Character development is something that happens in all our lives, rarely limited to only our story-telling natures. Sure, when you're introducing someone to a group of loved ones or friends, you're going to give a few high points of this new person and the small affect they've had on your life in order to provide your audience with a bit of perspective. Then again, I can find tremendous character development opportunities being provided by every turn I seemingly take the last few days (just see my most recent blog entry for an example).
With this being said, I'd like to offer up a preview of how I'm trying to put some of this into words and paint a picture with my first real attempt at writing a novel. That being said, meet Uncle Bernie...
The khaki hat perched atop his head showed weathered stains and fade that accumulated during most of his adult years as a 43-year-old citizen of Mississippi. Like everything about Bernie (or “Uncle Bernie” to the array of nieces and nephews his brothers and sisters had parented over the last decade), this hat told a story.
But, we’re getting ahead of ourselves. As mentioned before, Bernie is a 43-year-old native of the Magnolia state, residing most of his life in the Naval airbase town of Meridian. Throughout his days, moments with friends and family alike had provided him with some fascinating (and mostly unbelievable to non-witnesses) stories, and those memories are what separates this misplaced tourist from others.
Bernie’s physique features a tall, sleek stature and a chiseled face topped with spots of gray hairs littering the once strawberry blonde locks from his youth. A size 12 foot that is almost always exposed to the elements via flip flops, often leading to some interesting sunburns adjacent to his gangly toes, serves as his roots to the ground below. None of these attributes can hold a candle to the very essence of Uncle Bernie: his heart and his imagination.
One of Bernie’s favorite pastimes is to share those memories to any and all who would listen, and his favorite audience is one comprised of his nieces and nephews. While his brothers and sisters often warned their offspring of his eccentric behavior, it was hard not to appreciate his swagger and deliberate ability to capture their interests. They knew well that, when the hat and Hawaiian shirts found their way out of the closet and became Uncle Bernie’s attire, an intriguing tale (most often involving their parents at some point) was on its way.
An avid sailor during the first couple of years following high school, he now spent his days as a CPA in Laurel, a small town near his stomping grounds of Meridian. His desire to help people, especially during a high-stress time such as tax season, coupled with an innate ability to do complex calculations in his head were two of many traits that could quickly transform a one-on-one meeting into a four-hour medley of experiences and advice derived from one of those famous memories.
Because of all these things, it’s not hard to see how people find themselves drawn to the non-imposing Bernie. While it was never his true intention, his high school and college friends (which comprise most of his “brothers and sisters” in addition to his one true sibling, Michelle) were all “experts” in different fields. This allowed Bernie to experience different environments from one day to the next depending on which friend he was carousing with on a particular afternoon or evening, all helping him to find ways to relate to his future customers.
Most of the stories are of the happy-go-lucky nature; however, there are just as many tales to be shared featuring heartache and sorrow. It is by knowing these simple truths that you can now meet Uncle Bernie as another concert of experiences is about to begin...
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