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 Hard
times are marvelous times — after they are over. They provide
such a rich source of material for “back when” stories. They
also give us a feeling of superiority — “In OUR day it took
a real man to survive.” So, the hard times stories survive,
and grow, and grow.
There
was this fellow who broke his arm getting breakfast. Go ahead
and bite—. I did. How did he break his arm getting breakfast?
He fell out of a persimmon tree. And when one man earned a
little money and bought a piece of fat-back, that meat
circulated through the neighborhood for two weeks. One family
used it to cook beans, another to season turnips, and so on.
Then some smart-aleck tried to use it in a blackberry pie, and
just ruined it.
Status
symbols are completely reversed when looking back to depression
days. Instead of trying to prove our success and affluence, as
in current times; most folk take pride in telling how poor they
were. The bankers family shot jack-rabbits for food — but the
rest of us had to run them down and catch them in our hands. I
suppose it is good that we can laugh about what was once so very
serious.
Humor
is a sort of “release” for me,
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making my hurried “up-tight” life
bearable, and helping me through my ulcer periods. I use it as
“breaks” to “rest” the audience or reader when I want to
drive in serious thoughts. Of course it is possible that my
judgment is not always good. Some may think me irreverent at
times —and that would really hurt me, for there is nothing
light or frivolous about the purpose and intended end of my life’s
work. I want to go to heaven, and to lead others there.
But
innocent, clean humor can put life in its proper focus, and we
can see ourselves for the blundering oafs we often are. Aye,
here is the crux of the matter. If we can learn to laugh at
ourselves, to see our own absurdities, and not be so pride -
filled as to try and justify them, we have come a long way
toward being objective. Pity the fellow who takes himself
too seriously. There is little chance for self -improvement
here.
It
is the things of God we must take seriously, for God is no fool.
We may act foolishly in our clumsy efforts to serve Him — and
deserve even ridicule. (1 Kings. 18:27) But our God remains holy
and reverend. RVF
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