Light on a Dark Street

Wednesday night about 9 p.m., I jumped on the opportunity to leave what is affectionately referred to as the “Baylor bubble.” An old friend of my older brother, and therefore, my adopted-brother (I’ll call him my ‘BIG’ if that helps you greeks to catch my drift), lives south of downtown Waco.  As I turned onto the dark street to look for the address he had given me over the phone fifteen minutes before, I remembered how different life looks from the west side of I-35. Here, people aren’t struggling to meet a deadline for a paper or booking it studying for an engineering test the night before the exam. This is life after education, full of bills and raising kids, where a lot of times the right direction and decision remains as opaque as the dark street I was driving down. With my window rolled down, I heard my name called from a rocking chair on a lightless porch on my right. I’d know Chuck’s voice anywhere. Kevin Georgas, aka Chuck, has been both a source of wisdom and inspiration to me ever since he started becoming good friends my older brother, Rodney, around the time they graduated from high school. About 5 foot 5 inches tall, he played varsity football, which I looked up to since I also have yet to reach 5’6”. Not to mention, he took a trip to Europe by himself for 3 months, right after graduating high school. That’s just awesome!

            The ability to sit down and talk through life with some one I respect and trust, is an opportunity that I will always treasure. So many of my friends are going through life struggling with rough, past decisions and a dark, confusing future. With our unexplained disinclination toward talking with mom and dad, a lot of people my age do not have a place and person who can help them evaluate what is going on in life in a comfortable, but challenging way.

            I will always place a weight and worth on what Chuck says. He is one of a few people who I consider close enough, and wise enough to warrant my attention. I know there will be times when life gets confusing and the right direction seems veiled by some crazy circumstance, but having someone who I respect to bounce ideas off of or just to hear solid advice from will be something I’ll always seek out.