Brendon Martin

I have a few special memories of past groups of students performing exceptionally well at a Christmas or spring program. Something is inspiring about young children and high school students throwing their hearts into carefully rehearsed praise. Of course, the opposite is true. Did you ever attend a program where the students seemed incapable of getting excited about what they were doing? The students barely open their mouths during a program while a teacher tries bravely to wring forth some sound. How discouraging!

I surveyed the young man who had just entered the garage I was working in. He was a typical figure on any construction site with scuffed work boots, faded jeans, a muscle T-shirt, and baseball cap. As he neared the ladder I was working from, something caught my eye. On one suntanned shoulder he had a small tattoo. Looking more closely I made out the figure of a large buck and between his antlers were the words “Archery Hunter”. The rattle of my impact wrench made conversation nearly impossible, so I merely smiled and nodded as he passed.