John Tuttle

Another person from the McDonald's group is John Tuttle who's physical description was best described by Washington Irving's description of Ichabod Crane. John is seventy-six and served in the Korean war on the USS Oriskany, an aircraft carrier, and learned the trade of Lithography. He is now a retired preacher from the Evangelical Church here in Green Cove Springs. He graduated from High School and has been studying the Bible ever since. He says while he was in the Navy he did many things of which he is not proud, even smoked and drank, and when he got out he came to his senses and lived a righteous life. When I first met John, it was easy, after he said something, to make funny comments that made others laugh. At the time he would merely give a tight lipped smile and ignore the laughter. As we discuss the events of the day, he is fond of telling us what is in the Bible and where the vast majority of people are going wrong. At these times he quotes "Revelations" and says we are in the "end times". He says it is all there if we will just take the time to read it. One day I asked him: What is your most favorite book in the Bible? I had expected him to say Revelations but he surprised me when he said Matthew. I asked why, and he said: "Everything Christ wanted to pass to us on is in that book." During a discussion he happened to say: "You Catholics believe that you are the only ones that are going to heaven." There were three of us Catholics in the group at the time and I quickly called for a vote on who believed that. One Catholic, Bert, said he believed it and I was surprised by that. Bert said he heard it all the time at Church. I asked Bert if he understood what was meant by the doctrine "Body of Christ" and he said he never heard the term. John had that big wide grin on his face as if he had proved Catholics believed they were the only ones who will get to heaven. John had a stroke a while back and now has one leg that is frozen stiff, yielding a walk like a man on a wooden leg. He says he gets up eight times a night to pee. I told him he should be taking a drug to shrink his prostate and he answered that he was taking one for it. He is a gentle person and exudes wisdom and authority in his conversation. It disturbs him that there are so many people that do not want to work because he is convinced that God gave man work to aid in his salvation. He does laugh along with us and is not upset when he is the butt of a joke.