Isaiah had never seen this preacher before. This man was way too handsome to be a real preacher. He was tall and broad and had a full head of hair. His suit fit well. His shoes were free of scuffs. He was the kind of man that Isaiah imagined was really a professional baseball player, a pitcher he thought, and had hurt his arm so he couldn't throw anymore. That's why he's here, pretending to be a preacher. "He probably smells like leather and chewing tobacco", Isaiah thought.
Isaiah's mind began to drift. "How come there's not even a real preacher here? Who are all these people? Where's my dad? I hope nobody talks to me. What am I supposed to say to them if they do talk to me? I wish Reggie was here. That lady has some bad hair. It looks like she's carrying a raccoon on her head. I want to get out of here. Oh God, here comes the fake preacher."
Just thought I might try something a little interactive. I'm curious about what you think is going on in this little scene. Who is Isaiah? How old is he? Where is he in this scene? Who is Reggie? I know people don't read blogs to be made to be creative (this blog at least!), but maybe we can stir those creative juices anyway. Let me know in the comment section what you see going on here. Be as detailed or vague as you would like but be creative.
Peace.
4 comments:
Isaiah is a boy, obvious from the name who is maybe 13 years old. Reggie is his older brother, someone who makes him feel safe, someone who makes it easier for him to stand and be confident. I think he must be at church, otherwise I am not sure why he would have pegged the man to be a preacher. It might have been at a gathering before the real meeting, maybe and evening meeting with a dinner or snacks before it started. A small church having a revival meeting with a guest speaker, the boy knew who the stranger had to be, because no one strange ever came to his church unless he was an invited guest speaker.
Let me first make a few observations:
- Isaiah is accustomed to "real" preachers. He has a standard to evaluate real from not-real.
- He also has an image of what a "real" professional baseball player looked like when not on the field.
- He is able to make a judgment - "pretend preachers" are people who can no longer do anything else - no respect.
- He loves his dad and longs for his company, not being comfortable in the crowd.
- He is in an environment where he could be personally addressed.
- Reggie was a person who gave him a sense of comfort and confidence.
Isaiah is in a hospital waiting room after being in a fatal car accident where his dad was killed. Though he doesn't know this for certain he strongly suspects. It is being in shock that keeps him in denial. Reggie is his best bud, the one who's always there for him, through the good and the bad. Reggie would know what to do. Reggie would be able to make everything the way it was before.
Isaiah is highly skeptical of the preacher, because his experience is that you only see preachers when there is really bad news. It is the defense mechanism of being in a state of shock that wants to discredit the man.
He is afraid to talk to people because he's not able to confront the truth. To speak to them about what happened would make it real. Just to survive, Isaiah keeps escaping to the surreal, paying attention to non-consequential details, such as the appearance of the preacher - allowing his imagination to make up a supposed reality for him, or noticing the lady's hair - allowing his imagination to envision a raccoon.
It's so uncomfortable he just wants to get out. But he's trapped and the preacher is coming to talk to him...
Just my imagination at work!
I really like these comments. Obvious thought went into them, which is what I was hoping for. Thanks.
It's kind of fun for me to see what people come up with. Maybe I'll do another one soon.
Hey Bradly, how about you share with us your take on what's going on? What was going through your head as your wrote that scenario? Just a thought... :)
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