<TITLE>12. Par 42-45</TITLE>L-42 Once before that my daddy had called me a sissy. We was going down to pick up some bottles down at the river, you know, along the river, and--and brother and I got a nickel a dozen for picking up bottles, where they put the whiskey in. And I was... And I had an old boat, didn't have no rudder on the back of it, and we had two boards. My brother in one side, and me in the other, and this man had a big duck...?... on, and I thought it... His name was McKinney. And he was going to let me use his duck boat, and I thought, "There's one guy that likes me." And when he was going to let me row up the river in his duck boat, and that day we was going across the hill, down below the old home place, there was a tree that blowed down across the path, and dad just threw his leg up across the tree... One Sunday morning, and he stopped and pulled a little flat bottle of whiskey out of his pocket, give it to Mr. McKinney, and said, "Have a drink?"
He taken a drink, handed over to me. He said, "Have a drink?"
I said, "No, thanks. I don't--don't drink."
He said, "What? A Branham and don't drink?"
And pop said, "No, I raised one sissy." Sissy?

L-43 Why, that got me. I said, "Hand me that bottle." And I took that bottle with as much determination to take the drink as I am to have a service tonight. And I pulled the cork out of it, started to turn it up to drink it... Now, you can call this whatever you want to. But when I started to take that drink of whiskey, I heard something go, "Whooosh."
I thought, "What is that?" I started again, and something, it just kept making that noise like a whirling of the wind in the leaves, the same Noise that told me never to smoke, or drink, or defile. I couldn't take it. What was it? It wasn't because I was too good to; it was because God was protecting His gift. See, it's nothing by man. He's nothing. It's God.

L-44 I dropped the bottle and started crying, run up to the field. And that night, when that girl called me a sissy 'cause I wouldn't smoke a cigarette, I said, "Nobody wants me, and here even my girls won't have nothing to do with me. Hand me that cigarette." And I took it, just as determined to take that cigarette and smoke it, as I am to--to finish this story. And she handed it to me; I pulled one of the cigarettes out of the pack, reached down and struck a match, and started to put it to my mouth. And just as I started to do that, I heard it go, "Whoosh."

L-45 "Well, that's just my imagination." I got it again and started up to my mouth with it again, and again roared. I looked at the cigarette; the match was burning down. I looked at her. I remember that, "Don't you never drink or defile your body in any way." I stood there a little bit. I got real shaky. I started crying. I dropped the cigarette. She said, "Well, you big sissy you." And I just throwed it down and started walking up the road by myself, crying, with my hands in my pocket. And they followed me with the car, with the lights on me, in an old model T ford, a laughing at me. And I went out and set down in the field. I left and went across the field. I could take you and put you right on the same spot.


<A HREF="P13">Next Page</A>