Norm Peterson's Famous Quotes
(from TV's "Cheers")

"Can I draw you a beer, Norm ?""No, I know what they look like. Just pour me one."

"How's a beer sound, Norm?""I dunno. I usually finish them before they get a word in."

"What's shaking, Norm?""All four cheeks and a couple of chins."

"What would you say to a nice beer, Normie?""Going Down?"

"What's new, Normie?""Terrorists, Sam. They've taken over my stomach and they're demanding beer."

"What'll it be, Normie?""Just the usual Coach. I'll have a froth of beer and a snorkel."

"What would you say to a beer, Normie?""Daddy wuvs you."

"What'd you like, Normie?""A reason to live. Give me another beer."

"What'll you have, Normie?""Well, I'm in a gambling mood Sammy. I'll take a glass of whatever comes out of that tap.""Looks like beer, Norm.""Call me Mister Lucky."

"What'd you say, Norm?""Any cheap, tawdry thing that will get me a beer."

"What would you say to a beer, Norm?""Hiya, sailor. New in town?"

(Coming in from the rain)"Evening everybody."Everybody: "Norm!""Still pouring, Norm?""That's funny, I was about to ask you the same thing."

"Whaddya say, Norm?""Well, I never met a beer I didn't drink."

"Hey Norm, how's the world been treating you?""Like a baby treats a diaper."

"Would you like a beer Mr.. Peterson?""No, I'd like a dead cat in a glass."

"How's life treating you?""It's not, Sammy, but you can."

"What's the story, Mr. Peterson?""The Bobbsey twins go to the brewery. Let's cut to the happy ending."

"Hey Mr. Peterson, there's a cold one waiting for you.""I know, if she calls, I'm not here."

"Beer, Norm?""Have I gotten that predictable? Good."

"What's going on, Mr. Peterson?""A flashing sign in my gut that says, 'Insert beer here.'"

"Hey Mr. Peterson, Jack Frost nipping at your nose?""Yep, now let's get Joe Beer nipping at my liver, huh?"

"What's going on, Mr. Peterson?""Another layer for the winter, Wood."

"Whatcha up to, Norm?""My ideal weight if I were eleven feet tall."

"How's it going Mr. Peterson?""Poor.""I'm sorry to hear that.""No, I mean pour."

"How's life treating you, Norm?""Like it caught me sleeping with its wife."

"Women. Can't live with 'em ... pass the beer nuts."

"What's going down, Normie?""My butt cheeks on that bar stool."

"Pour you a beer, Mr. Peterson?""Alright, but stop me at one....make that one-thirty."

"How's it going Mr. Peterson?""It's a dog eat dog world, Woody and I'm wearing Milk Bone underwear.

"What's the story, Norm?""Boy meets beer. Boy drinks beer. Boy meets another beer."

"How's about a beer, Norm?""That's that amber sudsy stuff, right? I've heard good things about it!"

"What's going on, Mr. Peterson?""The question is, `what's going 'in' Mr. Peterson?" A beer, please, Woody."

"Can I pour you a beer, Mr. Peterson?""A little early isn't it, Woody?""For a beer?" "No, for stupid questions."

I Want to Know What Love Is

A couple weeks ago Janice and I got to see one of our favorite 70’s / 80’s rock n’ roll bands play. Foreigner. They don’t fill up the huge concert venues like they used to but they still put on a great show for us old codgers.

On the day of the concert I was on my 30 minute commute to work and I thought I would listen to some of Foreigner’s songs so I would be familiar with what they would be playing that night at the concert. So I plugged in my IPod to my car stereo, searched through the Artist list, hit Foreigner and Shuffle and started my drive to work.

Foreigner is probably best known for their rock songs such as Double Vision, Hot Blooded, and Juke Box Hero but they also had some great hits with their slower “love songs.” It was one of those songs that first came on as I pulled out of the neighborhood. Resisting the urge to forward it to the next song or to find one of my favorite, more “rockier” songs I decided to let the first go ahead and play.

The song playing was, I Want to Know What Love Is. A great song I must say. I am not sure how long it had been playing or how many times it had gone through the chorus before I actually heard what the band was singing. And while singing along in my best “gosh I wish I was a rock star” voice the words to the chorus seemed to come alive.

I wanna know what love is
I want you to show me
I wanna feel what love is
I know you can show me

And just as these words were playing, I happened to drive by a house that had a nativity scene in their front yard. Then these words really came alive.

And it hit me; this is truly what Christmas is all about. Well, at least that is what the first Christmas was about.

After thousands of years of man trying to follow God’s teachings and laws and those teachings and laws being distorted by man. And then after almost 400 years of no word from God at all you can almost hear mankind crying out with,

I wanna know what love is,
I want You to show me.


So God did.

So God sent his son Jesus to show us what love is. And nothing says “love” better than a new born baby. A baby is love in its purest form. Innocent and vulnerable with a huge amount of cute and cuddly thrown in.

Who doesn’t love a new born baby? And on that first Christmas day this baby, this Jesus, received the love He deserved. And not only from His parents but from lowly shepherds and mighty kings as well. But as we all know a new born baby doesn’t give out a lot of love. It is more about receiving love. And Jesus didn’t just come to receive love. He came to show us what love is. And who to love. And how to love.

So He left the comfort and the security of His mother’s arms and took His first steps toward the cross. But along that walk He showed us love every step of the way.

He showed us love in His teachings and His healings. He showed us love in His touch and His tears. He showed us love for His father’s house as He chased away those that had mocked it. And He showed love to a rich young ruler even as he turned and walked away. He loved the unlovely. He showed love to all twelve of his chosen disciples even though some of them would doubt Him, deny Him, and betray Him. And then in His greatest act of love He showed us that love for you and me and not the piercing nails would hold Him to the cross. Now that is love.

Things really haven’t changed much from that first Christmas. I think we are still crying out, I wanna know what love is and I want you to show me. And God is still showing us.

That amazing sunrise. A shoulder to cry on. That laughter shared with friends. The peace you feel in the middle of the storm. And that bible on your night stand. All of these are ways that God is screaming out His love for us.

So during this Christmas season please know this. If you are crying out

I wanna know what love is
I want You to show me.

You can. God has. God will.

A Relationship with my Father

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My father passed away a few months ago. Two days before Christmas. Obviously there is never a good time to deal with this but with him passing during the Christmas season it seemed to make it harder. Although I can’t imagine it would have been any easier to deal with had it been any other time of the year.

My parents divorced when I was just 2 ½ years old and due to the fact that Dad was in the Air Force and stationed at various military bases around the country me and my older brother saw very little of him growing up. We grew up in Missouri as Dad found himself stationed in assorted locations in the US including stops in Florida and an extended period of time in Hawaii.

From the time of my parent’s divorce until my mid 20’s I guess I only saw Dad a handful of times. No school events, no ball games, or either of my graduations from high school or college included my father.

Needless to say we didn’t really have much of a relationship. We talked about him being Dad but he didn’t seem like my Dad. He was my father and I knew he was out there somewhere but that was about it.

But then one year while Dad was living in Arizona he came back to Missouri to see me and my brother. My brother was married and had two boys so Dad got to see them and I was about to get married so Dad got to meet my bride to be. We had a great time but I must say it was a little awkward. Kind of hard to know what to talk about since I didn’t really know his world and he didn’t know mine. But still a good time.

A year or so later Dad came back for another visit and this time it was much easier to be around him. We shared memories from his last visit and talked about what all had happened since we had been together last. And when he left to go back to Tucson it was hard to see him go.

It seems he missed a year or two after that but then he started coming back each year and did so for the next 16 years without missing a single year. He would fly into Oklahoma City where I lived with my family and he would spend a few days with us. We would play golf, fish, watch old movies, go get ice cream, or just sit and talk. Then after a few days with me and my family, Dad and I would head out to meet up with my brother. The rendezvous spot was always at one of our favorite fishing holes. Places like Roaring River or Angler’s Paradise made the perfect place for the three of us to meet. Dad could set for hours as my brother and I shared old stories of high school pranks, sporting events, or various occasions that he missed by us being separated during those years.

I might have gone there to fish but much more than that happened. A relationship with my father is what happened. No sooner as one visit would end we would start planning the next. And over the years the greetings got sweeter and sweeter and the goodbyes got harder and harder. A relationship that had been missing for so long was now a real part of my life.

This story of my relationship with my father seems to mirror my relationship with my heavenly Father.

Very early on in my life God seemed to be in the picture. My Mom would take me and my brother to church and eventually I got involved in some of the children’s events at church. Later as more of my friends started attending the same church we did several things as a group. But to be honest it was more of a “social” event than a “spiritual” one. So once school and friends provided the social interaction I needed I stop going to church. And that seemed to end any possible relationship with God.

At church they talked a lot about God being God but He didn’t seem like he was my God. I guess I learned enough during my time at church that I knew that God was out there somewhere but that was about it.

Fast forward several years later to a time in my life where some folks took the time to introduce me once again to God. But this time they introduced me directly to Him and not to a church or a religion.

And being reunited with God was a little bit little like being reunited with my Dad. It was a little awkward being around God. I didn’t really know what to say and I didn’t feel we had anything in common. I didn’t know much at all about his world and I didn’t feel he knew much about mine.

But over time that would change. The more I learned about His world I realized He actually did know a lot about mine. He knew how I felt about things. He knew my desires and the things I was passionate about. He knew what I wanted and what I needed and in time He showed me the difference in them. He showed me His love through the people that loved me and in the things He created.

And I learned about Him too. I learned what He loved and what He didn’t. I learned about His mercy and his grace and a lot about His forgiveness.

But the greatest thing I learned was that during the time that we didn’t seem to have a relationship at all, His greatest desire was that we would. Again, a lot like my Dad.

And just like Dad, the more I was around God and the more our relationship grew the more I wanted to be around Him. I look forward to learning more about Him, talking to Him, and more importantly listening to Him. We finally have the relationship that He wanted all along. Or at least we are getting closer to it.

I miss my Dad. And I always will. But I am so thankful for the relationship we were able to build over the last 20 years of his life.

And I am saddened by the thought of all the years I missed having a relationship with my heavenly Father. But I am so thankful that He was standing there waiting for me when I was ready to have a relationship with Him.