Altar Call – Opelika-Auburn News
Walter Albritton
August 15, 2010
Sharing
stories and eating potato soup
Family
fun is often the best kind of fun. The other night nine of us sat around the
table telling funny stories while enjoying a meal of potato soup and
sandwiches. What fun we had.
I
know it sounds old-fashioned. Nobody cooks at home anymore it seems. The stove
in many homes has not been hot for years. Everybody prefers to let somebody
else do the cooking.
Some
folks bring a pizza home and sit in the front of the television watching
grizzly gruesome kill nine people. The only conversation occurs during the
commercials when the couch potatoes complain that there is never anything worth
watching anymore. Still they watch it, vainly hoping one day it will change.
Well
there we were sitting around the table sharing funny stories and having another
bowl of potato soup. No one seemed to care that the television screen was dark.
Perhaps it was the pecan pie that kept us all together. Nobody wanted to miss
getting a slice.
But
I reckon the laughing we shared was the main thing that kept us together for
well over an hour. Laughter is good for you. And like potato soup, laughter is
healthy. We all need to laugh more that we do. It is good for the lungs, the
brain, and one’s general well being.
The
laughing got started when one of my grandchildren described the hilarious
breakfast some of us shared at IHOP. I stole the show by pouring coffee on my
pancakes. Gales of laughter filled the room as I stared at my plate in
disbelief, my face turning bright red.
Our
waitress was a jewel. Though she shared the fun my family was having at my
expense, she saved the day for me. She said, “Hey, you are not the first person
to pour coffee on your pancakes. I have seen several people do that. It happens
a lot.” I felt better and left her a hefty tip.
What
amazed me was that a simple thing like pouring coffee on pancakes could
generate so much laughter. One dumb deed quickly improved the health of my
entire family.
Our
son Tim kept the laughter going by recalling a time last year when he decided
to spend the night with his brother Matt and his wife Tammy. Tim found Matt at
his church on a Wednesday night. Matt told him to go on to his house and he
would join him later.
Tim
found the home locked. Unable to get in, he walked around to the back yard and
sat down in a lawn chair. The chair collapsed around him and he had to roll
over on the grass to get free. Matt showed up an hour later, embarrassed to
find his brother having to wait outside so long.
The
only bed available for Tim was an air mattress positioned on an old bed frame.
At 2 o’clock in the morning the air mattress suddenly went flat. Waking up, Tim
tried to turn and get off the bed but at that moment the slats broke under his
weight. His head and shoulders were trapped between the slats while his feet
were dangling up in the air.
We
were dying laughing as Tim described his predicament. Before he could free
himself he said he promised the good Lord that he would stay at the Holiday Inn
the next time he came to see his brother. Giving up on the bed and the air
mattress, Tim chose to sleep on a couch in the family room. However, at 4
o’clock he was awakened by a dog licking his face. What a night! And all because
he wanted to let his brother know he loved him.
Strange
things happen to us in this life. We are not always amused by these experiences
at the time. But in retelling such stories we find them a rich source of fun
for ourselves and others. Add some potato soup and a slice of pecan pie and you
have family fun at its best. But I still cannot believe I poured coffee on my
pancakes! +