I have always loved to ride in a golf cart with CJ while we enjoyed a round of golf. Well, only if he wasn’t trying to control my golf game and every shot I took. Whenever I got the opportunity to ride with CJ in that golf cart it would become a non-stop laugh fest. Thinking of CJ brings me to a constant image of the two of us laughing. We could go months without seeing each other and our relationship would not be phased, we could pick up right where we left off, laughing. And regardless, I think that CJ laughed at every wisecrack I made because I think he knew it made me feel good. But I also think he genuinely enjoyed his life.
I had the opportunity to grow up with CJ with our families living in basically the same neighborhood. From a very young age CJ was the one I wanted to be around, and I constantly sought his approval. He was good at everything he did, sports, video games, being funny, being smart, you name it and chances are he was masterful at it. CJ was the cool kid, and not because he thought he was so cool, but because the rest of us thought cool. If we got the opportunity to play at his house, I remember having the feeling of success or reward, like CJ WANTED to play with me that day.
That feeling for me continued through out high school. I was constantly seeking his approval. We spent a lot of time together on the basketball team, along with Joe Wood, Craig Stringham, Travis Eggleston, the Wesleys’ and many others, and we developed our love of laughing there. We traveled a number of places in high school for basketball trips and what not, and I will hold some of those memories extremely close for the rest of my life.
In high school CJ matured emotionally and spiritually a lot sooner than a lot of us. I like to think of it as though CJ caught a glimpse of what was good and real at a time that I was more concerned with my social agenda, and trying to be cooler than everyone else. Around this time of high school I happened to skip out on class one day and head into the basketball locker room to use the restroom. Inside the locker room, sitting on a bench, was CJ deep into his Book of Mormon. He was a senior in high school at the time, and I can’t even begin to explain to you how mind boggling that experience was for me. CJ got me hooked on reading classic literature, the likes of The Catcher and the Rye, and The Great Gatsby, and others, and I enjoyed conversing with him about literature, and trying to be smart like him. But seeing him not only reading, but also studying the Book of Mormon, and at that time in our lives, completely altered my perception of CJ. He no longer was on my emotional, and psychological level. He had figured something out that I hadn’t yet; he had figured out that the meaning of this life was different than what I had perceived it to be. So I had to jump on board and try to figure it out, because CJ was doing so.
CJ and I used to write letters back and forth while we were on our church missions, and the letters I would get from him, at the time, would make me feel somewhat mediocre because I knew how much better of a missionary than me he was. He served a great mission, and he was so proud to serve his Lord.
Later in life I spent a lot of time with CJ and Ted, but I could never dance as good as them, so I decided to get married. CJ was always so proud of the fact that he foretold and predicted the marriage between Lindey and myself. He was always so loving toward Lindey, or Lindel-Ted as he would call her for some weird reason. He once even made it known to me that he was the one that was envious of me for finding my wife so early, and that he couldn’t wait for the day he would eventually marry Keri, although Keri was just a thought at that point.
I have been married to Lindey for five years now, and I can really say that I love her so much more today than ever before, and we have such a strong relationship and a beautiful little girl named Nora., and our life together is incredible. But I would be hard-pressed not to admit that I was envious of the relationship between Keri and CJ. They fit, they worked, and they worked better than a lot of lovebirds. Being around them made you feel little, which obviously was ok. CJ is an incredible spirit, and Keri is an incredible spirit, so no wonder they fit. And the two of them will not cease being together, and that makes me happy.
A few things will always remind me of Christian, and they are as follows: Root beer, Braces, short shorts, competitive fire, Jeffery R. Holland, Christopher Ted, and El Azteca and Jumping Johnny’s tab, but those are just a few, and I know that there will be many more in the coming years. Christian played a very vital role in my life, and I am so grateful for the opportunity that I had to view him as somebody I wanted to be like, and for him to let me be his friend. And, oddly enough, the last few months he has taught me a ton about what is actually important in this life, for a second time. In a text message that I have saved in my phone he congratulated me on the day Nora was born, and he said “ you are going to be a good dad, and I mean that! ”, and it makes me cry. We love him, we love Keri, we love his sweet mother, and his incredible family. He was an incredible, and inspiring individual. I was extremely blessed to have him in my life.
Love,
Corbin Mercer
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