Guest Post: Driving Lessons
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You have the lovely opportunity to read the words of my sweet Thalia. I first met Thalia my first summer at camp, eleven summers ago. She went from the cute little girl smelling armpits to the teenager who introduced me to High School Musical to a beautiful woman of God. She brings such joy and wisdom to my life daily. She graciously said yes to sharing memories of Marcus with you. Enjoy!
Marcus had many different aliases. To me, he was a mentor. He was a social worker. He was a counselor. He was a driving instructor. He was a member of the Shiloh Backstreet boys. The list can go on and on! No matter what he did, there was always a smile on his face and the people around him.
Marcus has a way of making people smile and laugh. I say "has" because even the thought of him still makes me smile. Memories of him constantly bring me joy. I want to share one of the moments I was blessed with.
Marcus was the only person that wanted to teach me how to drive. I was seventeen and it was my second to last year as a counselor in training (CIT) at Camp Shiloh. All the campers were resting and he let another CIT, Aaron, and I drive a mini van around the back field. He encouraged me when I made perfect circles around the field and kept his sarcastic remarks to himself as I attempted to make circles while going in reverse. I knew he had lots of comments about my reverse triangles because that's just how Marcus was. Although he didn't have anything nice to say, he told me to keep going and then laughed at my many attempts.
Marcus helped me make one decent circle and then decided I needed to work on how I brake. He had me line the car up to the edge of the field and push as hard as I could down on the gas pedal and slowly brake before I hit the Rec Hall. I was scared I would hit the Rec Hall back porch and wreck everything but Marcus told me to relax. He had so much faith in me. I pressed down on the pedal as hard as I could and when I eased down on the brakes he was so impressed. I was feeling confident! Next up was parallel parking. I hate to brag but I did way better than Aaron did. Granted the sidewalk was the tug of war rope and the cars I was parking between were two orange cones, my self esteem was at an all time high.
Ryan, the camp director, asked Marcus to drive to the gas station and fill up a few containers with gas. Marcus thought it would be a great opportunity to get Aaron and I on the road. Aaron volunteered to drive to the gas station and I would drive back. Everything went smoothly with Aaron. We made it and filled up the containers with gas. Then it was my turn. I remember being so nervous, my palms were sweaty.
Everything was fine until Marcus told me make a right turn on one of the streets. The car jerked to the right, I stomped on the brakes but it was too late. We were probably a centimeter away from hitting this tree on the side of the road. The right turn I was supposed to make was behind us. The car was slanted to the left and I just remember hearing coins shifting over to the left side of the van. Apparently, I was terrible at making right turns! And evidently Marcus had way too much faith in me. Aaron said he saw his life flash before his eyes. Marcus was much nicer about my little accident. He made a proposition with me, he would drive us back to camp but at the entrance gate we could switch seats and everyone will think I safely got us back to camp. Of course, I agreed to save myself the embarrassment.
Throughout the whole driving lesson, Marcus displayed what it truly meant to be a Christian. He was so patient and kind to me, even when I failed at reverse circles and right turns. Even as coins clattered and the papers succumbed to the gravity that pulled them to the left of the the slanted car, he still smiled. His memories continuously encourage me to smile, no matter what happens.
*All banner pictures in this series were taken by Marcus Ewing*
