Just remember that the things you put into your head are there forever.

-Cormac McCarthy, The Road

This quote by itself could be taken different ways. It could mean that a person should be leery of the information they allow themselves to learn because once it has entered one’s thoughts, it will never leave. It could also mean that a person should try to learn everything he can because knowledge is the one thing that no one can take away from you; it’s yours forever.

If you asked Gordon Bradley, a 40-year old server and bartender at the Taphouse in Ghent what he thought of the quote by his favorite author, he’d probably go for the second answer. Being a man who values knowledge, he tries to learn everything he can about…well almost everything.

“I know a little bit about a lot of varied subjects,” he said with a chuckle. “But it’s hard to turn that into a career.”

He’s been working at the Taphouse for four years and has become exceptionally good at what he does, although he doesn’t consider his job difficult. “It’s not rocket science,” he said. Regulars who visit the Taphouse might be greeted with a beer that Gordon selected based on what they’ve enjoyed in the past, and he always seems to be on point when serving even though he disagrees. “I feel a little scatterbrained, but it’s part of my persona,” he said.

Bradley is also the lead guitarist in a band called Rylo. The name originated from his friend, Paul Johnson who loved the T.V. show Sanford and Son. There was a character on the show called Rollo who would always hustle people.  The name Rollo got transformed into Rylo and soon became a popular term in Ghent used for people who try to scheme on others. Gordon said it’s like a guy who comes to the bar with no money, leaves drunk and then tries to sleep on your couch. “Kind of like a lovable loser character,” he said.

The band Rylo plays a mix of blues and rock and roll, and they have performed at venues in Virginia Beach, Hampton, Richmond, Baltimore, North Carolina and New York. All but one of the band members work at the Taphouse.

Bradley recently built his own guitar. He decided it was time, he said, because he was always making adjustments to his store-bought guitars. He liked the idea of making it his own rather than going to the store and choosing one off the wall.

Although Gordon is a serious musician, he doesn’t have dreams of becoming a rock star. “If someone came along with a contract, then yeah, but if that’s your purpose, your goal, then I think you’re going to be disappointed.”

Gordon first started playing at a nondenominational church that he attended when he was a child. He learned from people that had been in rock bands before they became Christians.

In fact, most of Gordon’s youth was spent going to church or to the Christian school he attended. “My father was a Pentecostal preacher,” he said. “Our whole life was the church.”

He recalled missing out on things when he was younger such as having a Christmas tree (Pentescostals don’t celebrate the secular aspects of the holiday) or going trick-or-treating, but at the time those things weren’t important to him because he was so involved in the church. “When I was younger, I was definitely into it. It was my life. It was my parents,” he said.

Looking back, he realizes that it was something he did simply because his parents did it. Now he has a different belief system. “I believe in science; I believe in things that are tangible and can be measured.

“I started reading books and realizing that the world is bigger than my family, my church, my school.” He began learning about different cultures and scientific theories. “I know now that evolution isn’t some dark, evil theory,” he said.

However, when he began learning on his own, he kept it to himself and only discussed his thoughts with friends because there were bigger issues going on with his family. During Gordon’s junior year of college, his mom was diagnosed with cancer and soon died. “Everyone prayed for her and said that God would heal her, so I didn’t talk about what I was feeling,” he said.

As hard as life was for him at that time, it soon became even more difficult. About a year after his mother’s death, Gordon’s father died from a brain tumor. Doctors had discovered the tumor only 10 days before he passed away.

During that time, Gordon’s fiancée decided to end things, and he dropped out of college. “I was kind of losing my mind,” he said. “It was a very defining 12 months.”

One of the things Gordon feels like he missed out on was having a relationship with his parents as an adult. “I didn’t get to experience having different beliefs about things and having that be ok; it’s something that you fight about, but they still love you.”

Five years ago, Gordon became a father himself. He wants to let his daughter make her own decisions about religion. “I always try to share with her the things that I think and the things that I’ve learned and let her figure it out,” he said.  “I try to encourage that drive to learn about the universe.”

One thing that frustrates him about religious people is that they stop wanting to know things, and they stop learning. “I just think it should be a natural instinct to want to learn,” Gordon said.