Harry Potter Back In Court

   I noticed Harry Potter is once again in Federal court.  This time it concerns Michigan native, Steve VanderArk.  Mr. VanderArk is fifty years old, and since the publication of “The Sorcerer and The Stone” in ’98 he has read all the books…. 30-40 times!  He has spent the last few years writing a lexicon to the Harry Potter series; logging in all the characters, places, spells, etc… .   This is what has drawn him into the cross-hairs of J.K. Rowling.  On the stand, the article says, “He wept openly,” and exclaimed how “the books have been an important part of my life over the last nine years.”  He claims he originally did not want to publish his on-line lexicon because he thought it violated the copyright, but the publisher convinced him otherwise.  J.K. Rowling is upset because, she says, “the characters in the novel are as dear to her as her own children,” (I am sure any children she may have are thrilled to know this), and because, she plans to write a “Harry Potter Encyclopedia” herself.  Right now, however, she is too upset by the lawsuit to write.

  I guess that kills my plans.  I had it all imagined… the story of an orphan raised in the blue-blood society of Boston… but he never quite fits in.  He finds himself inexplicably drawn to Nascar and “Dukes of Hazard” reruns.  When he graduates from high school he is given a full scholarship to Mississippi University.  At Ol’ Miss, Hank Potter finds his true identity.  He finds that he is a natural at football and deer hunting.  Although he feels slightly offended by the “How to speak Southern” books, he finally finds all those “r’s” that he was losing in Boston, and feels himself hanging onto vowels, savoring every juicy sound as they roll of his tongue.  He finds an epiphany in “You Might Be A Red-neck If…”; a level of meaning he never knew before. One book, “The Spitoon of Fire,” would be how he enters a local WWE “smackdown” to settle once and for all “professional wrestlin’ is it fake?.”  In another, Hank Potter and the Fieldhouse of Secrets, he finds himself at the wheel of a Monster truck, and in a third he discovers cotton farming, soybeans, and the sweet tast of Catfish.  All along through the books (covering each of his college years) he will be mentored by the ghost of Paul “Bear” Bryant.

  It would have been good, but I guess it’ll just have to remain a dream.  If anyone has any suggestions for plot lines, characters, or book titles, I’d still love to hear them.

  The whole court case does remind me about doing the things that matter.  I don’t know whether to feel sorry for the guy because he can’t publish his “magnum opus,” or because he has wasted so many hours reading and writing about “Harry Potter.”  Surely there were better things to do.  I was challeged a few years back by Tony Campolo’s question, “Would Jesus buy a BMW?”.  It’s a good question about stewardship of money.  What about time?  Would Jesus spend nine years becoming an authority on Harry Potter?  It could be that “Harry Potter” was the guy’s way of relaxing and reinvigorating himself.  If so, I stand to be corrected… “re-creating” and sabbath time is important.  I suspect however, it is another instance of building a massive, ornate, luxurious sand-castle, … while the tide comes ever closer.