<TITLE>09. Par 30-33</TITLE>L-30 And--and the--the--and the women, how they could smoke. And--and I thought that was terrible to see a woman smoke. Well, that just broke my heart. I just couldn't stand that. I didn't want nothing to--to do with that. So I just--just left her. And so that was the time when the Angel of the Lord appeared to me when... She laughed at me, called me a sissy. She made me walk home (That's right.) from the place. She said, "Well, you big sissy. I wouldn't even ride with you."
I said, "You don't have to."
She said, "You don't smoke?"
And I said, "No ma'am."
Said, "You don't drink either?"
And I said, "No ma'am."
Said, "What do you like to do?"
I said, "Go fishing, hunting." Course, that didn't interest her. So I--I was... That was way I--I thought about it anyhow. And I'm glad today that I did think that. That's right. Amen.
Listen friends. It ain't the robin that pecks the apple that hurts it; it's the worm at the core that kills the apple. That's what. It's sin in our midst is what's a hurting us (That's right.), sin in our midst that's killing us.

L-31 Now, now, I guess you wonder how I ever got married. Well, when I met my wife, she was a Christian girl, very lovely Christian girl. And I was then about twenty-three, twenty-four years old. She very sweet humble character. And I met her. And I--I'd take her to church, and she went to church. And she was a very fine lovely woman.
All these people here, my friends from Jeffersonville setting here in front of me knows her, or knew her, and how a lovely woman she was. She's in her grave today. But that's her body. Her soul's in--with Christ. And she was a very lovely Christian character.
And I went with her awhile. And she come from a good home. Her father, during the time of the depression that that was, he made about six hundred dollars a month. He was a brotherhood organizer on the Pennsylvania Railroad. I made twenty cents a hour digging ditches. So I couldn't marry the girl, I didn't think.

L-32 And I thought, "Well, if I have went with her any longer, I was taking up her time. She was too good of a girl to let go. She'd make some man a good wife." So I had to either just let her go or ask her to marry me, and I didn't have nerve enough to do that. So I guess you wonder how I got... I wrote her a letter, and asked her if she'd marry me. And I said, "Well, I..." Now, it--it wasn't "Dear Miss, will you have me." It was a little bit, what you call, mushier than that. And I--I--I kinda talked to her...
But here... I remember, I thought, "I got to do something, because it's not right to take the girl's time." So I wrote her a letter.
And I went to work that morning; I was working Public Service Company. And I was very nervous about dropping it in the box; it was on Monday morning. I dropped it in the box. And all day, I thought about it. And I thought, "Tonight, oh, oh, I'll hear from that tonight. Her mother will call me up and rake me over the coals." And I went on. That night it was all right.

L-33 And I was to meet her Wednesday to take her over to the church. So I remember, then come on towards Wednesday. And Wednesday night I was just as nervous, I didn't know what to do. I thought, "What am I going to do when I get up there?" So I asked my mother, "Has--has Hope called?"
"No."
"Did you get any mail?"
"No."
"Well, maybe it hung up, and didn't even get out of the box." So I thought, "Something's happening here."
So I went up, and I--I blowed the horn outside. And so she come out. She said, "Come in."
And I thought, "Oh, oh, going to get me in there where her mother is now, and then I'm really going to get it." So I said, "Are you about ready?"
She said, "Let's walk to church."
I thought, "Oh, my." So I said, "All--all right." And I went in.
And Mrs. Brumbach looked at me, said, "Hello, Bill."
I said, "How do you do." So I was just nervous as I could be. So I thought something's going to happen any time. You know how you feel when you're under them strains.


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