Daily Journal December 17, 1997, William Thomas Thompson. A daily reading, prayer and inspiration. Take time to be holy. I promise to write only one page per day. Can you and will you read one page per day? I promise nothing else. I must discipline myself to quality writing that is to the point, focused on serious matters and not just the time of day. Today I am to have dinner with my dear mother Esther Wood Thompson and my sister Nell Adams at a local restaurant. My mother is in perfect health in body and mind at 95, she was a school teacher when she married my father Lawrence Edwin Thompson, and I am the fourth child. Mother attended Winthrop College in Rock Hill, S.C.; she hears every word very well. Revelation 3-17, "Because thou sayest, I am rich and have need of" Today I purchased lunch for one of Greenville's richest men and his wife. The shocking response was, "I hate to think what this is going to cost me", I said, "not a thing sir, not a thing at all". I want nothing he has, not any of his money, not his advice, not his Benz and not his house or land. This man is at the top needing nothing from me. He has given to good causes in his life but he is one to require "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth". My guess is that no one ever paid for his lunch before that was not asking for something in return. I got a receipt in writing. Some times we can only reach people by giving. The world already took away everything my family and I had, all of our self made millions. Why should I care if I give my last dollar to buy food for rich or poor? I have done it by faith and God will supply my needs. A saying - If money can buy it, then it is cheap. "The love of money is the root of all evil". I see the end of money and all that makes us go round and round. Rev.18-17"in one hour money is naught. "nothing and knoweth not that thou art wretched, and miserable" I was visited last week by a very special person now living North of Chicago, who is the only person ever to see me paint art, my first painting on the big island of Hawaii in July 1989. Her name is Robin Costa Booth. Robin came for a 3 day visit to study my work. I was unaware until this visit that she has a degree in art from UH and is herself an artist. No person before has stood and cried while viewing one of my paintings except my family may have when I begun but for a different reason. I appreciate more than I can tell her visit to view the field of work I have done. I have learned much from Robins visit about the work I do. I do appreciate her interest and flying here to see and to collect it. Dr. Coral Crown of the University of Memphis has come and is to write about it. My purpose is only to paint the word of God. "Poor, blind and naked" Dear Lord, may we see ourselves as you do. If people here in the industrial South of textiles would remove their mind set of thinking art is extravagant and wasteful, then we too might finally enter the twentieth century. If ever a common man with good common sense will ever figure out the great educational value of visual art and will educate the educators, then the schools of today may finally begin to use the most valuable tool of higher learning available to them. Our system of schools is today in failure because the teachers graduated before they learned anything worthwhile in terms of thinking and teaching. Does art have a place in our society? Art is forever. I am forever into art. I appreciate all that have shown my art work.