(Note: I am not a book critic and that is not the purpose of this post)I read Matt's words much like taking in a bottle of water...in one long continuous gulp, stopping only once to catch my breath before swallowing each additional mouthful until all that was left...an empty bottle.
I felt almost voyeuristic - getting such an inside look into my friend's personal life; personal experiences. Strange. I knew Baker Falls had died, but I never knew how - somehow that was never conveyed to me - not until Matt "told" me. I hardly even knew Baker, but he seemed laid back...super nice...I remember seeing him and Michelle Hunter sitting on the stone benches outside of Taylor Bott Rogers playing guitar. And if additional memory serves correctly (as this was freshman year: pre-Rose of Sharon days) he was teaching her to play?? I'm sure I would have had to have had some sort of initial conversation with Baker as I know we'd say hello when passing on campus. Then again, Campbell was such a small school that it was easy to say hello a dozen or two times on the way to class or while standing in line at Marshbanks...and never knowing the person - just the face and name that went with it.
I am not a Hokie. I wasn't in (or even near) Blacksburg on April 16. I was several hundred miles away - in Richmond - at work - the Richmond Times-Dispatch. I, like the rest of the country, was on the outside...reading and watching the various media accounts for insight as to how something so crazy could occur. The closest I could get to the inside was a friend whose parents bought and now lived in the house that Matthew Gwaltney once called home. He had visited once after her family had moved in... (and we both know that sooo doesn't count)
In the days, weeks, months after I know countless questions passed in minds and some of those through lips. One of my string of questions (may seem strange): What about Cho's parents? How were they handling the reality that their son and brother was responsible for this senseless act? How would they even begin to respond? How did they feel? When was their last conversation with him and what was said? Was there any signal from him that something was wrong? You kind of have to wonder what was going through his mind - but then again maybe it was already lost and there was nothing there. What do I know? But there's got to be comfort in knowing that we don't have to have all the answers. That is for God and God alone...and Matt's title couldn't be more on point - God is good when life isn't and I'm glad that I was reminded of that as I read Matt's words.
And while I do not recall the last time I saw/talked to Matt, it was nice to spend some time with an 'old' friend. I am looking forward to his next book...
I felt almost voyeuristic - getting such an inside look into my friend's personal life; personal experiences. Strange. I knew Baker Falls had died, but I never knew how - somehow that was never conveyed to me - not until Matt "told" me. I hardly even knew Baker, but he seemed laid back...super nice...I remember seeing him and Michelle Hunter sitting on the stone benches outside of Taylor Bott Rogers playing guitar. And if additional memory serves correctly (as this was freshman year: pre-Rose of Sharon days) he was teaching her to play?? I'm sure I would have had to have had some sort of initial conversation with Baker as I know we'd say hello when passing on campus. Then again, Campbell was such a small school that it was easy to say hello a dozen or two times on the way to class or while standing in line at Marshbanks...and never knowing the person - just the face and name that went with it.
I am not a Hokie. I wasn't in (or even near) Blacksburg on April 16. I was several hundred miles away - in Richmond - at work - the Richmond Times-Dispatch. I, like the rest of the country, was on the outside...reading and watching the various media accounts for insight as to how something so crazy could occur. The closest I could get to the inside was a friend whose parents bought and now lived in the house that Matthew Gwaltney once called home. He had visited once after her family had moved in... (and we both know that sooo doesn't count)
In the days, weeks, months after I know countless questions passed in minds and some of those through lips. One of my string of questions (may seem strange): What about Cho's parents? How were they handling the reality that their son and brother was responsible for this senseless act? How would they even begin to respond? How did they feel? When was their last conversation with him and what was said? Was there any signal from him that something was wrong? You kind of have to wonder what was going through his mind - but then again maybe it was already lost and there was nothing there. What do I know? But there's got to be comfort in knowing that we don't have to have all the answers. That is for God and God alone...and Matt's title couldn't be more on point - God is good when life isn't and I'm glad that I was reminded of that as I read Matt's words.
And while I do not recall the last time I saw/talked to Matt, it was nice to spend some time with an 'old' friend. I am looking forward to his next book...
I would assume Matt wouldn't mind this plug, but for more about him:
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