|
|
Yesterday, I posted a series of questions for Barry as part of the Interview meme. Now, it's my turn in the hot seat to answer questions for Barry... 1. You've been an "uncle" to my kids, whose real uncle lives far away. You're always a new uncle to your sister's new children. What does being an uncle mean to you, and how important should the concept of "village raising", i.e. other family and friends assisting the parents, be with children today?I'm a Christian who goes to a Methodist church. And one part of the baptism ceremony is when the congregation responds that we will help to raise the child. I take this vow very seriously because I am accepting responsiblity for helping in the nuture and loving of the child. Now, this does not mean I'm anywhere near as important as their parents in raising the child, but it does mean I have a role. I work hard to be a good influence on the kids. There are a lot of things I can do to help raise a child. I can teach Sunday School, volunteer with the youth, etc. One of the biggest I think is that I can show them through my life that--hey, you can be a Christian and still have a sense of humor. Last Sunday, I dressed up as the Easter bunny at church for the kids. Some of the youth said--man, I wish I could that next year. So, I see that as an immediate sort of impact--getting them to realize that it's easy and fun to help others. Also, I am pretty open about my life and the mistakes I've made. I think that the best example a young person can have--of any age--is that the person who says, "Yep, I've made mistakes, I'm not proud of it, but I know I'm forgiven." And, of course, the best thing you can give anyone is the gift of your time. Yes, I had fun picking out the Full House DVDs for BrainyBoy, but if I didn't spend any time getting to know Craig and what he liked, how would I know to buy those for him? The best thing you can give a kid is a bit of yourself and your time. 2. I first met you at the Methodist Student Center at UT, and you attended my church in Knoxville for a while. Now you go to one in Nashville. How important is God to you in your life, and can you describe a particularly spiritual experience that you've had? If there is anything the past couple of years has made abundently clear, it is that God is very important in my life. He's pretty much the center of my life and I try to live in His will. Funny you should ask this as the other day a friend asked me what did I mean by "living God's will" in a meme I posted here. And I told her about my Quantum Leap theology. If you saw the final episode, Sam leaps to this bar where he meets people from his previous leaps and a bartender who it's heavily implied is God. Sam wonders what he's doing leaping about--is he making a difference? It all seems to random to him. Sam asks--can I go home? And the bartender/God replies, "Sam you could go home all the time. You know how." Also, there is discussion of how the Leaps build on each other--getting harder as time goes along. And that God has a definite purpose to Sam's leaps--but it was Sam who chose the way to get there. He could take the easy way--by following God--or the more difficult route by following what Sam wanted. Either way, you get to the same place. So, for me, this is how I see things. God has a purpose in my life, but He leaves it to me to figure out how to get there from here. I can be like Sam and try to do it all msyelf or I can be faithful, surrender and follow God's path. Also, my faith and acceptance of Jesus does not mean life is gonna be easy. In fact, it is only going to, at times, be harder as Satan does not like this choice. But I take comfort in knowing that if God leads me to it, He will be with me through it and beyond. But it's taken a lot of heartache and being broken to my lowest point to realize all this.
As for a time in my life that was spiritual. So many. I am gonna tell a good story about Barry here.
In the summer of 2001, my sister was expecting she and her husband's first child. She lost the baby and due to some complications, we almost lost her. I got a call at work from my my mom to go home and be ready to come to Nashville as it might be the last time I'd see my sister. (This only weeks earlier thinking how lucky I was to have a sister) . I sent out an e-mail to friends for prayer and went home. I was a wreck. I hit my knees, begging God to save her. During all this, I made plans to drive to Nashville, not in a state where I needed to be anywhere near a road. Barry called or e-mailed, I forgot which and told me that if I had to go that night, he was driving me...no if's and's or but's about it. At that moment, I realized that I had cried out for help to God...that I needed someone to help me through this, to be strong for my baby sister. To me, that was a huge moment...because God heard a prayer that I had said in my heart, but hadn't said outloud and answered it before I knew it.
That's just one of many, many stories....
3. Tell us about your mother and father and sister and what they mean to you.My family. Very important to me. My father was career Air Force. He spent 30 plus year serving our country and retired a full colonel. He's also one of my best friends. He's called me his "buddy" since I can remember. He takes good care of our family. He is very much a the head of the household as described in the Bible. The thing I think about when I think about Mom is that she was a stay at home Mom while my sister and I were in school. She would work part time but be home for us in the afternoons. And my sister. Until about her 9th grade year, we didnt' get along. Then she went to high school and I realized she was pretty cool. I am definitely a big brother...very overprotective. I am going to give BB some good lessons on how to be a great big brother when your baby sister starts dating..4. Next, tell us an amusing story about when you worked at Busch Gardens in WilliamsburgThis is revenge for the Theta games question isn't it?For those of you who may not know, I worked at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA for three summers while at UT. Loved it. Great fun and great way to meet new friends--my parents moved away from where I gradudated high school. I am sure Barry would love it if I had a picture of the embarassing outfits I had to wear while working there, but alas, I don't. (I am sure my Mom does though). There were so many stories--including the time that Mariah Carey dropped by my shop. Or how Gretchen and I would pick a Seinfeld line to say to each other at random times the day after it aired. Or Antoinette Theresa Anastasia DeRose...wow, what a girl. But one thing I remember is working near the best roller coaster in the park, the Big Bad Wolf. It was as suspended roller coaster and it swung out. It was awesome. The best part was that I made friends with the crew that worked on it and so, after hours, when the park was closing down, we'd ride on it. Without anyone else around. It was awesome. I will not reveal that we turned off certain safety features to make it more exciting either...5. Finally...The Washington Redskins vs the Tennessee Titans are playing in Super Bowl XXXXI. I'm sitting right there with you watching the game and so are 400 of your closest Titans fan friends. Whose jersey are you wearing?First of all, I could only dream that this is the match-up for this year's Super Bowl. If only. Let me now explain my complicated fandom. Growing up a military brat, I was always a Tenenssee fan. Vols that is. Well, we lived near D.C. in the early 80s when the Redskisn were good and won their first SuperBowl. I got hooked then. I have been a fan since then, seeing them through good and bad and the Spurrier regime. Well, then a while ago, the Titans pulled into Tenenssee and suddenly I had a new tema to love. But I couldn't turn my back on my first love. So, it's like this--I pull for the Redskins and Titans every week...unless they play each other. And then I' m all for the Redskins. So, I'd be wearing my Redskins jersey.
posted by Michael Hickerson at 3/25/2005 12:29:00 PM |
|
|
|
