The Day I Became A Nerd (Originally written June 27th, 2009)

Ever watch the TV show "The Big Bang Theory"? By far the funniest show on the boob tube, in my opinion. The main characters are a bunch of comic book reading, science loving, Star Wars fanatic nerds. When I come across people, guys mostly, who are entrapped with a book in a public place, I think of the characters from that show. I don't know why. I'm sure they are good, respectable human beings. But to me they just come across as nerdy. What are you doing at the mall sitting on a bench reading a book? Go home and read. I never, ever, found a book so interesting that I would take it out of the house to read it. Then again, I don't read much books IN the house either.

Anyway, today I became nerdy. Facing the idea of sitting in a laundry mat waiting for my clothes to wash, rinse, spin and tumble dry without anything to do made my skin crawl. So I decided to take a book. What book? Telling Stories by Joyce Carol Oats. Hey, I spent nineteen dollars on that book on Ebay for this class I better get some use of it.

Flipping through its pages I came across a story called "The Naked Lady" by Madison Smartt Bell, pg 160. It's a short story, which is perfect for me and those of us with A.D.D. I began. It didn't take long for me to realize that this writer had the worst grammar in the history of writers. If this person can write a story so could I, I thought to myself. I kept reading. Slowly but surely her story started to play out in my mind. It was a man telling the story so I had to give the man a voice inside my head. Based on the incorrect grammar and poor choice of words, this long bearded, over-all wearing, toothless hillbilly popped into my head. Read it. You'll know what I mean.

The story gripped me. I couldn't put the book down even though my clothes had just finished the spin cycle and were waiting to be put in the dryer. The characters were brought to life. I could hear them, see them, smell their liquor, laugh when they laughed (which made a few heads turn in the laundry mat). All in all it was a very entertaining story.

My point to this is yes we have so many modern technologies that have changed the way and will continue to change the way we get entertained. With the click of a mouse we have the world at our fingertips. Cell phones are not just for talking to someone anymore, you can find out if your favorite team won that day or take a picture and send it to all of your friends in the matter of seconds. But for me, and for all those other nerds out there, who have their heads buried in a book somewhere have found piece. Piece in knowing that that book in our hands can take us to places that no cell phone or Blackberry can possibly take us. We might be sitting in a mall or in a laundry mat but our minds are in a galaxy, far far away.

The Sun Is Rising

When I was a kid, about ten or eleven, I remember having a hard time sleeping the night before Easter. That was kind of a rough time for me. My parents had just split up and things were very crazy around the house. As I was laying in bed I was thinking about things that a boy that age shouldn't have to be thinking about. Tossing and turning and feeling a bit lost. I decided that the only way I was going to get any sleep was if I went and crawled into bed with my mom. Mom always had a way of making me feel protected and loved. Which is what I needed at that time. I crept into her room which was dark but because it was a warm night her window was open and just enough light pierced the room so I could see my way to her bed. Mom was on her usual side of the bed. Still not used to sleeping by herself I guess. Not realizing that she had the whole bed to herself now. I slipped in the bed and pulled the covers over me and snuggled up to mom. Mom, now realizing I was there next to her, reached her loving arm around me and tucked me in. And all felt right again in life.

Mom's bed that year was right up against her window. Her headboard was made of metal bars, not solid, so when you laid in bed you could look out the window. This made the perfect setting for a teaching opportunity that I would not recognize until I reached adulthood and had a greater understanding of life. As we laid there in bed the sun began to rise. The dark of the night seemed to just slip away and the beautiful dark blue sky turned all kinds of bright colors. Yellow, orange, purple and blue. Before you knew it the brightness of the sun started to illuminate everything in it's path. It was Easter morning. Mom, in an attempt to wake me so I could see the majestic sunrise, leaned over to me and said, "Jamie, The sun is rising". I opened my eyes just long enough to see the bright sun and the beautiful array of colors dancing in the sky. "Isn't it amazing"? She asked. Still half asleep I said, "Yeah". Then I rolled over and went back to sleep.

For whatever reason, whether it be of God or just a memory that comes to my mind this time every year, I think about what she said to me to wake me on that beautiful Easter morning. "Jamie, the sun is rising." Yes indeed mom. On that glorious of days, after the worst of days, The Son is rising. Risen to take away all our pains. All of our guilt. All of our worry. Risen to comfort those that stand in need of comfort and mourn with those that mourn. Risen to bring families back together again after this life is over. Risen to make the rest of our days brighter and full of hope and peace.

That morning, as my mind remembers it, was beautiful. It was a brief but powerful learning experience for me. I am grateful for those tiny moments that to this day continue to make an impact on how I live my life. Oh, I am not perfect. I don't have to be. I do what I can and because of that glorious Son rise on that first Easter morning, I will get through this life and on to the next where I will be able to enjoy the companionship of my family forever.