This is article I wrote for The Henry County Times. But after asking me to write for them because I was “edgy” they denied it based on fact that I inserted myself in the article, and they implied that it had no merit, was not coherent, and was not interesting. But I had such a great time interviewing Dr. Crumbly that I wanted to post it anyway.
A feeling of calm excitement entered my head as I hung up the phone with the retired chiropractic doctor. We had just set up a time to talk about his latest book, “A Rhyme a Day Keeps the Devil at Bay,” and his smooth, aged, confident tone put me at ease.
The afternoon sun was playing hide and seek in the clouds as my wife and I pulled up to Dr. Gene Crumbley’s pleasant McDonough home. He was waiting for us in the glassed in porch. We sat down on comfortable wicker furniture and began chatting.
Since I am a hard-hitting journalist I started off with the most difficult question, “Did you get to golf this morning?” He shot me a toothy small and said yes, someone was able to look after his wife, Norma. With the hard stuff out of the way we jumped into his new book with takes passages from the Bible and puts them into poetic paraphrase, his book second which does this, his first to Bible stories.
“What made you continue writing in rhyme?” I asked.
“First of all, God gave me the talent.” He continued to tell me that before graduating High School on ’45 he would often make posters for school events, some of them containing rhyme. And then, when he and his wife started his chiropractic practice in ’58, he would write personalized cards to patients for special occasions, often containing rhyme.
When he retired at age 70 he was persuaded by family to write a book which we now know as “Bible Stories in Rhyme and Other Poems.” And he was done. Or at least he thought he was.
Not too long after his first Biblical rhyming book was out people started asking the question that every author gets, “When is your next book coming out?” and Dr. Crumbley shrugged it off. But then his daughter-in-law began to question, and he started to entertain the idea. Golf buddies’ wives started asking. People he never met began to ask, and finally he felt God was giving him the green light. But what kind?
When his family suggested that his next book be a rhyme for every day he thought that was a task too tall; that it would take years and years. But after nine months “A Rhyme a Day” was born, with almost every page, cover to cover, coated with encouraging paraphrased poetry. Like this one:
There is a time for everything
For everything there’s a season.
A time to be born and a time to die;
Only God knows the reason.
There’s a time to build, and tear down,
A time to laugh, and one to weep,
A time to throw something out,
And there’s also a time to keep.
There is a time to shut up
And bring a conversation to an end,
Sometimes that time to shut up,
Is before any talking begins;
Everything is beautiful in its time
And everything God does endures,
Nothing can be added or taken away
All gifts from God are clean and pure.
Reference: Ecclesiastes 3:1-14
I continued chatting with Dr. Crumbley, which I was glad for. He felt like a long lost relative, and I was catching up.
“My other book?” he asked after I questioned him about another project he was working on. In a jiffy, he had bound from his seat and was off. When he returned he was carrying a plastic bound draft version of his book, “Birds, Butterflies, and other Critters.” As I turned the pages I saw hundreds beautiful photographs taken by Gene. And underneath each one was a clever informative poem about whichever critter was pictured, and all told from the perspective of what a little girl, peeking out her window, would see. It was amazing.
“What are hopes?” I asked, “For the wildlife book?
Gene thought briefly about his book of birds. “It would be great for education,” he said. Good for adults because the photos are fantastic and great for children because it’s graspable.
“And for Rhyme a Day?”
There was no hesitation this time.
“I hope that God would be glorified,” he said, “that it would spread all over the world. That someone sees it, and it doesn’t matter if they are Christian or not, and find it an awesome way to find encouragement.”
I was not surprised by the sincerity in his voice, the assuredness in his eyes, and the humbleness in his demeanor.
We took a few more pictures and began to wrap up.
“If you don’t mind me asking,” I said, “can I ask what your wife suffers from.”
“Norma has osteoporosis. She is not quite, but almost an invalid. It’s very hard for me, being a Chiropractor, and not being able to do anything. Her bones are too weak.” Too brittle. Too fragile.
And there it was. There he was. A man with a smile that will warm your heart, and a voice that will calm your soul. With every reason to feel bitter, and shake his fists at the irony of the Almighty, he simply smiled. “Find it an encouragement,” he said about his poetry. He is not spouting some gimmick to get rich, or get fame.
I was humbled.
I left then, and feel now, with that same feeling of humility. And I flip through the pages of “A Rhyme a Day” and I am encouraged.
Dr. Gene Crumbley is not a Dr. Suess, or Silverstein, or even a Prelutsky nor is he a Yates, or a blake or a Longfellow. He is simply a godly man of poetry. He is an honest man of rhyme.
