Crazy Gene
During the past 25 years as a pastor, I have met some unique people. This past week I received a Facebook friendship request from an old friend.
This man was a church member at a former church where I served as pastor for eight years. I never called him by his name Gene; I called him, “Crazy Gene.” From the first time my secretary introduced him to me, I realized he was different.
He came into my office, introduced himself and began talking. He stated that he had visited our church a couple of times and he would like to join. However he felt compelled to tell me his life story first.
I settled in my chair and began to listen. Crazy Gene began by telling me that he was widowed three times. As I sat across from him looking at this 40-year-old man, I thought about all the heartbreak he had faced. He told me that he was 21 when he and his first wife married and she passed away while on their honeymoon. They were on a Caribbean cruise and she contracted food poisoning. Before they could port she died.
Tears began to roll down his cheek as he continued with the story. It was plain to see the emotional scars that were left from this tragedy. He told me that he felt like he would never marry again.
However, six years later he walked the aisle again. He and his new bride were married for two years. They were celebrating their second year anniversary at a restaurant in downtown Atlanta, when she suddenly began to choke. They attempted to perform the Heimlich maneuver on her to no avail, and she died.
As he finished talking about her, large tears rolled down his cheeks. I began to weep as well, as my heart broke over the disasters that had taken place. He then proceeded to tell me of the third wife that he married five years later.
He said we were married six months and she died. He then began to weep even more and he said, “That’s my story, I just wanted you to know about me before I joined the church.”
I said hold on a minute, what happened to your third wife. He said, “She died of malnutrition, she was afraid to eat anything after hearing about the first two.”
I could not believe it, I had sat there crying with my heart breaking for this man as he told the story, and now I find out it was a joke.
This was the first of many encounters with Crazy Gene. He became a member of Calvary Church. We always looked forward to seeing him and hearing his latest tales. I was determined that I would never be tricked by his shennigans again.
One time he expressed he was upset with me because I didn’t check on him after he had major surgery. I told him I didn’t know anything about him having surgery. He said, “I didn’t just have surgery, I had major surgery. They did an autopsy on me.”
I was blessed to call Crazy Gene my friend. I could always count on him bringing laughter to me even in stressful times. Don’t forget to laugh, after all it is good medicine.