Thank God for unforgettable people!

I’ve been privileged to know a variety of people during my sojourn here. Most have fit into a standard type of mold, give or take a little here and there. But thank God for those who didn’t fit any mold because they lived life with a zest and an outlook that produced behaviors quite different from the so-called mainstream. Some called them eccentric or a little off but what a contribution they made to otherwise dreary days! They typically were just who they were and that’s what made them amusing, exciting, and fun. The Readers Digest once had a reader submitted column devoted to “The Most Unforgettable Person I’ve Ever Met”. Thank God for unforgettable people!

Here’s one I’ll never forget. He was the resident psychologist at the VA Hospital where I worked in 1965 as an administrative clerk. He was there to help vets deal with all their emotional issues but when you dealt with him, it was like visiting another planet. Call it the absent minded professor syndrome or whatever, but this guy was hilarious to be around. Never able to match any clothing of any kind and with a noticeable twitch, he always appeared to be demonstrating the actual behavior he was discussing as a diagnosis. When he told you a patient needed treatment immediately, you always got the sense that if anyone should know, especially from firsthand experience, it was he!

Here’s another one. Back in the 1970’s I attended an interviewing institute at a university as part of a team from our company. The program was customized specifically for us with the goal of improving our hiring skills. One fellow attendee was the head personnel officer from one of our larger field offices. The best way to describe him is for you to picture Don Knotts portraying Deputy Barney Fife on the “Andy Griffith Show”. Our cohort could not fathom why he would ever be chosen to attend such a course. After all, he was the seasoned personnel professional and interviewing was like second nature to him. He had interviewed some of the best and had always come out the winner. Perhaps he was there to show the rest of us how it’s done.

Part of the training included closed circuit taped interviews that were later replayed for review in small groups. The interviewees were students taking their masters in business. They had been coached on how to make their sessions very genuine. The purpose of the small group was to critique each other’s work in a positive way so we all could improve. I was in the group that critiqued ‘Deputy Fife’s’ interview. It’s true that some of the funniest things in life cannot be orchestrated. Just watching the tape turned out to be in and of itself a great challenge just to keep from bursting out laughing. This was made even harder since ‘Barney’ was in the group and we all watched together. Never have I seen anyone so totally discombobulated in trying to interview the young lady in his session. Stammering, coughing, and nervously twitching his way through the interview, there he was, our highly skilled professional ‘Barney’ who proved himself to be just that, ‘Barney’. But what a load of chuckles he provided to us all.

As I wrote about these experiences I realized we all could enjoy life more if we would pause to laugh at ourselves and at the funny things in life. Who knows? I may be the ‘Barney’ of someone else’s story, perhaps many stories. Now you may be one of those who somehow managed never to have this type of experience or you were so uptight you never enjoyed being a part of something so crazy. How sad. Life is too short. I’ve always said that life is all about story telling. I’m thankful to God He’s allowed me to be in so many different stories and perhaps even ‘be the story’ at times. It’s part of the fabric of a blessed life, so enjoy it! Life gives so much material but there’s so little time, therefore, you can be sure there will be more later…………