Aaron Welty The coming of age of a small boy on a desert planet, destined to save the universe from a dark and imperial evil. Before George Lucas, before Star Wars, before the Skywalker family, there was Arakis, there was Paul…there was Jodorowsky’s DUNE!
Dreams aren’t like movies. In a movie, the whole thing is wrapped up in a few hours, generally with a satisfying ending, because that is what audiences desire. Chasing dreams in real-life involve luls and intermissions (something films used to have). Thus continues the real-life “intermission” of chasing a dream to Washington…
In 1987, Warner Bros. released a live-action adaption of the popular cartoon “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe” to theaters. Simply titled Masters of the Universe, it told the story of the struggle between He-Man and his allies against the evil Skeletor and his minions for control of the mythical land of Eternia. After the credits rolled, a final scene appeared with Skeletor’s head rising from the pit he’d been thrown in at the conclusion of the film’s climactic battle. Since then, “Skeletor” has also been used as the proper term for a post-credits scene in a motion picture (a practice made popular in recent years by Marvel Studios comic book movies, the 20th Century Fox’s X-Men films, and the Pirates of the Caribbean movies). My “Mount Moriah” tale has a similar component, one that cemented the life-pattern I’ve seen since my college days ended.
“I know we all think we’re immortal , but what makes life precious is that it ends; don’t waste your time living someone else’s life, fight for what matters” – Gwen Stacy, The Amazing Spider-Man 2
As powerful, memorable, and full of theological significance for life that the afternoon on Lake Michigan was, and continues to be as I reflect on it years later, the “conclusion” of that story was still a little ways off; the euchtastrophe hadn’t ended yet.
Late into the summer of 2005, I endured a “crisis of future” that amounted to an intense afternoon of soul-searching and life evaluation that in years hence I’ve come to call my “Mount Moriah Moment”. This is it’s story…
Recently, a friend who works in the cable news industry shared with me that she was celebrating ten years in Washington, DC chasing the dream of being involved in television doing exactly what she’s doing. While I had heard pieces of this story before – some of it recounted in Draw the Circle by Mark Batterson – what surprised me was the location that served as as catalyst for this journey: the shore of Lake Michigan.
“The essence of heroism is to die so that others can live” – Oliver Queen, Arrow
To the one who is victorious I will give…that person a white stone with a new name written on it; known only to the one who receives it” – Revelation 2:17
Author, Speaker, and Super Nerd. Aaron Welty speaks and writes regularly connecting the dots of life, faith, and science fiction. Originally from Michigan, he now lives and works in the Washington, DC metro area.