Wayne's World

This morning Chloe and I sit in Wayne’s hospital room in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, his home town, waiting to meet with his doctor. He has been in the hospital for eight days having great difficulty breathing. Wayne is Chloe’s father and had just spent a week with us in NJ. We were not sure if he was going to survive so Chloe and I decided on Tuesday that we needed to be with him. We left NJ early Wednesday morning on separate planes (due to cheap Internet tickets with me staying only a few days and Chloe staying two weeks) to be with him and to meet with his doctor to determine a quality of life plan for Wayne going forward.

Wayne was born in 1910 in a primitive home dug out of the river bank at Sugar Bottom on the banks of the Iowa River a few miles south of here, illustrating what starting out dirt poor really means. Wayne has lived during nearly all of the twentieth century as well as the start of the current century. The amazing thing is that Wayne has never got old. Throughout his life he has had an astonishing ability to go with the flow and change himself to always be relevant. His life is worthy of note and I believe follows the life Christ modeled for us. I have been reading the Gospels of Luke and now John recently and I thought I would attempt to write some thoughts on a life well lived, a life lived to the fullest, Wayne’s World.

So, why didn’t Wayne get old after almost 97 years? First of all, Wayne always takes care of himself. Physically, Wayne is fit. In the 1960s, Wayne walked two miles to and from work every day because the family had only one car. Chloe’s mother was a teacher and needed the family car. He is still a good eater even today as I watched him gobble down his hospital lunch tray. Wayne’s generation defines what it means to be a hard worker. At 96, he was out last winter in the freezing cold chipping ice around his driveway. Wayne was an avid outdoor sportsman and conservationist. He shot his last deer at age 89. He still likes to fish even though he is afraid of boats because he never learned to swim. Mentally, Wayne is sharp. He plays cards (pinochle) three days per week at the senior centers around town. This is like a nine to five job for him as well as 20 or so other seniors like Wayne. They have day long pinochle tournaments with the winners receiving postage stamps for prizes. Wayne is always up on current events and has an opinion on everything (from the Democratic point of view). Wayne is the consummate plugger. “Plugger” was a comic strip about a guy who could always make do with what he had. Wayne once had a fly swatter that broke in the line of duty. Rather than buy another one for a quarter, Wayne repaired the flyswatter by replacing the plastic flap with strips of denim to swat the flies.

Where Wayne shines though is emotionally and spiritually. Wayne is never down and doesn’t seem to worry much. I think this is because he always looks outward to others and puts them first. Wayne exemplifies John 13:34-45 which says, “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” Wayne never complains and never talks about his problems to others. Rather, he is always interested in their lives and how things are going for them. Most amazing is that Wayne still volunteers at a soup kitchen once a month. Spiritually Wayne acknowledges who God is and who he himself is He never forgets to return thanks to God for each meal realizing that all we have is provided by God for us. Wayne looks forward to each day like a good steward. By the end of every day Wayne has made something better than he had found it.

By the way, we did meet the doctor and here’s the scoop. Wayne has pulmonary fibrosis, the serious kind, with a bacterial infection. The treatments will hopefully kill the bacterial infection but will not make his lungs better. His base line has slipped to requiring oxygen for the rest of his life. We are developing a strategy for him to be able to return home with the help of a Godly neighbor assisted by Hospice. His quality of life will include him living out his days in his own home. I’ll close with a verse I read today in Wayne’s room, John 14:27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart! And the peace I give isn’t fragile like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”

This is Wayne’s World today. Praise God!