Daily News Journal Column September 2, 2018 “There’s nothing like a stadium full of people coming together to remind you what life’s about." -Kenny Chesney. OK, first let’s acknowledge that people in “public life” constantly say things that they wish they hadn’t. Occupational hazard. You can’t just be mum, sing your songs, and leave the stage. Not if you want adoring fans, anyway. People want to know you outside of your songs. It’s a real need for some that almost a pproaches a level of idolatry. Years ago, there were those who had shrines to Elvis in their homes. He defined and formed their very lives, their souls. Some celebrities encourage this. Elvis certainly didn’t seem to discourage it. Those adoring crowds can be frightening though, even dangerous. I don’t know Mr. Chesney or his music, couldn’t quote you the name of a single one of what I assume are his many hits. You may hate me for taking his name in vain. I’m sorry. Mr. Chesney certainly seems to be expressing a heartfelt thought with his comment, for I’m sure that’s what it feels like to him. A stadium full of adoring fans is indeed what life’s all about when you are the idol of many beating hearts and object of much adulation, and he must indeed be good at what he does, for it’s certainly a competitive business. But my dudgeon is aroused with comments like Mr. Chesney’s. What is life “about?” I want to vote for more than just stadiums full of ticket buyers. If he’d said, “I was visiting someone at the hospital the other day and saw a young, very slight nurse struggling to help a large, sick patient sit up in bed and I thought, ‘You know, that’s what life’s all about,’” I could go with that. There are any number of things that might pass muster. “I saw some newlyweds drive off from the church the other day and stop at the corner to give a homeless woman some money and the bridal bouquet.” Or, “I saw a girl go into McDonald’s to buy a burger and get some water to take to a sick dog on the sidewalk who looked abandoned.” Or, “A friend of mine got his 20 year Sobriety coin last week.” Or, “I heard about a family that had fostered 100 sick or addicted infants in the last 20 years.” “I saw a mailman stop and help a kid up who’d hurt himself when he fell off his bike, and I thought, “that’s what life is all about.” I’ve been to a couple of stadium concerts, long ago. I know what Mr. Chesney means, at least from the perspective of the cheap seats, not the stage. The emotive power of a crowd, thousands strong, is felt and it’s intoxicating. I’m just not sure that’s always a good thing. Compared to what crowds down through history have wrought, country music concerts and other similar events are as innocent as a buttercup. Stimulating, exciting, uplifting even, sometimes. But not even close to the power of a nurse’s hand wiping a sick patient’s brow, or a father sitting up with a sick child all night. “What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare. No time to stand beneath the boughs And stare as long as sheep or cows. No time to see, when woods we pass, Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass. No time to see, in broad daylight, Streams full of stars, like skies at night. No time to turn at Beauty's glance, And watch her feet, how they can dance. No time to wait till her mouth can Enrich that smile her eyes began. A poor life this if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare.” (Henry Davies) Steve Odom is pastor Central Christian Church on E. Main St. in Murfreesboro and may be reached at steven.odom@gmail.com