The Guest - Painted Hunter's Blog

 I heard a story once by a speaker at church. It was a long time ago but I remember basically how it went. Don't worry ... I'm not getting religious here, but the story came to mind this morning while I was thinking about changes for the new year. It was something like this....

When i was a boy growing up in Arkansas, things were as simple as you could want. I got up in the morning, milked the cow, fed the pigs and chickens, and went to school. When I got home, I would help my father on our small farm. We ate our meals together, and after we would sit and listen to the radio or just visit with one another. One day, all of that changed. A visiter came into our house one day and we welcomed him with open arms. He was the most interesting character any of us had ever met. He told the most fantastic stories. It wasn't long before my father asked him to move in, and he did. It seemed that he never ran out of stories to tell us. Mostly he would tell them to us after supper was over and the chores were done, but after a few years that began to change. Soon he was talking non-stop ... all day... and we listened. We no longer ate all of our meals together, and when we did, we were still captured by what our guest was saying. It seemed we no longer had the time to listen to one another. Before long, our guest began to talk about things that made my mother uncomfortable, and sometimes he used bad language in our house. My father was strictly against the use of bad language, but he never said anything to our guest about it. Anyone else ... he would have knocked their teeth out and threw them out the front door for saying such things in front of my mother, but not our guest. It seemed he could say anything he liked, and we would listen. We came to realize that we were growing apart as a family. All we ever seemed to want to do was listen to our guest. And as the years passed, his language became even worse, he spoke more often to my mother about 'dirty' things, but still, my father allowed it. One day, after I came home from school, I found our guest dead in the living room. I went out to the field and told my father. He didn't seem as upset as I thought he would, but he packed up his tools and went to town. When he came back, he had a new guest. So we plugged him in, flipped through the channels, and listened to what our new TV had to say.

My new year's resolution?....get my kids to stop listening to that pesky guest in our house so much!  

Nette Onclaud Date: 1/3/2014 6:07:00 PM yayyy... technology is taking over our lives ( esp the younger generation, age 6-12), but i'm content without TV for a long while; news is gory, storylines of drama, comedy series are recycled...natgeo, history, and food channels are okay... fine blog, caleb... Login to Reply Painted Hunter Date: 1/6/2014 8:22:00 AM Thanks Nette!

Donna Jones Date: 1/3/2014 1:17:00 PM Now ain't that the truth lil brother..even the difference in cartoons is crazy....thanks......lol..from me to you guys...:-) :-) :-) Login to Reply Painted Hunter Date: 1/3/2014 1:31:00 PM Hey sis...they don't make cartoons like they used to...;)

Carol Eastman Date: 1/3/2014 11:42:00 AM Loved it! One of our sons gave us his old TV for Christmas... But it died 3 days later... Our TV blinks for an hour before it's warm enough to stay on. I'll miss it with my Hubby working 2nd shift. But we need a washer more than a TV so the radio and some old CD's will have to do... Once I'm used to the house guest being gone... and it'll take a while... I'll be cool with it!... Besides most I watched is on the Computer now... But that's been acting up lately, too. Getting too old and not enough memory or speed... They say... Radio ho! Login to Reply Painted Hunter Date: 1/3/2014 1:33:00 PM Awesome. When we first moved out of my little cabin to a larger place, I left the TV and we went the next 3 years without one...I kinda miss those days...

Carrie Richards Date: 1/3/2014 10:18:00 AM The "guest" in most every home, intrudes on our lives, and has broken down the family, across the globe. Television, as Chris has said, is an insidious thief of conversation, morality, and peaceful solutions......it changed the dynamics of most families (including my own)... Next came the computer, computer games, cell phones, ipads, the xbox, the list goes on and on.... What is the most insidious of all, is the fact that each 'guest'...will not accept moderation.......it demands the most precious moments of our lives. Thanks Caleb ! Login to Reply Painted Hunter Date: 1/3/2014 1:34:00 PM True. I think the devices and games are more of a problem now, huh?

Kabuteng P.Ink K. Date: 1/3/2014 10:16:00 AM Happy 2014, to you and your loved ones, Caleb! I really enjoyed reading this and sad to say, that guest has also become a baby sitter? Scary, actually. Ok, not just tv, but any of these new devices, the guest's other friends...'Screen time' there should really be a limit to it, kids get younger and they're so addicted to it already. Tablets, anyone? Yikes, can bring such horrors! True story. My brother in-law had to put a cast on a 2 yr old kid on the hips, since his older sister jumped on him on the bed, fighting over an iPad...good for you for wanting to curb that guest Login to Reply Kabuteng P.Ink K. Date: 1/3/2014 11:46:00 PM Super smiles Carrie, Ruben and Caleb! :) the hypnotic babysitter if I may add... imposing a limit on screen time (any device with screens) can be such a challenge, which reminds me, haha I should put a cap on mine as well. Painted Hunter Date: 1/3/2014 1:36:00 PM Howdy Nikko! Yep...TV is the universal babysitter...always on time and doesn't mind staying up late!..ha Carrie Richards Date: 1/3/2014 10:22:00 AM So happy to see you here, Nikko !!! Have missed you!!

Andrea Dietrich Date: 1/2/2014 9:09:00 PM hahaha. I have a question for you in soupmail now. This was awesome!! Also wanted to thank you for supporting my blog today, Caleb. I miss you when you are not here! Login to Reply Painted Hunter Date: 1/3/2014 1:39:00 PM Thanks Andrea...I've been missin' y'all too!

Skat A Date: 1/2/2014 8:43:00 PM Good thinking Caleb, how's the new year treating you? SKAT Login to Reply Painted Hunter Date: 1/3/2014 1:41:00 PM Not bad, Skitty Skat. Thanks for stoppin' by and I hope your 2014 rocks!

Charmaine Chircop Date: 1/2/2014 4:01:00 PM Kids love that guest and grown ups too.The guest can be the T.V..It can be other things too ..Actually it could be anything which steal our precious time from being with.the family.I do.believe -a hobby is great till.it remains a hobby and not becomes a habit.Tnks for sharing yiur wise words Caleb.Kids grow fast..Happy new year to you and yours . Login to Reply Painted Hunter Date: 1/3/2014 1:44:00 PM Yes they do grow fast! My son is nearly a teenager...mind-blower! Happy New Year to y'all as well!

Debbie Guzzi Date: 1/2/2014 2:51:00 PM So true when one or two voices are all that's heard over and over day and night the listener is first enthralled, then mesmerized and finally one would hope bored. My ex [he is a very smart man] said if there's 10 people in the room you shouldn't talk more than 1/10th the time or you are stopping someone else from speaking their mind. Happy New year to you & your lovely wife and family. Our family owned a chicken farm in Maine [course there were cows & horses too] Login to Reply Painted Hunter Date: 1/3/2014 1:47:00 PM Hey, I like that advice...I need to give it to some people I know. Thanks Debbie! Always a pleasure.

Poet Destroyer A Date: 1/2/2014 1:08:00 PM Happy 2014 Caleb, I think that's a good resolution. I have no resolutions yet. Just to be happy this year... xox~ LINDA Login to Reply Painted Hunter Date: 1/3/2014 1:48:00 PM You too Linda!...Sadly, I don't think my resolution will work out...they're too far gone...haha. Maybe I'll just cut down on the beer...;)