So Jason started at the beginning and soon found himself sharing all the details of his life with a perfect stranger, things most people would scarcely care about. Occasionally, when he tried to take a short cut and bypass a chunk of his life, Merle would politely prod, asking questions, extracting details, and prompting memories of people, places, and events shelved long ago in the archives of Jason’s past.
Merle seemed genuinely interested in Jason Matthews.
Glancing at this watch, Jason realized that the two had been talking for almost an hour. During that time Jason had told Merle things he hadn’t even shared with Kyle. And Kyle was his best friend. It certainly wasn’t because he distrusted Kyle or wanted to hide anything from him. But talking to Merle was, well, it was like talking to his grandfather. Or at least how it used to be before his grandfather had died when Jason was sixteen. That was something else Jason had shared with Merle that Kyle didn’t know.
Jason learned that Merle had served in the Air Force during Vietnam. Flew B-52’s. Had actually been shot down once, though he had been fortunate enough to crash on the proper side of the DMZ. Got picked up shortly afterwards by an Army patrol.
Merle was a restaurant manager for a couple of years after the war. Then he went to work for General Dynamics, first in Fort Worth, and later at the Convair Division in San Diego. He left Convair before things started going south and was already working at WADP as a copy writer when the Convair plant closed permanently in the mid ‘90’s. Merle had since worked his way through the ranks at the station and had now held the Accounts Manager job for ten years.
From their conversation, Jason knew Merle to be perfectly comfortable with his job. But he also detected a certain restlessness. Although Jason believed Merle genuinely liked what he was doing, he sensed that Merle would have loved a shot at Station Manager, or maybe something more.
“So you want to work for an advertising agency,” Merle summarized. It was more a statement than a question. Their conversation had finally arrived back at the present.
“Yes, sir,” replied Jason. “I like to write, and I think I’m pretty good at it. And I think I’m pretty good at sales. Like I said earlier, I’m currently working at Garrett Motors over in Pacific Beach. I like that a lot. I enjoy working with people, helping customers find what they’re looking for.
“The way I see it,” Jason continued, “working in advertising is just sales at a higher level. Like what you do here at WADP.”
“Well, it certainly sounds like you have a plan,” offered Merle. Then after a moment he added, “Tell me a little bit about Garrett. I’ve seen their ads. I always thought it a little odd that they advertise themselves as a Christian business. How do you feel about that?”
“To be honest, I wasn’t sure at first what to make of it,” began Jason. “As I understand it, Garrett was founded on Christian principles and has been doing business that way now for a couple of generations. Apparently, it’s been good for business. I guess I understand it a lot better now than I did when I started working there last summer.”
Jason thought a moment, then he added, “To be honest, I’m perfectly OK with it now. I deal with customers every day who come to the lot specifically because of the ad. Because they know Garrett will treat them fairly.”
Merle had been leaning back in his chair, listening intently, his fingers arched together in a pyramid beneath his chin.
“Sounds like something that works for Garrett,” Merle said. Then he added, “Works for us, too. You see, we’re a lot like Garrett. Yea, I know, you look at Bert, our Station Manager, and you think he’s somebody who could be running a sheet metal shop staffed with child labor. But nothing could be further from the truth. Bert is good people. He cares about WADP, and he cares about the people who work here. Seems to be cut from the same cloth as your Mr. Garrett.”
Merle took a sip from the old Convair coffee mug on his desk. Then he continued. “The difference is, we have to walk a slightly tighter path here than Garrett. FTC and FCC regulations and all that. We have to be a little more careful about what we say and how we say it. We can’t afford to offend the government.
“But we do our best to stick by our Christian principles, just like Garrett. We carry that into which businesses we choose to represent, how we present ourselves on air, and who we hire to work at the station. Just like Garrett, we do it because it’s what we believe. And just like Garrett, we do it because it’s good for business.”
Then Merle had a revelation. “Hey, it just occurred to me. You think Garrett might be interested in doing some advertising with us? I figure you could be the go-between. You could talk to Garrett, see what their thoughts are. If they’re interested, I could let you work up some story lines, write the copy, and maybe even get you involved with the production of the commercial. I can’t think of a better way for you to get broad exposure to everything we do at WADP.”
“Cool,” was all Jason could think to say.
Chapter 13
Kyle actually thought an advertising contract with WADP might be doable. He and Jason had talked about the possibility in between watching a baseball game on TV and fixing dinner. Kyle was currently grilling steaks on the balcony of his condo. Jason had gone back inside to set the table.
Kyle lived in a condominium complex high on a hill in Mission Hills, with a view of the San Diego airport and harbor in one direction, Sea World and Mission Bay in the other. From a distance, the planes taking off and landing at the airport looked like toys floating slowly across the evening sky. The sunset from the balcony was spectacular, full of orange, yellow, and red.
It was a nice unit, in a new building, in a quiet neighborhood, with a great view.
But Jason always had mixed feelings when he visited the condo. It was furnished in early American bachelor: Lots of wood, leather, plastic, and filth. It was always a mess. For all of his admirable qualities, Kyle appeared to have no clue about cleanliness. He was forever trying to convince Jason that he was too busy to bother. But Jason suspected something else. He sensed that what he saw in Kyle’s condo was the result of a lifetime lacking in responsibility.
And though Kyle was passionate about his faith, friends, and all things physical, Jason was aware that other things in Kyle’s life were approached with a certain indifference. He earned only average grades in school. And, increasingly, he appeared to take only a passing interest in the business at Garrett Motors.
Jason feared for his friend. Not because of a little dirt in the condo. Heck, Jason knew from living in the dorms at USD that sloppy was a way of life for just about everyone under the age of twenty. It was a badge of honor to some. In fact, there were regular contests in the dorms to determine which student was the biggest slob. Prizes included a month of free maid service or a semester of laundromat tokens.
But Jason found it difficult to reconcile the Kyle he knew from their passionate conversations with the Kyle he sensed was smoldering inside from some unknown source. Painful as it might be, Jason resolved to get some answers.
*****
“How much longer?” asked Jason.
Kyle had just closed the cover on the grill and adjusted the heat. “About fifteen more minutes, I think.”
Jason paused, took a breath, then jumped in. “Kyle, I need to ask you something. I’ve actually been thinking about it for awhile. I just wasn’t sure how to bring it up.”
“No problem. What is it?”
“Well, I’m wondering why you seem to show such disregard for your stuff. I mean your truck is always a mess, your condo is a wreck, and you probably couldn’t take a weekend trip with the clean clothes you have left. I just wonder if there’s something going on.”
“Nope. It’s just who I am. Never been much into cleaning.”
“What about ‘Cleanliness is next to Godliness’?” asked Jason.
“Urban myth. The Bible doesn’t actually say that anywhere
.”
“OK. But even if I accept that you just don’t like to clean, there’s something else that actually does concern me. The thing is, I get the sense that there are other things in your life that seem to be going in the same direction as your condo. Like at school, and at the dealership.”
Kyle was no longer paying attention to the grill. He was staring intently at Jason. The beer he had been drinking now dangled loosely between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand. It looked like it could drop at any moment.
“What are you talking about?” he asked, his irritation hanging heavy in the evening air.
Jason sensed that he had crossed an invisible line. He immediately tried to retreat.
“Look, it’s really none of my business. It’s just that I don’t want to wake up some morning and realize that there was something going on I didn’t know about.”
Kyle finished the steaks in silence.
*****
Jason and Kyle sat down for dinner and ate in silence for nearly fifteen minutes. The only thing that made the silence bearable was the baseball game playing on the big screen in the living room. Padres at Houston. The Padres were losing. Some things never change.
From the silence, Kyle suddenly blurted out, “OK, here’s the deal. First of all, I’m just a slob. I admit it. Always have been. It’s just that there’s never been anyone but me. So I’ve never really had to make an effort. I just always figured that some day I’d get lucky enough to find a girl who either didn’t mind the mess or would clean up after me. Obviously, that hasn’t happened yet.
“Second, you’re absolutely right. There is something else. The thing is, I’ve been on the outs with my dad over this requirement he has that I get a degree. I just don’t see a need for it. I’ve been working in the car business for almost ten years. I know everything there is to know about it. I see little point in spending my days in class when ultimately I’m going to end up at the same place, doing the same thing. And now that I’m almost done, I resent more than ever the time I’ve had to spend doing something I didn’t even want to do. So, yea, I guess you don’t really see my best work at school. And I admit my attitude at the dealership has not been very good lately.”
Jason could see his friend was hurting. But more than that, he was angry.
“Kyle, you can stop me anytime. But have you ever considered that maybe your dad saw college as something more than just a way to torment you? Is it possible he hoped college would help you learn to be more responsible? My guess is he just hoped you would become more responsible as you grew older. Which is maybe why he didn’t press you to go to college right out of high school. When that didn’t happen, isn’t it possible he decided to give you a little push?
“The thing is, I bet your dad loved you enough to risk upsetting you. It wasn’t about college or Garrett Motors as much as it was about you. He was more interested in seeing you become a better person.”
Jason watched Kyle closely, waiting for some reaction. Knowing his friend’s character, he wasn’t surprised by what came next.
“I appreciate your honesty, Jason. What you say makes sense. It would explain a lot of comments my dad has made to me the last couple of years. I guess I refused to see it because I was too busy living in my own resentment. Like the mess in the condo, it just became normal to me. If I had really thought about it, I might have seen that this was God’s way of placing me in a position to do more than I thought I could do, to be a better person, and to make Garrett Motors a better business.”
Kyle was clearly experiencing a kind of catharsis as he continued. “I suspect you always just assumed because I was a Christian that my life was stacked up in neat little piles, that everything was always in its place. But that’s not the way it works. Christians are no different than anyone else. We struggle, we sin, and we fail. The only difference between a Christian and the other guy is that we admit our sins and submit our lives to the grace of God. Proverbs 3:5 says it best:
‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.’
“This is what I need to do. And I need to have a serious conversation with my dad. I need to make this right.”
“So we’re OK?” asked Jason.
“More than OK.” Then with a broad smile Kyle added, “How about we finish dinner. Then you can help me clean up around here.”
Chapter 14
The next afternoon Jason and Kyle met at the library with the rest of their group to finish work on the re-branding project.
The project had gone well. Abstracts and spreadsheets had been prepared to detail product applications and advertising costs. A PowerPoint presentation was nearing completion. It was about time for the group to break-up, and the members were preparing to go their separate ways.
“Hey, before you all head out, I just want to thank you for your hard work on this project,” said Jason. “I think we have an awesome campaign.”
“Jason, I think I speak for all of us when I say that we appreciate your stepping up to take the lead when nobody else wanted the job,” replied Lisa. “You kept us focused and pulled the team together.”
Then with a smile she added, “And thanks to Kyle for putting a little religion into the project. That’s probably what made the difference. It’s hard to fail when you have God on your side.”
Kyle let it go. Good-byes were said. Hand shakes and hugs all around. Then everyone was gone. Jason was busy packing up the projector, which he had checked out from the front desk. Kyle waited patiently for his friend, leaning back in his chair, his feet propped against the edge of the conference table.
“I thought you were going to be all over Lisa’s comment,” said Jason.
“Well, I seriously thought about it,” replied Kyle. “But we were pretty much done, and I could see that everyone just wanted to get out of here.”
“So what were you going to say?”
“You sure you want to know?”
“Absolutely.”
“Turns out, people who don’t read the Bible would be surprised to learn how many stories in the Bible are about people who had God on their side and still managed to fail. In the Old Testament, Abraham, Moses, and David all failed, even though they were among God’s most favored servants. And in the New Testament, Peter, Jesus’ favorite disciple, failed Jesus when Jesus needed him most. The reality is, we all fail. Even those of us who profess to be Christians. We fail because we have sin in our lives. And because we confuse God’s will with our own.”
“So avoiding failure is simply a matter of figuring out God’s will and staying away from sin?” asked Jason.
“Well, it’s never quite that straight-forward,” said Kyle. “Even if you think you understand God’s will, you still have to work to achieve it. God may make the ground fertile, but you still have to plant the seed.
“The other thing is, failure is complex. Some failure, as I said, may be a product of sin. But that’s not always the case. Some failure comes from ignorance, like when we do something we don’t really understand and then get a result that’s totally unintended. And some failure results from things beyond our control.”
“But the important thing about failure,” continued Kyle, “is that we understand it for what it is and then act accordingly. If failure is a result of sin, then we should confess the sin and sincerely ask God’s forgiveness. In 1 John 1:9 it says:
‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.’
“On the other hand, if the failure is not from sin, we always have the option to put the failure behind us and simply move on. Philippians 3:13-14 says:
‘But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.’”
“Probably a good thing you didn’t share all that
with the group,” said Jason. Then as an afterthought he added, “But it all sounds like good advice to me. And I’m not even a Christian.”
“Not yet,” replied Kyle. “But I’m not giving up.”
Chapter 15
Jason and Kyle drove together to Garrett Motors in Kyle’s truck later that afternoon. On the way, they talked about ideas for the ad campaign with WADP. Kyle had promised to talk to his dad about the campaign. He was also planning to have the long-delayed conversation with his dad about the issues he and Jason had discussed at dinner the other night.
“So you think your dad will like our idea for the ad campaign?” Jason asked as Kyle took the exit off of Interstate 5 and made the turn onto Grand Avenue.
“Yea, I think he will,” replied Kyle. “We haven’t done any television ads since our last contract expired a couple years ago. We’ve managed to do pretty well just with the web site and the weekly newspaper ads. You’ve seen for yourself that the lot stays pretty busy.
“But not everyone has access to a computer or reads the Union Tribune. Which is why we had the last TV contract. So as long as I can convince him that there are new customers we can reach cost-effectively with the ads, I think we have a shot.”
“Don’t forget to mention that the Accounts Manager and Station Manager are both strong Christians,” said Jason.
“Will do.”
*****
Jason and Kyle pulled into the dealership. Kyle parked his truck and went into the showroom to look for his dad. Jason wasn’t scheduled to work that night, so he was just going to hang around and wait for Kyle. Then the two were going to go for a run on the beach.
Jason wandered over to where Gus was adjusting the seat on a new Honda sports car.
“Hey, Gus. Birthday present for the wife?” joked Jason.
“Nope. This one’s for me.” Gus joked right back.
They both laughed. Jason and Gus had become good friends since Jason had sold his first car to Ray and Martha Turner. Like Gus had said, you never forget your first sale. Gus had helped him with more than a few sales since then.