On page 257, about two-thirds through the novel DEVIL MAKE A THIRD, the main character, Buck Bannon, has an important internal dialogue concerning how the killing of his best friend, Tobe Parody, fit in with God's plan:

"...Am I supposed to change? Now, how in the world can I just tell myself to change? I'm like I was made and it don't seem right for me to set about remaking a man, even if it is me. And how would I start? Godamighty, it just like I furnish a farmer- gave him land to work, seed to plant, and mules and tools. He'd do the best he could I reckon. Looks like I got furnished with whatever I am, and it's up to me to do the best with what I've got. I don't go behind and look up a farmer tryin' to furnish him with some more. After I've set him up, the rest is up to him..."

"If God had figured for a man to know what God was doing, He'd have made it that way. I reckon He's able to do it, but He don't. He just sticks them here, looks like, and tells them to work it out the best they can. So that's what I'll do. I'll go along, using what tools He gave me the best I know how, and if I manage better'n some, or worse'n some, it'll be my own crop. Hell, I ain't a man to change."

"I talk like a damn circuit rider."  https://privatepropertynotrespass.blogspot.com/

The following is an important internal dialogue from Buck Bannon, the main character in DEVIL MAKE A THIRD. At this point a third of the way through the book, Buck has settled into Aven and has experienced some success. His now owns Mr. Green's store, his parents, brothers and sisters  have moved into their new home in Dixie and he has a new bride, the daughter of his banker, and the newlyweds have their own home. This conversation Buck is having with himself summarizes the ambivalent feelings he has for the role he accepted when he decided to take "the first job somebody offers me, long as it ain't handling a tool.":

from Chapter 13, page 122-3:

Weather like this, part of Buck's mind would be with the farmer and himself as friends, working together to make the ground give up its goods; then another part of his mind would roll suddenly like a trout to a rain frog, and that part of his mind would whisper, "No crop, no pay." Unless you've got a note and then there're mules and tools and  sometimes land itself coming back for the feed and the seed, the side meat and the salt, the copper-toed shoes and the kettle that left the store. Then he'd pull away from that thought, and he'd say to himself that the ginning was done and the crop had been good, so what the hell if the frost never came to help out for next year. The hard money was there to shake loose the big stock of heavy coats and the bolts of fancy woolens that clogged the shelves of the store, Buck would try to convince himself that the storekeeper-furnisher took a chance and that big profits ought to come from big risks; then the thought would come to make him sweat, that whichever way the farmer moved, the storeman had him going and coming. That thought came now as he crossed the yard under the familiar chinaberry tree and he deliberately shook the guilty feeling away.

from the May 25, 1899 STANDARD GUAGE (Brewton)

 "Populist candidate" is Farmer's Alliance, the third party. My great Grandfather ran in '92 for sheriff of Geneva County as the "Alliance Candidate". That was the first year that they made the ballot. Grandpa Gap lost but later two of his sons won all their elections for the same office.

"The day he was born
GOD gave us one of a kind
& I'm glad he did
'Cause heroes are so hard to find"
January 26 is an important date in Paul Bryant's story but so is September 11, his birthday. I wrote an article in the Fall 2013 issue of CRIMSON MAGAZINE which was a commemoration of the centennial of Coach Bryant's birth. http://robertoreg.blogspot.com/2013_10_13_archive.html

This Sunday, January 26 will mark 37 years since Coach Bryant passed away. This month a music video for the song THE DAY BEAR BRYANT DIED was posted on Youtube for the first time. The video already had  over 1100 views.  Today, Thursday January 23, 2020 would have been Buddy's 79th birthday. Please help us spread the word about the song THE DAY BEAR BRYANT DIED on this special day by sharing this link, especially with your friends in the media.

Buddy Buie's own words describing the song, THE DAY BEAR BRYANT DIED:

"My dream is for “The Day Bear Bryant Died” to become an anthem for the Bama Nation. "

 "I am a professional songwriter and record producer. Over the years I have written over thirty songs that became hits, but few of them have been as heartfelt and emotional as the song Ronnie Hammond and I wrote one cold January day in 1983."

''My dream come true would be that song being played by the Million Dollar Band or up on that big (Jumbotron) screen.  I always thought, if the Alabama fans could hear this, they would love it as much as I do.''

"''I thought Ronnie sang the devil out of that song, so we didn't fool with his performance at all. It's basically the original demo, just dressed up. It's still got that emotion to it.''

"''I've been wrong before, but I've had about 30 hits that I've been right about. This song, if heard by enough Alabama fans, will become the theme for the Bama Nation. I truly believe that. I truly wish that.''

"My dream is to be in Bryant-Denny Stadium and the whole crowd sings along with the chorus!"

"... it's been near and dear to my heart and to Ronnie's heart because we just love it as a song. You know, sometimes songwriters like the songs that don't sell as much as they do the songs that sell. You know, the songs that are personal to them. This was one that was personal to us. I'm just thrilled that the people at Alabama, the alumni and people have been encouraging me to do something with this..."

" My dream is for this to be played at Bryant-Denny Stadium and for the crowd to sing along at the chorus and make Bear's...
I mean, his image is gonna live anyway but to go back to that day. 
It's like, 'Where were you when Kennedy was shot?'
Where we you when Bear Bryant died?
...and most people in Alabama remember that day!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZR-7G3ql8w&t=27s

 I posted this on THE DEVIL MAKE A THIRD BLOG back in August (March is the 100th anniversary of Buck's Death and last March was the 150th anniversary of his birth :

"Anyway, I'm proposing a BUCK BAKER DINNER somewhere in town next March and all we'll do is get acquainted, talk all things BUCK (this cat is an anti-hero in the same class as Randall P. McMurphy or Cool Hand Luke) and maybe set up a little portable TV studio and interview folks who have some "BAKER FAMILY MEMORIES" along with all the family heirlooms we can put together.(Maybe we'll even meet that weekend @ First Methodist and listen to Buck's chimes once more. Might even find out if we can play "DIXIE" on them...) "https://privatepropertynotrespass.blogspot.com/

from the May 11, 1899 MACON TELEGRAPH

HISTORY OF PAVO, GEORGIA http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/thomas/bios/gbs518peacock.txt

Ya know, the first Bible story is how God created everything and then it's THE GARDEN OF EDEN. When you begin to SERIOUSLY consider what it's gonna be like to MEET GOD, Adam's story becomes a lot more interesting. I've ALWAYS had an interest in Old Adam and contemplated just how close I am to the original man. I have a Grandmother who was born in 1883 and a Great Grandfather born in 1846. That's reachin' WAAAAAAY back but my son has a Great-Great Grandfather born in 1825. Well, yesterday I discovered that one of my closest buddies for over twenty years had a Grandfather born in Mobile in 1864!

This one goes out to all my Facebook friends in the legal profession. In the words of my dear departed father, "Don't make a lawyer, Bob. This family can't afford to have a paid liar." :

"I now see that great faith will, or ought, to give to every child of God great patience."

" Precisely," replied the Devil. " Have great faith in God, and you and the rest of unthinking mortals will abuse me less ; pray more, live better, and eventually die happier. Get right, and keep right, is my disinterested advice."

" Well," said the Doctor, " we will change the subject, and talk about the 'Temptation in the Garden of Eden.' I want to hear you on that."

"Very good," smiled the Devil. "I was there, and went by the name of Serpent, and you shall have an honest version of the affair, though I have been terribly slandered by you mortals."

"Well," said the Doctor ; " to be plain, you told old mother Eve a lie to begin with, and have been called the Father of Liars ever since."

"I am aware of the fact," smiled the Devil, " but how do you make out I told Eve a lie? I say I did not."

"Here it is, as plain as it is possible to put it in words : I read : 'And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die.' "

"I told her the truth," said the Devil, " as I under stood the words of God, and as you or any other reasoning mortal would have understood them."

"How is that ? " asked the Doctor.

"Hand me the Bible," said the Devil. "I read : ' But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it : for in the day ' — mark the expression — ' for in the day that thou eatest thereof ' — THOU, emphasized the Devil — ' THOU shalt surely die.' Now I ask you as an honest man, a seeker after truth and light, was anything said about a woman's eating? Woman had not then been created, if the second chapter of Genesis be a true history. Did God say, 'Nor your wife ' ? Had He done so, Adam would not have known what He was talking about. He understood the tree, for he saw it ; but he did not know anything about the woman part in the eating. THOU, was a very pointed command, and Adam understood it." (page 61-62 from THE DEVIL REVEALS HIMSELF)   https://books.google.com/books?id=FZgUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA61&lpg=PA61&dq=%22unthinking+mortals%22&source=bl&ots=qj9u3Wr9n2&sig=ACfU3U3xN-wE8Pf_vllsXmr29oW3RHL3PQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjYxcTin_7mAhXOVt8KHb6kDHgQ6AEwEXoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22unthinking%20mortals%22&f=false

THE DAY BEAR BRYANT DIED music video has been up OVER 100 HOURS & now has about 900 views which is great but it had almost 800 views AFTER 50 HOURS, so the video has kinda lost steam since it premiered on Facebook four days ago. If you like the video, please share it on Facebook. There's a good chance that the video may be featured in the media on Sunday, January 26, the 37th anniversary of Coach Bryant's death. Anything that my Facebook and ATLANTA RHYTHM SECTION friends can do to get the word out about this video will certainly be appreciated. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZR-7G3ql8w

Wanted to make sure you got to see the music video Bruce Wallace put together for us using THE DAY BEAR BRYANT DIED. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZR-7G3ql8w

Back in 2006, I transcribed your interview with Buddy.
https://robertoreg.blogspot.com/2006_04_30_archive.html#114662240741164344

Ironically, the late Courtney Haden used the transcript of your interview with Buddy to prove Harvey Updike was lying about hearing about Auburn students cheering Coach Bryant's death. https://robertoreg.blogspot.com/2011_02_20_archive.html#405972955465920348

"My mom was a member of Bobby Jones and the Pine Valley Gang, mentioned in this ad. In 1986, I tape-recorded an interview with her about her life and she remembered performing at this event. Here's what she said:
"We opened shows for Ray Price and the Cherokee Cowboys when he appeared here in his younger years with Carl Smith and Johnny Cash, when Johnny was on his way up in the 1950s. It was outside at the old ball stadium, and there was a large crowd. Although Price was a great singer, after seeing him that night it was my opinion that he was a bit on the arrogant side. After we introduced him and he got his show underway, a light sprinkle of rain started. Price yanked off his guitar.
"'I am not going to ruin my guitar for this,' he said loud enough the large crowd could hear. He walked off the stage, followed by his band. We were sitting in the audience so we could watch his show.
"'Okay, gang, let's hit it. These folks paid good money to see a show,' Bobby, our bandleader, said, when Price and his band walked offstage in that light sprinkle. We sprinted onstage. The crowd went wild when we continued the show, despite the light rain. They showed their appreciation by wild ovation when we finished each of our numbers. An unforgettable experience: I never hear Price sing that I don't get a mental picture of him walking offstage, then huddling in his big Cadillac, while we entertained the huge audience."
Incidentally, Mom's band broke up a year later and Price hired their steel guitarist, Julian Tharpe."

Hope you like it. Gloria Buie, Buddy's widow, gave me permission to use the song in this Youtube video as long as I mentioned Buddy Buie and Ronnie Hammond as songwriters and Eufaula Music as music publisher. Any help you can give us will be appreciated.

Best,

r   https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=iZR-7G3ql8w&feature=emb_logo

P.S. I also transcribed all of Paul Finebaum's interviews with the late Buddy Buie.  http://robertoreg.blogspot.com/2016_12_18_archive.html

Thanks to my fellow Dothan High Sr. '68 Bruce Wallace, the late Buddy Buie and the late Ronnie Hammond's song can be presented as it was meant to be. The music publisher is Eufaula Music. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=iZR-7G3ql8w&feature=emb_logo

from THE DIGNITY OF HUMAN NATURE, or, a brief account of the certain and established means for attaining THE TRUE END OF OUT EXISTENCE:

"How is the only Being, who possesses existence in himself, over-looked by those whom he himself has brought into being ! How does He, by whom all things exist, deem to such inconsiderate minds not to exist ! How do the glories of his works, which were intended to point him out, conceal from such unthinking minds the glorious Maker ! How do such ungrateful men basely take up with the gifts, without thinking on the All-bounteous Giver ! How much are those men of gross and earthly dispositions their own enemies ! How do they strive to feed their heaven-born minds with the unsatisfying and nauseous objects of sense ; depriving them of that sublime entertainment, for which they were intended, and which is ever offering itself to them, the contemplation and enjoyment of  Divinity, the possession of infinite perfection ! Open thy narrow mind, unthinking mortal. Enlarge thy confined desires. Raise thy groveling ambition. Quit the trifling objects which now possess, and which will in the end disappoint thee. Trample under thy feet the wretched amusements of riches, honors, and pleasures ; and aspire to what is worthy the dignity of thy nature, and thy Divine Original. It is thy Maker himself that is ready to take possession of thy mind. It is the Divinity himself, that would pour into thy soul delights ineffable, that would dwell in thee, and join thee to himself in an eternal union, which will raise thee to bliss and glory above thy most extensive wishes, beyond thy most elevated conceptions." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Burgh