Larry Norman Message Board

Larry was a tower of light, and his message was beautifully and courageously beamed and shined and swept all around the world to enlighten.  It was a radical but powerful message of Truth.  It touched so many.  Having met him by chance, knowing nothing about his music or who he was, I remember it vividly.  I was standing in line at Kinko's in W. Salem, of all places.  It was July 1999.  I mark it as an important moment in my life.  I struck up a conversation after overhearing others compliment him on his music.  I asked him what kind of music he played.  To me he was a total stranger.  He asked me what I liked.  I said contemporary Christian music.  He asked me if I could name a few of my favorite artists.  I named what names of artists that I could remember from listening to the radio.  I did not know him nor mentioned his name.  He went out to his car, came back in  and gave me a CD:  "Only Visiting This Planet".  I looked at the date of 1972 and joked:  "Were you wearing diapers when you made this?"  The man standing before me looked too young to have been recording that long ago.  I listened to it on the car stereo the rest of the day and will never forget how I felt: impressed, transported, uplifted, excited to have met such a person who created such as that.  Playing catch up as a new fan, I listened alot to his music for the next couple of years.  Meeting him that first time in person had come  just  before a time of great trial in my life.   I was sustained by the message of that music, among other things of God,  through a big transition and times of loss in my life.  I have always felt that it was just one more sign that God was looking out for me because He placed in my path an ever so brief encounter with such a lighthouse  of a person. 

 I really only ever knew of Larry Norman  when it was getting  near the end of his life.  Everything I came to find out about that man after first meeting him inspired me further.  His music speaks for itself and obviously that is the main source of inspiration to most of us.      What I came to know of the man personally, because he lived in W. Salem, where I came from, well all that comes from the end of his life.   It was three years after I first met him at Kinko's before I  even found out about his heart health problems.   I had never logged onto his web site so couldn't have known that way.  I had attended one church benefit concert that he did and I picked up more CD's at the table during intermission and got some printed materials to read more about Larry Norman.  So I had learned some things about him, but  I still did not know of his heart health problems.  One afternoon ( it must have been over five years ago), he walked  into a coffee shop with his mom.   Since I had met him that time in 1999 at Kinko's, I re-introduced myself (I am sure he didn't remember me but he was polite and introduced me to his mom).    For a few minutes, he had to leave the main room for a bit.  I was keeping his mother company and didn't think about why he had left her alone for a few minutes. I didn't know it at the time but he was having chest pains  Later it was mentioned.  By that time,  she and I had sat together long enough to make friends.   Soon she and I  spent lots of time as I would swing by her house and pick her up, taking her out with me on my outings into town.  It was nice for her, because she didn't drive. She could get out and about with me.  She liked going to coffee houses.   I enjoyed her company so much.  We did errands together.  I visited her at home too.  She and I watched movies together and listened to music at her house.  Because of my closeness to her   I had some idea  of Larry Norman's world,  but I never really saw him.  She would call and ask  me to pray for him when he was in the hospital.  She and I  shared stories about our children, our families, our journey.  She would let me know when he was going to play on a stage.  I attended a couple of his local performances; then I could see how frail he was getting.  I heard about his many hospitalizations through his mom, and even drove her to visit him in the hospital, so she could see him there.  I watched from afar the grace and dignity with which he faced the super painful and debilitating challenges endured because of  his weak and failing heart muscle.  Inexorably,  it took its toll on his quality of life.  But all along, despite the medical history, I sensed the irony that here was a man with a weak heart (in terms of the world) but a real heart in things of the spirit. What I came to find out about him from his mother, the way I could see he  treated his family, what I learned about him through listening to his music and what I knew of his life story  from the bits and pieces I was exposed to, showed this was man with  heart.  How did I know these things?  Like most people, through his music.  From the the CD inserts and some info from one or two concert programs, I pieced together what I know of the the history of his career.  But by knowing his mom I got to know things of the heart.  As a mom, I shared stories of my children to his mom.  She shared things with me that a mother's heart remembers.  Through little  stories from Larry's mom, listening to his music and having a bit of opportunity to make my own observations, I pieced it together.  I did not need to spend much time with Larry to know he was a great instrument for God's Love.  For one thing, he gave of himself as a musician.   Around Salem, he used his talents to help raise funds for smaller churches and other worthy causes, even as he was getting more and more frail.  Much could be learned about the kind of man he was from listening to the message of his music.  Sampling various CD's, I heard a powerful message in the lyrics, but also came to realize  what  a very versatile musician he was.    The more I listened to his work, I realized here was a  truly creative musician who was able to compose and play  various forms of music with  mastery and  complexity.  I am not the most knowledgeable judge of music capability, but for what I know, I got that much about him and I dare say it is not easily disputed.  His voice was kind of high pitched, but the message was so compelling to listen to.   Consistently, his  lyrics were  thought provoking and honest;  catchy in tune, and  compelling in the message; often flowing with cadence, alliteration, rhyme, as well as memorable turn of phrase.  With time, I learned  in bits and pieces some of the history about his music career: how  he uncompromisingly used the gift of his musical talent and lyrical ability to broadcast that which he believed and which is the Truth.  I heard about some of the times where   he   stayed on course, despite the slings and arrows of the prince of this world.  Even though I never saw him perform until it was later in his life, I could see from the earlier videos  his energy and charisma on stage....used to celebrate Jesus as well as  exhort, confront, console, and comfort.  These are the kind of things that come  from an unwavering heart of character To observe him in person, anyone could see he was almost shy.  He came across as thoughtfilled, not as an arrogant,  pushy or vain person.  He seemed measured and modest.  His dignity could be mistaken for personal distance or aloofness, but I think it was because he had no need to overwhelm.  Understatement is a word that comes to mind about how I viewed the way he conducted himself in person.  Despite that striking hair, and intelligent features, there was an unassuming quality about him.  Many have written of his  kindness in person and in private.  From my exposure, I learned of  his devotion to his mother and  his brother, his sisters, to his son, and the people they all  care about.  Not because he showed it off or bragged his devotion to his family, but because   the fruit of the spirit was evident in how he cared for his family.  He wanted to take care of, provide for his tribe.  These things come from the  heart of a caring son, brother, father and friend.   Larry's music showed a heart of fire, of inspired creativity.  I was privileged to hear from his mother and sisters stories about his childhood which clearly conveyed he had a heart of playfulness and imagination.  In person he  showed  a heart of quiet strengh.  This  heart of strength could be  sensed from his persona and his history of how he lived his life.  Despite  the physical infirmities of the muscle in his chest,  he displayed qualities of perseverance, endurance, fearlessness, purposefulness, and executive follow through.  More importantly, this  was a man with a  heart of kindness, sympathy, empathy, feeling, intuition, insight, humility, devotion to loved ones and thoughtfulness...a  heart that sought Wisdom and  Truth.  Love is from God and the true heart in  Larry   evidenced  Love:   He loved God,  family, and many friends; he loved the lost, the downtrodden, the wandering, the waywad and the ordinary.  He loved music.  He loved words. .....that voice, that musician who was a beacon of light, is now with the Light of the world, Jesus.  He was a man named Larry Norman.. To Larry's family in sympathy,   EmilieDale PorterieDelicious ideas to please the pickiest eaters. Watch the video on AOL Living.