"A day
without laughter is a day wasted."
~~Charlie Chaplin
Hi there!
Yesterday was Adam's (observed) birthday so this newsletter is
devoted to him! And while I'm sure his friends and family
showered him with kind messages, I'm actually not going to offer
those up this time. I feel like a change is due so,
instead, this newsletter features an interview with Adam and my
own musings about the Adam-centric story "Triad." I hope
you enjoy!
God bless,
Jenni
An Interview with the Birthday Boy
Hi!
So I guess I got to missing Andrew's and my old interview
schtick. I decided that it'd be nice to have
recentish interviews with us all to show newbies when they come. It
would have been nice to have this prepared when Eilish,
Behnam, and Isra came (will also need to work on a
kid-friendly version) but better late than never!
Since it's his birthday, I thought my little project
should start with our beloved Adam. So here
goes! ~JenniAnn
JenniAnn: So, Adam, what's been the most surprising
thing for you when it comes to life in Dyeland?
Adam: You and Arthur. I'm
serious! I did NOT see that coming for Andrew and
Monica. But it's great! And now I'm an
uncle! Really I guess it's the whole thing between
us angels and you humans. I'd heard...whisperings,
bits of stories, references in records... about groups of
angels and humans who were very close but to be involved
in something like that? It was no where on my
radar. It makes me very, very glad that God's
guiding my life because He came up with a much better one
than I would have.
JenniAnn: Aww! Great answer! I can't
imagine Dyeland or the Friends without you. Speaking
of the Friends... are you liking playing Merlin better than
Pilate?
Adam: Well, that's kind of a
hard call. I like Merlin as a person much better, of
course. But Pilate's also tied up with all those
memories of working with Joshua and drawing close to
Kylie. But, then again, I get to work with Kylie a
little in Camelot, too. If only she hadn't
banished me... ::chuckles:: Oh and Merlin's
costume is way more epic. I prefer mystical to
militant. In the end, though, it's always about the
community for me. I think I'd have a blast working
with all of you no matter what role I had. Or even
if I didn't have a role. It's just fun being there
at St. Genesius'.
JenniAnn: Definitely! But now a question about
one of your real life roles... Could you tell us a
little about your recreational therapy program?
Adam: I'd love to! So it was Joshua's idea
and, of course, he oversees it. Azrael helps
pinpoint who would best be served by participating.
I meet with each angel who is recommended to me and then
plan out some activities that I think would help
them. For example, if an angel is frazzled then I
might suggest knitting because it's easy to do while
talking and the repetition of it can be really
calming. If another angel is dealing with a lot of
anger, I might point them towards Andrew and they can
release that negative energy into, say, pounding together
a table. Painting is really popular. I'm not
very good at it myself but that doesn't matter.
Seeing favorite colors splashed together can be very
rewarding. A lot of them also do really well with
animal therapy. They joke that I'm just making them
work but learning how to care for the turkeys, sheep,
horses, etc. and then bonding with them... It can be
miraculous. I've seen angels who have completely
clammed up but end up venting to your Yonah. After a
few nuzzles from him, opening up to another angel isn't as
difficult.
JenniAnn: Now I'm all tearing up! Yonah, Mary,
and Silly definitely love the company! You're doing
amazing things, Adam.
Adam: With a lot of help and
support, JenniAnn. I really do appreciate how
helpful everyone's been. And creative! And
cute! I have a whole lot of angels who tell me
watching Belle run around and laugh and shriek with glee
does them a whole lot of good.
JenniAnn: That's so nice to hear! I'm going to
write it down in Belle's baby book! She just loves
helping her Uncle Adam! But now onto another of your
roles... angel of death. What's your favorite part of
your AOD work and... if you want to say... your least
favorite?
Adam: I'll start with the second
part first so I can end on a light note. Violence is
definitely my least favorite part. I've seen too
much war, too much cruelty, too much callousness.
But, on the other hand, I also get to see people reunited
with loved ones and meeting God, face to face, and soaking
in His love and showering love right back on Him.
That's always beautiful and heartwarming.
JenniAnn: Sometimes I can't imagine seeing that
ugliness...
Adam: Try not to. Focus on imagining the other
part, JenniAnn.
JenniAnn: You sound like Andrew.
Adam: Good. Andrew's a
smart guy. Usually.
JenniAnn: ::laughing:: Yeah, usually.
Questionable taste in shoes, though...
Adam: You're never gonna get over those tassels are
you?
JenniAnn: Nope!
Adam: Well, all relationships need a little spice.
JenniAnn: True! Speaking of relationships...
final question. What's it like being one of the few...
if not the only... angel to go on a honeymoon?
Adam: ::grinning:: Really,
really great. I had an amazing time with Clay and
Kylie. More people should do that! I don't
mean we should get rid of traditional honeymoons but going
on trips with your friends? Loads of fun and a great
way to become even closer without the distractions of
"real life." I was completely spoiled this year with
two great vacations with even greater friends.
JenniAnn: And now we're going to spoil you for your
birthday. Come on!
Beaming, my interview subject made his way down to the
Willowveil ballroom where he was mobbed by his fellow
angels, Friends, nieces, nephews, proteges, and two anam
caras. And I know his Boss is smiling down on him
with love.
Yeah... so... I'm really kinda burnt out on the whole
birthday thing. So I was trying to think of another
Adam-centric thing I could do that was NOT writing birthday
wishes from assorted characters for the umpteenth
time. Kim suggested I write about "Triad" and why I
wrote it. I used to do this frequently on the Author's
Cut but writing and documenting the stories themselves got
too time intensive. But I've missed it so here goes!
So why did I write "Triad"? I suppose first I need to
go back and explain how the trio of Adam, Kylie, and Clay
evolved. I just really loved the Adam and Kylie
dynamic in "The
Carpenter." I liked that Kylie had an initial
reaction that was a lot like many TBAA fans: "Who is
this flippant, irreverent, flirtatious, loud guy?!" before
realizing that Adam does have a sensitive, caring, quiet
side. Although she didn't realize it, Kylie was also
befriending a person who had considerably more power than
her (infinitely more power when you consider she was also
bonding with Joshua!) Yet, unlike her awful husband,
Jett, neither Adam nor Joshua ever exerted their power
against Kylie. Adam encouraged Kylie to express
herself and to learn about things that interested her.
Both guys were also with her, and helped her get away from,
what was probably one of the worst... if not the worst...
moments of her life: when Jett was threatening to kill
her. I can't really imagine not staying close with two
people who got one through that horror. So Adam and
Kylie were for keeps. If this was 2 or 3 years ago, I
probably would have paired them off and called it
good. However, I feel like between Andrew/JenniAnn and
Monica/Arthur, I've pretty much done what I can with
human/angelic asexual romances. Plus, for my own
purposes, Kylie had to marry someone.
It felt like a big deal that Joshua actually drove Kylie to
a divorce attorney. I never meant for it to seem like
Jesus would be "Yay! Divorce!" because I don't think He is but
I do think He is incredibly hurt and angry when someone
turns the gift of marriage into an opportunity to abuse and
control their spouse. Why would He want that sham to
be someone's only experience of marriage? Further, I
don't believe He stands in judgment of those who enter into
a marriage in good faith and with a love-filled heart only
to discover their partner isn't who they thought they
were. To bring all these ideas home, I needed to show
Joshua not only helping Kylie to get a divorce from Jett but
also supporting her embarking on a new relationship and,
eventually, celebrating her marriage. And, as we all
know, angels are neither married nor given in marriage.
So then it came time to select a prospective groom! I
wanted it to be someone within the circle of eventual
Friends because Adam was staying in the picture. It
would need to be someone who would recognize Adam's place in
Kylie's life from the very beginning and who wouldn't get
jealous or try to push Adam away. Ideally, the fellow
would be someone Adam could have a good friendship with and
enjoy talking to. Clay was ideal. For one, he
really needed more love in his life. For another, I
felt like he was someone who would truly value a woman's
love and commitment. After all, he knew the flip side
of having a faithless fiancee. Third, as a veteran, I
felt like he would be someone Adam could confide in after a
particularly brutal assignment. They likely both saw
and experienced things that they'd just as soon keep from
Kylie. With each other, they can express those
things. Finally, Adam was present at what was probably
one of the best experiences of Clay's and Kylie's lives:
when they came to know for sure that Joshua was God
Incarnate. If that doesn't bind three people up, I
don't know what does!
So that's the short version of how I settled on that
particular trio. As for why I decided to write a whole
story about them, it's mostly because I've fallen in love
with the whole anam cara idea. However, I didn't want
it to seem like that only happens in seemingly
heteronormative, one-on-one relationships. Other triad
anam cara relationships have been mentioned (chiefly
Maryam-Yeshua-Yosef) but never fully explored. Plus,
delving into the Mom-Child-Dad relationship isn't exactly a
rarity in stories. A story about Adam-Kylie-Clay would
be something that I'd never really done before. So off
I went!
I wanted to highlight another way Adam-Kylie-Clay was going
to be different from the Davidsons. None of the former
are saints or divine. They're not perfect. Adam
also didn't exactly choose to be the odd man out.
Joshua was denied the romance and companionship that Maryam
and Yosef shared and while we may sympathize, we also know
he chose that. He set his parents up. He chose
to grow up in a household with two enamored people, knowing
that was never going to be for him. Conversely, Adam
didn't at any point think "Gee, I'd like to find myself in a
close-knit relationship with two people who are going to be
in love and kiss and live together and have sex and bring
children into the world while I sit around and smile
beatifically. Make it so!" Adam's status,
though, is what makes it perfect to me. Again going
back to Jett, he was threatened by any communication Kylie
had with other males. He was so controlling and
possessive that he'd outright make stuff up... like assuming
she and Adam were having affair based on nothing more than a
Post It note. Now here's Adam who got Kylie through a
really tough time, befriended her, loved her, and then,
without laying a guilt trip or being manipulative, steps
aside so Clay can romance her. Similarly, Clay never
tries to sabotage Kylie's and Adam's friendship and,
instead, actively encourages their shared activities (mainly
acting). And, yes, you could argue that Clay knows
Adam and Kylie aren't going to have an affair because Adam
simply can't. However, Clay knows plenty about
Andrew/JenniAnn and Monica/Arthur. He knows how close
angels and humans can get. But he trusts and loves
Kylie and Adam and wants them both to be happy. He has
no interest in coming between them because their unhappiness
would be hurtful to him. Thus, Adam and Clay are the
complete opposite of Jett. That lack of destructive
jealousy was really nice to write about after the awfulness
that was parts of "Shadowlands."
Finally, I just wanted to give Adam his own over-arching
story line simply because I felt he deserved it. Up
until "Triad," his relationship with Kylie and Clay had been
the B or C plot. I'm sure the plot line could have
been just as satisfying in many ways if I'd swapped in Henry
or Kelly or another angel. But there was something
about Adam... I think, maybe, it goes back to "An
Unexpected Snow." Imagine having to beg an invitation
to your friends' Thanksgiving dinner! And then to have
them initially rebuff you! Then, once you finally do
get an invitation, they ask you to do something you're
deeply comfortable with... like slaughtering a turkey.
Frankly, that episode doesn't exactly put Monica and Tess in
a favorable light. Now, I'm sure there's no lingering
resentment on Adam's part but I wanted to create for him a
friendship where he would always have a place at the
table. So now he does.
This newsletter is dedicated to Charles Rocket
for looking like a Roman. Ha. I have no idea why
but I've always thought that in Season 1 of TBAA and in MDWA,
he looked like a Roman. I think maybe it was the
distinguished, handsome features and short hair.
Regardless, that's why I cast him as Pilate and, really, it
was that which set everything in motion first with Kylie and
then with Clay. So while I personally prefer his long
hair, I'm pretty grateful for the short hair, too.
(Photo Credits:
The photographs used on this page are from
Touched by an Angel and owned by CBS
Productions, Caroline Productions, and Moon Water
Productions. They are not being used to seek
profit.)