"An Ode to Jason Taylor" Revisited

**It has been 3.5 years since my good friend Jason Taylor went home to be with his King. With the passing of time, it doesn't get any easier. Grief comes and goes. But the happy thought remains that I will see him soon and we will be reunited together with the Saints and Jesus Christ. Perhaps we'll watch heavenly cartoons or shoot flaming arrows while the harps play. I don't know. But I do know this: I miss you Jason and we will talk soon brother!**

Four days ago saw the passing of a very good friend of mine. Today is his birthday. I would like to celebrate his life with this limerick:

When I first met the man Jason Taylor in the spring of Two Thousand and Six, I was blessed to say the very least.

He made me laugh and I did likewise. He was an amazing addition to the summer staff of Canyonview Camp.

We formed a quick bond with one another because we had a lot in common. We possessed some of the same goals.

He was widely known as TROGDOR THE BURNiNATOR around day camp. The kids loved this gentle giant.

After each week of camp, we would often travel to Applebees and he and I would bond over $2 chips and salsa.

I instantly came to know that this man of God knew how to have fun and benefited camp in many ways.

Jason and I, being two of the staff over the age of 21 were assigned to instruct archery week after week.

We both became quick the excellent archers and as young warriors, would discuss our adventures come day's end.

One hot summer day, during activity time, Trogdor yelled to me across Drift Creek needing my help with something.

As I leapt across the creek, he led me to his archery site and there he showed me a little shrew on an arrow.

He asked me what to do and as we looked at the bloody arrow and the suffering shrew, we scratched our heads in awe.

As a family of little mice made a quick exodus out of the hay bales, in the end we flung the stabbed shrew into the forest.

As a storyteller, I toyed with the idea of placing Jason as the razor-back gorilla in the Adventures of Daredevil Dan.

I believe he even assisted us once using a gorilla mask. He was always was willing to create a fun time for the kids.

One night I asked Jason to go with me to PDX to pick up my parents and he was willing which provided an extra bond.

Before the summer at outdoor ed. I bonded with The Raven (Caleb Crossman, Jason's close friend) over sticky grass.

Sticky grass was few and far between the banks of the creek and is very useful for constructing creek boats.

Because of this and the usefulness of said grass, was born the legend of the sticky grass.

Together, Caleb and I shared our newfound glory and awe of sticky grass with Jason and had many a good laugh.

Jason and I also had a good laugh because his Trogdor was burninating my Wooly Mammoth on the bottom.

Although we grew close throughout the summer of 2006 and shared many adventures, perhaps the first bond for us was in the form of bus buddies. Together, we were camp's bus buddies. I created the bus buddy program to inform the day camp children of the coming excitement that is camp! The concept was simple, two of us would stand near the bus entrance and wave the buses in as soon as the yellow was spotted. We were the first they saw of camp and quickly became a staple of the day camp program. We were the first impression and together, with the rest of the staff, the last thing they saw when they left at the end of the day. Since summer 2006 was to be my last summer at Canyonview, we decided to create a test for others to complete to become a bus buddy. We were very proud of the test that we wrote, but unfortunately it was not much of a success. The following is the test:

"If you think you're qualified to be a bus buddy fill out this simple test and e-mail it to both WOOLY MAMMOTH and TROGDOR the BURNiNATOR and we will decide whether or not you're worthy."

Name:__________________________ Animal Name:________________________

IQ:_______________________ Favorite Camp Story:____________________________

1. Draw a diagram of the bus waving area, label where you will stand while waiting for the bus as well as where you will stand while you are waving.

2. List 5 appropriate bus waving area conversation topics.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

3. List 5 inappropriate bus waving area conversation topics.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

4. What is your favorite color?

5. What are your 3 favorite camp songs?

1.

2.

3.

6. What is your least favorite camp song?

7. If, you could have one super power what would it be?

8. What is your favorite camp activity?

9. What is your favorite non-camp activity?

10. Draw your favorite animal noise

11. What’s your favorite camp food?

12. On a separate sheet of paper draw a diagram of your waving style. (Use at least 5 figures and explain each one.)

13. If Chuck Norris and Godzilla got into a fight who would win? Describe the situation.

14. What is your favorite letter of the English alphabet

15. Draw your favorite scent.

16. What do you want to be if you grow up?

Although the test was a failure because most viewed it as a joke, there was one who was worthy. He came in the form of Mosquito (John Freidrick). John and Jason became the successors of the bus buddy program. Jason left Canyonview in 2008 and John a few years later. The bus buddy program is a thing of the past, or at least the original one is. Nevertheless, the memories remain and I often think about the great times that Jason and I had on the mornings of day camp throwing rocks at reflectors and trees, discussing issues at camp, talking with Salamander (Neil Langsather) when he would walk down our way for a visit, and of course waving the busses into the entrance. We gave them direction and excitement. The one week I was asked to counsel at horse camp separated us two bus buddies and Jason was left to do the task alone with Neil and Caleb helping occasionally. This week was a difficult one because how dare they separate the bus buddies? I did my share of visiting and we were an encouragement to one another. May the bus buddy program live on in the hearts of camping professionals.

January 2007, during a T.I.M. retreat weekend, was my last hurrah as a Canyonview staffer. In February, on the eve of my departure to Colorado for which would be the vast majority of 2007, Jason and I hung out with Timber Tiger (Ally Kohanek/now Heenan) our mutual friend and camp staffer. It was at this meeting that our thoughts moved to camp...camping in general. This was after a summer of adventures and misadventures. We realized we had so much in common as it relates to camp ministry. The ministry that the camping world brings has meant so much to the both of us. It was at this meeting that we orally declared to one another that we ought to start a camp. We temporarily referred to it as "Camp Awesome." As I left for another camp in Colorado to teach outdoor education and gain more camp experience and knowledge, I kept in touch with Jason and we discussed our newly found aspiration of starting a camp. Every moment that went by I got more and more excited for this opportunity. This dream was bigger than the both of us. While in Colorado, I shared this dream with several people, a few of which became excited for me and I gained some friends who were committed or willing to help me out with this endeavor. In October of that year, I reunited with an old friend (Dale Russell a.k.a. Chip from Canyonview) after about a 5 or 6 year absence. I recruited him to come and work at the Colorado camp as an instructor. He too was excited about this camp opportunity and stated he was willing to help out as well. This did not come as a surprise because years earlier he and I expressed interest in starting some sort of a camp or youth ministry center.

When I returned to Oregon in November 2007 I was glad to be back and share my experiences with Jason and to once again continue our discussion of starting a camp. That school year we hung out quite a lot here and there and discussed "Camp Awesome" whenever we could. I was always in deep thought about it. What should we name it? What will the funding be like? What about programs? Where should we start it? How about staffing? What's the mission of our camp? What are we going to accomplish by starting yet another camp? How is our camp going to be different? And from here to there, there were people I met and shared this dream with that became interested and a few shared my enthusiasm and joy of camping to the extent of wanting to help out wherever they could. I began to form a list of people and friends who became interested, a list of supporters/investors as it were. Summer 2008 Jason continued for a third and final summer at Canyonview Camp while I served at my third camp which was in the Seattle area. When I returned in August, I visited Canyonview for a day and fellowshipped with Jason and the other staff. The school year 2008-2009 brought me back to Salem with a part-time childcare job which, under the circumstances created a lot of free time and I was able to meet and talk with Jason when time allowed.

Jason was a faithful man devoted to the service of God and his countenance was always full of humor and joy. As my friend Caleb Crossman has said, "Good people are missed when they're gone because they brighten up this dark world a little. Jason Richard Taylor was daylight." He was truly daylight and he brought joy to others around him.

Jason and I shared another passion and that was the written word, reading and writing. We were both well read and both aspiring authors. He however beat me in the book game having written a book almost to completion. We would browse books in the Book Bin and he would point out some good reads. He introduced me to the Gov. Cup Coffee Roasters in downtown Salem. He often went there after work and worked on his laptop. Occasionally I would meet him there in the afternoon and we would hang out and discuss camp, life in general, writing, and '90s cartoons in which we were both very fond of (i.e. Ducktales, Darkwing Duck, Talespin, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers - we even drove out to camp to watch Darkwing Duck in Fir Lodge one weekend. In a recent conversation he had mentioned that we should live next to each other in years to come so that our children can grow up watching the same awesome cartoons that we were accustomed to). Often we would depart the Gov. Cup and walk towards the Reed Opera House where we would eat at La Perla, a small Mexican restaurant that served $1 tacos. These tacos (actually 99 cents) were very good being very cheap. We would often eat here and discuss camp-related topics as we look out the window at the passing traffic and as the sun set. When I return to Salem, one of the first things I will do is go to the Gov. Cup and La Perla in Jason's honor. We would often eat at La Perla when I would come home from a camp I was away at.

As with most of the camps I have worked for, I met a few good friends at a camp in Indiana summer 2009 who shared my passion for camp ministry and became great resources. In the spring of 2010, I was blessed to become one of Jason's roommates in Keizer. It was here where I began to share and admire Jason's passion for video games. I was especially fond of "Left for Dead" because I enjoyed blowing up zombies. I played a lot of "Resident Evil 4" in college while listening to Disney music. You would've had to been there. Anyway, it was great to be Jason's roommate because it provided extra time for us to talk about starting a camp. A few months later we ate at La Perla and hung out one last time in the Gov. Cup before I left for a year-long leadership program in Wisconsin. During this time, we were going to schedule a skype "get together/hang out/talk" (I don't think guys use the term 'date'), but that never ended up happening. At the beginning of July while in Houston, I heard the ill news that Jason was rushed to the hospital due to respiratory heart problems. This pained me to hear but for some reason, I was not too worried because I knew Jason was a fighter and I had faith that he would soon snap out it. Nevertheless, I earnestly prayed for his healing. I thought for sure our prayers were being answered when Jason was able to go home and talk for himself online. In fact, it was about the first of August that I talked to him on facebook chat. He wanted to say hello and I asked how he was feeling. He was doing much better, not out of the woods yet, but much better. I told him I was probably coming back to Oregon in a few weeks after 14 months away. This excited him as he said, "good, so then we can finally talk" (I knew he was referring to our camp). I agreed and then we parted ways again.

Two days later on the afternoon of August 3, 2011 when I received the Caring Bridge message that Jason passed sometime in the night, I had to reread it because the first time it did not make sense. I had to read it a third time because I did not believe what it was saying. In fact, I almost refused to believe it. This cannot be. What happened? He was so young. There was so much left in his life, so much that he wished to do or try. He wanted to advertise his computer repair business and limited car repair. He aspired to travel to South Korea and teach English to help pay off debt. He even thought about getting his pilot's license to fly small aircraft. He desired to finish and publish his book and most likely to continue his writing career. And, of course he aspired and dreamed to start a camp ministry with me. Jason had a huge heart and yet it was weakened in the end, just shy of his 30th birthday.

If this was parchment, there would be tear stains upon it. Jason was a very close friend of mine that I dearly loved and admired. He taught me so much. He was a philosopher of the greatest order and was a hilarious comedian whose humor will live on. I did not and still do not quite know what to make of this event. He was robbed from me...and not just me but his dear family and friends who called him brother and son. Three months prior I lost, alas, the world lost a great friend and mentor and then the Lord decides to throw this curveball at me. I understand that his time was up here on earth. His purpose was completed because otherwise he would still be among us. But I do not know why his time was up. It just does not make sense. I suppose it is not supposed to. I have been asking what God is teaching through this. What does He want me to learn? My time on this planet continues. I still have a purpose that must be fulfilled. I suppose, though it be excruciatingly difficult, I must trust and obey, though I trust and believe without sight Jason was truly one of the best friends this world could offer. For years we talked about starting a camp together. This was a dream we both shared. This is still my dream and I have vowed to do my best to make it a reality in Jason's memory. He will forever be in my thoughts. This is a very grievous time. But it does not have to be. It is also a very exciting time. I know he is in a better place and for that I am envious.

"Jason, some day a bus will arrive in Heaven with me on it and I will look out the window and see you beside the King waving! Only then will we be reunited and become roommates once again."

Jason Taylor was a man of great valor and the five years I knew him were days blessed.

Jason, this is for you...

Revelation 21: 1-7

 1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”[a] for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’[b] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

 6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

Matthew 25:23

"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'"

I can only imagine Jason Richard Taylor dressed in his finest attire approaching the throne of grace while His Majesty, the King on High declares, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

See you soon brother...

(**First written & published on August 7, 2011**)

**REVISITATION**

Jason, I have not yet started a camp, but that dream is still kindling within my mind. It has been on the back burner for the last 3.5 years. That is to say a partner like you has not stood up yet. Everything is the Lord's...the earth and everything in it. Everything must happen in His timing. My goals are not His goals and my plans are not His plans, but I ask and I pray that my dreams become His dreams! I want to do this not only in honor of you Jason, but do what we set out to do...create a camp worthy of and in honor of Jesus Christ our LORD.

This last summer I went on a bicycle journey down the Pacific Coast to try to raise funds for the start of our camp, but that seemed to fail miserably. No one donated except one person, my aunt. Nevertheless, it was a great adventure and did you know you joined me on the adventure? You did, in the form of a Homestar Runner patch. Your mom wanted to give me something to take with me that belonged to you. Unfortunately, the patch did not return with me. I looked long and hard upon my return, but alas, your patch wanted to stay behind on the road! Maybe that's a symbol of something...

Jason, I only knew you for the last few years of your life, but those years were wonderful by your side. We talked, we laughed, we fought and we cried. Perhaps no one else I have really felt such a bond with. Sometimes I feel alone in our camp endeavor. Without you, I don't seem to be progressing much. I sent my dream camp paper to someone I've never met, but is a mutual friend in North Dakota. He was very interested and claims to "make things happen." I don't know what that quite means, but any interest I will pounce on. Most people just seem to want to "support," which is fine and all because we need prayer warriors, but no one wants to get their hands dirty and actually assist getting something off the ground. I hear this a lot: "Once you start a camp, I'll want to help." Once you start...I don't want to do the hard dirty work, that's for you...it's a frustration. But alas, I cannot give up or give in. Only in God's timing...

I miss you Jason and I hope any who read this will be encouraged by your memory!