The Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot & Room For One More

[johnkarls]

.

---------------------------- Original Message -----------------------------
Subject: Zoom Discussion THIS WED Oct 16 of 2 movies – The Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot & Room For One More
Date: Thursday, October 10, 2024
To: To Each of Our 228 Members One-By-One
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To Each of Our 228 Members One-By-One – for reasons explained in the 4 postings in Sec. 2 of www.ReadingLiberally-SaltLake.org.


Dear Friends,

The following e-mail of 9/19/2024 announced the suspension of regular operations because we no longer have sufficient participation in our regular monthly meetings to fulfill our mission as a non-partisan public-policy study/action group.

[While making clear that our Working Groups which were formed whenever a particular policy issue (1) may require immediate action on the spur of the moment (rendering addressing it at the next regular monthly meeting impractical), and/or (2) may require long-term attention – and in which you were invited to participate upon their formation – will remain in operation.]

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The Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot & Room For One More

The 9/19/2024 announcement said we would be following the 4/10/2014 - 2/11/2015 model of my 9-month “leave of absence” to write a book about what happened in the lawsuits against 15 of the world’s largest financial institutions for the $84 billion that they owed me which had long since been pledged in legally-binding fashion to benefit the education of 10 million inner-city children.

[During that 9-month “leave of absence,” we had two meetings requested by members on particular topics, though there were no promotional materials such as short quizzes and discussion outlines.]

The 9/19/2024 announcement also said that to get IRRGULAR operations started, I will discuss by Zoom at our next regular meeting time (Wed Oct 16 – 6:30 pm MDT - 8:30 pm MDT) with anyone who might be interested –

“The Sound of Hope – The Story of Possum Trot” – currently the third posting in Sec. 3 of www.ReadingLiberally-SaltLake.org entitled “Possible Topics for Future Meetings.”

This was a movie which was in first-run theaters when the proposal was made 7/13/2024 and it is now available for purchase from Amazon.com for $14.99.

Possum Trot is a small unincorporated community in southeastern Shelby County, Texas. Originally settled by small farmers in the late 19th century, Possum Trot’s current residents are mostly working-class African-Americans.

“The Sound of Hope – The Story of Possum Trot” tells the story of how Baptist Rev. W.C. Martin and his wife Donna challenged their congregation to adopt all of the community’s children for whom there was no foster care.

“Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot” follows Donna and Reverend Martin as they ignite a fire in the hearts of their Possum Trot church to embrace kids in the foster system that nobody else would take. By doing the impossible -- adopting 77 children by 22 families -- this East Texas community proved that with real, determined love, the battle for America's most vulnerable can be won.”

NB: 77 was ALL of the children for whom there was no foster care.

ALSO UP FOR DISCUSSION ON OCT. 16 IS THE 1952 MOVIE “ROOM FOR ONE MORE” STARRING CARY GRANT AND HIS FIRST WIFE IN REAL LIFE, BETSY DRAKE, AS A MARRIED COUPLE WITH THREE CHILDREN OF THEIR OWN WHO THEN TAKE IN A TROUBLED TEEN AND THEN TAKE IN A SECOND TROUBLED TEEN.

“Room for One More” was featured 9/19/2024 on Turner Classic Movies and is available from Amazon for $2.99 to rent or $10.49 to buy.

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If you would like to participate in the Zoom discussion on Wed Oct 16 – 6:30 pm MDT – 8:30 pm MDT, please RSVP by hitting your Reply Button and typing RSVP -- and you will receive a URL for the Zoom meeting.

Please don’t be shy – we need new participants.

Your friend,

John K.

PS -- To un-subscribe, please press "reply" and type "deletion requested."



---------------------------- Original Message -----------------------------
Subject: Suspension of Regular Operations – The Story of Possum Trot (Oct 16)
Date: Thursday, September 19, 2024
To: To Each of Our 229 Members One-By-One
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To Each of Our 229 Members One-By-One – for reasons explained in the 4 postings in Sec. 2 of www.ReadingLiberally-SaltLake.org.


Dear Friends,

I am sad to report that we will be suspending regular operations.

The reason is that we no longer have sufficient participation in our regular monthly meetings to fulfill our mission as a non-partisan public-policy study/action group.

[Please see the 59 public-policy campaigns aimed at national/international leaders undertaken during our 19.5 years of existence, many of which have been surprisingly effective, in Sec. 1 of www.ReadingLiberally-SaltLake.org.]


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SIMILARITY TO YOURS TRULY’S “LEAVE OF ABSENCE” 4/10/2014 – 2/11/2015

Although we only had 150 subscribers to our weekly e-mail at that time (vs. 229 today), our “regular operations” were suspended while Yours Truly wrote a book about what happened in the lawsuits against 15 of the world’s largest financial institutions for the $84 billion that they owed me which had long since been pledged in legally-binding fashion to benefit the education of 10 million inner-city children.

Most of the info in that book already appeared (and still does) in Sections 4 and 5 of www.ReadingLiberally-SaltLake.org which are entitled “Legal Briefs, Etc. – Inner-City Holocaust and America’s ‘Apartheid’ Justice System (In Honor of Jonathan Kozol and In Memory of John Howard Griffin).”

The final posting in Sec. 5 is my 10/5/2011 letter to each of the 51 inner-city clergy who had been supporting the cause to (A) inform them that the US Supreme Court on 10/4/2011 refused to hear our final appeal, (B) thank them for their efforts with the solace that each of us would be able to say at The Pearly Gates with St. Paul (II Timothy 4:7): “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” and (C) request them and their congregants to pray for the 43 news-media superstars and the 21 governmental officials who had refused to help, the lower-court judges and the U.S. Supreme Court Justices, that MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON THEIR SOULS!!!

NB: Previous correspondence with the 51 inner-city clergy had often referred to America’s “Apartheid” Justice System which routinely issues decisions that cannot be cited or published so as not to disturb the law that applies to Mainstream America as “THE SEGREGATED TOILET”!!!

NB: Using the term “Holocaust” in the title of Sections 4 & 5 of www.ReadingLiberally-SaltLake.org was not disrespectful to the victims of Hitler’s Holocaust because America’s Inner-City Holocaust does condemn our inner-city children to A FATE WORSE THAN DEATH and 10 million inner-city children would have received individual tutors and mentors from third grade through high school graduation with a guarantee of college tuition.


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THE STORY OF POSSUM TROT – OCT 16

During the 9-month sabbatical in 2014-2015, we actually had two regular-style meetings proposed by a dozen-or-so of our-then 150 e-mail recipients.

However, other than a single e-mail each time to our-then 150 recipients to provide a Heads Up, there were no other promotional materials such as Short Quizzes, Discussion Outlines, etc.

We will follow that model until such time, if ever, that we have sufficient participation to resume “regular operations.”

In the meantime, Yours Truly will discuss at our next regular meeting time (Wed Oct 16 – 6:30 pm MDT – 8:30 pm MDT) with anyone who might be interested –

“The Sound of Hope – The Story of Possum Trot” – currently the third posting in Sec. 3 of www.ReadingLiberally-SaltLake.org entitled “Possible Topics for Future Meetings.”

This was a movie which was in first-run theaters when the proposal was made 7/13/2024 and it is now available for purchase from Amazon.

Possum Trot is a small unincorporated community in southeastern Shelby County, Texas. Originally settled by small farmers in the late 19th century, Possum Trot’s current residents are mostly working-class African-Americans.

“The Sound of Hope – The Story of Possum Trot” tells the story of how Baptist Rev. W.C. Martin and his wife Donna challenged their congregation to adopt all of the community’s children for whom there was no foster care.

“Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot” follows Donna and Reverend Martin as they ignite a fire in the hearts of their Possum Trot church to embrace kids in the foster system that nobody else would take. By doing the impossible -- adopting 77 children by 22 families -- this East Texas community proved that with real, determined love, the battle for America's most vulnerable can be won.”

NB: 77 was ALL of the children for whom there was no foster care.

ALSO UP FOR DISCUSSION ON OCT. 16 IS THE 1952 MOVIE “ROOM FOR ONE MORE” STARRING CARY GRANT AND BETSY DRAKE AS A MARRIED COUPLE WITH THREE CHILDREN OF THEIR OWN WHO THEN TAKE IN A TROUBLED TEEN AND THEN TAKE IN A SECOND TROUBLED TEEN.

“Room for One More” was featured 9/19/2024 on Turner Classic Movies and is available from Amazon for $2.99 to rent or $10.49 to buy.


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WORKING GROUPS

Our Working Groups will NOT be affected by our Suspension of Regular Operations.

As explained on the face of Sec. 8 of www.ReadingLiberally-SaltLake.org, we invite all of our weekly e-mail recipients to join a “Working Group” whenever a particular policy issue (1) may require immediate action on the spur of the moment (rendering addressing it at the next regular monthly meeting impractical), and/or (2) may require long-term attention.

Working Groups currently operating include our –

Thorium-Fission Working Group;
Iran-Nuclear Deal (aka JCPOA) Working Group; and
Pelosi’s Parliamentary (vs. Presidential) Form of Government Working Group

NB: The Pelosi Working Group will remain in existence until Nancy Pelosi leaves Congress.


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VALEDICTION

We hope for better days for our organization.

If this should prove to be our last e-mail, please permit us to thank you for your support and to wish each of you nothing but happiness in the years ahead!!!

Your friend,

John K.