Then we have the actual "sidekicks" -- people being mentored by or otherwise in fellowship with the guys in the white hats. Eric Svendsen has Jason Engwer (and one might seek to apply the inverse lameness ratio to that specific sidekick/hero relationship); Phil Johnson, with some kind of clairvoyant or pentecostal foresight of his future need, fathered Pecadillo in order to have a sidekick, and I have JIBBS.
Recently, someone has intimated that JIBBS is not a sufficiently-adequate sidekick for centuri0n, causing centuri0n to speak of himself in the third person. Let's be clear about something: JIBBS has proven himself in apologetic spiritual warfare to be the Alfred to my Batman; he is the Microchip to my Punisher; He is the lunchbag to my Ham Sandwich.
There is no replacing JIBBS. You can't do it. You're not man enough.
That said, yesterday I had lunch with one of the nicest people I have ever had the opportunity to meet: Darlene Johnson. Well, Phil Johnson the PyroManiac insisted on interrupting my day and buying me lunch, but he was kind enough to bring his charming and thoughtful wife along, so the day was not a complete washout.
There's a good reason why: the internet. Listen: in case you didn't know this, we are all freaks on the interent. We're not normal people. The only reality check for who's who on the internet is what they do for a living outside of running a blog or a website. I had a high degree of confidence that an elder at Grace Community Church was not going to be some techie version of Cletus from the original Dukes of Hazzard, but you always have to be a little worried about yourself in those situations. For example, you might not really have a good grasp on how you come across to other people, and therefore you might really be www.dexter_dingleberry.net instead of centuri0n.blogspot.com.
I was worried I wouldn't make a good first impression -- but when Phil walked in with THE HAT (which I failed to get a picture of! I could KICK myself!), I knew all was going to be well. He was coming in with low expectations, so I wasn't under any pressure.
However, I did get this picture of him trying to take a picture of me:
Anyway, we chatted. We ate lunch. We complained about CBA and how evil "Christian" publishers are. We talked about the header of my blog, Jonathan's aspriations to be a fireman, the cost of living near LA and the lack thereof of Sonic and decent fried Ocra. We talked about the signs around the city of Siloam Springs which say "Welcome to Siloam Springs where Jesus is Lord. Welcome to God's Country". Did you know that Corrie Ten Boom once had a vision that there were 10,000 angels surrounding and protecting our little corner of the world? No? Phil didn't either, but he said that it was clear that they were protecting it in order to allow my bookstore to come there in the first place.
Phil said some funny things about David King and James White which I will not repeat for fear of retribution, and I'd tell you what he said about my blog to my wife, but it would be immodest.
We took some other pictures, but we promised our wives not to drag them into the blogosphere, so those will simply stay in the family scrapbooks as pleasant memories of good times. Good times.
Not much else to report, really. Like Fight Club, I can't even talk about the Calvinist Conspiracy, so the meeting notes have already been memorized, burned, the ashes pulverized and then buried in a cemetary after dark.
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