by David Harp
Chapter 7
Preacher Man
Less than two years had passed since lightning struck the boat. The boys were high school graduates with one final summer to enjoy before leaving for college. Christopher Hagen and Daniel Naidoo planned to make the most of it by staying at their family cabins on the Weeki Wachee River. Chris wanted to be close to his girlfriend Haley King. Dan loved being on the water and intended to spend more time with Chris who was his closest friend.
At six-foot-six, Chris stood a foot taller than Dan. Disheveled sandy blond hair belied an intense personality. His smooth dark caramel skin was the lucky result of a pasty Irishman marrying a Jamaican model. Chris’s girlfriend described his stomach as “Ripples left by waves on a beach.” He was the teacher’s pet, quarterback of the football team, and the most popular boy in school.
Dan was small but athletic. He won many events in track and was the starting halfback for the football team. They called him “Atom Ant.” He was also an excellent student with only four classmates finishing higher in their graduating class: Chris, Steve, Matt, and Brian.
Dan felt a slight resentment toward his friends in the beginning. He thought of them as members of an exclusive group of families who ran the town. It appeared as if they had all the advantages.
It didn’t come as easily for Dan’s family. His mother and father had nothing when they arrived from South Africa in search of a better life. His father worked long hours as a licensed electrician and his mother kept the books for a local car dealership. She died when Dan was eight, but Chris, Steve, Matt, and Brian’s families were there to support Dan and his father.
Chris was leader of the group. Whether playing football, winning school debates or catching fish, he provided the motivation. He knew how to get things done by inspiring the team with a clear vision of success, but he faced challenges of his own.
His parents were an oddity in the small town. His father, Shawn, was a huge man with a high-pitched voice. It was hard to avoid giggling when he spoke because he looked like Shrek, but sounded like the Lucky Charms Leprechaun. His mother, Sanya, was was a tall slender woman with smooth ebony skin. While Chris’ father was introverted, Sanya was as flamboyant as a cabaret dancer. To the neighbors’ dismay she painted their house purple and displayed pink plastic flamingos on the front lawn.
Whenever Dan felt intimidated by Chris’s popularity, he remembered Chris’s parents were also immigrants, and Chris had the extra burden of being mixed race. In one sense it made Chris seem more like a regular guy, but Dan realized there was nothing ordinary about him.
Chris and Dan met several mornings each week that summer to go crabbing. They were fully equipped with masks, snorkels, swim fins, mesh dive bags and hand nets. The spectacle looked like an advertisement for a sporting goods store.
They jumped off the seawall in front of Dan’s house to begin a mile-long swim. The river bottom was a shadowy alien world of eel grass, witch’s hair algae, rocks, logs, and large patches of white sand cleared by the current.
Small fish darted in and out of their hiding places. Schools of mullet sped past, eels peeked from behind rocks, and an occasional curious manatee swam close to check them out.
When one of the boys spotted a mature blue crab he would dive to catch it in the hand net. If Dan saw it first he would silently swoop in for the capture. Chris wasn’t as sneaky. He would get excited and shout “Crab!” Then the race was on. It didn’t seem to matter who spotted it first; Chris usually caught more.
The turn-around point was Rogers Park which was a popular recreational spot with a beach, boat ramp, and picnic area. It was packed with skimpily clothed teenagers playing loud music on weekends.
The covered picnic tables were vacant early in the morning when Chris and Dan arrived. They would sit and rest while talking. Chris told Dan things about his faith that he couldn’t share with anyone else. Dan enjoyed listening. No sermon ever delivered in church was as thoughtful or genuine.
The church played a central role for most kids growing up in Wildwood. That was especially true of Chris. The Baptist pastor said Chris was “born again without ever being lost in the first place.”
His mother, Sanya, claimed the first word to come out of Chris’s mouth was Jesus. He knew the scriptures better than most preachers. His life was a walking testimony which earned him the nickname of preacher man. Still Chris rarely discussed his beliefs with anyone other than Dan. He set aside time daily to pray and managed to remain humble despite his virtuous lifestyle, superior intellect, and popularity.
None of the other boys gave any indication they believed the lightning strike on their birthday was anything more than a freak accident. That was despite the Lichtenberg figure on their feet being more prominent than ever. Whenever Dan mentioned the incident, people said he was merely trying to make sense of a near-death experience. Then on a clear morning in April 2001, Chris admitted he was still haunted by the event.
