If I had to pick just one incident in Southern Gospel Music that completely caught everyone everywhere off guard, it would be the passing of Rex Nelon. Rex, if you'll recall, was in England with the Gaither Homecoming Tour when passed away on January 23, 2000. He was 68.

Many people remember Rex as the ultra classy dignified statesman-type gentleman that made a living in Southern Gospel Music singing and as a music publisher.

I remember Rex as a big kid trapped in an older man's body.

Back in April, I wrote in an edition of Danny's Diary these thoughts....

"Rex Nelon was a geniune Christian with a heart the same size as Texas - and a hunger for practical jokes to match. He would spare no expense to pull a practical joke on anyone. Anyone - from his pastor to another group member to his own family to anyone unfortunate enough to be in the right place at the wrong time - was fair game.

"I was in the right place at the wrong time a lot.

"At concerts, he'd wait until I had a drink in my hand and THEN he'd walk up behind me and goose me. Or stick one of those electric hand buzzers in his hand and walk up and start shaking my hand while I was talking to someone else. Or, he'd shoot a rubber band at me from across the aisle at the NQC.

"That did, however, backfire on him one time. He didn't get the rubber band set just right and I still think that lady never realized what hit her in the rear end.

"Anyway, Rex was the kind of person who would hunt for ways to torment you when he figured what "really got your goat." For example, he knew how much Jerry hates to fly and everytime he heard that Jerry was getting ready to fly somewhere, Rex would hunt down every newspaper clipping he could find on airplane crashes. Then, he'd send 'em to Jerry - just in time for Jerry to get them about a day before his trip.

"Rex also had a prank that I think he must have pulled on me, oh, at least a thousand times. He'd take a small comb, rub his finger over it, which in turn would cause a noise that sounded like a small machine gun going off.

"Naturally, he'd do this while my back was turned to him and I was deep in thought or conversation - and he'd hold it right next to my ear.

"My personal record for the resulting "jump-out-of-skin" leap is something like eleven feet.

"But for all his craziness, Rex Nelon was someone that never forgot where he came from - or where he was headed. He was kind-hearted so much that others often gained at his expense and he always - always - had time for a smile and a conversation."

Rex was a very brillant person when it came to music publishing. His publishing company holdings were huge and all you had to do was hum a few notes or maybe give him just a few words from a line from a song and he could tell you exactly who wrote it, where it was in his library and the history of the song. He also, along with Claude Hopper, published the "Keep On Singin" songbooks that have been so successful down through the last 20+ years.

When the call came that Rex had passed away in England, everyone here was stunned. Even though Rex had experienced a few health problems along the way, no one considered him a candidate for the heart attack that claimed his life.

Most of the people who know me have heard me use the expression "we're all just hanging here by a thread." I say this in reference to just how quick our lives can come to end.

I first heard that comment when Rex and I were talking about Glen Payne's death in October 1999. We were commenting on the short time span (six weeks) from Glen's cancer diagnosis to the time of his death. Rex looked at me and said, "Glen was the picture of health. But I guess this just goes to prove that we're all just hanging here by a thread."

Glen and Rex knew where they were headed when their time came, so they didn't worry about what would happen when that thread gave way.

Do you?