I was shocked and saddened to open up my newspaper recently and see that Lester Pannell had passed away. I didn’t know him well personally. He was a teacher in the Lebanon school system when I was a student but I wasn’t in any of his classes. I remember seeing him occasionally when he was in my husband’s barbershop years ago and recall especially his distinctive voice.
But I learned to know about him through his newspaper columns on birding and it was what I discovered about him there that gave me great respect for him and made me feel like I knew him. He was a man of great passion. His passion was learning about and seeking out different birds. Now I care nothing about birds except that they are part of God’s beautiful creation. I barely know a turkey from a parakeet, but I always read Mr. Pannell’s column just for the experience of soaking up his passion for them.
In the 2001 movie “Serendipity”, the character Dean says “The Greeks never wrote obituaries. When a man died, they only had one question, Did he have passion?”
In Barb Eylett’s blog about Redefining Passion, she quotes George Hegel, a German philosopher and inventor, “Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion.”
I cannot imagine living a life devoid of passion. Theologians use the word “passion” to describe the suffering of Christ, especially his death on the cross. One cannot separate the word from the idea of suffering, and going back 5000 years we can trace the meaning of “hurting”. But in our modern day colloquial language,we usually mean “enthusiasm” when we talk about passion.
Sometime back in the 70’s a doctor told me that I needed to have a hysterectomy. His diagnosis was not due to my age nor a medical condition. He said all women, and especially women like me, should have the surgery done as young and as soon as possible. My “sickness” as he saw it, was that I was too passionate in speaking and used too many superlatives when I speak, i.e. if I had pain I had intense pain, nothing is ever just good, it is fantastic, etc. I’m sure many of you are surprised that I would ever come across that way!
Twenty years later I had the surgery done for medical reasons and I could assure that doctor it made no difference. I use more superlatives in my writing and speaking now than I did then, chiefly because my language skills have improved.
I am a passionate person. I was passionate about my perfection in spelling and knowledge when I was typing legal documents for John Low. I was passionate about life insurance when I was selling it. I was passionate in my Biblical teaching and preaching when I was in active ministry.
I am passionate about politics, and books, and cooking and kitchen appliances.
I am passionate about writing these columns. If I were not, I doubt anybody would read them. (Remember my opening comments about Mr. Pannell.) I am passionate about the research I do, especially for the Wednesday or Thursday columns. I gauge the way the columns are received mostly by the feedback that my husband receives from his customers. At least one hundred men come through the shop weekly for Milan and Steve’s barber services. The most common compliment I receive from them is the amount of research put into my work.
I’ve always been passionate about research. We could not afford a set of encyclopedias when I was growing up so all my research had to be done at the public library after school hours. I can remember so many days when I would stay at the library until almost dark before walking home. I used the Reader’s Guide, small paperback books containing an index to articles from current magazines and newspapers. The print was so small even my young eyes had difficulty making it out.
After listing the citations I wanted to look at, I would “bother” the librarian to help me find the items on my list. Even in the 50’s there was a lot of resource material available.
I am so thankful for the internet especially Google, and the other resources available to us today. It makes doing research so much easier. When I am preparing and writing an article on something outside my “comfort zone”, I usually have two computers running, since neither one is totally reliable any more. And I have three tablets open to various websites, as well as the Internet feature on my smart phone. I research not only the quotes, but the background of the person who said it, and the credibility of the website which carries it.
I don’t want to close out this article without mentioning another passion I have as I write on this Veteran’s day. I am passionate in my appreciation for those who have served our country and I honor these men today. My brothers Ken Lindsey, Denzil Lindsey (deceased), Don Lindsey, Leon Lindsey, and Gene Sutton. My two stepfathers, Clarence Lindsey and Bill Ward. My brothers-in-law Charles Lynn Wood and Bill Nichols (deceased). And lastly, all the veterans who were part of my various church congregations over the years plus a very special woman and dear friend who was part of the Oakland Church and always reads my columns - Darla Busby who served in both the army and the navy.
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