I have written in the past about my father’s vocation as a pastor, however, I have not mentioned the fact that one of my father and mother’s non-vocational advocations was to perform marionette shows throughout North Carolina, including schools, malls, churches and a few times on local television in Durham.

I went to high school in Louisburg, NC, which is about 30 miles north of Raleigh. Louisburg is the location of Louisburg Junior College and where my father was charged to be as his Methodist Pastoral appointment in the mid to late 1980s.

My father’s maternal great grandfather was a man named Adelbert Eugene Heath of Hastings Michigan. Adelbert Heath was a farmer and a chronicler of his daily life by and through his diaries which he kept from 1867 until his death in 1927. A few years ago, I was able to obtain a copy of these diaries and then they began to gather dust on the shelf for many subsequent years, until this year. 

In the beginning of the second act of the 1993 movie “Groundhog Day”, the protagonist TV weatherman Phil Conners, played by Bill Murray, begins to realize that he may be doomed to re-live the same day of his life, over and over, in the small town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where he is reporting on the Annual Groundhog Day festival. After he repeats the earlier days’ events, including the requirement to begin his “on air” report, he expresses into the camera “It’s Groundhog Day...again.”

The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic into our world and the subsequent collective pause that we all have undergone has created a crisis in all aspects of our lives. From the closing of schools, to the stay-at-home orders, to change in our daily routines, economic loss to our clients and practices and the tragic loss of life in our community and nationwide, life as we have known it, has changed.

To say these are unprecedented times is an understatement.  My previous column referenced spring and what that season represents by way of renewal, hope and growth.  Who could have imagined then that March Madness would have an entirely different meaning in 2020?  Stay at home orders, working from home while homeschooling[1], Zoom meetings dictating the frequency of showering and shaving… As I sit in my dining room office to write this, on March 97, 2020[2], I have no idea what the status of our community, state and country will be at the time of publication.  I certainly hope the curve will have flattened (or, better yet, declined) and that our citizens, particularly those health care heroes on the front lines, will be safe and healthy.

Spring is my favorite season.  Flowers blooming.  Birds chirping.  The Blue Devils (hopefully) winning.  And, as you know, spring represents renewal and hope, youth and growth.  But while the days of being able to legitimately claim youth may have passed for me (and some of you), we can all celebrate renewal, hope and growth.

Notwithstanding the headline, you are not required to read the rest of this column in the voice of Barbara Walters.  Likewise, if you do read the rest of the column, I hope you will not channel John Stossel and say, “Give me a break!”

On the heels of my prescient reference to Cam Newton in last issue’s column, I can only hope Kyle Allen is still performing as well as he did in his first two games when this issue is published a few weeks from now. The MCB has been busy in the last couple of months.  On October 9, 64 new members were sworn in to our state and federal courts during our annual ceremony.  That event always makes me reflect on my own swearing-in over 17 years ago in Spirit Square and the years of practice since taking the oath.

As you know, the MCB has reduced the number of annual newsletters from 12 to six. Although I am very much in favor of writing fewer columns, there is a challenge in timing the content with the ultimate publication date. In some ways, this process is analogous to a quarterback leading the wide receiver by throwing the ball to a spot farther downfield where the receiver should end up. [Note to Panthers fans: if you are unaccustomed to witnessing this fundamental aspect of football, please watch highlights from almost any other team.] Therefore, I am trying to write about things now (in late July) that should be relatively timely when you are reading this column.