tales of a college crush.

Jake was a college classmate of mine.  We were both in the religion department at Luther and we actually went abroad during Jterm together on a school-sponsored trip.  We had fun in Greece and Turkey* with other awesome students and he borrowed my Maroon Five cd.  [It was 2005 – we traveled with personal cd players and lots of batteries.  AND my camera had film.] 

Truth is I thought Jake was the bee’s knees in college and I had a bit of a crush on him.  I still remember the day he walked into a religion class we had together with Melanie Johnson-DeBaufre [the most awesome prof and travel guide ever] and he came to where I was sitting.  “Is anyone sitting here?” he asked about the desk next to me.  “No.”  “Can it be me?” was his slick reply.  I think I blushed all day.  

Anyways, that crush is long in the past and so I figured, well, why not tell the interweb?  If it ever gets back to Jake, maybe he’ll just be flattered.  Or he’ll think it’s really awkward.  Either way, I promise I’m not a stalker, nor was I ever.  pinky swear  I just thought he was adorable and awesome.  [And I’m sure his wife agrees.]

What’s the point of all this?  Jake was recently diagnosed with hodgkin lymphoma.  [whoa.]  Jake is an avid blogger, tweeter, and now he aims to create a documentary of this journey through treatment and recovery.  Check out the kickstarter page here which explains the project and also links to his blog.  Send prayers and happy thoughts his way and add his blog to your feed reader.  [Not that he needs me to promote his blog.  He doesn’t.  He’s like Mr.Blogger with lots more klout than I’ll ever have.  But add his blog to your reader for your own sake.]  I admire the way in which he is facing this challenge, inviting other to come alongside, and sharing his experience for the benefit of others.  Admirable and couragous for sure.  

* Want to know a bit more about this Jterm trip?  We went to a soccer game at the Olympic stadium in Athens, saw so many impressive monoliths and columns, roamed the grand bazaar in Istanbul, went to the springs at Pamukkale, smoked a hookah, and – wait for it – were flipped off by Dave Chapelle outside the Blue Mosque.  It’s true – you can’t make that up.