Do you ever get into conservations with people that—like the Energizer bunny—just seem to go on and on and on? It seems that some people are just gifted with verbal abundance. Do you know I mean? You ask them for the time of day and they wind up telling you how to build a clock! And what about those people who continually jump from subject to subject, with no seeming line of logic or coherence? Do you know anyone like that?The other day, Sandy and I sat down at Short Sugar's Barbecue for a quick bite to eat. It had been a rather busy day, we hadn’t seen each other at all, and we wanted to have a quiet moment to converse and catch up the day’s activities before heading off for a meeting at church. There weren’t very many patrons at Short Sugar's that evening, so it looked like a safe bet. We had just gotten our food, and prayed over it, when some unfamiliar elderly gentleman came up to our table and started talking. I thought, is this person someone I know or should know? Is he possibly a member of our church? After a few minutes I realized he was neither. And I have no idea why he singled us out. But he stood at our table for a good 15-20 minutes and talked non-stop, beginning with the flavor of the barbecue, the price of gasoline, the way Danville used to be, his belief that Yanceyville had better restaurants, his former career working for Dan River, his wife’s ailments, how he once had a side job mowing lawns
for several people, the church he attended, a famous evangelist he heard speak once or twice, a song he had written, his many trips to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and so on and so on and so on. He had tremendous breath control, because we couldn’t get a word in edgewise. And I’m not sure he wanted us to. He just wanted an audience. And we definitely were a captive one, with our uneaten meals growing cold before us. Our waitress tried to rescue us more than once, but to no avail. After a few minutes of trying to be courteous, we decided that we just needed to eat while he stood there and talked on. About the time we finished our rushed meal, he all of a sudden said goodbye. He never told us his name or asked ours. We gave time for him to pay his check and exit before we followed suit. After it was all said and done I said to Sandy, “Who in the world was that guy?” She said, “He’s just lonely.” And, of course she was right. But this whole experience reminded me of other instances when I’ve been involved in conversations with people (dialogues of course, not monologues like at Short Sugar’s) that bounce from topic to topic that have no apparent connection or relevance.
Most people refer to those meandering conversations as “chasing rabbits” or “getting sidetracked.” When it happens in our church staff meetings—seemingly with greater frequency since my arrival—our associate pastor Ryan Riley often notes that “we seem to have digressed.” A lot of times, admittedly, I am the perpetrator of said digressions, telling some colorful story from my vast pastoral experience that I know will simply enthrall as well as educate my staff. (Hey, wait a minute, did someone yawn?)
A few years ago when I was on a mission trip with my former church, there were a couple of people on the trip that were extremely verbose and, between the two of them, a conversation could take a number of dramatic and unexpected twists and turns, winding up far, far away from whence it had begun. One time they were talking about a goat that had climbed a rock wall around our place of lodging, marveling at its agility. (Strange subject, I know. But you had to be there.) Then, all of a sudden, one of the guys very excitedly said, “You know, once I saw an old photo of a mountain goat standing on the eyebrow of a president on Mount Rushmore!” Instantly, I did a double take, catching the eye of my youth pastor, who was thinking the same thing I was—“What in the world does that have to do with anything?” From that time on, the youth pastor—also named 
Ryan—and I shared this private, inside joke. Whenever we were in a meeting, and the discussions were getting far away from their original purpose, we would look at one another and one of us invariably would say, “The goat is on the eyebrow!” That was our code language for “Wow! This conversation has really gotten way off base.” Soon, the phrase became known by the whole church staff and it became a not too infrequent expression uttered in staff meetings.
Interestingly, in recent years, I have searched high and low for that alleged vintage photograph of a goat on the eyebrow of a president. I have never been able to find it. I’ve seen goats NEAR Mount Rushmore, but not actually ON Mount Rushmore. So, I’ve begun to wonder if it really exists or if it was just the figment of someone’s imagination. If you ever happen to come across this image, please let me know. I’ve got some folks I’d love to send it to. I might even print out a copy and take it with me the next time I go to Short Sugar’s…just in case my loquacious friend shows up there again. I think I’ll give him a copy of it with no explanation and see if he can figure it out on his own.
for several people, the church he attended, a famous evangelist he heard speak once or twice, a song he had written, his many trips to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and so on and so on and so on. He had tremendous breath control, because we couldn’t get a word in edgewise. And I’m not sure he wanted us to. He just wanted an audience. And we definitely were a captive one, with our uneaten meals growing cold before us. Our waitress tried to rescue us more than once, but to no avail. After a few minutes of trying to be courteous, we decided that we just needed to eat while he stood there and talked on. About the time we finished our rushed meal, he all of a sudden said goodbye. He never told us his name or asked ours. We gave time for him to pay his check and exit before we followed suit. After it was all said and done I said to Sandy, “Who in the world was that guy?” She said, “He’s just lonely.” And, of course she was right. But this whole experience reminded me of other instances when I’ve been involved in conversations with people (dialogues of course, not monologues like at Short Sugar’s) that bounce from topic to topic that have no apparent connection or relevance.Most people refer to those meandering conversations as “chasing rabbits” or “getting sidetracked.” When it happens in our church staff meetings—seemingly with greater frequency since my arrival—our associate pastor Ryan Riley often notes that “we seem to have digressed.” A lot of times, admittedly, I am the perpetrator of said digressions, telling some colorful story from my vast pastoral experience that I know will simply enthrall as well as educate my staff. (Hey, wait a minute, did someone yawn?)
A few years ago when I was on a mission trip with my former church, there were a couple of people on the trip that were extremely verbose and, between the two of them, a conversation could take a number of dramatic and unexpected twists and turns, winding up far, far away from whence it had begun. One time they were talking about a goat that had climbed a rock wall around our place of lodging, marveling at its agility. (Strange subject, I know. But you had to be there.) Then, all of a sudden, one of the guys very excitedly said, “You know, once I saw an old photo of a mountain goat standing on the eyebrow of a president on Mount Rushmore!” Instantly, I did a double take, catching the eye of my youth pastor, who was thinking the same thing I was—“What in the world does that have to do with anything?” From that time on, the youth pastor—also named 
Ryan—and I shared this private, inside joke. Whenever we were in a meeting, and the discussions were getting far away from their original purpose, we would look at one another and one of us invariably would say, “The goat is on the eyebrow!” That was our code language for “Wow! This conversation has really gotten way off base.” Soon, the phrase became known by the whole church staff and it became a not too infrequent expression uttered in staff meetings.
Interestingly, in recent years, I have searched high and low for that alleged vintage photograph of a goat on the eyebrow of a president. I have never been able to find it. I’ve seen goats NEAR Mount Rushmore, but not actually ON Mount Rushmore. So, I’ve begun to wonder if it really exists or if it was just the figment of someone’s imagination. If you ever happen to come across this image, please let me know. I’ve got some folks I’d love to send it to. I might even print out a copy and take it with me the next time I go to Short Sugar’s…just in case my loquacious friend shows up there again. I think I’ll give him a copy of it with no explanation and see if he can figure it out on his own. 
So, for future reference, in case you & I ever happen to be involved in a big group discussion & all of a sudden you hear me say, “The goat is on the eyebrow”, you’ll know exactly what I’m thinking.Pastor Danny
