Charlie and Rev. Charli

Charles Carpenter Sophomore at Reagan High School 1969

Last week I found out that my very best-est of friends when I was a little girl died. I don't know how he died, or even when he died, but he is gone. The only photos I could find of Charles were from Reagan High School yearbooks, and in my 7th grade Pearce Jr High yearbook.  Yet in my fondest memories I can see him with a huge smile on his face as we played together from pre-school years through grade school..His name is Charles Carpenter. He lived on Pollyanna, just a skip through the field from my house to his back yard. When we both got new bikes we started a tradition of starting at his driveway, because it was sloped, and racing as fast as we could into my driveway. Many of our neighborhood friends got in on the race, which happened at least once a week.

Charles went by the name of "Charlie", and I went by "Charlotte." Charlie began to call me Charli one day, and I said we could not have two Charlie's in the neighborhood, so I would call him Charles. From that time on Charlie was "Charles" (only to me) and I was 'Charli'. He was the only person I have ever let call me "Charli". 

He was the only boy who would play house with me. He was the only real person who I ever preached for. When I was really young I wanted to be a Preacher (growing up Church of Christ we called our Minister "the Preacher", and that is what I wanted to be. When my Mother informed me that I could not be a preacher because I was a girl I changed careers to 'Being a Mom.' That fact didn't stop me though from preaching to my dolls and stuffed animals, usually on Sunday afternoons. I would teach lessons for Sunday School, and then preach from whatever the sermon was on that day. Some days, especially during the summer when we had VBS, I would come home and Charles would come over and I would teach him lessons from VBS. 

He told me that someday girls would be able to preach, and I would make a fine preacher. I loved him even more for thinking that a mere girl could grow up and preach.He also would refer to me on those 'Preaching Days" as Reverend Charli. I have no idea where he heard the word Reverend before, but we would just laugh until our stomachs hurt thinking about me being called Rev. Charli.

I had forgotten all about those days until I heard that Charles was dead. 

Our Play World

Then the stream of memories began to flow and I remembered making mud pies, playing in my sandbox, building a fort in the grove of cedar trees in the vacant lot next to my house and in back of his. He taught me that the little red berries that grew wild in the "Kingdom of Lot" (I know it's pretty corny, but that's what we called it) we edible, and many a day we would add those berries to our sack lunches that my Mom made for us while we were exploring down at Walnut Creek. 

I have such very fond memories of Charles. He was the older brother I never had. One time he found out that another neighborhood boy, the "bully' of our neighborhood, was picking on me. Charles had a long talk with him and that boy never once more bothered me. He also kept a kind watch over me at Pearce Jr. High my 7th grade year (1966-67). I loved watching him play football, he was so very good at it.

The years went on and Charles, being one grade ahead of me he went to Pearce Junior High in 1965 and I followed to Pearce in 1966. He went on to Reagan High school and I found him in the yearbooks for his Freshman year 1968, when he was with the Football B-Team. And also in the 1969 Yearbook, but nothing in 1970 or 1971. 

I don't know if he dropped out of school or what, because Lanier High was built and those of us who did not have older siblings in Reagan had to go to Lanier...so I lost an every day contact with him after that. On occasion we ran into each other, and we would catch up on what was happening in our lives, but once I moved from home, I lost touch with him altogether.

So last week. when I found out that my 'Charles' was gone, and I remembered that he thought that someday I would make a good Rev. Charli. I thought about how when I was first ordained Marty and Sarah called me 'The Reverend Mother', and some even started to call me Rev. Charlotte, yet it just didn't sound right. I could not be called Rev. Charli because in my world Charles was the only one who could call me Charli. Now that he is in heaven I received the nicest of 'pushes' into claiming the name he gave me so many years ago. Rev. Charli has been born. I hope that I live up to his high expectations of me.

Charles Carpenter.....My Charlie......thank you for so many fantastic hours of fun, of joy, of preaching, of teaching...that you shared with me.