Character Arcs

My heart’s in Champaign, Illinois. Two of my favorite people are on their way out of two of my favorite places – albeit for wildly different reasons.

Both, though, have had me thinking about character a lot these past couple days.

University of Illinois men’s basketball coach Bruce Weber’s a class act who’s never been afraid to wear his feelings on his sleeve. He doesn’t talk in polished cliches and sound bites. There was a very touching article in the campus paper this week about his youngest daughter – a cheerleader at Illinois – that really provides an important perspective into what life must be like behind the orange blazer that seems to be fitting less well by the hour.

Yes, it’s his job to win ballgames, but it’s also his job to lead, and maybe I’m naive to believe it’s still a coach’s role to inspire and set a good example for student-athletes not just to make them better players but better men. I think he’s done both very well.

I knew him a little when we were both in Carbondale. I suspect he could not only have the coaching vacancy there but the city’s mayorship and the keys to Tres Hombres as well.

When I shared the article about Coach Weber’s daughter on Facebook, my sister wrote: “Character counts. We have been well served by this man and his staff.”

And it’s fitting that Lynn wrote that and inspired this daily blur. She’s moving this weekend. They’re staying in Champaign, but they’re leaving the house that raised up a family full of character and characters. Please keep her family in your prayers.

That must be such a mixed bag of emotions, you know? Packing up the trinkets and treasures-to-only-you and remembering all the whens and whos and wheres. For these things, we must give thanks.

A Friday toast:

To character … and to the characters that fill our lives and memories.