Thoughts and Reflections

My roommates:

• Daniel, also my brother and longtime roommate (since he was born).  He’s a biosystems engineering major at UNL in his third year.
• Joseph, a roommate from two years in college and now roomie again.  He was the present for my first birthday and for one day we are the same age.  We played a lot as young’ons and have colaborated to write a story, until he couldn’t anymore because of ROTC.  He’s getting married in December.
• Jared, the roommate that isn’t related to me.  I know him from my two years of living on campus and he’s one of Joe’s ROTC buddies.

My Family:

• Dad- the Patriarch, elder and guide.
• Mom- Perhaps the coolest mom I’ve ever had, and if you think I’m trying to be funny, I have several “moms”.
• Anna- Certifiably a Physician’s Assistant and the “A” in ABC’s. She is the oldest and my older sister.
• Rebekah- A master’s student at UNL in Nutrition and Health Promotion. She has a blog as well and is the “B” in ABC’s. She is the next in line in the family.
• I am next, though I think everyone knows that by now. I’ll leave the introductons for later.
• Daniel- He’s my oldest younger brother.  There are few who can say that and be grammatically correct but I can.  He has a girlfriend that drags him around on a leash, which means I get to talk to him very rarely.
• John- My middle younger brother, sometimes called Jonathan, though it’s not his name. He used to be the runt of the brothers, but now matches me for height and is bigger than me for all other practicalities. Sometimes, I can’t understand his actions or comments, more because he doesn’t either, but I really enjoy hanging out with him. He just graduated from Lincoln East and is planning to attend UNL in the fall.
• Timothy- My youngest brother and close friend on the subject of deep thought. Our minds work on similar wave lengths and we seem to challenge each other to dig into things deeper than we’d normally do otherwise.
• Grace-  My younger sister who I have many nicknames for, older brother’s perrogative I guess. It seems kinda odd how I’m considered by her to be her favorite, yet have really done nothing save exist that might trigger this. Still, we have good talks walking around aimlessly. I think I’m one of the few people she is comfortable enough to talk about some issues with, which humbles me greatly.

Friends:

• Debbie- Daniel’s girlfriend and a longtime family friend, an easy addition to the crew
• Casandra- Another longtime church friend recently adopted into the family, she is an active part of the goings-on around our house.
• Steve- John’s friend from antiquity (yes, I am using that word to denote age, not of Steve but the relationship) who is the only non-biological relation in my aquaintance to ever beat me in a 5k race.P
• Dana- Joseph’s fiance and a college friend of mine. We used to have deep conversations late at night.
• Jason- My friend from before I was in junior high, my youth pastor, and now my  pastor. Great friend and comrade in Christ, fellow bondservant in the Work and a great encouragement and inspiration for me.
• Mary- Anna’s PA school classmate and roommate.

Fictitious Characters that may help you understand me.

• Jhadiz- (Pronounced like the spanish J and -u dez) He is one of the main characters of my book, once shared that main role with the next entry, but has been given a more central role because I understand him better. When I talk about him, I will most likely use his nickname–Dez. He is the 14 year old son of a prominent tailor in an unwalled medieval town that is forced to leave because of some bad decisions he made. Like the one who discovered him, he enjoys food, perhaps too much, yet learns self-control and gains maturity through the events he faces. In a time when the work of Christ on the cross is just being completed, Jhadiz finds himself in libero between his old way and the life Christ offers.
• Lars- He is the other main character in the book, relegated to less storyline because of his unweldy and complex character. He isn’t really understood by the author because of his weird morphology and in that respect symbolizes, to a certain degree, the author’s perception of others’ understanding of him. He is the 14 year old son of a great lord of men and valiant general, known throughout the world for his great prowess and ability to inspire loyalty from his men. Lars lives with his mother and older sister and is ‘Dez’s best friend. As their choices force them to leave their homes, Lars is given his father’s great sword and, as he hears story after story about his father, feels the weight of that reputation everywhere he goes.
• Ashûr- (the accent makes the pronounciation like a shoo r) Ashûr is Lars’s father and the great warrior and general. He has a long and hard life before meeting Lars’s mother, Lillian, and I have written a poem about those years, if anyone is interested. Though he is dead by the time the book starts, his reputation and deeds of valor infiltrate the storyline and are kept alive by his older brother, Rufeo, also an important guide to the main characters, though not as known for his valor with the sword. As Lars is burdened to take up the mantle of Ashûr, the character that best resembles him is ‘Dez.
• Rufeo- Ashûr’s older brother and the young men’s guide in their travels. A sage and scholar, he seems to have an answer for everything and teaches them much of what he knows. It is when circumstances divide the company that we find what the young men are made of. Rufeo, however, has been looking for the Messiah his entire life and lets Lars and ‘Dez travel their paths alone when he finally finds Him.