Walmart meeting stars, from previous meetings.

Joe Montana.

Tim Tebow.

Hugh Jackman led the Christmas singing at the meeting
and shook hands with LI and me fterwards. 

Sassy Sue Opens the Biggest Walmart Supercenter in Arkansas

Ronald is adding a store next to the Supercenter.

Walmart opened the largest Supercenter in Arkansas a short distance from our home, on the way to Ecclesia College, where I teach. They bought a family farm located on an interstate exit.

A woman who grew up on that farm graduated from Ecclesia. The family sold part of the farm and retained the rest for future development.  

Mrs. Ichabod and I went to the grand opening, the first grand opening of anything we have ever attended. We were not about to miss this one. I set the alarm for 5 AM and woke up at 6. I fixed coffee and we were at the store at 6:30.

The lot was almost empty and there was only a tiny group of people at each door. We parked near the platform where the opening ceremonies took place. Sassy walked around me me, letting loose her happy barks. Everyone loved her - except for the frowning Walmart suits, who probably imagined the ceremony like this:

"Welcome to the bark bark mony of bark bark bark. We are so bark bark bark bark you here."

Sassy greeted the two groups of people at the doors. Sassy and I then waited in the limo, which is a second home for Sassy. 

Mrs. I watched the ceremony from the door and I stood by the car. Sassy was completely silent until the opening was done and I got back in the car. She cheered as only Sassy can: "Bark, bark, bark, bark, bark, bark."

Empty lot? At 7:15 AM it was full. At 7:25 a man answered his cell and said, "Where do you think you will park when you get here? There is no room left."

Sam's Club left Springdale for Fayetteville a few year's ago, depriving the city of millions in tax revenue. Everyone is happy to have the Supercenter at our exit of I-49 (Elm Springs), with a new Sam's Club planned in 2016 for the next exit south (Rt. 412 - Sunset) in Springdale. Naturally, businesses like McDonald's surround new retail and even more business is generated.

We are hoping for a Greek restaurant and other amenities. As we tell our friends, Springdale was a sleepy town until we moved here two years ago. 

We love our neighborhood. Sassy is a star wherever she goes. Yesterday she walked across the road to greet a van full of grandchildren. It seems the grandfather brought one set to meet with another set. Sassy met each new child and enjoyed the petting and talking about her. Her pals took their turns loving her, too. 

This home is where all the kids ran screaming into their home when Sassy came by and barked. Then one of them said, "That's Sassy," and they all came out again to play with her.

Add caption

The configuration is a bit difference for this store.
Everyone is happy to have hundreds of new jobs here,
plus many opportunities for advancement.

---

Kindred spirits - Glende and Ski

From WELS Pastor Joel Lillo, revlillo@gmail.com - perpetual adolescent:

Greggy,

The grand opening of a Walmart... Yep, that's about as close to a cultural event as Arkansaw gets (except for maybe a Baldknobbers Jamboree).

Oh, it did make me smile to see that picture of the clown in your reporting of the event.  The fact that he was sitting next to Ronald McDonald made it that much better.

Cheers,

Joel

***

Alice Walton bought Kindred Spirits for the art museum, which offers free admission to everyone.

GJ - Joel swore to stop reading this blog but he cannot keep his own promises to hisself. How delicious it must be, to look down on another state, oblivious to geography and his own colossal ignorance.

The entertainers he mentions are in Missouri, two hours away.

The highly regarded Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is about 15 minutes away, just off the same Interstate I mentioned above. My wife and I enjoy volunteering there and seeing Alice Walton.

This part of the museum is called Walker's Landing, named after an employee who began early with Walmart and has since given many millions of dollars to charities.

New Arkansas Music Pavillion - Walmart Saturday Meeting

Built in nine months - the New AMP.

Mrs. Ichabod and I kept wondering about this strange structure, seen from I-49 (nee I-540). We thought the recent windstorm had blown vital supports askew, something that happened on the new bridge near the Hoover Dam, years ago.

But no, they were finishing the New Walmart Arkansas Music Pavillion. I went to the Saturday Morning Meeting with LI. We went extra early, getting there about 6:30 AM. We sat almost in the front row and enjoyed hearing the Ace of Cakes talk about decorating cakes.

I could sink my teeth into this job.

The meeting was almost cancelled, due to severe storm warnings. As you can see, it is a glorified tent, seating around 4,000 people. I suggested jackets, not knowing it was outdoors. We were quite comfortable with the warm breezes and occasional gusts.

The wind whistled through the structure, making it sound like a vast sailboat. Because the sides are wide open, the rapidly moving cloud formations intrigued the audience. At the end the clouds darkened and began to rain a bit. We did the WAL-MART cheer with our eyes on the best exit paths.

A fine mist began when we got to the Icha-boat, which had recently returned from a 1200 mile round-trip cruise to Moline. On the way into the meeting, one car fanatic questioned me closely about how well it ran, my gas mileage, and the ride. We achieve 24 mpg on way up to Moline. The ride? Pillow-top mattress. Or, as 29A said, "Like being in a baby buggy."