Faith, Friendship, and Debbie Hall

Debbie Hall came into contact with hundreds of people in her life time, but two gentlemen were profoundly affected. Ron Hall (her husband) and Denver Moore (an unlikely friend) are brought together because of the kindness and love in Debbie's heart. In this video, Ron says that Debbie served without judging people, and same kind of different As me. is a prime example of this service. I am eager to see what God's plan for Debbie, Ron, and Denver are; I guess I'll just have to wait, but for now, this video will suffice.

Denver's Art

Denver Moore was more than just a modern-day slave. Denver was an artist, a public speaker, a volunteer. At age sixty-seven, Denver learned how to read and write. Before then, two years earlier, he began to express his thoughts by painting. The following pictures are just a few visual representations of events that occured in Denver's life:

This is a self portrait of Denver. The red cross and the silver cross to the right of Denver, represent the swords of hardship of God. The torch on the right is the light of God, in which denver is spreading all over the world.

"We are all homelest just workn our way home."- Denver spent much of his life homeless, which inspired him to create this piece that represents his life and his goal in life.



Denver painted multiple angels, but this particular one is meant to emphasize the importance of individuality; God made each and every one of us, but no one is the same.  No matter how big and tall or short and skinny we are, God loves us all; that is what Denver believed to be true.



Ron Hall: Introduced

Ron Hall is the polar opposite of Denver Moore. Ron Hall grew up on the “other side of the train tracks.” While Denver struggled to maintain a healthy lifestyle, Ron was enjoying his freedom. But, at an early age, ron did question the separation of blacks and whites. In chapter 4, Ron recalls the years in which his father would drive to the other side of the train tracks, or “Nigger Town”, and pick up some helpers. After the days work was done, his father took the black men to get food and thenn drove them home. The white men headed on over to his house wehre his mom would have a feast prepared for them. Something wasn’t right and Ron had noticed:

            Even as a little boy, it bothered me that the colored workers are lunchmeat on the fround behind the filling station while the white workers fathered like family for hot, home-cooked food. Sometimes I had the urge to do something about it, but I never did. (ch.4, pg. 23)

His struggle to understand didn’t stop there. When he was older, he faced many challenges that kept him from success. But, eventually, Ron made it to the top of the art industy, also finding and marrying Debbie. So far, nothing about their relationship has been revealed, except that she received a large amount of stock from her parents after she graduated from Texas Christian University. Debbie is already an important character and we haven’t een officially met her. This should be good…   

Denver Moore: Introduced

The first chapter of the book is narrated by Denver Moore, a modern-day slave. The first person that Denver introduces, and continues to interact with later in the book, is Miss Debbie. Miss Debbie, was the first white woman that spoke to him, much less challenge him. I thought it was a wise choice to begin this inspirational and emotional story with a specific example of these characteristics.

It is obvious that Denver did not have a perfect childhood. A very strong and emotional event that struck me early on in the story was when his Big Mama died in the house fire:

“Help me, Jesus! Save me!” she hollered, thrashin and coughin in the smoke. Then there was a loud crack and Big Mama screamed. I saw a big piece of wood crash down and pin her on her bed. She couldn’t move no more, but she kept hollerin, “Lord Jesus, save me!”

            I only heard Chook holler one time then he was quiet. I stood there and screamed and watched my grandmother burn up.(ch.3, pg. 17)

The excitement of the moment mixed with the desperate tone of his Big Mama’s voice, paints a vivid image of the situation and his sensitivity to the situation. I look forward to seeing how these specific events in Denver’s life are relevant to the relationship between him and Ron Hall.

The Journey Begins

Same kind of different As me. is a piece of non-fiction based on the lives of two very different men, who cross paths because “a gutsy woman with a stubborn dream” brought them together. This simplistic overview of the book is my assumption based on the back cover of the book, but after reading the first couple of pages, it is clear that this really is going to be an emotional story of the power of faith and love in everlasting relationships.

The book begins with a simple Negro Spiritual that compares the afterlives of two men.

Well- a poor Lazarus poor as I

When he died he had a home on high...

The rich man died and lived so well

When he died he had a home in hell...

You better get a home in that Rock, don't you see?

 One man is a poor man on Earth, but when he dies, he lives in heaven with God; the other man, a rich man on Earth, is sent to hell for his sinful ways, where he pays for his past lifestyle. I think it’s safe to say that this quote is meaningful to the theme of this book. The subtitle of this book states, “a modern- day slave, an international art dealer, and the unlikely woman who bound them together.” I just assumed that the modern- day slave and the international art dealer were the two people the Negro Spiritual were referring to.

 The first chapter is narrated by one of the authors, Denver Moore. The first character that Denver introduces to the audience is Miss Debbie. She is not thoroughly explained until later in the book, but already after the first chapter, Miss Debbie is an important character. He goes on to reveal a very personal encounter with the white man.

I am interested to see how the authors of this book decided how to tell their intimate story. The first couple of chapters are short, which makes it easy to stay interested. The diction Denver uses and even the diction Ron uses is simple and comprehensible, making it easy for me to understand the overlapping stories told every chapter.