An Australian air traffic
controller left some airline passengers up in
the air. The controller overslept and arrived
late to work. As a result the control tower at
Canberra International Airport opened 20 minutes
late, which forced an arriving Quantas Boeing
737 from Perth to circle over the city for
twenty minutes because the only person on duty
at the tower was not senior enough to issue a
clearance for the plane to land.
Ben Mitchell, spokesman for
Air Services Australia acknowledged the error.
He said, "The guy slept in." Mitchell said the
passengers were never in any danger and the
plane was able to land only 12 minutes after its
scheduled arrival time. Authorities have changed
the roster to ensure that two senior controllers
are present when the tower opens to eliminate
the problem, assuming both wake up on
time.
—http://abcnews.go.com,
Sleepy Air Controller Causes Delay, September 1,
2005. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Jim
Sandell.
Romans
13:11-12 (NKJV) "And do this, knowing the
time, that now it is high time to awake out of
sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when
we first believed. [12] The night is far spent,
the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off
the works of darkness, and let us put on the
armor of light."
ALERT
It is a homeowner’s worst nightmare, to walk in
on a burglary, but this time, it was more
bizarre than scary—the homeowner in Hillsboro
Oregon discovered the robber asleep on the
floor, with his pockets filled with loot.
Deputies believe he entered the home through an
unlocked door.
This story illustrates the importance of being
alert from both points of view. For the burglar,
it is a reminder that sleeping on the job isn’t
a good idea—for the homeowner, it is a reminder
to lock the doors. –Jim L. Wilson
Deputies: Attempted burglar found asleep on
floor
http://news.yahoo.com/deputies-attempted-burglar-found-asleep-floor-025248040.html
(accessed
9/25/12)
1 Corinthians 16:13 (ESV) Be watchful, stand
firm in the faith, act like men, be
strong.
ALERT
On a Post Office in New York City reads,
“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of
night stays these couriers from the swift
completion of their appointed rounds.” What
about dogs?
About 2:40 p.m., Aug 29, 2013, on the East Side
of Youngstown, Ohio, officers were called to the
700 block of Verona Avenue when an assistant dog
warden and paramedics called for help after a
letter carrier, Shawn Miller, suffered a bite
from his lower jaw to his eye, reports said.
While there, the dog’s owner, Robert Baldowski,
60, was rude to emergency workers, according to
reports.
Reports said Baldowski would not give
information to police, and he also said Miller
was at fault for provoking his dog, a
Rottweiler-Doberman mix.
Baldowski said he served in the Vietnam War and
did not care that the letter carrier was
injured, reports said.
David Van Allen of the U.S. Postal
Service in Cleveland said Miller has been
working for the postal service since 2012 and
was assigned to the Cornersburg office, which
delivers mail to the East side. He said
Cornersburg leads the city in dog-bite incidents
with four.
This postal carrier delivered mail fully aware
that dogs might attack on his route. Christians
should be equally cautious in delivering the
good news. The world and even people within the
church seek to maul the true followers of Jesus
Christ. —Jim L. Wilson and Randy Langham
Philippians 3:2 (CEV) Watch out for those
people who behave like dogs! They are evil and
want to do more than just circumcise you.
ALERT
Kristopher Wenberg, says he didn’t hear the
train approaching as the conductor hit the
brakes and blew the horn—he couldn’t hear
because of the music playing through his
headphones. Unfortunately, Wenberg was at the
wrong place at the wrong time—he was walking
down a railroad train track when he was struck
by the train.
Fortunately, he was able to walk away from the
incident. I wonder if he will turn the
music down and start paying attention?—Jim L.
Wilson
1 Peter 5:8 (NASB) Be of sober spirit, be on
the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls
around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to
devour.
ALERT
11-year old Gloria Johnson
of Chatham, Michigan says she saw a spider
crawling out of a bag of grapes she was washing
in the sink. Her 3-year old sister had already
eaten some of the grapes, but was unharmed.
A crawling spider is one
thing, a roaring lion another—We must remain on
the alert, because our enemy prowls around like
a roaring lion.—Jim L. Wilson
1 Peter 5:8 (NLT) Stay
alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the
devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion,
looking for someone to devour.
ALERT
A tourist in Australia had to be rescued by
police after she walked off a pier while
browsing Facebook on her phone. Authorities said
the woman was walking along a bay in Melbourne
and was too busy looking at her Facebook page to
notice she was near the edge of the pier.
Fortunately, a bystander saw the woman fall, and
called for help. Police found her floating on
her back about 65 from the pier. She told police
that she was floating because she couldn’t swim.
Senior Constable Dean Kelly of the state water
police said she still had her phone in her hand.
Kelly added, ”With Facebook, or social media in
general as far as we’re concerned, if you’re
anywhere near the water just pay attention,
especially if you can’t swim.”—Jim L. Wilson and
Jim Sandell
Tourist distracted by Facebook falls off pier,
http://news.msn.com/world/tourist-distracted-by-facebook-falls-off-pier,
Accessed
December 18, 2013.
Mark 4:19 (NASB) but the worries of the world,
and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires
for other things enter in and choke the word,
and it becomes unfruitful.
ALERT
Have you ever had a dream where you are
free-falling, only to wake up in bed? Ryan
Campbell, wasn’t dreaming when he fell down a
60-foot cliff in the Daniel Boone National
Forest in Kentucky, but he was sleeping.
He is OK, suffering only minor injuries.
While fully awake people can fall, the
likelihood is increased when sleepwalking while
camping near a cliff. –Jim L. Wilson
Being alert is more than merely being awake, it
is watchful diligence.
1 Peter 5:8 (HCSB) Be serious! Be alert! Your
adversary the Devil is prowling around like a
roaring lion, looking for anyone he can
devour.
ALERT
A China Eastern airplane had to abort its July
8, 2014 early-morning landing into the Wuhan
airport because the air traffic controllers were
sleeping. –Jim L. Wilson
1 Corinthians 16:13 (HCSB) Be alert, stand firm
in the faith, act like a man, be strong.
ALERT
Eva Lenfest made a wrong turn and drove down an
unfamiliar rode covered in leaves, what she did
not know is that it was not a road, it was a
boat ramp. And since the surface of the water
was also covered in leaves, she didn’t discover
her mistake until the car was sinking.
When Bryden Burlseon and Howard Whitcomb saw
what happened, they rescued the ninety-two year
old woman just before her car was completely
covered in water. This wasn’t the first time
someone made this mistake, the police report
that someone else drowned in the harbor when
they made a similar mistake. If not for
the alertness of Burlseon and Whitcomb,
Lenfast’s fate could have been similar.
Ezekiel 3:17-19 (HCSB) “Son of man, I
have made you a watchman over the house of
Israel. When you hear a word from My mouth, give
them a warning from Me. (18) If I say to the
wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ but you do
not warn him—you don’t speak out to warn him
about his wicked way in order to save his
life—that wicked person will die for his
iniquity. Yet I will hold you responsible for
his blood. (19) But if you warn a wicked person
and he does not turn from his wickedness or his
wicked way, he will die for his iniquity, but
you will have saved your life.
ALERT
Nineteen year old Taylor went to sleep and woke
up nine miles away in a different town. Her
journey included riding a bus, and walking in a
convenience store, all while she was
asleep.
Taylor suffers from somnambulism, more commonly
referred to as sleepwalking. Her father, Steve
Gammel said, “She just starts walking. And I
don’t think she knows where she's going or what
she’s doing which makes it even scarier.”
Luke 21:36 (HCSB) But be alert at all times,
praying that you may have strength to escape all
these things that are going to take place and to
stand before the Son of Man.”
ALERT
The Goochland Sheriff’s
Office in central Virginia has issued a warning
for people playing a popular Smartphone game.
The sheriff’s office is warning those searching
for Pokémon to be watchful because playing a
game is not an excuse for trespassing. The
“augmented reality” game encourages players to
wander in the physical world to find and catch
new Pokémon on their screens. Deputies said they
have found people on business, church, and
government properties late at night when the
grounds are closed. They said the increase in
calls about suspicious activity and trespassing
puts both the public and law enforcement at
risk. –Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell
Sheriff warns: Stop
trespassing to find Pokémon on new app,
https://www.yahoo.com/news/sheriff-warns-stop-trespassing-pokemon-app-193120195.html?nhp=1,
Accessed
July 11, 2016.
1 Peter 5:14 (HCSB)“Greet
one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of
you who are in Christ.”
WATCHFULNESS
New research suggests that
smartphones are influencing the way people
think, even when they are not using them.
Adrian Ward of the University of Texas at
Austin led a team that conducted experiments
to test how smartphones affect the ability to
think and function in the world “off-screen”
Researchers found that the presence of a
smartphone seems to use up cognitive capacity
even when the person is not thinking about it.
They also found that the more a person
depended on their phone, the worse they
performed on cognitive tests. They found that
placing the phone face down or turning it off
did not appear to lessen the brainpower it
consumed. Instead, researchers said they only
thing they found that helped was placing the
device in another room. —Jim L. Wilson &
Jim Sandell
Smartphones
are distracting even when you’re not using
them, by David Trilling,
2 Chronicles
16:9 (CSB) “For the eyes of the Lord
roam throughout the earth to show himself strong
for those who are wholeheartedly devoted to him.
You have been foolish in this matter. Therefore,
you will have wars from now on.”
WATCHFULNESS
The United States
government has released a new rule that
requires hybrid and electric cars to make
noise when traveling at low speeds in order to
protect pedestrians. The rule is designed to
prevent about 2,400 pedestrian injuries a
year, by making the nearly silent vehicles
more noticeable, especially to the blind or
others with poor eyesight. The vehicles will
be required to make audible noise when
traveling in reverse or forward at speeds up
to about 19 miles-per-hour. Transportation
Secretary Anthony Fox said, “We all depend on
our senses to alert us to possible danger.
With more, quieter hybrid and electric cars on
the road, the ability for all pedestrians to
hear as well as see the cars becomes an
important factor of reducing the risk of
possible crashes and improving safety.”—Jim L.
Wilson & Jim Sandell
Vroom: Gov't to Require Hybrid, Electric
Cars to Make Noise,
1 Peter 5:8
(CSB) “Be sober-minded, be alert. Your
adversary the devil is prowling around like a
roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.”
ALERT
Dylan
McWilliams
has survived a rattlesnake bite in Utah, a
black bear mauling in Colorado, and a shark
attack near Kauai. What are the odds? While
three deadly encounters are rare, there is one
that you can count on. Satan is always poised
to attack followers of Jesus Christ and we
must be alert. —Jim L. Wilson
As
wildfires ravaged California in 2018, the city
of Paradise was essentially destroyed.
Amidst the fire and destruction, families fled
their homes, leaving everything behind.
The Copsey family was one of the many families
that left as the fire raced toward their
home. In their haste, they were unable
to take the family dog, Ella. Leahna
Copsey thought about Ella as she worried over
her home and her community. The Copsey
family was safe. And the Copsey home was
one of the few homes left standing after the
fire came through. Amazingly, Ella was
also left safe, singed, but alive. Ella
was found standing guard over her empty
home. She was outside the home, watching
the home. The family she loved was not
in the home, but she continued to keep watch.
–Jim L. Wilson and Jeffrey Lemasters Tahir
Matthew 28:1–10 (CSB)“After
the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was
dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went
to view the tomb. There was a violent
earthquake, because an angel of the Lord
descended from heaven and approached the tomb.
He rolled back the stone and was sitting on it.
His appearance was like lightning, and his
clothing was as white as snow.The
guards were so shaken by fear of him that they
became like dead men. The angel told the women,
‘Don’t be afraid, because I know you are looking
for Jesus who was crucified.He is
not here. For he has risen, just as he said.
Come and see the place where he lay. Then go
quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen
from the dead and indeed he is going ahead of
you to Galilee; you will see him there.’ Listen,
I have told you.’ So, departing quickly from the
tomb with fear and great joy, they ran to tell
his disciples the news.Just
then Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’ They
came up, took hold of his feet, and worshiped
him. Then Jesus told them, ‘Do not be afraid. Go
and tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and
they will see me there.’”
ALERT
Steel Lafferty was
concentrating on his approach to the green when
a 7-foot Alligator strolled in front of him.
Lafferty didn’t notice. When asked about his
steel nerves, Lafferty said, “I had to make par
on the hole because we had a bet going and I was
more worried about winning the bet than getting
eaten."—Jim L. Wilson
Ephesians 6:18 (CSB) “Pray at
all times in the Spirit with every prayer and
request, and stay alert with all perseverance
and intercession for all the saints.”
ALERT
Signs
around
the Baunei on the island of Sardina warn
tourists in Italian and English that they
should not follow directions on Google Maps
while on the island. Mayor Salvatore Corrias
said they received 144 emergency calls over
the past two years from drivers and hikers who
got stranded or lost while trying to find
“hidden” beaches. Corrias said a lot of cars
were getting stuck on impassable roads because
they followed misleading directions received
from the map program. The mayor said they have
contacted Google Maps about correcting the
errors, but in the meantime, they recommend
tourist use paper maps instead. A
representative from Google Maps said they are
also investigating the situation.—Jim L.
Wilson and Jim Sandell
Be
alert, stand firm in the faith, be courageous,
be strong.
ALERT
Maybe you’ve heard before
that without a shepherd to follow, sheep will
follow sheep, even if it kills them. That
happened recently in Istanbul, Turkey.
Following the sheep in front
of them, one at a time, 1500 sheep jumped off a
cliff. Where were the shepherds? They had left
the flock to graze as they had breakfast.
Some survived the fall
because the sheep that went before them
cushioned their fall, but nearly 1/3 of them
died a needless death. —Jim L. Wilson and Kevin
Sanders
Shepherd
God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of
compulsion but willingly, as God would have you;
not out of greed for money but eagerly; not
lording it over those entrusted to you, but
being examples to the flock.
ALERT
The Golden Globe Awards,
pandemic style in 2021 had the nominees at home
watching the show and being filmed
simultaneously. The twitterverse went crazy when
it appeared that Al Pacino was sleeping (or
looking down so it appeared that his eyes were
closed) during his category-- Best Actor in a
Television Drama Series for his role in
“Hunters.”
For the record, he’s had 19
nominations but only 4 wins,
https://www.goldenglobes.com/person/al-pacino
1 Peter 1:13 (CSB)
Therefore, with your minds
ready for action, be sober-minded and set your
hope completely on the grace to be brought to
you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
ALERT
Nick Slatten was
excited to tell his fiancée that he’d won
$1,178,746.00 in the Tennessee Lottery, so he
headed over to her work, taking the ticket
with him. Afterward, he ran some errands but
later discovered that he’d lost the ticket—so
he retraced his steps, finding the ticket
about an hour later in the parking lot of an
auto parts store right next to a parked car.
"It's a million-dollar
ticket, and someone stepped right over it,"
Slatten said.
“Pray at all times in
the Spirit with every prayer and request, and
stay alert with all perseverance and
intercession for all the saints.”
ALERT
Jesse
Johnson
of the Las Cruces, NM Fire Department answered
a call on March 28, 2021, to help an
Albertson’s shopper. The shopper left the
windows of his car down as he ran into the
store to buy a few things. As he was driving
away, he discovered that he had a few unwanted
passengers aboard—there were around 15,000
bees in his car. He pulled over and called for
help.
Johnson,
an
apiarist in his spare time, came with all the
equipment he needed to coax the swarm into
temporary hives so he could relocate them. It
is good that the Fire Department had one of
its own with bee keeping skills.
I
wonder if the shopper will roll up his windows
next time he runs into the store.
Genesis 4:7 (CSB)
If
you do what is right, won’t you be accepted?
But if you do not do what is right, sin is
crouching at the door. Its desire is for you,
but you must rule over it.”
ALERT
Jackie wore
the same shirt to her company’s
zoom meetings during the pandemic. She knew
that someone would say something,
but they didn’t—not even when she finally
broke down and said something about
it herself on her final day of work. No one
had noticed.
“Watch! Be alert! For you don’t
know when the time is coming.
“It is like a man on a journey,
who left his house, gave authority
to his servants, gave each one his work, and
commanded the doorkeeper to be
alert. Therefore be alert, since you don’t
know when the master of the house is
coming—whether in the evening or at midnight
or at the crowing of the rooster
or early in the morning. Otherwise, when he
comes suddenly he might find you
sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to
everyone: Be alert!”
ALERT
A mama bear and her cubs were
perched atop a cinder block fence in
Bradbury, California when the dogs that lived
in the backyard responded by
running toward the intruders and barking at
them. The mama bear did what mama
bears do, she started swatting at the dogs.
Hailey Morinico, a teenage girl
looked up from her gardening to see
that the bear was threatening her animals and
ran toward the intruders. When
she reached them, she pushed the mama bear off
the wall and gathered up her
dogs bringing them to safety.
In retrospect, she is thinking it
was not the wisest thing she’s
ever done. "Don't do what I did,” she said,
“you might not have the same
outcome."
