Long time no C

Now...

...and then.

"C", as in, Cory.

We haven't seen this kid, now young man, in close to 3 or 4 years.  Last time we saw him was when he and his family still lived across the street and a few doors down from Cross and Crown.

A lot has changed since the last time we saw Cory, both physically and maturity wise.

He has matured from the pesky, undersized, skate boarding, problem child we once knew to a nice looking, mild mannered, respectful, still skate boarding, young man.

Cory now lives in Missouri with the rest of his family but made it back to OKC for a couple weeks to spend some time with his long distance best friend who still lives in the neighborhood.

Cory initially planned to spend a couple weeks in the city over Christmas break but after a significant miscommunication between he and some of his extended family has been stranded here in the city.

Because Cory had some extra time on his hands while in the neighborhood we were privileged to visit with him several times.  We talked about future goals, school (and how missing 2 weeks of school or more could definitely affect those goals), family and decision making.

There are two major realizations/confirmations I walked away with during our extended time with Cory.

First, I am genuinely optimistic for Cory.  Even though Cory has a lot stacked against him and has some tough circumstances; he seems to be rising above those circumstances and staying, for the most part, on a straight path.

Second, after talking with Cory about both past and present we both laughed when we verbally confirmed that Cory is the only individual that I have baptized both spiritually and toilet-ually.

It's a long story, but, basically, back in the day Cory got a little carried away one day at Rock Island and when he got upset he ended up throwing nacho cheese all over Rock Island.  Whenever I confronted him to clean it up he then responded by throwing the nacho cheese on me while cursedly refusing to clean up the rest.  I then did what any good, Christ-like mentor, parental or fatherly figure would do and physically grabbed him and dumped his head and face in the toilet.

The old is gone and the new has come, right?  Not exactly how it worked.  But, if I remember correctly, he did clean up the nacho cheese after he dried his head off...

Anyways, Cory informed us this past Sunday that he had worked out a plan with his aunt who lives nearby to get him back home to Mizzouri.

So, until next time, Cory, we pray the best for you and anxiously await the next time you return to the neighborhood.  We love you and God bless.

Now...

...and then.