J. Davy Crockett III

Nursing homes are places that I have often visited as a minister. Such visits can be a vivid reality check regarding the dramatic effects of aging. These “assisted living” and “memory care” facilities are places for men and women who have reached the point of needing care that their families, for whatever reason, are unable to give.

There is a line from "A Death in the Family" by James Agee that says: "How far we all come. How far we all come away from ourselves. You can never go home again."

There is a great story about Art Linkletter, who was a household word and widely known when he was in his heyday as a television personality. The story goes that as Mr. Linkletter entertained at a nursing home for the elderly, with microphone in hand, he asked an elderly lady in a wheelchair, "Do you know who I am?" The lady replied, "No, I don't, but if you will go over to the nurses' station, one of the nice people there will tell you who you are."

Almost daily, we hear or read about the malfeasance of some trusted individual, whether a key employee at a business or an elected official at some level of local, state or federal government.

"Don't sweat the small stuff – and it's all small stuff." So goes the popular saying. We look for a way to avoid stress and to avoid the consequences of our actions. Yet, when it comes down to it, we are ultimately responsible for our actions – and everything counts.