For the most part it always happened in the pre-dawn hours. You know, the time of day when the moon has almost faded from the sky…..it’s still dark out, but birds are chirping and the sky is starting to get a slight tinge of a dark purplish, pink. That’s the time of day it would normally happen.

It wasn’t on a regular schedule, it wasn’t something you could predict…..not like every month or every 4 weeks. No it was random, but well planned by the executors. The experiences as a whole were different; the vehicle changed every few years…..but the start was always the same…..

As your body began stirring….awakening before your mind….in those pre-dawn hours….the voice would boom: “THE BUS LEAVES IN 5 MINUTES!”

This Is How the Adventures Began

What, what was that. Did you hear that? Yes, get up, get up. Again: “THE BUS LEAVES IN 5 MINUTES”

Bare feet began hitting the floor….different sizes creating different types of thuds. If one was downstairs they could hear them scrambling. Running from room to room. Sometimes yelling. “I CAN’T FIND MY SHOES. WHAT SHOULD I WEAR? HURRY UP SLOW-POKE. GET OUT OF MY WAY. I NEED THE BATHROOM –GET OUT”

“THE BUS LEAVES IN 3, YES YOU HEARD ME 3 MINUTES”

Inevitably the next to the younger one, the one they nicknamed “Windy” because she talked too much…..Would ask (as she always did) Where are we going?

THE BUS LEAVES IN 1 MINUTE…..IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHERE WE ARE GOING……BE ON THE BUS. OTHERWISE STAY BEHIND AND YOU’LL FIND OUT WHEN THE OTHERS GET BACK. Why did Windy ask, you’d think she would learn at some point…..the answer was always the same.

This is how my childhood adventures would begin…..This is how Joe and Proxita Beckelhimer would introduce their children to the wonders of their surroundings. Even though (due to the financial constraints of raising 5 kids) we didn’t travel great distances, my parents knew that this was a way to insure that as we grew up my siblings and I would have…

• A burning desire to explore the world
• A thirst to learn about the people on our planet and their cultures
• An appreciation of all the beauty that our senses could take in

The Bus Took Us on Many Exciting Trips

Throughout the years “THE BUS” took us:

To the lakes of Ohio where we frolicked in the waters (in swimsuits that had been packed ahead of time, unaware to us, and hidden in THE BUS) , played games on the beach and ate Fried Chicken that my parents had gotten up at 4 a.m. to cook.

THE BUS took us to explore the 7 caves in the hills of Ohio. The ONLY time my parents didn’t adequately plan for provisions and on the way home, my mother had to use her headscarf as a diaper for my baby brother.

And to the woods deep in the hills near the Ohio River……where we collected souvenirs from nature to take to school…..hedge apples, acorns, wild flowers. It was on one of these type hikes, that my father took a “wrong turn” and the only way for us to get back to the car…without turning around and hiking back 2 hours, was to walk across a train trestle. (Luckily my mother and baby brother had stayed back at the picnic site). So it was my dad, older brother, twin sisters….and me. They were all so brave (or it appeared that way, later, years later, I found out that they were as scared as I….they just didn’t choose to show it in the way that a typical 6 year old would…by crying hysterically. I can’t cross that….there are holes between the trestles. No way daddy, look how far down it goes….I’ll fall through.)

Okay my Dad’s challenge: 

1. Convince me that I would not die and that I was coordinated enough to take big strides from one trestle to another, without falling through. My dad was the great convincer.

2. But Daddy, I can’t cross the trestle, what if a train comes, we’ll have no place to go and we’ll all die….crying hysterically at this point. But my father remained calm, and did what most parents would have at this point….stretched the truth. Windy, a train hasn’t come across this trestle in years….now let’s get going.

Fine, hey this was kind of fun. We’re all singing ( a strategy to keep me from looking down). When all of a sudden as we’re half way across….a sound echoes thru the distance. What was that….nah, I keep singing. My father picks up the pace and starts singing louder. Wow daddy is really getting in to this…why he’s almost skipping from trestle to trestle. We’re getting way ahead of my brothers and sisters.

He’s making a game out of this…. As we reach the end and I’m so happy. I look up to see the fear on my father’s face. Hurry he’s yelling to my siblings….The noise….the whistle gets louder….oh no then it dawns on me. Hurry he yells. If you’re not going to make it….go to the cement what ever you call it and stand very still. But with each blast of the whistle their pace got faster and faster. They were leaping from one track to another and then jumped to the hill where we stood. Just about that time…..the big train….the one that never came….crossed the track. This was an adventure that I think my dad would have preferred we didn’t tell my mother about, but of course we did and I think my mother and dad had a few words about it later.

Fond Memories of Great Adventures

Yes, I remember all the adventures…but mostly I remember all the excitement that bubbled up as fast as my feet were scrambling out of bed. I now realize the planning, the effort and most of all the love…..that went into those adventures.

My beloved bus drivers have left me and my siblings to go on their final journey and one day I’ll join them again. However, I will be eternally grateful to them for instilling in me a thirst for adventure and exploration; for making me a Modern Day Explorer. They gave me a wonderful gift; one that I have tried to pass down to my children and plan to pass down to my grandkids.

Just ask my children if they’ve ever been awaken by a booming voice shouting THE BUS LEAVES IN 5 MINTUES and watch the twinkle in their eye.

Jayme B. Porkolab is currently the Vice President of Marketing & Sales for The Global Leaders Holdings LLC (TGL), a networking platform for senior level executives, government officials, educational leaders and board members of leading philanthropies.  She is also a Consultant with Group 50 Consulting.

More importantly she is a Modern Day Explorer, Student of Life and Citizen of the World.  Jayme was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and now resides in New York City.  She enjoys writing and just recently decided to start publishing some of the short stories and tales of growing up in the 1950’s.

Photo by papalars

As far as stories go, I don’t think there has ever been one that has gone more viral than this one.  Yet, this story has some of the most unbelievable tales in it ever told.

Despite the absolutely wild claims made in this unbelievable story, there are literally millions of people that believe it. 

In fact, throughout the last couple thousand years, many have gone well beyond just believing it.  They have actually been willing to die, sometimes gruesome deaths, all because they wouldn’t recant their claim that this story is true.

Of course, I am talking about the original Christmas story.

What Makes the Christmas Story So Unbelievable?

Oh, let me count the ways that the Christmas story from the Bible is unbelievable!  Here are just a few of the details that stand out as outrageous claims:

1.  A Virgin Gives Birth

Really?!?  Isn’t this a pretty unbelievable claim?  When you really think about it, this has got to be one of the most outlandish assertions ever put forth.  Are we really expected to believe a virgin became pregnant without artificial insemination or any other human interaction and gave birth to a baby?

Think about it for a minute.  If your teenage daughter turned up pregnant, then claimed that it was God that made her pregnant.  Would you believe her?  I’d send her for some serious therapy.

Look at it from another perspective.  If you or your son or your brother were dating a girl and she came up pregnant, but claimed she was still a virgin.  Would you buy it?  No way!  I’d believe she had been running around and was trying, in some very bizarre way, to cover it up.  This is very hard to believe!

2.  Angels Appear to People

Have you ever seen an angel?  What are angels?  Would I even know one if I saw one?  The whole idea of angels (whatever they are) appearing to people to explain very strange happenings seems extremely hard to believe.

Yet, the Christmas story claims that an angel first appeared to Mary to let her know she was going to become pregnant despite the fact she was a virgin.  The angel also told Mary to name her baby Jesus and that he was going to be called the Son of God.  Imagine your friend laying this story on you!   Would you believe it?

Wait, that’s not all!  Then, an angel appears to Joseph in a dream and tells him not to be afraid to take the pregnant Mary as his wife because her baby was conceived by the Holy Spirit.  What?!?

Finally, an angel appears to the shepherds in the fields tending their sheep to let them know a baby was born in a manger in Bethlehem.  The angel also tells these shepherds that this baby is an anointed one from God.  Okaaaay, pretty weird stuff, if you ask me.

What on earth were these people smoking that they had visions of supernatural beings telling them such outrageous things?  Apparently, ancient Israel was a pretty groovy place, if you know what I mean.

3.  A Star Guided Wise Men from the East

Let me give you yet another amazing claim of the Christmas story.  We are to believe that a special star appeared in the sky overhead where Mary’s baby was born.  It has been called the Star of Bethlehem.

We  are also to believe that some wise men noticed this special star and that it somehow guided them directly to the place where this particular baby was born.

Come on!  This star wasn’t exactly a handheld GPS receiver.  Bethlehem was a tiny village back in those days and I’m sure that a lot of other babies were also being born all over the place about the same time that Mary gave birth. 

Isn’t this whole idea of a star leading men from the East to the place where Mary had her baby just a little too far-fetched?

4.  The Rest of the Story

Of course, the bizarre and unbelievable claims of the Christmas story don’t really stop with the birth of Mary’s baby.  It goes well beyond that.  Way, way, way beyond that!

Jesus grows up and ticks off the Jews and the Romans enough that they join forces to arrest him, beat him and finally torture him to death in a way reserved for their very worst criminals.  Of course, given all the crazy claims he makes (I won’t go into them here) and the story of his birth, it is easy to imagine that they thought he was completely insane.

It is after he is dead and buried that the story really gets unbelievable.  His friends claim that he returns from the dead!  He just gets up and walks off!

For them, this is the final proof that he is the Son of God and the Savior of the world. 

His friends believe that somehow by dying on a Roman cross he has paid the penalty of all of our wrongdoings.  They start going around telling everyone that if you will simply believe this incredulous story that you can receive God’s forgiveness and live eternally in heaven after you die.

As Paul Harvey would say, this is the rest of the story.  Boy, is it a doozy or what?  Again, the most unbelievable story ever told, but yet one that has endured and been more viral than anything that ever hit the front page of Digg.

This Unbelievable Story Is Why We Celebrate Christmas

God chose things the world considers foolish…
1 Corinthians 1:27 (NLT)

Millions the world over believe this wildly unbelievable story.  Those that believe are called Christians and I am one of them.  It isn’t very popular to be a Christian.  It never has been.  It takes guts to believe a story that God Himself knew would seem foolish to many on the surface.

You have to dig into it before it starts to unveil its truth to you.

If we were face-to-face right now, you might ask me why I believe something that admittedly seems far-fetched and over-the-top crazy.  Well, because I’ve dug below the surface.  I’ve given it a fair chance and here’s what I’ve found:

• The numerous documents we have that tell the stories about Jesus in the Bible have been critically examined by numerous scholars and are generally considered historically reliable and trustworthy. 
• As I already mentioned, all but one of Jesus’ closest friends died gruesome deaths because they would not recant their eyewitness testimony to the truth of this story despite how unbelievable it seems at first.
• Archaeology supports the historical reliability of the Biblical accounts of Jesus’ life.  Why would the writers go to such painstaking detail for a work of fiction?
• There is a pile of circumstantial evidence that also supports the accuracy of the claims made in the Christmas story.

Still, it takes a leap of faith to believe this unbelievable story.  I don’t think anyone would argue that.  This is the way it was designed.  I challenge you to check it out for yourself at least once during your lifetime.  Here’s what I would suggest:

• Study some of the evidence I linked to above.
• Read some of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the New Testament for yourself.  If you don’t have a Bible, you can find one online or at your local library.
• Ask a friend if you can attend a few church services with them.

Look at how long this story has endured.  Look at how many people have given everything they have to it.  Look at the millions of others that have believed.  If it were a complete work of fiction, don’t you think it would have been exposed by now?

Do you believe the most unbelievable story ever told?

Photo by Secret Tenerife

Wisdom was up there in his years when I met with him.  Yes, he’d definitely been around the block a time or two, but he didn’t seem old.

In fact, it didn’t appear that he’d aged a bit since the last time that I visited him many moons ago.

His eyes were bright and clear.  They were captivating when I looked into them. 

They say that our eyes are a window into our soul.  Wisdom’s eyes were calm, inquisitive and welcoming.

When he spoke, it was with authority, but not the pushy kind.  You just knew that he was right and you wanted to listen.

I listened to Wisdom a good long time.  How long I’m not really sure.  I lost track of time.

His words seemed to feed my soul.  Have you ever read or heard something so meaningful that it actually felt nourishing?  That’s exactly the way it was as I listened to Wisdom.

Wisdom told me how he led his life.  He shared how he lived, where he’d been and what he’d seen.  His words opened my mind to things that I had rarely, if ever, considered.

Wisdom began as a student of everything

Wisdom started as a student.  He was an eager, curious learner drinking deeply from the well of education.  He never crammed or took other shortcuts to learning.  Instead, he was disciplined and passionate about his studies.  He had a deep desire to soak up as much information as possible.

He not only grew in knowledge, but he also developed practical skills.  Wisdom often conducted experiments to see how what he learned could be applied in the real world to solve problems or unlock mysteries.

Wisdom stumbled onto entrepreneurship

From time-to-time, one of Wisdom’s experiments proved useful to others.  They would take what Wisdom had assembled and find that it simplified their work or otherwise met a need they had.  This thrilled Wisdom!

Occasionally, people would be so delighted with Wisdom’s ingenuity that they would reward him.  At first, he was shy about taking their money.  He had simply been experimenting and trying to learn.  However, he was happy to know that his thirst for knowledge benefited others.

Initially, Wisdom decided the best thing to do with the money was to use it to conduct bigger, more elaborate experiments.  These experiments led to discoveries that profited many.

Soon, people from all over sought out Wisdom to solve their problems.  They offered him large sums of money to examine their situation and develop a solution to their needs.

Wisdom became a busy man, but he loved helping others so much that he didn’t mind a bit.  He worked hard and served the needs of people far and wide over many years.  He was passionate about his work and never found it dull or boring.

Wisdom saved a fortune from his earnings

Wisdom earned a lot of money helping others.  Though it wasn’t his original intention, he did find satisfaction knowing that his work was so appreciated.

One day early in his life, as Wisdom was pondering the small pile of cash a grateful business friend had left him, it occurred to him that money was just another tool he could use to do good things for his family and for others.

This energized his thinking about money.  He began aggressively saving what people gave him.  Wisdom quickly saw the power of compound interest.  He placed his money in investments that had long track records of good returns.  His money grew.

In addition, Wisdom was a smart consumer.  He only bought what he really needed and he always paid cash.  In his mind, debt was just too risky.

Soon he found that he had enough money to help build his community.  Wisdom gave generously.  He contributed to building schools, hospitals and libraries.  This further developed Wisdom’s reputation and earned him even more business and respect.

Wisdom was a faithful family man

Wisdom not only succeeded in business and with money, but he also was a good husband and father.  He realized that his life was one whole and not compartmentalized.  Whatever good or bad that happened in one area of his life affected the other areas.

He was sensitive to the needs of his wife and always treated her with respect.  His marriage was a true partnership.  He valued his wife’s intelligence and intuition.  As a result, she honored him as her husband.

Wisdom also devoted himself to fatherhood.  He understood that a father plays a vital role in raising children.  He was a wonderful role model.  He knew that his children learned more from observing his behavior than from lectures.  Therefore, Wisdom tried to live an honorable and upright life.  His children looked up to their father and loved him dearly.

Wisdom took care of his health

As Wisdom aged, he realized just how precious his health was to his quality of life.  He ate right and exercised regularly.  He never ignored signs from his body that it needed attention.  Wisdom went for regular check-ups and followed his doctor’s advice.

As a result, Wisdom enjoyed great health.  He was able to remain mentally sharp and physically active throughout his life.  He knew that without his health that he wouldn’t be able to enjoy all he had worked to achieve.

Wisdom sought to always broaden his perspective

Wisdom told me that he felt one of the keys to his success was that he never let life grow stale.  He always maintained his curious and inquisitive mindset.  Instead of feeling threatened by change or new environments, Wisdom felt invigorated.  He loved the challenge and opportunity to learn.

Therefore, Wisdom made it a point to travel to new cultures.  He loved observing the differences in other countries.  He strived to learn some of the language and customs of every place he visited.  His efforts won him many friends around the world.

Wisdom tried new things whenever he could.  The adventure fueled his enthusiasm for life and kept things interesting for him.  Life with Wisdom was never boring.  He constantly inspired those around him to live life to the fullest in every way.

A life with Wisdom was a life well-lived

I count my relationship with Wisdom as one of the most important of my life.  He has always been there for me and has never let me down.  It has always been great knowing that I had a friend I could count on regardless of the circumstances.

Lately, for whatever reason, some of lost track of Wisdom.  They’ve let their relationship with him fade.  Have you met him?  If not, I hope you’ll stick around.  I’d love to introduce you to my friend.  Wisdom would also love to meet you.  Just a warning, he always seems to have a gift to offer new friends, so don’t be surprised.  I always tell people, but they still seem a little shocked when they realize what Wisdom has given them.

I hope I never lose or let my relationship with Wisdom fade.  I learn from him everyday.  I suppose that will never change.

How’s your relationship with Wisdom doing?

Photo by zedzap