When your Great Aunt Ginger and I were married in 1976, we moved to Nashville, Tennessee. We rented an upstairs apartment over a garage for $50 per month. It was just off of Granny White Pike, down the hill from David Lipscomb College. It had a kitchen, a bathroom, and a room. Our landlord was Barney Morehouse and his wife Nellie. They called the apartment their little "love nest" and kept track of the number of newlyweds that had begun their journeys there. Barney was 80 years old in 1976 and looked like Alfred Hitchcock with a grin. (I realize you don't know who Alfred Hitchcock is. Here is his picture on a book about him.)
Barney had stories. He was a retired missionary and spent most of his life driving around the USA raising money for other missionaries. He ate a teaspoon of orange blossom honey e
very morning (he was on his second ton in his lifetime by his reckoning), had never had an aspirin, and never had a headache. He traveled around the country always in the company of three doctors: 1. Dr. Don't Hurry; 2. Dr. Don't Worry; and 3. The Great Physician (That would be Jesus for those that may not get the reference.)Barney had a habit of showing up when you turned around and weren't expecting him. He wasn't sneaky, just Barney. I had an old 1962 Rambler that needed a lot of TLC and I was often under it for one reason or another. I remember crawling out from under it one day, looking up to see Barney's face smiling down at me and asking me, "Are you having fun?"
It was Barney's question. He would ask us every time he saw us. That question, that attitude has influenced our life together as much as anything. Hardly a day goes by without us asking one another one of the most crucial questions of life. "Are you having fun?" It is my conviction that we are created to experience, express and share joy. If you have breath in you, God is saying that you are not done yet. Are you having fun?
Ask your Great Uncle Butch! He called me this summer and said he was celebrating his second birthday. He started counting again after he was given Kellie's kidney. He is having fun.
Ask your cousin Sara who named her baby girl Gwendolyn Hope, because when she was going through chemo hope was the most important thing in her life. She, Emrys and Gwendolyn are all having fun!
Ask me. In 1984 I had a ruptured appendix and there is no medical explanation for me to be alive according to the surgeon. Every day since then I have been in the bonus round and I am thankful for the opportunity to rejoice and be glad in it. I like to think of myself as a party looking for a place to happen. I am having fun!
We are each given one day to live. It is called today. We get to choose how we will respond to what this day holds. Your attitude will shape your life. Uncle Barney knew this. He shared the secret with Ginger and me. I have not always appreciated his genius. His three doctors are excellent companions for us all. His question is one that can bring us back to our home base--joy. Thank you Barney.
Are you having fun?
Your crazy great-uncle
