He watched a PBS short
on pig farming which took
him back to his first church

in rural Kentucky and the
pig farmer family of gifted
kids, one of whom attempt-

ed suicide while in high
school and how he, in his
audacious, youthful ex-

uberance counseled her
out of her suicidal inclin-
ations while her indignant

sister confronted him with
his lack of expertise and
how he could ever think

that he could help her sister,
but he did, not by his skill,
but by the grace of God and

by the grace of God, she
went on to live a fruitful life
and then years later, he, the

then former pastor, heard
about her father’s suicide.
He just shook his head and

wondered what makes some
families tick and others not.
And then he thought, for just

a second, that if he were still
there, he could have helped
the pig farmer from taking

his life, except he was a lot
older and a lot wiser and
realized that he wouldn’t

have been of much help
and that the first time
had been beginner’s luck.