If Yukon Cornelius from the old Rudolph Christmas special came to life and grew his hair out like a hippy, he’d look a lot like Torry Martin. But although old Yukon is full of bluster, Torry is more like the snow monster after his teeth are pulled, “A mighty humble Bumble.” To say that going from California to Alaska put him out of his element is like saying inviting a reindeer into your kitchen “because he looks cold” creates an inconvenience. Just ask Torry. He knows firsthand.
, based on Martin’s memoir of the same name, is a 25-episode podcast (available on Spotify and AccessMore) that dramatizes Torry’s misadventures. Listen closely, and you might hear a familiar voice or two. A natural storyteller, Martin has a gift for seeing the potential in his everyday experiences. Admittedly, Torry’s everyday experience might involve having his trailer attacked by a hungry “grizzly bear,” but there’s also much to be found in the seemingly simple act of adopting a dog.
Given Martin’s work on Adventures in Odyssey, and that Odyssey writer Marshal Younger helped with the adaptation, it’s no surprise that the 20-minute stories are filled with wisdom and whimsy. A true story about a reindeer in the kitchen might not seem like a natural transition to the parable of the Prodigal Son, and yet in Martin’s mind, it is.
When Torry Martin left Hollywood, he was a foul-mouthed struggling actor and comedian. Now he can look back on his time in Alaska and see how God was using those crazy situations to change his heart and draw him to himself. It’s one thing weaving an incident into a funny story, but it’s another to then pull from it something meaningful. Martin is adept at both.
In 1 Peter 3:15, we’re told to always be “ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.” We’ve all sat through dense apologetic arguments, and we’ve sat through dry-as-dust testimonies about that “one moment that changed everything.” What Of Moose & Men illustrates so well is that God is always whispering truths to us, if we just have the ears to listen. Then, when we’re ready, we can share them with others. (AccessMore)
About the Author
Trevor Denning is an alumni of Cornerstone University and lives, lifts weights, and spends too much time in his kitchen in Alma, Mich. His first short story collection is St. George Drive and Other Stories.