A Confession (7)

Robert Jordan was an author of fantasy fiction, and an author I mentioned in the earlier Tolkien confession. I first discovered Mr. Jordan's books when I was perusing the shelves of my local bookstore in early 1990. I was in the middle of a new generation of Ohmsfords, having just finished Brooks’ latest offering, when I saw high upon the top shelf, where was kept the over sized tombs, a blue covered book with people on horseback and in the background a large full moon. I pulled the book down and inspected the cover noting the lined, hard face of one rider, and the soft curves of another. I was instantly enchanted. I peeked inside to see, for me, the prerequisite map filled with new places to explore and lands to behold, kingdoms to adventure in and royalty to which knee would be bent. I bought this new book, yes, judging it by its cover!

I took my new purchase home, and to be honest with you, it went right on to the shelf where it stayed for a few months. It was the spring of 1990, I had just turned twenty-two years old in January, I had been married a total of seven months, my wife and I were expecting a baby in two months, and I was still trying to finish my undergrad degree. I was a busy young man. Then one day I found myself not traipsing through Middle Earth, and no longer among the Ohmsfords, but wanting high adventure. So I picked up my Robert Jordan purchase off of the shelf, and almost immediately I was spellbound by Mr. Jordan’s writing. The description of the landscape was awe inspiring and the build up of characters made each one seem a friend or foe as the case may be. I was turning page after glorious page finally finding someone who approached the greatness of the master, Tolkien himself.

The book ended much to my dismay, and it certainly left me salivating for more. I was not disappointed long, for another book came out. Then another and another. And so on it went year after year topping the NY Times best selling list each time. Book eleven was published and released in 2005, with the promise of one final, sweeping, epic book to be released some time in the future.

By this time (2007) I had gone from being a newlywed, expectant father of twenty-two, to being a husband of eighteen years, a father of a two (17 and 15) and I was now thirty-nine and no longer a student but the holder of a Masters’ degree and the pastor of a Lutheran Church in west-central Minnesota. I had just returned from a pastors’ conference in northern Minnesota and was catching up on my emails when I ran across the subject heading from my best friend Eric. It read, “Oh no!” I quickly opened it up to see what unfortunate news I was going to find. Eric had read in the paper that Robert Jordan had died and he wanted to know if I was aware of this.

I was stunned, but had expected this news might come. Mr. Jordan had said on his blog some months or even years ago that he had been diagnosed with a rare disease called amyloidosis. He assured his readers he was going to overcome this rare and life threatening disease and for some time “fought the good fight.” However, in the end the disease had its way with him. He died on September 16 and is survived by a wife and a son and millions of fans.

I will never forget the way in which Mr. Jordan’s writing touched my life and the lives of so many others. It gave me another place to go and wander in the fields and among the trees of yet another land that was only in the mind of the writer and his readers. It was a great journey.

I once had the opportunity and the pleasure of meeting Mr. Jordan and let me say it was a wonderful experience. He made me feel welcome and comfortable, putting me at ease as I met one of my heroes. He was amiable and genuine, exactly the way I pictured him. He had a hearty laugh and loved to spin the webs of his tales like a spider working on the intricacy of its home. Another great journey.

Mr. Jordan spoke of his wife Harriet carrying on his writing and finishing the tale that his readers longed to hear. I am happy of this, but it will not be the same as if Jordan had done it himself. Mr. Jordan was a Christian and as I am too, I hope to hear the end of the tale in person some day.

Rest in the Creator’s embrace my friend.

The Friar

A Confession (6)

Ok, so it's been a few months since my last confession...
I have to confess this past week in sports has me concerned about the moral compass of our society. I am an avid watcher of all things sports related. Baseball (Cubs), Football (Bears and Colts), Basketball (Purdue), Hockey (Blackhawks), Soccer (D.C. United), NASCAR (Tony Stewart) and much more - it's all a sporting smorgasbord for which I have a ferocious appetite. And then there was this bit of news...the New England Patriots were accused of cheating.

Now although I am miffed at the idea that the three time world champs were caught with their proverbial pants down, this is not what had me spitting nails. The bit that has gotten my ire is that the world seems to be perfectly fine with the cheating so long as the cheater is not caught. What?! Show after show, host after host, caller after caller on sports radio, TV, and the news seem to think it perfectly reasonable for anyone to cheat provided they don’t get caught. One after another expressed what seems to be the social commentary of our society, if you can get away with it, fine, but if you get caught shame on you.

What has happened to the good and decent play of the masses? Where are the Dudley Do Rights of the world? To be honest, most have vanished from the fields of play, the board rooms of our companies and eventually from the play grounds of our neighborhoods. The Patriots cheated. So what? So does every other team in the NFL, or so say some. So we are left with the Martha Stewarts of the world who thumb their noses at the rules and begin to play a game of “catch me if you can.” So long as one isn’t caught! That is the damning factor, not that it is morally and ethically wrong to cheat, but that one might get caught. In other words you didn’t cheat well enough!

So instead of teaching our kids how to play the game,instead of teaching them how to hit the ball, throw a good curve, play cover two defense, or make a good slap shot, instead of all this, parents, please teach your kids how to hit with a corked bat, throw a spit ball, make illegal films of teams, and throw a good left hook after you’ve pulled the player's jersey over his head. And above all teach your youngsters how to hide these cheating ways, for it is in this that society places the most weight. Did you get away with it son? Good.

The Friar