Day 97 - Letters from Pete (Give ... Back)

I came across some letters from my first best friend, Pete, and got a laugh out of rereading them.  These are letters Pete wrote after his family moved on from Shelbyville. 

Pete and his family first moved to Shelbyville when I was in third grade.  His father was the new pastor at our church.

I took an instant disliking to Pete when my parents dragged my brothers and me to the church basement for the welcome luncheon.  He was skinny and his ears stuck out.  And there was my Mom nudging me forward, saying, "Oh look - they have a boy your age. Why don't you go introduce yourself?" 

"Because he's skinny and his ears stick out" is what I wanted to say.  But I did introduce myself ... and we became the greatest of friends. 

Pete made church fun for me.  And he was the first person to show me that real Christians would stand out in a crowd ... and it wasn't something to be feared.

When 7th grade rolled around, I was excited - even in the midst of fears of going to a new building - because it meant that Pete and I would finally get to go to the same school.  I remember the relief I felt when I realized we would have the same lunch period. 

And the junior high cafeteria was the place where Pete taught me how a young Christian acts on his faith.  The cafeteria was segregated - the "normal" kids jockeyed for positions at the majority of the tables but there were two tables that were reserved for the special ed kids.  None of the "normal" kids ever EVER considered sitting with the special ed kids.  Except Peter.  I, of course, tagged along, but it was Pete who initiated sitting THERE.  And not only sitting there, but actually talking to THEM.  Like they were human beings. 

The way Jesus would have done if He had been a junior high student.

I learned a lot from Pete.  Unfortunately, he moved away at the end of that 7th grade year, but we wrote letters and visited whenever he could talk our parents into making the drive.  I'm still in contact with him through Facebook but not enough.  After reading these old letters I realize I need to spend some time with Pete sometime soon. 

Because I can't keep all these old letters, I thought I'd put them in the mail to him.  I figure he'll get a big kick out of reading what he wrote to me.  There's absolutely nothing serious in any of the letters; they're filled with sentences like the following:

"Do you play with brissle bears, grrrr." 

"Do you still like poneytail head?"  (That was about Amber - my first crush.) 

"If this letter seems a little strange, it should, I wrote it!!!"

3-26-82  - a reddish stain that he drew a line around and called "Ketchup Man"

"James and Berta (Pete's sister, Rebekah) are still romancing.  He comes over and eats all our food." (They eventually got married!)

And my favorite (although I have no idea what it means):  "Have mercy on me, Buddy Bear!"