(WRITTEN 5/3/2018)

I walked in. The light reflecting off the street gave a golden hue to everything, a bit like the sunsets in the old days, but better. Way better.

I recognized the barista. “Hey, Hezekiah, good to see you. I think I would like a medium coffee. Black.”

“You mean, grande?” We both laughed.

“I want to sit with someone new today. Who are the guys in the corner?”

“Oh, Randy, you will like them. I call them The Wise Guys Club. Those four are Judah’s grandsons. I think Solomon and Daniel are gonna be joining them in a little while.”

“And they are….?”

“Oh, yeah, Ethan, Heman, Kalcol, and Darda.”

I laughed again. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to these names y’all have.”

“Oh, yeah. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to ‘y’all’. Daniel! Whatcha gonna have today?”

Daniel and Solomon walked in together. “And I was telling them, ‘I guess I’ll just cut that baby in half…’ They thought I was serious.”

Daniel, shaking his head, smiling, “I know, I never get tired of that story. Hey, Hezekiah, how’s the kingdom? How ’bout a large coffee, no sugar, no cream?”

“You mean, venti, black?” Hezekiah, what a joker.

I followed them to the table, introduced myself all around, and said, “I remember one time reading through the Bible in the old days. The first time I noticed you, Ethan, Heman, Kalkol, and Darda in the book was when I was 66 years old. ”

“I know what he’s gonna say,” piped up Solomon.

“Yeah, Solomon, you always know, you’re so wise,” said Ethan.

“The wisest!” cracked Darda.

They all laughed uproariously.

“Yeah, you all know, right?” I said, “What I really wanted to know was, were you sad that you were not the wisest, that that honor was bestowed on Solomon, even mentioning you as the comparison.”

“Well, hey! Top four, baby!” shouted Kalkol. “We didn’t have wisdom, until God gave it to us, anyway. It was all Him!”

Daniel nodded. “Hey, there’s old Nebuchadnezzar skating by. I’m gonna go say ‘Hi. See you later guys.”

“The sons of Zerah: Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Dara, five in all.”

‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭2:6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser than Heman, Kalkol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations.”

‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭4:30-31‬ ‭NIV‬‬