Vern's Bursts

(Stop trying to figure out what the picture has to do with the post. It doesn't. It just doesn't)

Jon is doing a song that I requested this Sunday. I get to request songs...and he actually sometimes complies. Others request songs, but they don't get them. Maybe they just can't make an offer like I can. Better stop. This is getting out of hand. He does this version of an old standard that I love. And then there is this little clip of Tim speaking at the beginning that I love. All that to say that the song is a version of How Great Thou Art. And thinking of How Great Thou Art reminds me of hearing the song when I was young and that reminds me of Vern and that reminds me of Vern's Bursts. (really, really long run-on sentence, whew!)

When I was little, I was in church around the clock. Almost. And there was a very large man named Vern. Vern sang. Like, opera style. And he was big. Did I say that? He would sing very long songs while doing some kind of conducting with his hands. Sometimes he would get excited and jump and that sent me into hysterics. Of all the hours I spent in church, I had to find some way to amuse myself. So when Vern sang, I was amused. He would take these huge gasps after his long, drawn out opera notes. They made him jiggle. We called them Vern's bursts. Just recently I found a school picture of myself. Apparently it was the only paper that I had in my purse, and it served as a scorecard for Vern's bursts. I made little tally marks with the date and kept track of every single time that he let out a huge gasp of air. He sounded like he was drowning. And apparently during all my scorekeeping, he set a record of 28 times. I can just picture myself sitting there, pen poised in hand, waiting on the edge of my seat for a burst. Everyone around me must have wondered why I sat up so straight and began taking notes when Vern was called up to sing.

Jon does a heck of a job on that song. I love the version he does and of course, I love him. But, Jon just doesn't set me into hysterics the way Vern did. Which is probably a good thing because I'm all grown up and mature and proper now.