Many years ago, comedian, Joan Rivers, lost her husband tragically. Not only were she and her daughter, Melissa, rocked emotionally, but financially as well, as Joan and her husband who wrote for her show, had both recently been released
from their contract at Fox Entertainment. As the dust settled after it started to set in that the two of them were now the sole members their family, Joan called Melissa at college to tell her that they would have to sell their family home that Melissa had grown up in. Melissa, still in grief said to her mother that she couldn’t sell the house since all of the memories of their family were there and sh asked if there wasn’t there someway they could avoid selling the house. The phone call ended with both in tears. Later, Melissa called her mother apologizing for her outburst and said to her that she understood what her Mom would have to do and ended the call with, “Mom, HOME will be where ever you are.” Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz was right, "there’s no place like Home." Not a house, A HOME.
Remember the movie, Father of the Bride staring Steve Martin, Diane Keaton and Kimberly Williams (now Paisley) and how the house had such a significant role in the movie. SO much so, that the wedding ended up taking place at the house and then in the sequel, Father of the Bride 2, the house is sold and then rebought when Steve Martin’s character realizes the importance of the house in his family’s life, especially now that they are expecting a third child. The director of both movies, Nancy Meyers, is known for her “homey” set designs. Think of the sets in Something’s Gotta Give, It’s Complicated, Parent Trap, The Holiday, The Intern or Baby Boom, all of settings tell about the characters through the interior or the homes in these movies.
Home. When we think of home, many think of a physical house. Maybe it’s the house you grew up in. Maybe it’s the town you come from, as in “My home is Grand Blanc” or “Home will always be Michigan to me.” Home can be the place you vacation every summer as in “Camp Michigan just seems like Home to me because we spent so many summers there.” Home can be the place we gather with those life long friends every time they are in town, as in “We just feel so at home at Little Joe’s when we all get together, with all those times spent there over the years.” Or yet, it can be how a group of friends makes you feel, as in “my buddies at the health club make me feel so much at home and I just love walking through that door.” Or still, your faith community, as in “Every Sunday morning, when we worship together, the congregation just feels like Home and every week we look forward to being there.”
When you’re somewhere you feel at Home, you can be yourself and you seem to be at your BEST when you are there. You don’t have to explain yourself you don’t have to talk all the time you can just be you.
Last week I watched an old interview with George Michael, of the two man eighties band, WHAM! and later a successful singer solo. The interview was conducted by British talk show host Michael Parkinson back from 1998. George talked so lovingly about the family he grew up in, describing how his British Mum kept a nice home for the family while his father, who immigrated to England from Cyprus ran his restaurant. He talked about the close relationship he had with his two sisters and a very close Uncle who bought him his grand piano. He discussed the love they showed him when he told them that he was gay. He said that they always made him feel “at Home,” and loved, no matter where he was or what happened.
Home is where, when we are children, we learn how to behave, how to socialize and maneuver when we go out into the world. Both children and adults feel that
they can “let their hair down” when they cross the threshold to their home. They say that children are much better behaved when they are somewhere other than with their parents, as they know their parents will accept them no matter what. What a comforting feeling for a child. Yes, as the inscription on the mantle of the Martha Cook Building, the all girls dorm I lived in at the University of Michigan, words of the Alumni donor, William Cook, whose mother the dorm is named after, “HOME is the Nation’s Safety,” for every adult and child.
This week, I heard an interview with kickboxer and social influencer, Andrew Tate. Yes, he has said some controversial things. He claims to have been misquoted and misunderstood, I don’t know for sure about that, but he did make some good points in the interview, about the messages in his videos teaching teenage boys to be strong, responsible men. His message of working hard to achieve goals, being successful and making good choices is a good message really for anyone. He talked about children learning to be good adults from their parents and the value of the home for stability for both the family and society as well.
When I was a junior in college, I spent a semester abroad in London along with my Chief Friend from high school, Denise. We fit in as much as we possibly could that semester. One weekend, we ventured up to Edinburgh, Scotland, taking the train, along with three other friends. Before there were Airbnbs there were Bed and Breakfasts, known as B&Bs through out Great Britain. A B&B was an arrangement of a bed/lodging and breakfast in someone’s home. You called and made arrangements in advancement and you were all set. Some how, I don’t recall how, we found a B&B owned by a retired couple, Mr. and Mrs. Shannon and I still recall their address or at least the street, Coates Gardens. It was a lovely townhouse nicely furnished. When we arrived by cab to the residence, Mrs. Shannon welcomed us and Mr. Shannon helped us carry our bags to our rooms on the second floor. We saw the sites over the weekend and both Saturday and Sunday mornings she prepared a nice breakfast of scrambled eggs and scones with orange marmalade, of course served with tea. The table was beautifully set and she and Mr. Shannon asked about our daily adventures. As we were departing on Sunday after breakfast for the train station, we paid and she handed us all chocolate bars for trip back to London. The Shannons made us feel at HOME in their Home, thousands of miles away from our own families and homes in Michigan. It was not a grand home, it was simple, it was clean and and their home made us feel good.
So maybe Home is the WORLD'S Safety. When someone comes from a home, any home, where there is love, guidance and support, they can go out into the world, look out for their neighbor and love one another…Yes, there’s no place like A Home ❤️
