David Cunningham
More of Tracy's tribute to my brother Don. Reached the word limit before.Sorry.
He taught me about guns, how to shoot, the world, women, beer, whiskey and a lot more. That included of course; Harley Davidson motorcycles.
I ate my first wild game at his house; everything from fish and squirrel to rabbit and rattlesnake.
Mainly he was a friend and at that time the only one I had. I wanted to be like him; free, a rebel, an outlaw, an Old Cowboy. He helped me when I was in real trouble and helped me to see a whole world out there that I could explore. He gave me HOPE and a reason to keep going. Didn’t matter to him if I was doing wrong or right, he was there and I could talk to him. He would listen and give the best advice he had. We had farmed a bond that would never break. But time would move on. I became a young man, married a wonderful woman and had two boys of my own. The Old Cowboy raised his two sons, with the help of his beautiful wife Brenda, and moved to town.
I gave my heart and life to God on February 22, 1994 and answered a call to preach the Gospel that had been there since I was a boy. In 2001 or 2002, I asked God to help me get the Gospel to my friend Don; The Old Cowboy. It would not be an easy thing as his take at the time was; there is no God. But over a time of more than 15 years, and in the beginning only talking about it when he was drunk, he and I sat on the back porch and talked about the Gospel, the Love of God and what and why Jesus died for us; and just as sober as you stand here today. Finally one day the Old Outlaw Cowboy looked at me and said, “I get it, I understand it, it all makes sense now”. Not long after that, just a couple years ago, sitting in the living room with him and his wife, he told us he made peace with God. He said thanks to Brenda and me, he finally understood it. He knew God loved him, Jesus died and shed his blood for him and had risen from the grave and was in Heaven with God. He had accepted that and made Peace with God. He asked me if I would Baptize him, but not in a church. No, he was still an Old Outlaw Cowboy; had to be in a creek or the river.
He told me several times afterwards that he blamed God for all the bad things in life and the mistakes he made with family and friends. But now looking back, that it was the Devil, and he knew he was real and very persuasive, but it was all his own fault. He wished he had been better to his family, but at the time he did the best he could.
He also told me that he always figured there had to be a God. All things had to start from something. But that religion had confused him early on in life and how could any man accept something that he did not understand. He said that back when I told him how I had to find out, at one point in my life, if the Bible was real or not, and what I found out about it was kind of a turning point.
In the beginning of the story neither of us knew God but we would both need a friend. In the last several years the Old Cowboy would say to me, “You’re the only friend I’ve got”. To which I would always reply, “When we started out you were the only friend I had”.
In the end we both met God along the way and we both helped one another simply by being a friend.
Proverbs 18:24
A man that hath friends must show himself friendly; and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
Romans 8:35 - 39
Neither height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The above was written by Tracy Ferguson upon Don’s passing. Tracy was a lifelong friend of my brother, Don Cunningham. He was, in the last many years, closer to my brother than anyone…sadly even me. I am glad Don had a friend like Tracy and I told Tracy that. His response was, “It was an Honor to be Don’s friend”. I will never forget that.
Thank you Tracy
