I just have to tell y’all a story about Brother Tony. Brother Tony is about 4 1/2 feet tall, with balding gray hair and is just about the funnest, liveliest, kindest church member we have. He is never late for church, and never misses. Mamaw always says, “If Brother Tony ever missed a church service, y’all better be hopin’ we all haven’t been left behind in the Rapture.” We all love him so much; he never has a frown, or a bad thing to say about anybody.

I have to tell you this too; Brother Tony is a special needs person. But the way he acts, he is just so happy to be alive all the time. He gives everybody a hug, even the new people. He always passes out hymnals, helps elderly people to their cars, and just genuinely loves everybody. I don’t think he has a single enemy in the world. I have never met somebody that happy in all my life.

One more thing about Brother Tony, he has a slight speech problem, so you kind of have to listen careful to make out what he is saying, especially when he is excited about something, or telling you a story. But everybody almost fights to hang out with Brother Tony after the service, because he always has some adventure, or some tall tale to make you laugh with.

His favorite thing to do is put a piece of carefully wrapped corn bread, chicken, peanut butter cracker or something good to eat in his coat pocket. I asked him why he did that once, and he told me, “Sometimes Preacher preaches too long and my belly grumbles and gets mad at me. So I gotta give it something to eat, so it will hush.” Can’t argue with that logic, no sir.

The best thing of all I think, is that every single time there is an altar call, where the pastor calls everybody up to pray, or get saved or whatever, during the invitation song Brother Tony always, and I mean always goes up to the altar and gives his heart to Jesus. Every single time. He prays with people too, and is always the last one to leave the altar call.

Well Aunt Cora T. decided one day she didn’t like Brother Tony always going up to the altar to get saved over and over. She decided she was going to put a stop to it, one way or the other. This particular service, when the altar call finished and we were dismissed, Aunt Cora T. marched straight up to the altar in front of everybody and called him out.

“Brother Tony! Brother Tony!”, she exclaimed, You need to listen to me, you need to STOP that foolishness of going up to that altar every single service to get saved! That ain’t nothing but blasphemy, and God is gonna smite you for blaspheming him that way! She was real mean the way she said it, but that didn’t faze Brother Tony.

Brother Tony looked at her for a minute, and without missing a beat, told her, “You dit dee behind me Tatan, you ole debbil!” We all lost it, Aunt Cora T. turned red as a beet and stomped off in a huff. We all had a good laugh over that one, and nobody laughed harder than Brother Tony. He does not mess around or play games about his salvation.

Maybe he knows something we don’t? I wish I was that happy all the time.