The Barton men in 2005: Bernie (back), his brother, and his father
I was going to write on a different topic today—that of meiwaku, a well-known Japanese word that translates into English as annoyance, nuisance, or trouble. I quickly jotted down some notes yesterday morning and pondered the subject in between a multitude of activities that made up a rather busy day. This morning, as I created my “to do list,” one of my daily routines, turning those scribbles into a blog was high on the list.
Until I opened this morning’s newspaper. I read in The Daily Yoimuri that the British recently conducted a poll to determine the Top 10 of famous wits in that nation. Playwright Oscar Wilde captured the honor of the greatest humorist. His deathbed comment, “Either those curtains go or I do,” explains why.
Comedian Spike Milligan also made the list. He’s famous for the epitaph he had carved on his tombstone: “I told you I was ill.”
But it was the comment of Winston Churchill, number five on the list, which gave me more than a smile. In fact, I laughed out loud. Apparently he was accused of being drunk by a Labor Party parliamentarian named Bessie Braddock. Churchill, perhaps as famous for his putdowns as for his statesmanship, retorted, “Bessie, you’re ugly. And tomorrow morning I will be sober, but you will still be ugly.”
Actually, I’m not much on making laughter from cutting people down—even if they deserve it. But for some reason, this putdown had me laughing so much that I read it several times just to prolong the pleasure. Then, when Bernie came into the dining room where I was enjoying the paper, I read the short piece aloud to him, and together we both laughed heartily. It was a wonderful way to start the day.
As we talked about what great medicine laughter is (check out Proverbs 17:22), Bernie reminded me of his father’s witty comment last fall, just days before he died. Bernie’s mother and brother were bathing his father, physically weak but mentally just as sharp as ever. Had it been his brother and father only, the bath would have been over in minutes, but Bernie’s mother continued scrubbing and rescrubbing Sandlin’s back, despite his brother’s protests that every possible pore had been plumbed and that no germ could possibly have escaped. The scrubbing went on anyway.
Finally, 88-year-old Sandlin spoke up in a feeble voice still characterized by a wry sense of humor, “She thinks I work in a coal mine.”
Laughter. What a priceless treasure (and what a different topic than what I intended to write about originally). Thankfully, laughter is not affected by age, the weather, one’s weight, or the ups and downs of the stock market. Even better, it’s not something expendable that you must worry about using up too soon. On the contrary, the more you use it, the more you have to enjoy and share with others—which is why I shared our morning laughter with you today. How about throwing some back our way?
Until I opened this morning’s newspaper. I read in The Daily Yoimuri that the British recently conducted a poll to determine the Top 10 of famous wits in that nation. Playwright Oscar Wilde captured the honor of the greatest humorist. His deathbed comment, “Either those curtains go or I do,” explains why.
Comedian Spike Milligan also made the list. He’s famous for the epitaph he had carved on his tombstone: “I told you I was ill.”
But it was the comment of Winston Churchill, number five on the list, which gave me more than a smile. In fact, I laughed out loud. Apparently he was accused of being drunk by a Labor Party parliamentarian named Bessie Braddock. Churchill, perhaps as famous for his putdowns as for his statesmanship, retorted, “Bessie, you’re ugly. And tomorrow morning I will be sober, but you will still be ugly.”
Actually, I’m not much on making laughter from cutting people down—even if they deserve it. But for some reason, this putdown had me laughing so much that I read it several times just to prolong the pleasure. Then, when Bernie came into the dining room where I was enjoying the paper, I read the short piece aloud to him, and together we both laughed heartily. It was a wonderful way to start the day.
As we talked about what great medicine laughter is (check out Proverbs 17:22), Bernie reminded me of his father’s witty comment last fall, just days before he died. Bernie’s mother and brother were bathing his father, physically weak but mentally just as sharp as ever. Had it been his brother and father only, the bath would have been over in minutes, but Bernie’s mother continued scrubbing and rescrubbing Sandlin’s back, despite his brother’s protests that every possible pore had been plumbed and that no germ could possibly have escaped. The scrubbing went on anyway.
Finally, 88-year-old Sandlin spoke up in a feeble voice still characterized by a wry sense of humor, “She thinks I work in a coal mine.”
Laughter. What a priceless treasure (and what a different topic than what I intended to write about originally). Thankfully, laughter is not affected by age, the weather, one’s weight, or the ups and downs of the stock market. Even better, it’s not something expendable that you must worry about using up too soon. On the contrary, the more you use it, the more you have to enjoy and share with others—which is why I shared our morning laughter with you today. How about throwing some back our way?
