John Gunter

Thoughts on Life and Living

My thoughts on singleness (a series…)

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Me (with Craig Clarke) at the Sunken Road from the Battle of Fredericksburg. . .
Me (with Craig Clarke last summer) at the Sunken Road from the Battle of Fredericksburg. . .

Table of Contents for this series on singleness:

(Explanation and overview of this series follows this list of contents)

Recently, Ruthie Dean asked me to write an article for her blog on the subject of singleness. I was honored, as her blog is exceptional. Additionally, it is a subject I have thought about often. This is probably obvious from the simple truth that I AM single and have been for quite a while. As a result, I had been meaning to write on the subject of singleness since I started this blog 9 months ago. However, it took Ruthie’s request to write for her blog to finally get me started.

So, what began as an article for Ruthie Dean and now evolved into an entire, ongoing series on singleness.  I don’t proclaim to be an expert on the subject, just a guy who has had a LOT of practice at being single.

I know that many people who read my blog are married. Actually, most people who read this blog are married. If that is the case, I hope marrieds can benefit from this series in three ways.

  1. Life and laughter – I hope that whether you are single or married, much of what I talk about will be equally applicable. To say it will be about singleness is a bit of a misnomer. This series will be about life. Given that I am an old bachelor, my angle will be from that of the vantage point of singleness. Also, I hope that some of it will be funny for all of us, if nothing else, humorously awkward.
  2. Understanding and ministry – Singles are increasing in number around the world. Did you know that for the first time in America history there are more single adults than marrieds? People are getting married older than ever in America. Divorce is a norm in society. Never marrieds are also increasing. Your churches, neighborhoods, places of work, and even your families will be increasingly populated with single adults. Hopefully reading this series will help you understand and relate to this growing population.
  3. Your future family – If you don’t already, you most likely will have children one day. Eventually, they will be single, at one time or another, in their adult lives. Hopefully, this series will be helpful for you in this way.

The 5 types of people you see on LONG airplane flights

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As I type this, I am on yet another LONG flight.  This one is trans-Pacific.  By my count (you do things like count flights when bored on a LONG flight), this flight will be the 55th time I have flown over the Pacific Ocean.  Add to this the 20 times I have flown over the Atlantic Ocean (not to mention flight from Asia to Europe), and long flights are one of the few things I can truly say I know well.

In honor of my vagabond lifestyle that I have lived for much of my adult life, I am going to do a LONG flight blog or two.  This first one will be on the characters that I often see on these flights.

Here are some classic “I can’t stay awake” guys on my flight.
You see, there really are a few characteristics and/or characters that you seem to always fly with on these flights.  Let’s take a look at a few of them.

  1. The “I can’t stay awake” guy – This guy gets on board, settles his bags, fastens his seat belt, and IMMEDIATELY starts the involuntary forward head bob.  He can’t wait until the flight gets up in the air in order to push his seat back, so he risks serious back injury by simply leaning forward the entire time.  The seatbelt keeps him still, yet is also the reason way he won’t be able to walk when we stands up for the first time in a few hours.  I envy these guys, I really do.  I have trouble sleeping in sterile, comfortable settings, yet [Read more…]

Mom’s laugh and sacrificial heart

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John Gunter with parents
Mom, Dad, and I at their surprise birthday last year

Today, my Mom (Kay Gunter) is on my mind.  If you don’t know her, that is too bad.  She has a laugh that is inexplicably delightful.  She laughs from her belly.  She laughs loud and boisterous, the kind of laugh you can hear from far away locations, like from Atlanta to Toledo.  She laughs in a way that makes everyone in the room happier for being there.

Additionally, my Mom is sweet and kind.  She visits EVERYONE in nursing homes, hospitals, dungeons, caves, sewers, and every other rough place people who are fortunate enough to know my Mom end up.  Seriously, my entire life has been filled with her serving people who are down, [Read more…]

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