Even out here in the land of red flannel hats, two-stroke
engines, and perfect starlit skies, occasionally the influence of popular
culture reaches us. It penetrates
the miles of forest like a drop of ink in a mountain stream; shocking in its
initial contrast, but eventually washing into oblivion.
Our most recent drop of ink has been The Hunger Games, and
yes, I recognize that that fad came and went last year in the rest of the
world, but try to think of my world as one of those cool $2 theaters where they
play the movies 6 months late so college students can afford them.
In The Hunger Games, the character Peeta Mellark turns a
corner, both in the eyes of Katniss Eberdeen, and in the eyes of the viewer,
when he insightfully comments that he hopes the games, “Won’t change him.” Under the duress of impending doom, would
his morals flex? Break? Disappear altogether?
The answer, of course, is “no.”
Peeta is a noble fantasy character and his role is to fit
the needs of the story he inhabits – he is adequately just, kind, and needy at
every point in the movie.
Unfortunately, I am not a fantasy character and my nobility
is not a fixed trait. Lets face
it. “adequacy” might still be
something to shoot for as far as my own personal journey goes. But in the face of my own challenge –
the long, continually frustrating existence of summer at a camp insistent on
breaking down, burning up, falling apart and/or stalling out – I sometimes fear the
changes it may cause in my character.
Will I remain patient? Will
I hold my head up high, always working hard and never letting down the staff
members that look to me for leadership?
Will I find a way to shower and shave at least once a week?
The answer to all of these things turned out to be
“no.”
