John Gunter

Thoughts on Life and Living

One year into this blog. . . thank you and top posts!

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Recent cookout on the back deck of my apartment. . .
Recent cookout on the back deck of my apartment. . .

Mission accomplished! 

Originally, I set out to blog for one year and try to write 100 posts within that time period.  Well, as of two weeks ago (April 12 to be exact), I crossed both.  There were actually only 98 posts up by that day, but I also wrote eight articles for other sites during the year, so I am content.

Thank you so much for going on this journey together with me!

I began this blog for several reasons, as spelled out in some of my first posts, Maniacal self-absorption, loneliness. . .  and Intentional Processing (what will this blog look like?).

As you can see from these initial articles, my original motivations for starting this blog [Read more…]

Epic birthday surprise

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Mom and Dad during this epic birthday surprise.
Mom and Dad during this epic birthday surprise.

I’ve never been good at surprises. The excitement of whatever is to come is almost always too big of a burden for me to bear. I don’t like this about myself, but it’s true. I do love surprises, though. I’m just not very good at them. This fact is what makes this story that much more enjoyable to remember.

It was March 2011. I was having a local visa issue, so I needed to leave the country for a week or so in order to work it out. This had to be done by the first week in May or I would be in trouble with the local authorities.

I could do this in Hong Kong and this is what I planned. However, [Read more…]

The legacy of a father’s presence

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(L) One of my favorite pics of Dad and I; (R) Dad and I when I surprised him with a visit for his birthday 2 years ago
(L) One of my favorite pics of Dad & me; (R) Dad & I with a surprise visit for his birthday 2 years ago

One of the first video of tapes of me that exists is this scene . . . it was the front yard of my parent’s house. I was tiny, maybe 3 years old. I wore cowboy boots, shorts, and a baseball cap (I guess I have always been aesthetically challenged). There was a miniature baseball mitt on my left hand.

My shoulders were slumped over and my knees bent, as I crouched waiting for baseballs to be hit my way. My next door neighbor and lifelong friend, Boone Benton (he is six years older than I am), did the hitting. Though I was thrilled with life at that exact moment, there were no smiles. I was the definition of focused intensity, at least for a 3-year old in cowboy boots and shorts.

Cards on the table; most of the balls went around my glove and through my legs, but I clearly loved it nonetheless. I would chase the ball down from behind me and throw it back to Boone with every bit of strength I could muster up. I didn’t mug for the camera. I just went about the business of honing the skills of a middle infielder.

The video is grainy and jumpy, but my memory is not.

Thinking of that video, two things come to mind about my youth. The first is superficial, while the second has impacted my life for the good well beyond my temporal comprehension. [Read more…]

The transcendent values of BASEBALL

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My friends Troy Coons, Phil Autry, Julian Krevere, and I at a Braves game two years ago
My friends Troy Coons, Phil Autry, Julian Krevere, and I at a Braves game two years ago

As I sit here in a local coffeehouse, I am thinking about baseball.  We are on the cusp of one on the greatest weeks of each year; Opening Week of the Baseball season.

I love the sport and always have.  I don’t remember a time in life where baseball wasn’t important to me.

Baseball is different than any of the other American sports.  I’m not necessarily saying better, I’m just saying different.  No other sport is called our “National Pastime” like baseball.  As I think about it, I do believe there are transcendent values to the game of baseball which are unique to the sport.

So, in honor of opening week, here are four (plus one bonus) of the more “transcendent values” of the game of baseball which have kept me engaged with the sport well beyond my playing days.

1 – The generational aspect of baseball [Read more…]

3 great Easter memories (both fun & significant)

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(left) Betsy, Becky, and I with Dad; just prior to THE Easter Bunny incident; (right) Nathan with my camera two years later
(left) Betsy, Becky, and I with Dad; just prior to THE Easter Bunny incident; (right) Nathan with my camera two years later

Thise week, I have enjoyed thinking about the Easter holiday and the significance in my life. In the process, three great memories have come to mind.

First, I remember being young, really young. I was in Glenville, Georgia at my Grandmother’s (Meme) house. I don’t remember how young I was, but I was young enough to still believe in the Easter bunny.

Glenville, Georgia, as you might guess, is a small town. It has produced the Great Kay Gunter and several NFL players. I love Kay (also known as “Mom” to me) and I really like the NFL, so I think the town is pretty cool.

Anyway, Meme had a large field behind her house. My sisters convinced me THE Easter Bunny had been seen jumping around back there. I completely believed them and went out in search of this holiday titian, second only to Santa in importance. To this day, I can picture “THE Easter Bunny” that I really thought I saw.

He was huge (maybe six feet tall), as white as untouched snow, and his ears were tall and pointy. I was CONVINCED I saw him, so much so that to this day I can remember the image I saw of him jumping in the back of the field and disappearing into the trees.

Of course, I didn’t see him. However, it was so real at the time that I can still remember the mirage my mind concocted on that Easter weekend. My sisters were pretty believable in fooling me at the time.

Second, I remember Easter Day 2005. My sister Betsy was pregnant with her 4th. “Big as a house” pregnant is probably a better, more apt

[Read more…]

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