For the first ten years of my life, I lived in a Sears and Roebuck ‘mail order’ frame house built by my grandfather, a carpenter who died before I was born.

While I was but a wee, callow youth, maybe three, my father took it upon himself to put a new ceiling in the middle bedroom of this house. When the project was finished, he posed his lovely wife and snot-nosed son on the carefully made-up bed under the new ceiling and proceeded to take a few celebratory snapshots.

Moments after he'd finished and taken the film from the camera, the adhesive holding the tiles in place went on strike. At first, the process seemed like slow motion as the interlocked tiles began to sag, one following another. Then the entire ceiling decided to get in on the act and joined in gleefully yielding to the laws of gravity.

Falling tiles were everywhere. I can only imagine how my father felt, but I can promise you it was more than a bit traumatic for a three-year old, even with his mother sitting beside him amidst the tumbling tiles. That is to say, I tuned up and began to squall.

I'll never know which one started singing, but, both being in the church choir, they were soon doing a pretty fair duet rendition of the old gospel song, "Joshua Fit The Battle of Jericho and the Walls Came Tumbling Down." Thanks to that song, instead of my world crashing down around me, I was in the middle of a great, and very messy, adventure, perfect for a three year old boy and for making good memories.

Note to readers - The following lyrics are provided for those who might be just a bit rusty on old gospel songs:

Joshua fit the battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho,
Joshua fit the battle of Jericho
and the walls came tumbling down.

You may talk about your king of Gideon,
you may talk about your man of Saul,
there's none like good old Joshua
at the battle of Jericho