The Journey Continues: Bibb Underwood
My journey this week took me to the home of Bibb Underwood. Our paths had recently crossed at the Noon Lion’s Club meeting when he was a speaker sharing stories from his latest book, "Crumbs for a Hungry Soul."
The home visit became more of an encounter as we talked. There are some uncanny parallels of our journeys. The first, we are soldiers.
Underwood leads off in the book with an essay on “Grunts,” and I quote: “In combat there is a bonding that develops as in no other circumstance. I don’t know if it is love, faith, trust, or some unnamed feeling. But it is permanent.”
As combat soldiers we already knew each others' hearts as we shared our lives. I recorded these similarities from our journeys:
• Both of us are products of rural west Texas and traditional agrarian roots and both of us had eaten “second table” at our grandparents' homes, i.e.: eating chicken backs, wings livers and gizzards.
• Education: Underwood grew up Millersview, population 500 and graduated from Lohn High School with 13 others. I grew up in Sylvester, population 150, and graduated from Trent High School with 11 others.
• No telephones in our homes
• Both participated in Vocational Agriculture FFA projects specializing in pigs. And about sports, our small schools meant we suited out for football, basketball, etc.
• Four years at Texas A&M College: Underwood graduated with a degree in Agriculture/Agronomy. I graduated with a degree in Agriculture Education.
• Both Distinguished military graduates
• Both Army Infantry
• Both troop leaders in combat earning valor awards (both Airborne qualified)
• Both received Army-funded advance degrees, Underwood in psychology and myself in sociology
• Both drawn to writing; Underwood has written over 200 columns in Daily Record and many featured articles, including his current series on pastors and churches. I've been working on three years writing this weekly column.
• We both made changes in our worldview and left behind old bias and stereotyping, learning tolerance and equality along the journey.
• Both serving with people from many other backgrounds, having commanders and supervisors that were minorities.
• Both of us have lived in foreign countries, a long way from west Texas.
Other life-style similarities:
• Underwood wrote “I do not shop, I buy.” As for me, I sit in the car while Judy shops.
• On Politics: buy his book if you want to find out his politics.
Our Biggest Difference:
Underwood is a champion of physical fitness. Gleaned from eight essays in his book, he wrote on how he changed from jogging at age 70 to cycling. My short exercise essay would be limited to walking. Most times when I have the urge to exercise, I sit down and let it pass as soon as possible.
On how we landed in San Marcos:
• Underwood: “My wife and I were on our way from Killeen to San Antonio to peruse the real estate in that city when we decided to stop in San Marcos for a cup of coffee…she picked up a copy of the Daily Record, called a real estate agent and we left town that evening with a contract on our house. We were settled in San Marcos in three months.” Underwood was a family counselor for the next 20 years.
• Myself, I was a pastor in Winters and taking my daughter to Texas A&M when the Holy Spirit revealed me to call San Marcos Baptist Academy, a place I didn’t know and where I’d never been. Jimmie Scott answered the phone and within a week I was on duty where I spent the next five years, as well as planting Redwood Baptist Church. Underwood’s life verse is:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made, without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.”
John 1:1-5
At the close of our discussion, with a total of 48 years of service to the nation while in uniform, on impulse I asked Underwood since it was not in his book: “Do you own a gun?” He replied, “NO.” I quickly followed up, “I do not own a gun either.” The statement had been made Guns, an American conversation, went no further.
Bibb Underwood is the father of four children; two sons named Michael – who is deceased – and Chuck, as well as two daughters, named Jamie and Renee. His church membership is at First United Methodist Church, San Marcos.
