A Pastor's Perspective

By Sharon Latour

It's still the first month in a New Year, and why 2010 feels so especially fresh, I don't know. Is it the perfection of the numbers themselves? They divide so nicely by happy number 2 (and jolly number 5), so I hope it's not too late to wax poetic about lofty New Year, renewal-sounding, things.

The New Year-sort-of-lofty-thing that struck me when I looked though Time's “Farewell” section on Dec. 28 was what normally hits when I read obituaries: “Did they spend it well?”

Did each of these precious souls, interesting enough for Time to notice them, spend the days and hours of their lives well?

”Well enough to make it into Time magazine!” You might enjoy pointing out, in case the obvious was overlooked. But I mean the thing that we really wonder, deep down: “How will I know if I mattered?”

If you already have your answer: Wonderful! Especially if you are able to sit gently and tell others exactly why you feel that way. That's a rare gift, I think.

But many still wonder if they've made enough of a contribution, if they'll actually be missed; that sort of thing. And so this musing is for them.

Among those who passed in 2009 was dancer and choreographer Merce Cunningham. His commentator noted, “You have to love dancing to stick to it. It gives you nothing back, no manuscripts to store away, no paintings to show on walls - nothing but that single fleeting moment when you feel alive. It's not for unsteady souls.”

This is helpful. This helps clarify the question at hand, bringing it into better focus, a little. What if there was no tangible testimony to your life?

We also lost Irish author Frank McCourt, the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer of the autobiographical “Angela's Ashes.” I have a confession to make about Frank.

For the only time I can remember, I stopped watching the film version of a book because the book was so very much better. I could actually smell what Frank was describing in the home where he grew up, in unimaginable poverty. For me, his writing was that good.

And so I couldn't wait for the sequel, “Tis: a memoir.” And then his illuminating book on teaching called “Teacher Man.” While both are also exceptionally well-written, “Angela's Ashes” will remain the book about growing up that was to be his masterpiece. Frank was born to tell that story.

But for the sake of fairness to our discussion, that fulfilling accomplishment may be selling him short. Author Mary Karr wrote the very brief piece on him for Time, and told how he and his wife Ellen would entertain by telling “dirty limericks” (When's the last time you heard a good limerick? “Please tell me you know what a limerick is, for the love of Ireland and all that's holy!” an Irishman might exclaim.) and then sing “Danny Boy” to signal the end of the evening. Karr called him “a splendid companion...impossible not to miss him.”

So, like Harper Lee crafting her solitary masterpiece about Scout and Atticus and Boo Radley, Frank got his Pulitzer, too. But that prize probably paled by comparison to how much he simply enjoyed being a person in the world.

I hope Frank has taught me that trying to write well is a very fine thing, to be sure. But when all is said and done, I think what I really hope is said of us is, “My, but (s)he was a splendid companion.” Shalom!

Sharon is pastor of the Garberville Community Presbyterian Church. Worship is at 10:30 a.m. every Sunday during the school year. Children's Sunday School is offered during the service. Comments or questions should be addressed to: Dr. Sharon Latour, c/o A Pastor's Perspective, P.O. Box 65, Garberville, CA 95542. Phone: 923-3295.