“You’ll have to speak up, I’m wearing a towel.”

“Maybe, just once, someone will call me “Sir” without adding “You’re making a scene…””

“The three little sentences that will get you through life…

“I think Mr Smithers picked me for my motivational skills. Everyone always says they have to work twice as hard when I’m around!”

Marge: “The plant called and said if you don’t come in tomorrow, don’t bother coming in Monday”

“Woo-hoo! Four day weekend!!!”         Homer Simpson

I think Homer Simpson (thank you Matt Groening) has done more to form our thinking than many of us would like to admit. From ridiculous catch phrases that take thirty seconds to sink in, until you realize it made no sense in the first place, to his ability to speak what most of us are actually thinking.

The magic of the Simpsons! There were a few golden years that were off the chain funny, mixed with a well timed subtlety that raised me in my twenties.

I was a good church going kid, and like most of us we weren’t really allowed to watch Simpsons growing up. It wasn’t until I was out of high school that I started dipping into the forbidden well and progressed to watching them with my dad on occasion. I think he had a soft spot for Homer. Granted, not every item broadcasted was Kope home approved, but there was always a line that the writers in those days seemed to dance around but rarely cross.

I tried watching Family Guy once but the first twenty seconds was both the funniest and most alarming experience I’ve ever had. I still can’t get it out of my head so I went back to the Simpsons.

As the years went on I found the show falling by the wayside a bit but it has now been resurrected in the strangest way by one of our Venue Production crew. He is a sad product (cough cough) of the Millennial Generation that grew up with inferior television, and is extremely jealous of the Homer lines that pop up several times a day in and around Venue.

One day he texted me (Millennials fear actually voice conversations) “Hey, I just found a bunch of Simpsons Seasons on DVD!!!” I knew a new life was beginning for him. I even went 50/50 for the cost. At least I said I was going to and hope I didn’t forget to actually pay him.

We started with Season Six and such classics as Clown College, Marge joining the Police, and Who Shot Mr Burns. As we watched them in my office, there were times we just tilted our chairs back and laughed, looked at each other and laughed some more. How many times have we said “How on earth did they write that???”.

There are so many things that form us as we move to adulthood that it’s hard to say why we think and react the way we do. I’d have to say that part of my ability to be in the middle of a mess and find something ridiculous to say to brighten the mood was honed by Homer.

I think it’s his candid honesty that does it for me. It’s like having to function around adults who rarely speak their minds, to watching your kids when they see something weird for the first time. Somewhere on the road of life we lose the highs and lows that make us blurty.

It’s good to grow up, but I don’t think it’s great to lose the raging depression (“Life is one crushing defeat after another until you just wish Flanders was dead!”) at the expense of the glimpses of revelation (“When a woman says nothing’s wrong, that means everything’s wrong!”). There’s probably a deeper meaning here but I’d hate to miss the funny piece for it.

I imagine some of you are losing massive amounts of respect for me right now, being the pastor of a church and all, but I’ve come to accept the fact that we probably wouldn’t hang out anyways because I’d want to have too much fun:)

Which brings me to a Homer quote I’ve been tempted to use but can’t because I’m a pastor:

“Just because I don’t care doesn’t mean I don’t understand!”

(Granted, it’s normally reserved for people who could win a lottery and find something to complain about… )

So here’s a quote of my own:

Pain will come TO you, but you have to go looking for Funny:)

Well, that article was fun to write but…

“Now I have to face stupid reality again”

Homer