Summary/Moral: daring; cranes, jail, military, reconnecting, emergency relief; charity
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From the barren plains of giants-ruled Texas, a thousand miles west across a scorching desert to the ocean coast of California near the Mexico border, and all the way back, as well as 2,000 miles north up into the tallest mountains of Montana at the very edge of Canada, we remained friends. Scott was one of the bravest and kindest people I’ve ever known. He stood up to scummy cops all by himself, volunteered to fight wars, ran marathons and Spartan obstacle-course races, taught himself programming and became an engineer, and after that even started preparing to become an astronaut. If ever there was a self-starter and role-model, it is him.
The second true and lasting friend I had (right after Nikhil, and only ‘second’ chronologically), who soon became my best friend, came from the typical modern American family and home; his was non-nuclear, unconventional, and dynamic/mixed. We hung out and played Grand Theft Auto, ate junk food, skipped school one day to cross a state line on our own for the first time, and climbed construction cranes at night. We set new standards, broke many records, bedded down tons of women, and lived as large as we could –having come from next to nothing.
Like my first long-term friend, Scott and I lost contact in intervals over the years. He always ended up in the same part of the world I was in, though, even one time in the barracks just across a courtyard from mine. Our paths kept realigning, and always just long enough for us to catch up and go on one more adventure, time after time.
I’d always been impressed at how athletic he was; even when he was smoking and drinking, he could outrun me. I was in track / cross-country, but that didn’t seem to help me much when it came to our evening just-for-fun sprints. This guy could easily have been a SEAL or Recon Marine, and I bet they would have recruited him under slightly different circumstances.
Scott was one of the top people who inspired the main characters in my series of short-stories written right after my first year of college, called The Wolves. His character was the first to show back up in the protagonist’s (my) life, rejoining forces just like we’d curiously end up doing at about the same time as foreseen in that legend. I didn’t know, back then, to what extent this would prove true; he would be on my lifelong team, and in ways even better than being a fellow elite operator.
After the military, he, like me, tried a number of jobs, and got screwed hard by the system/nation. So many veterans like us did, and it was rough as fucking hell; we were doing everything we could just to survive, and everyone was over-charging us, extorting us down into slavery and oblivion. Scott pulled through, though, never giving up, and making his way through all the shitty jobs you can imagine, while spending his free time studying hard, ensuring he became as educated and marketable as possible. It paid off.
I could tell you about how he knew all the best places to hang out and grab a bite to eat in multiple states from coast to coast, or about how he was making custom engraved axes and other metal works; he always had cool stuff going on in his life. I could tell you about the actual hiking trip we planned up the tallest mountain in the solar system, not just on Earth; Olympus Mons on Mars. I’ll save those tales for another time, though; the best part of this story, I think, is what happened for (and because of) him in what I’ve been calling Phase 2 (the time of the transition from the hellish start… to the heavenly eternal).
I was thrilled when he was finally given the income he had more than earned. I won’t go into details, but it was substantial, long-overdue, and gave me much relief and hope. I still laugh a bit at how it worked out, though, as it was the kind of job I’d been studying for all along, yet against my instincts, thus I never ended up getting an offer in that field. Oh, well; he deserves the quality of life that comes from it, and I think he’s happier doing it than I ever could have been.
We’ve helped each other out plenty over the two decades we’ve known each other. It was an honor to be able to help, and another honor to be regarded well enough to be helped. When times were tough on us, we were there for each other, and not only pulled the other back up and out as best we could, but also refreshed our spirits with another round of truly-epic (continent-crossing) adventure.
No amount of thanks for this friendship will ever be enough. I was able to speak freely about every single topic on my mind, no matter how controversial the masses childishly regarded them. I was able to enjoy the luxury of an adventure teammate at a moment’s notice. I was able to remain friends even after the wildest of outings and a few of the most upsetting years-long turns-of-events.
This man deserves to be an actual king. He deserves all the land and everything else he may want. I’m sure he’ll continue to do amazing things for all his days.
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Quick Bio:
So much in the Bible was left to our imagination. What were the ancient characters really like? This section of each of our Biblor’an pages helps us more accurately picture our own.
- Given Name: Scott Fitzgerald
- Birthplace/Hometown: ?, TX
- DOB: ~1984
- Hair/Eyes: sandy brunette / blue
- Height/Weight: ~6’0″ / ~200 lbs.
- Race/Nationality: Caucasian / American
- Distinguishing Features: _
- Common Attire: casual/normal
- Voice/Personality: tenor / approachable/calm
- Education/Career: computer science
- Diet/Health: becoming vegan
- Preferences/Mannerisms: lots of reading and marathons
- Relatives/Descendants: known ones in TX
“SF”, as I came to call him (due to his initials, and how impressive, like Special Forces, he always struck me as), was also growing up with me in Texas, and came from a mixed family living in a rough part of town. He has always been curiously fast, strong, brave, and into advanced subjects. After time in both the military and prison, he became another programmer and earned the most impressive salary of all my friends.
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Jokes:
- “Flankrin Ruu rikes to dig tunners.”
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Quotes:
- TBA
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Terms Coined:
- TBA
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Major Influence on Inisfree:
climbing areas, such as the PK Playground, running events and trails, and my own endurance training outside Inisfree, such as for the Spartan races, Tough Mudders, and ultra-marathon bicycle rides
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