CLM Fall 2018

MIND, BODY & SOUL
BY REV. TONY MARCIANO,
CHARLOTTE RESCUE MISSION
When I was in grades K-3, my mother thought it was
great if she could send her son to school in a button
down white shirt, dress slacks and a clip-on bow-tie.
By the time I was in third grade, all the cool kids were
wearing shirts that were plaid or had stripes. My
mother insisted I wear a white shirt with a clip-on
bow-tie. Since this was long before the days of
Woodstock rebellion, I’m not sure exactly what
happened, but I said, “No, I will no longer have a
target on my back that says, ‘kick me‘ – I look like a
momma’s boy.”
Perhaps I threatened to go to school naked, I don’t
remember, but a short time later, the clip-on bow-ties
were left at home. My shirts had color. I had shirts
that were plaid or striped. All the girls oohed and
awed at me. (Ok – I’m exaggerating here. I’m not sure
there was ever a time in my life that women fainted
at the site of me.) My life changed; I was now “cool.”
The day of my college graduation picture, I took a
page out of my third grade playbook. I wore a big
green crushed velour bow tie, yellow shirt, plaid suit,
matching plaid suit jacket and kelly green pants.
Wait, the best is yet to come. I didn’t cut my hair for
four and a half months. Remember the song by
Crosby, Stills and Nash, “Almost Cut My Hair”? That
was me. I wanted to see how long I could grow it.
Unlike anyone else in that era who had long straight
hair, I had naturally curly hair. It looked like an Afro. I
owned an Afro pick that was black with red and
green handles.
My mother saw me in the bathroom that morning
fixing my hair and said, “NO.” She hated my high
school graduation picture. She was going to redeem
my college graduation picture. She got a pair of scissors
and started to attack my hair in the bathroom. I
remember standing in front of the mirror when she
cut off a piece of my hair. It’s the only time I yelled at
my mother and said, “STOP. You are not cutting my
hair.” Whenever I look at that picture, I can tell the
exact spot she cut.
I always thought if I wore the right clothes that
were fashionable at that time, I would “fit in”, be
“accepted”, and be part of the “cool group”. A
few years ago, I wore my Hawaiian shirt to
a church event. All the guys wore golf
shirts. While the minister had everyone
bow their heads, close their eyes and
pray, I slipped out and went home. I
would have stuck out like a sore
thumb.
There is a Bible story where
Samuel is selecting the next king
after Saul. It would be one of
Jesse’s sons. When he meets the oldest
son Eliab, he says, to himself, “Surely
the LORD’s anointed stands here
before the LORD.” But the LORD said to
Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance
or his height, for I have rejected
him. The LORD does not look at the things
people look at. People look at the outward
appearance, but the LORD looks at the
heart.” It’s about the character of the
person’s heart that makes the individual.
Maybe it’s a flashback to that clip-on tie
from third grade, but today, I enjoy wearing a
dark pin stripe (has to be pin stripe) suit with
a crisp shirt and tie. I still have that green
crushed velour bow-tie from years ago, but it
doesn’t go with a dark pin stripe suit. I know
that it’s not the clothes that make the man;
it’s the man that makes the clothes.
Rev. Tony Marciano is the President/
CEO of the Charlotte Rescue Mission. The
Charlotte Rescue Mission provides a free
long-term Christian recovery program
for men and women who are addicted
to drugs and alcohol. For more
information, visit our website at
www.charlotterescuemission.org
56 | CHARLOTTE LIVING