I think I’ve mentioned already somewhere during the Arch-a-thon that I have started running the lighting during church services. I’m one of two people who do that, and this experience has, thankfully, given me the opportunity to work closely with Archie, who is in charge of the overall presentation of the worship service.

I have also had to work on my fear of heights, since changing burnt-out light bulbs involves going up either in a scissor lift or a scaffolding. The height is only about twenty-five feet or so, unless you’re actually up there, at which point it suddenly becomes about five hundred.

One afternoon during a half-day I took from work, I met Archie at the church and we went up into the lighting grid to make some adjustments, replace a few bulbs. While I was up in this scaffolding, I got a call from work. I wouldn’t have answered it, but since it was from work, I figured I should see if something was the matter.

It was.

One of my producers was calling to tell me that an entire disc drive full of projects we had recently completed had been accidentally erased. There was nothing that could be done to recover all of this stuff as far as anyone knew, he said, but they were trying to see if they could find a way.

In television, “salty” language is pretty much the norm. We say things that wouldn’t make a pastor all that pleased sometimes. But before I could say what might have been the typical “first thing that came to mind,” I heard a voice in my head:

“You’re in a church. Five hundred feet up in a scaffolding. With one of your closest friends…who happens to be a pastor. Don’t cuss.”

I looked at Archie and then I said, “Well, if it’s gone, it’s gone.” I managed to refrain from saying, “Good boy” in that sweet way when you praise a puppy for doing business on the paper rather than on the carpet.

But my first response in that situation was not the best one at the time, though it might have felt as if it were.

Funny thing about Archie: he has made me start thinking about things like that, without really trying to. And I think that’s one reason why his friendship has been such a good thing.