John Gunter

Thoughts on Life and Living

Mothers, continuity, and the immutability of God

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My entire family at Mom and Dad's 50th wedding anniversary last summer
My entire family at Mom and Dad’s 50th wedding anniversary last summer

This morning, I work up, got on my motorcycle and drove to McDonald’s for a McMuffin. This is actually what I do EVERY Sunday, at least the ones in which I am in town. I come here (I’m currently typing this in the corner of McDonald’s while beyond cheesy Chinese pop music plays in the background), read the Bible, journal some, catch up on the week’s news (mainly on ESPN.com), pray, blog, and generally just decompress. It really is one of the highlights of each week.

Continuity is a wonderful thing. For me while living in a country which is growing and changing at a breakneck speed, in a working environment where the people around me are constantly shifting, this little bit of continuity of Sundays being “me and God time” has kept me afloat.

It has looked different over the past ten years, as I have shifted cities and work situations several times. At times it has been open park benches and at others it has been tea houses. Since December here, it has been McDonald’s. However, every Sunday I try to get away and just do something similar to what I have just outlined.

As I think more about this subject of continuity, I see it all over the place.

In life, we all value continuity in relationships. [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…]

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…]

Life, Asia, friends, and family (pictorial highlights of 2012)

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My time with John Robert's "Flat Wolfie" at a local 1,200 year old city
My time with John Robert’s “Flat Wolfie” at a local 1,200 year old city

It is December 30, 2012.  Time to get contemplative about this past year and think more about what is to be accomplished this coming year. . . or at least that is what “they” tell us.

Well, I’m not going to do exactly that in this post.  However, I am going to look at a few of my favorite personal pictures of the year from four broad categories (life, Asia, friendship, and family) and talk a little about each.

The top picture is me with “Flat Wolfie” in one of the ancient cities that I frequently visit near where I live.  Who is “Flat Wolfie” you ask???  Well, this is Whitefield Academy’s version of the children’s story “Flat Stanley”.  One of the things I have enjoyed over the years has been helping my nieces and nephews DOMINATE in the [Read more…]

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