The Genesis of HaHaMen Part 1: Dave's Story

The story of HaHaMen begins with my story. I found a love of making people laugh at a young age. A photo now lost to the ages was a Polaroid of me, at about 3 years old, putting on a show, flexing my "muscles" for my Mom and Dad at the city pool in Lemont, IL. Apparently, there was a bodybuilding show somewhere in the vicinity, and I had to one-up them for my folks. That may have been the moment I became addicted to laughter and to performing.

Growing up, my family occasionally attended church. In high school, it was more regular, but it was never a major priority. It felt as though it was something you're supposed to do. However, my salvation begins in the summer before 6th grade. Camp Dickinson in Virginia. The church had paid for my sister and I to attend camps during the summers. Being a boy, I, of course, opted for the sports camps, despite them being at a camp an hour further than the closest camps.

This summer, on a Thursday night, before going home the following afternoon, leaving the nightly devotional called "Vespers," I remember walking the gravel drive toward the cabins. I remember walking past the pavilion, looking up to see the main building on campus, the cabins at the top of the hill. I remember the steepness of the hill, though I don’t remember the usual fatigue of this climb. I remember saying the prayer to ask Jesus into my heart. I had no idea, truly, what that meant or what I was asking for, but the prayer took. And that is the day of my coming to Christ, though I did not start a real, meaningful relationship with Jesus until many years later.

This relationship with Jesus, had I pursued it, may well have saved me from nearly 2 decades of depression.

I called myself a Christian, lived decently, tried not to get into trouble, went to church (occasionally), didn’t have sex, didn’t do drugs, didn’t steal (anything of REAL value), and did the whole song and dance. But, looking back, I missed so much time with a real relationship with the Lord. This relationship with Jesus, had I pursued it, may well have saved me from nearly 2 decades of depression.

Entering into high school, I was the really nice guy with a great sense of humor who was actually kind of smart. The kind of guy women SAY they are looking for, but high school, and even before that in junior high, girls put in what later became known as the FRIEND ZONE…ZONE…zone…zone…

My desire to be normal combined with what made me different, plus my Dad’s declining health and the relational issues that created, made for a breeding ground of poor self-esteem, poor self-image, and eventual depression…all making for cheap, easy-to-develop property for the attacks of the enemy. He set up shop in my mind and heart, rent free, even making me pay him for the privilege of him residing in my mind and heart. I remember the real turning point when I went from being down to when I can trace almost the moment I became depressed.

I had been interested in a girl. She was, and is still, very pretty and sweet. She lived a couple blocks from me, and we started talking. I thought this was it…FINALLY!...David Aaron Ebert is about to get the key to the cell and leave the dreaded FRIEND ZONE…ZONE…zone…zone…

But, alas, not knowing really “how” to pursue someone, basing it on TV and movies, I lost and she chose someone else. He later became her husband, so it worked out for both of us since I won the jackpot in marital bliss myself. But, having those hopes and pinning my happiness on someone else and not Jesus, that was kind of the straw that broke the camel’s back for me.

It wasn’t for a couple of years that the depression grew to the point that the eternal exit became a real possibility. I covered my depression with humor and playing pick-up basketball. However, the first time I remember truly contemplating suicide was during a trip to eastern Virginia with a summer school program through Southwest Virginia Community College. I was taking CAD classes there, trying to be like my Dad, and we were out to visit museums and other academically sound places.

We went to a NASA museum out there. They had this cool machine where you get your weight on earth and then what your weight would be on other planets and the moon. The group was all having fun and laughing at how heavy someone would be on this planet or that. So, my turn came. Instead of laughter with me, it became laughter at me. Instead of an LED readout of my weight on earth, the read out simply read HELP. That fed into the depression, along with yet another girl that I had set as my standard to prove I wasn’t all the lies the enemy was telling me.

Plus, the fact that I was feeling some of the pressures of the world since my family, despite how hard my Mom was working, did not have a lot. So, spending money was not a major part of the trip for me, meaning walking around a high priced mall in Norfolk, VA, meant intentionally browsing alone so as not to draw attention to the fact there was nothing for me there. It was this trip that suicide became a real option for me. It began a new level of the spiritual war I was losing, but God was fighting for me in the background.

Next week, I will continue with more of my story. My story will lead right into the Genesis of HaHaMen. Thank you for reading. If you have any comments, or any of what I have written has touched you, please let me know.

God bless!

-Dave #Improv #clean comedy #faith #Jesus #God #ChristianEntertainment #Christianity