Altar Call – Opelika-Auburn
News
October 12, 2008
The feeling of excitement is something we
must not lose
I hope I am dead six months before I lose the capacity to
feel excitement. The joy of becoming emotionally aroused about something good
is one of the great privileges of life.
October always reminds me of my mother’s excitement about
the opening of the state fair in
Mom taught her family to get excited about birthdays. She
knew from memory the birthdays of a hundred relatives and friends who always
received a timely birthday card from her. Even when she could no longer walk,
Mom could get excited about helping others celebrate life.
Mom could make a birthday party exciting without spending a
lot of money. Her birthday cakes were unique. She wrapped a dime and a nickel
in wax paper and baked it in the cake. What fun it was to discover one of the
coins in your piece of cake!
Thanksgiving at home was always exciting. It was the only
time of the year when we could count on ambrosia for dessert and toasted pecans
with the noon meal. My brother loved potato pie while my favorite was pumpkin
pie. There was always plenty of both waiting for us on the old wood-burning
stove.
By the time I was 12 or so Mom and Dad began taking us to
the beach in
What would a child’s life be without excitement? I still
remember how exciting it was to get off the school bus and race inside to
listen to the Lone Ranger every afternoon. I recall the joy of that Christmas
morning when I found Santa’s gift of the B-B gun I had longed for. I am a bit
embarrassed to admit that the population of sparrows in the backyard was soon
diminished.
Many folks my age can remember the excitement of going into
town on Saturdays. There were no televisions at home then but Saturday meant
going to the Fain Theater to see movies starring Roy Rogers and the Sons of the
Pioneers. There might also be a brief episode in the life of Superman and a
News Reel report about how our troops were winning World War II. Two hours of
that, along with a Coke and some popcorn, was exhilarating to a country boy. And
it all cost less than a buck.
The Fain Theater was also the scene of one of the most
exciting moments in my life. It was there that I finally got up the courage to
put my arm around my girlfriend. I had envied the older boys who did so, but I
was fearful that my girlfriend might slap my hand and pull away from me.
Then one Saturday, while Gene Autrey or Roy Rogers was
chasing bank robbers, I found the nerve to risk it. Ever so gently I put my arm
around her and let my fingers drop softly on her shoulder. Then, miracle of all
miracles, she moved a half inch closer to me. Suddenly I was in heaven. I was
accepted. I was her man.
That afternoon I had no idea that this same sweet girl
would say yes when I asked her to marry me several years later. But I still
remember the joyous excitement I felt when she said yes to the daring embrace
of a clumsy country boy.
Though I am an old man now, that girl still excites me.
When she rubs my brow, or runs her fingers through my gray hair, I am alive.
Thank God for excitement. + + +