Two Weeks ago I had the distinct pleasure to meet Mark Harvey and his wife Linda. Mark writes for American Daily Review, Canada Free Press and his site “Snooper Report” and has done his own Internet Radio program for a long time now.
I have only known him for a year and all of it over the web or by phone. Fortunately I was still able to meet Mark and Linda right after he arrived home from the hospital after 5 days of being under observation and testing.
It was determined that “Snooper” had not only suffered a mild stroke while on the air doing his “Take Our Country Back Radio” program but had also had a mild heart attack while in the hospital.
I have not called since visiting him and his wife Linda just because I want to give them their space and privacy. Then I have to admit it is also because the visit with them had a profound impact on me and got me to doing a lot of deep thinking.
There was a point where they had a private moment in front of me regarding how they will handle life with each other and how they plan to spend more time going places with one another, how much time Mark spends devoted to politics, etc. They didn’t cry or anything, it was just them speaking retrospectively in front of me. Being married too the subltely of the moment and the deeper meanings were not missed. They are a cute, funny, nice married couple, very good and simple people. Really nice. The kind of folks that you want for neighbors.
But like many of us, we often forget how mortal we are and how important our family and marriages are, not because we abuse them, but because we as humans take them for granted that we will wake up beside each other everyday. I could see that their love ran deep and they were taking this wake up call VERY seriously. It was a good thing, and as “Snooper” said he knows he “feels lucky to be alive”, he realized just how close he came to meeting his maker, and yet he has so much more life to live.
I will turn 42 this July (“Snooper” is 54) I had originally planned the trip to Dallas to see my 19 year old son Shawn but after he had to leave to visit a friend of his from college in the hospital I ended up spending more time with my parents who are in their late sixties, which was a long time in coming. I had not physically seen them since Christmas.
Anyway - after missing my wife and 17 year old daughter who stayed home for the weekend, then having to miss important time with my son, spending time with my parents, my former pastor who stopped in for a visit at their home (he is aretired but is still preaching and building mission churches at age 79) and then meeting “Snooper” , things like my own mortality REALLY came home to roost.
God has been working on me for months now in regards to having a deeper dedication to him. As a Christian I am a believer but after talking with my parents, my sister, my son, missing my wife and daughter, seeing the pastor who baptized me, visiting Mark and Linda, and seeing the potential finality of what they had just endured, it gave me more reason for reflection.
There is so much more to our lives than the day to day, but that is what we tend to focus on. Instead, I would encourage everyone to spend time with the ones you love doing the things that you and they love.
That time cannot be replaced nor can the loss of it. And none of us know when that final time will come.
John Barnhart is an American Internet talk radio host, conservative commentator, published author, is a member of the Committee of Concerned Journalists, The National Coalition Coordinator for The Foundation for Conservative Solutions, a proud member of The Sovereignty Alliance, Gun Owners of America, The John Birch Society, various other conservative organizations, and is the Founder and Executive Editor of American Daily Review.
