Bro. Danny M. Hall

By Dee Dee Hall

Background Story for the “Verily, Verily” Poem

The following poem was written about an experience of Danny Mack Hall.

As a teenager in the late sixties, he and five other boys ran away from home. One of the boys had an old car that they all rode in. They all piled in with a few canned goods for food, but they forgot to bring a can opener. They were headed to Hollywood, California. However before they got to Hollywood the car broke down. They just left it on the side of the road, canned goods and all. They were subsequently arrested for vagrancy and the parents of some of the boys were notified. These boys received money from their parents for a bus ticket home. However, Danny determined that he was still going to Hollywood.

His friends gave him a couple of dollars and told him good bye and good luck. He hitched rides until he arrived in Hollywood. But he had not money. He was hungry and alone. He later met some other homeless boys and they camped out at night in an abandoned building. In the day, they would make their rounds for food, sometimes getting peanut butter sandwiches at a Christian coffee house, and at other times they would raid the dumpster behind a Chinese restaurant for left over scraps. The Chinese proprietor felt sorry for them and would bring out scraps from off the plates of food and would feed them like stray dogs. “Come, come, the food is good,” he would say. “Come hungry hippies and eat.”

One day, while on the street, Danny heard a street preacher. This young man looked vaguely familiar to Danny. He asked the preacher, “Haven’t I seen you somewhere before? Have you ever been in Chicago?” The preacher replied, “Yes, I used to live there.” He had been a hippie and Danny had seen him there, but now he had a different look, a cleaned up look, and a story to tell. He had gotten saved and wanted to share the good news.

He opened up his Bible and started reading several verses out of the book of John. He had a red-letter edition and told Danny, “These words in red are Jesus’s very own words.” He evidently had marked most of the verses that began with the words verily, verily. He proceeded to read them to Danny until Danny had heard enough. “I don’t think I’m ready for that right now,” he replied.

The next day Danny decided that he was done with Hollywood and wanted to go home. He stuck out his thumb and got a ride. The poem will tell the rest of the story.