My Co-Workers - Charles and Jim (2)

Even though they were (and are ) best of friends, they were polar opposites in some ways.  Jim was gregarious, much like his father, Cato, who influenced me in an earlier period of my life.   He was an avid reader.  He probably read more widely than any man I knew.   When it came to reading, Jim knew how to eat fish and leave the bones alone (if you get my drift).  You might not agree with him, but you can be sure of one thing.   Whatever Jim believed, his ideas were molded only after deep study and careful thought. He’s been an inspiration to me in that respect.  I’ve always tried to stay current in my reading, and to some degree Jim is responsible for encouraging me to stay abreast with various thought trends.

Charles is much quieter, although he can be hilarious at times. That’s probably because the humor really comes as a surprise.  One time we called on a banker in an attempt to try to find out if we might be able to qualify for a bank loan to construct a church building.   We put on our suits and ties, shined our shoes, and tried to put our best foot forward.   At one point the banker asked, “Do you have an organ?”   Of course, ours was an acapella church.  We didn’t have an organ and did want one.   The wheels started turning in Charles’ mind.  He wanted to find some way to make a good impression without compromising his beliefs.  He said, “No, but we do have an offset press.”  The banker just gave him a blank stare.  Jim and I had trouble figuring out the relevance too.  We all laughed at one another after the banker was out of earshot.   But that was totally out of character for Charles.

There was a little coffee shop in the plaza where we had our offices.  Quite often, we would take a break from our office chores and go down to the coffee shop.  It was mainly an opportunity to talk.  Sometimes we talked sports.  Sometimes we talked politics, and sometimes we talked theology.  Jim and I would generally carry the conversation, and Charles would just sit quietly while we rattled on about this and that.  In one of these discussions, Jim said, “It may seem like Charles isn’t involved in the conversation, but he’s analyzing everything we say.” He could feed it all back and let you know the strengths and weakness of the things you just said.    When Charles did speak, it would be significant and it would pay to listen.