A while back I subsribed to The Classic Tales Podcast, which, as you might have guessed, provides audio readings of classic stories. It’s a solid production and definitely worth looking into if you like that sort of thing. Since I listen to quite a few different podcasts, I didn’t get around to giving the classic tales a try until recently. I listened to the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Rikki-Tikki-Tavi amongst other stories. I enjoyed Rikki-Tikki a good deal more than Dr Jekyll. True, it is a children’s story, and maybe that says a lot about the kind of person I am.

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde reminded me of why the classics are the classics and why people don’t really write that way anymore. Don’t get me wrong, it was extremely well written. However, due to the popularity of this story and its many retellings, I already had a pretty good idea of what it was about.  It’s not that the idea of a man with a split personality who finally succumbs to and is overtaken by his darker side isn’t an appealing one. In fact, I tend to like darker themes, but the entire time I was just waiting and waiting for it finally to reach the “surprising” conclusion as the story goes on and on and the characters remain in the dark, never suspecting the truth until it is far too late. It drug on unnecessarily and failed to maintain my interest. That’s not to say it was a failure (obviously it’s success proves otherwise) but it just didn’t do it for me. Perhaps I’ve heard too many similar stories (one that undoubtedly took some concepts from this one) or perhaps it was just too much like real life to seem all that fantastic, but all in all I was unimpressed and glad to be done with it. No surprisingly, Edward Hyde is nothing like the character that appears in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Rikki Tikki, on the other hand, was just an all around fun story to listen to. Unlike Dr Jekyll, there was much more emphasis on the characters rather than the theme or concept of the story. Perhaps that’s why it wasn’t a problem that I also knew this story beforehand, having seen a cartoon version some time ago. I loved the adventure of it and the bold daring demeaner of Rikki Tikki himself. The story moved along at a good pace, never settling for dull moments. Something about wildlife, and the conflicts that arise in nature really sparks my interest. In one sense you have animals who are naturally friends or enemies opperating by instinct to survive and in another sense it is a simple tale of good vs evil. I also enjoyed the interaction between human and animal throughout the story. Sure, you won’t find anything terribly deep and moving in it, but not every story has to be profound and mysterious to be good. There are undoubtedly some strong spiritual applications in both stories (probably more in Dr Jekyll) but that doesn’t necessarily make a story more enjoyable. So that’s two thumbs (or claws) up for the speedy and clever mongoose.

High School Summer Camp went very well. The worship was great, the messages were great, the games were great, the free time was great (perhaps you’re sensing a theme here), it was pretty much all great (except for me getting tackled by one of the high school boys and my shoulder still hurting quite a bit). I think the time was meaningful and effective; God accomplished what He wanted to and I really couldn’t ask for more than that. I feel that it was a great opportunity for me to be used and I definitely experienced some personal spiritual growth. This camp was different from the last and the one before, and I’m fine with that. I’ve learned to expect something new and different every time, the same story rarely plays itself out twice. Still, I’m glad it’s over. I enjoy being able to look back and see that something went so well, maybe because it’s much easier than looking forward and believing that it will go well. I guess that’s what faith is all about.

On the other hand, I always feel funny about coming back from some big event and having to tell people how it went. Maybe it’s just me, but it’s hard for me to just quickly sum up everything that occurred and my feelings concerning such things. And I feel odd just saying “Oh, it was good/great.” It’s hard for me to convey an experience to someone who wasn’t there. And on top of that, soon after the experience has passed, the memory of it fades and contorts in to something else. It becomes more of my own take on the experience and less of the real thing.

Memory is an interesting thing. Memories are great, but they still aren’t the real thing. It’s sad to me that so many beautiful and wonderful things in life are passing and all that remains is an ever fading memory.  Sometimes I have a hard time enjoying something because I know in the back of my mind that soon enough it will be gone. It seems such a terrible loss to me, knowing that no matter how I search for that feeling/experience/thing, I’ll never find it again, at least not in the same way it was before.

I recently finished listening to the entire Chronicles of Narnia on CD. It was an amazingly well-done production and (of course) I’m sad that it’s over now. In the final book, The Last Battle, Jill expresses her lament that the world of Narnia can’t last forever and she is sad to see it come to an end. But then, when her and a good portion of the Narnia characters travel through Aslan’s Country they find that all the things they loved about Narnia are there, but even grander than they had remembered them. They go on to find that England is there too, along with the rest of the world and many other worlds within worlds. It was an incredibly moving scene and the idea of this life being just a dream compared to the eternal is one that resonates deeply within me. It is inspiring to me, to hope for that day, knowing that I’ll finally be in the presence of a true beauty in its purest form, one that is unhindered, unsullied, and unfading. All the things that once marred beauty and stole it away will have faded to nothing and been blown away like a waft of fog in the wind. And then the holiday will begin.