Denver 2017 - Reflections #4, Street Lamp / Jon and Betty Mayer in Michigan

My wife and I were talking today on the way to work and I was reminded of some very good friends of mine in my single days, Jon and Betty Mayer.  They taught with me in the Memphis Independent School District, and we became very close in the span of the year we were together.

But it wasn't in Memphis that I had my most memorable experience with them.  By the summer of 1984 they had moved back to Michigan, where they were from.  Jon was a fantastic high school teacher - one of the best I've met - and Betty taught sixth grade English at the junior high.  But Memphis just didn't cut it with them, so they took a job at a private school back in the Mount Pleasant area.  And it was there that I stopped that summer on a drive in my Olds Delta 88, hopscotching around the country from one place to the other that had a friend and a pad.

I stayed with Jon and Betty for three or four nights, and they made sure there were interesting things to do during our time together.  We went up to Mackinac Island, then on to Canada after going through Sault Ste. Marie.  It was there that I experienced the urge to just keep on driving until we reached the top of the world, or at least the Arctic Circle.  We didn't make it that far, instead stopping at a beach on Lake Superior, the only one I've liked because there was pea gravel instead of sand, fresh water instead of salt water, not much wind, and no evidence of creatures from the deep.  We couldn't swim because, naturally, the water was much too cold, but we enjoyed the pristine air and beauty that was on all sides.

But I digress.  The most memorable occasion with them was another evening when we visited some good friends of theirs for barbecued hamburgers and visiting time.  I was not prepared for what I was about to see but, knowing Jon and Betty, these were just the kinds of friends they would have.  It turns out that they were a married couple in their forties with an adopted son that was home for the summer from college.  And the reason they had to adopt, I surmised, was because they both were severely physically handicapped.  The dad had polio as a child, which left him very much disfigured, and the mom was noticeably afflicted with cerebral palsy.

The most amazing part about them and the visit, however, was that they possessed an amazing God-given spirit.  The son cooked the hamburgers - I remember that he was studying to be a pastry chef, and hope he realized his dreams - and after eating we sat down in the living room to talk a while.  It was then that I experienced the amazing transformation from trying to avoid noticing their handicaps and disfigurements to communicating with the spirit alone.  Before five minutes of conversation was over it was soul to soul; I was looking into their eyes as I spoke and listened, completely forgetting about any physical deficiencies they may have had and experienced the most wonderful fellowship ever in a small-group setting.  It was amazing...something I will never forget.