| ARE YOU Zuckermann's favorite pig?
AND DID YOU KNOW THAT SCHOOL IS PRACTICALLY O U T?!
I just realized it today, when I walked in on an exam I had to take. Oh fun. People are returning. The boys are back in town....Peelz came to the damp GL home meet last night, Riak was running thru town today, Nez gave me a call, finals are about to be over out here....today turned out to be a pretty warm scorcher. I was the last of our guys after practice to clear the track (we practice at Sexton because we have no place of our own) just as the buses rolled in and unloaded a ton of GL JV runners for a meet.
Mr. Luna hopped off the bus and gave me a puzzled greeting. I think the only other person who saw me was Kentner. Tonight I played basketball with my dad, and it was very, very cool.
So yesterday practice was incredibly damp. And incredibly awesome. Hairston, Shane, Guido, Bryce, Boulden and me set off down Michigan Avenue towards E. Lansing, and realized somewhere along the way that we could probably smack about every sign, or tree branch, or mailbox, or roof, or passerby, along the way. I dont know if I've ever jumped so much during a run. When that got boring, we realized there were an uncountable number of puddles along the way that, if jumped in properly and at the right angle, would spray each other with a gasolene/mud/storm water solution that smelled like a soaking dog in a Shell Station. So we never stopped splashing. It kinda got annoying when Dave used his speed unfairly; I'd be in midair over a huge trough and he'd step in right beneath me, sending this geyser up my shorts. Coming back was like finishing the steeplechase, and we squelched through the Lansing Center as a short cut. It was like running in a firehose. It was pretty sweet. Yeah.
So last weekend we had a meet at Hillsdale College, on Friday (part of it on Saturday). It was the biggest invite we'd been to yet, with MSU, Eastern, UofM, Central, plus all the good church schools and D's of all kinds. Amazing. I ran my first 10K ever, and it was very rough. But our 4X8 team broke the school record, and Shane would break the open 8 record the next day, beating Bobby Sherman by just a hair. We did alright. Steph Staubus was there sprinting, and she did ok.
But the REAL adventure began that night. The meet ended after midnight and I walked back to the van, snacked on a little food, and drove around trying to call Anne. See, Anne attends Hillsdale College, which is not a big place, but at night it's a little confusing. Thankfully there were tons of people walking around at 1:30 A.M. (yeah i'm not being sarcastic it was kind of weird) and though i couldnt reach Anne on her cell, there were lotsa people to repeatedly ask "Is this the right area code?" Finally I parked next to this huge, gothic, Baptist church and called Kaylee cuz I didnt know what to do. She called Lauren Brim, and got Tony Bechtol's number, and I drove over to the frat Tony's a part of (the same one Kaylee's bro Chaz was once in), and parked across from a huge frat party on a porch, and called him, and was told the names of the two freshman girl dorms, and found one, which wasnt correct, and finally ended up at Anne's dorm, Olds. This girl was outside with her boyfriend and I interupted their necking and she was nice and said she knew Anne and yeah I could come back in the morning when the dorms were open.
So I drove back to the athletic center, parked, urinated on somebody's backyard bushes, ate some canned chicken and gatorade and wheat thins and whatever and passed out for a few hours in the van.
And then awoke to the other athletes driving in next morning, buses and vans and whatnot. I called the Tuttle residence and discovered that Anne's phone was broken all along, and called her dorm, and tried to put my contacts in in the sport center bathroom but my eyes were the most bloodshot they'd ever been (seriously I dont think I blinked during the race the night before) and then drove away, and then drove back when I realized I'd left my contact stuff in the bathroom, and then finally met Anne. What a relief.
So we went for a tree climb and walk in the Arb, this beautiful woodsy gardeny pondish zone behind her dorm with ancient stone roundabouts. Cool. Then I got the tour of the buildings and whatnot, and we went into the chapel (which she'd never been in). It was small, really small (my head almost touched the ceiling) but peaceful, and then she had to go to work at the caf so I was on my own till lunch opened.
I went over to their arts and music place, climbed all the patios and verandas and columns I could, walked through this art gallery with a lot of nude women and rockers and chairs and plants (they were paintings of such, not the real thing), explored the backstage of the aud, and made up dance moves in their ballet room. And I came to the conclusion that I am obsessive-compulsive. Why? Because all these buildings had marble or fake marble floors, and there was some kind of middle school state debate championship going on with all these little kids in tuxes and leather shoes mingling all over the place, and everywhere they walked they left SCUFF MARKS......
If I see a scuff mark, I've got to unscuff it. It's a natural reaction, and it used to slow my pace while walking after school at GLHS. It bothers me. A shiny floor with little erasable scuff marks on it, and I've got to get every one. I'm afraid if I dont that fact will haunt me for good, so I do it. Or I just dont look at the floors on purpose. Next time you see me start to unscuff a floor, stop me, or I'll be at it for hours.
Needless to say I almost missed lunch, but I got there and was starving since I hadnt really eaten since the 10K so i piled three plates of caf food and met this cute girl from Colorado in the lunch line. She invited me to sit down with her friends, the only name of which I remember is Drew, and said she used to run for Hillsdale. We runners, we know each other.
So the guys explained that this was THE day to see Hillsdale. The little kids debate tournament was happening, the three sororities were having their annual Greek Week spirit competition (which explained the screaming girls running all over with face paint and drums and banners, and the tigger suit and the eye of the tiger music...), there was of course the track meet and a 5k road race happening in town, and that night, they explained, was the biggest party yet: Hall-a-pallooza. The guys were in some of the local rock bands that would be playing there, (Drew was in one called Jury, I think, and the other guy who used to be a runner too was in one he'd named "Billy and the Magic Swingset") and they invited me to a campfire and a jump in a freezing lake afterwards. The streets were blocked off in front of the college, and a giant stage was set up across the middle of a major road for the bands. People would be street dancing. Yeah, I really wanted to stay.
But I went back to watch the meet, and almost hopped in the 1500 for Dennis, but missed it while running back to the car for my spikes. I finally saw Anne's be-postered room and met Rosy, her roomate, and saw Dave and Guido and Shane in the 800, and then it was time to go, and I almost hit that giant stage as I found my way out of town.
As I got on the highway I passed this family with little kids walking away from their stalled car. I was going so fast that I couldnt stop, but i couldnt help but feel like, how many people in this day and age do just what i was doing: we drive right passed those in need to fulfill our busy lives. It took almost to the next town to decide, and then I whipped around one of those "authorized vehicle only" patches and set off to the rescue. By the time I got back there though, a friendly policemen had escorted them to a local store to make a call. Guess they had it under control. Oh well. I felt American, and it was good.
So Saturday night was unbelievable. I just wanna give a shout out of thanks to any and all who attended the Global Night Commute, it was miraculous.
The Global Night Commute was an event that took place in major cities across the nation last Saturday night. It was to raise awareness for the Invisible Children of Uguanda, something our nation needs to be aware of. Actually, there are so many problems in Africa that our nation needs to be aware of. But the Invisible Children got their name because they are just that: invisible. Nobody knows about them.
Why are these children special? They live in an isolated, remote corner of the continent, in area filled with terrorists and jungle madmen who kidnap children regularly to add to their militia. So every night, as dark begins to fall, the kids and what's left of their families make a long commute, often many miles, to the basements of empty clinics, to sleep together as a group for safety. Some people keep watch in shifts, but most of the people sprawl on mats in a seething sea of humanity, longing for hope, for safety, for proper food, water, protection and rest. This scene was documented by several Christian youths who have dispursed their documentary, "Invisible Children" across the nation. And last Saturday, after a showing of the movie at Trinity Church (we've seen it many times with Campus Life), a group of 4 to 500 people walked from Trinity to Hawk Island Park in Lansing at twilight, to symbolize the commute these children have to make every night. This happened across the nation. It was a privelidge to be a part of.
Tearing back from Hillsdale, I had to park halfway along the route and walk from there (which turned out to be a smarter choice, as I had to get Dani, Jinn He and their friend back to campus in the morning early. Too early.) But it was still inspiring. And once we all assembled at the park....I felt like we were in a Christian Woodstock!!!
Everybody laid out their sleeping bags on a grassy slope going down to the lake, and then the craziness began. People wrote letters, tons of letters, to President Bush and the government to raise awareness. Artwork was drawn, mass pictures were taken...me, Ivan and Brendan, as exclusive members of the Pink Panthers, established an official headband of police tape....Dani and her buddies found an abandoned shopping cart in the woods on the way, named it JoAnna, and then Corey pushed me around in it forever....then Tyler and me took it to the top of the giant hill, and i rode it down, which was as great as a roller coaster, and then the ranger came out and yelled at us so that was that....
It really felt like the early Christian community, the original church, a commune, campy setting with all of us in it together (it got VERY cold that night). Panera donated and loaves of bread were passed amongst the masses. All the Campus Life student leaders were there, all the old friends I hadnt seen in months, the kids from Trinity (Nathan Watts, rock on) and Christina Hogarth!!!!! who shared some of her wonderful compositions with us. I feel honored to have accompanied you Ms. H, you are brilliant.....I brought Norma along and thankfully others brought guitars and drums and i got to join a small group of praise team buddies from Visions Nightclub on top of the hill, really late (or early i guess) to worship our risen Savior and Lord (one girl brought her violin. it was beautiful). Natalie Stephens was there, i hadnt seen her in forever, and she knew how to play guitar! When we all got tired of playing tag and red rover and football and tackle the shopping cart and guitars, you knew that with that crowd there'd be someone to huddle against the cold with. Tyler, Travis, Joe, Homeschool Dan and me managed to fight that cold with our sheer manliness. Yeah we're pretty bodacious.
So Em and I watched mom and dad race their first roadrace of the year the next day at the Race for the Cure downtown. There was a record turnout of some four thousand runner/walkers. Mom and Dad both PR'd as did Mrs. Kettles. It was fun.
The weekend before this was almost just as nuts, though definitely not quite as meaningful. We had a meet up at Northwood University, and mom and me and Bryce drove seperately up to it because that morning The Desperate Measures, the accappella group I'm in out at State, had to sing at a road race in MSU. We sang at the Rock for a bunch of returning runners, and it was a great crowd, and we got free t-shirts and bottles of cologne (which I've been wearing....I think Tag has really turned the ladies onto my everpresent charm).
Oh and the week before that, we had our first dorm gig!!!!! i cant even remember which dorm we did....it was an all-girls one across the street from the Music Building, where Megan Barker lives.....but anyway, floor by floor, door by door, we were a success. Down by the front desk we got stopped by two particularly pretty and nice residents who asked us to sing almost all of our repertoire. We were a hit.
SO this meet up at Northwood. We drove all the way up there, and then four of the six guys who were supposed to run the 5K missed it because they were still warming up. Coach was mad. Only Charlie and me made it to the start line in time. Poor Bryce, he was furious. The 4x4 guys were too, because just as I crossed the finish line a huge bolt of lightning ripped the sky, and it began pouring. The rest of the meet was cancelled. On the way back, when it stopped raining, Bryce and me got out at a rest area and just ran circles to burn off steam. What a nutty day.
So then that night I joined Nico and Tyler and Britney May and Scott Edwards (random) and Dani and Danielle and Godwin and Jenny and TK for the last Dischords concert of the year, and the fairwell concert for Ryan (Metro), Muffin, Goat and Piper. It was a bittersweet show. Then it was off to McDonalds because we were hungry, and then Nico and I sat there in a random parking lot next to Tyler's older brother Jeremy, and his girlfriend Ms. Abood. And then it was back for more disgusting but high energy MickeyD's and then we finally entered, past bouncer Pat Saur, The Box for the show afterparty.
And quite the party it was! Now, I've been to the Box, but never like this. So many people crammed into such a small house....well, Nico and realized right off that people dont talk to you at these kind of functions unless you have a glass of beer in your hands, so we decided to put on a little hoax. We filled up our glasses (it took us a while, because we didnt know how the keg-pump thing worked, and it sprayed around) and walked around, but didnt actually drink out of them (ok, i admit it, I sipped it a couple times just to see what it tasted like......and after deciding it tasted kindof like graphite-flavored ice tea, and wondering at how people could consume such disguting stuff, I put it down in favor of dancing with a group of girls I'd never met). One thing we both agreed on was that people should dance at parties, and not that stupid, mindless bump and grind (which is unfortunately what they were doing) but real dancing, like swing or salsa. Oh well.
I left him there and decided to drive over to Hairston's just to see what was up. Rogers and Bouldin and Charlie were there, and Joe and Zeeb of course (who I hadnt seen in oh idonnohowlong) and a fire, and of course Dave and his new girlfriend Jessica Heenon. And they recruited me to drive them to, where else, the E. Lansing McDonalds (my third time that night to a restaurant I never condone), where I witnessed a mob of people and Marty Smiley's sortof coherent brother and big guy who wanted to pick a fight, and the very changing of the dinner menus to the breakfast. Then it was back to drop em off, back to the Box, where I could play on Jeremy's crutch and bug Tom, and then back to Nico's house, where I collapsed on the couch.
Sleeping with your contacts in hurts, I discovered the next morning. It was funny to squint and see the Berroa family walk into the living room, each one unaware of who the blanketed form on their couch was, and then walk away like nothing was up. Nico slept late but I dragged up and ended up going to South's college service and then out to Bennigans for lunch where I built a house of sugar packets just to show Hairrimen it was possible, and Christina bought me soup. 
I put in an app to work at Feldpausch. Why? Because ITS A GRAND LEDGE TRADITION AND NO STUPID OVER-SIZED MEIJERS STORE IS GOING TO END THE LAST SURVIVING FELDPAUSCH, A STORE WHICH HAS DONE SO MUCH TO SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY AND WHICH DOES NOT DESERVE THE CRUEL FLUX OF TOWNSPEOPLE TURNING TO MEIJERS INSTEAD.
IF YOU SUPPORT MEIJERS GOING IN OVER FELDPAUSCH, WOULD I BE CORRECT IN ASSUMING YOU WOULDNT MIND A QD REPLACING LICKETY SPLIT, OR WORSE, CORNER CONE?!!!!!!!!!!
Honestly!! You'd think our town would have a little more pride then to grovel at the feet of a big chain money-maker like Meijer. Especially when there's one right down Saginaw!! No loyalty, that's what it is. All about the money. All about the easy convenience. We are the society who keeps Walmart alive, though we like to think we oppose such leaching. And I thought our town was more like a family, a place that would stand up if one of its traditions got torn down. Even if I dont get this job, which is likely because they're probably not hiring since all this, I still support Feldpausch. I'm a Feldpausch kid.
I also dont support the Da Vinci Code, which is soon to be released and probably make millions. Ugh........what a society we live in.................now I'm ashamed I ate at McDonalds...............
Remember the Invisible Children. Spread the word. Peace, good luck with end of school things, and God bless. Thanks for reading, if you did. 
P.S. Tonight. Thursday night, at 7:30 on ABC's local news, you can see THE DESPERATE MEASURES on t.v.!!! We got asked to come in and film a few songs as a promo for the Vegetable Soup Variety Show we're in this Sat. So if you wanna see how we look, more importantly how we sound, tune your t.v.'s on then. Thanks! |
I love you. I hope you aren't sweating with the same issues I am right now. God bless. 
have an awesome summer. Live life, love life, and just plain love. 