The Logic-Defying Trio of John, Jefferson, and Chris

If you think I'm eccentric, wait till you meet John, Jefferson, and Chris. I'm a little weird; they're way out there. I know the prompt asks for an eccentric person, but I can't really talk about one without talking about the other two. I should tell you about the phone calls I've gotten from John at 4 in the morning. But let me back up.

How do I explain these guys?

All three were in a small group at church with me and some other guys, but John, Jefferson, and Chris were always together. Chris was always the most sober-minded of the three, the one who always seemed like he knew what they were doing was a bad idea. Not that he ever voiced his concerns, he was just the one that was the least out there. Jefferson was… high. There is no other word for it. Even though I don't think he's ever touched drugs in his life, his demeanor and personality were enough to convince you that he spent all his time in a haze of marijuana fumes. One time all four of us were walking into church one day, and as soon as we walked in the door Jefferson stopped and said, "Dude… there's people". John was the crazy one. He's the goofiest, craziest, funniest guy I've ever met. With his goofy smile and awkward run, John makes me crack up.

Now, I don't want you running away with the idea that I'm making fun of these guys. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I have nothing but respect for them, having grown up with them and watched them grow in their faith and shared struggles with them. If anything, I wish I could be more like them. Chris was athletic, everyone liked John, and Jefferson could grow a full beard in under an hour. But they are the weirdest guys I have ever known.

Case in point, there are three or four voicemails on my phone that I have received over the years from John, all coming at like 3 or 4 on the morning. The first one went something like this: "Hey, Bennett, I had the best idea, Hear me out. We're going to steal a taxi cab and drive up to Canada. Then we're going to bathe in maple syrup and roll around in Canadian grass and become grass monsters. And once we're grass monsters then we're going to fly to Washington and take over America." Another time, he asked me to come rescue him because he and Jefferson had gotten stuck inside a video game.

Having been friends with John for years, I think some of his personality has started to rub off on me, and I'm not sure it was entirely accidental. John was popular, but not in the way the "popular kids" are popular. Everyone loved John because he was just himself, and he was so comfortable with who he is. I've known my whole life I'm a weird kid, and I've always been okay with people thinking I'm weird. But John was weirder than I ever was, and everyone liked him. I wanted that. I wanted it real bad. So I started to act like him. I didn't mimic him; I just started to absorb some of his mannerisms and actions. Like how whenever he did something weird or awkward he would never acknowledge the awkwardness. Or that he would say what he was thinking without giving any context at all. Those are the kind of behaviors I picked up.

Honestly, I think I really am okay with who I am, and I think John had a large part to do with that. By seeing him as the popular quirky kid, I didn't have to spend all my energy trying to attain that. I could just look at John. So instead that freed me to just be myself.