After writing my gratitudes for my friends who co-inspired Caleb Redding’s character, I remembered other friends that God has (or had) brought into my life that I’m grateful for.
I’ve decided that Jed Berger is a cover-all for almost all
of my other friends from college (or friends from home that I still spent time
with during my college years. There are far too many to name (a good thing),
and allowing for the small possibility that I may eventually create a specific
character in a future installment of the “Faraway State of Mind” series that I’ve
decided it best to not mention them. For anyone reading this who knew me
reasonably well during my college years, whether or not we went to college together,
just know that I am grateful for you, and because of you I was blessed then and
am blessed now.
One final note about the origin of Jed’s character: he is
another individual that I took from the novella I wrote in mid-childhood.
Further, that character was named after an outdoor cat on my maternal
grandparents’ farm in rural Minnesota in the 1990s. Given my other commentaries
about Thomas More and Sam Pepys, you can probably guess the line of thinking on
how Jed went from being a farm cat to a supporting role in this story series.
The one difference for Jed compared with the others is that I changed his last
name. I suppose his last name would have been the family name of my maternal
grandparents, if they had named him at all. (I kinda suspect that he had no
name otherwise.) In the mid-childhood novella, I named him Jed Felix (he was part
of the cat clan). Here, I named him Jed Berger, a nod to a classmate I was friends
with briefly in freshman year and we bonded over our mutual passion for
baseball.
Charlie Jarvis was one of the first characters I created
from scratch, without any involvement in a previous storyline. Unlike Jed,
Charlie has a clear muse, a friend I made in college (that Jed doesn’t
represent) halfway through. Interestingly, I first met Charlie toward the end
of that trial of a summer, and unlike other friends I’d had previously, I felt
safe enough with him to open up about some things in my life that I had
previously kept shut for years.
Your testimonies also are my delight And my counselors. Psalm 119:24, NKJV
The following school year, while not perfect, was still
clearly the best I think I’ve ever had. At the end of that year, Charlie transferred
to another college halfway across the country. I was heartbroken, but we
managed to keep the friendship alive for a few more years, until we began
dropping out of touch ever so gradually.
In the “Faraway State of Mind” series, he first appeared in
Installment #3. I added him because this particular story called for more
support for Thomas, the main character. Jed hasn’t struck me as “super-deep
friendship” quality, instead more of as a “common-interest” friend. Since I
already had my muse, Charlie Jarvis was born.
In the 5th installment, Charlie returns in his true-to-the-word
“support” role in the story. He was a grad student at divinity school in the 3rd
story, and in the 5th he returns having completed his degree and begun
his career as a pastor. Even though my muse, my friend whom I will thank momentarily,
has not pursued the priesthood or pastorship as a career, Charlie is the pastor
that I had never had, not until I began attending my current church.
So I’m grateful for my college friend who ended up serving
as a muse for Charlie. He was likely the first friend I ever had that was able
to understand me without me needing to explain much. If I’m honest, I don’t
think I had ever experienced that before. I have been blessed to have had a few
friends/mentor-type figures in my life who have been able to do the same from
time to time.
This brings me to my pastor, for who I am grateful as well.
In my Episcopal years, as well as my college and wandering years, I never had
any type of close relationship with any pastor or pastoral figure. Even as
great as the Vineyard was in other ways, I never developed much of a rapport or
connection with most of the pastors, let alone either of the two senior pastors
that were there. The pastor I was the closest to was the worship pastor, and
that was in large part because I was involved in the band and the choir, and I
am grateful for him as well.
But my pastor at my current church met with me right as I
was beginning to date my love. (She urged me to meet with him as I was having a
plethora of difficulties at the time.) Since then, he has served as a role
figure in my life, as well as that of my love. Also, his messages are powerful.
I believe it when others say his messages are anointed. And, considering that I’ve
shared almost every message on this blog since I began attending regularly, I
hope you can see it, too.
A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation. Psalm 68:5, NKJV
