I had another outstanding weekend. This one was particularly great because in addition to my friends, I got to see the better part of my family.
My Friday afternoon was spent assisting KLTW with a paper for her psychology course. I think I may have worked on more papers since I graduated than I did in seminary. It is unfortunate that few of my skills are particularly marketable. Where was KJW during this? She was being sweet, watching cartoons on television, and engaging in other activities. (Note: You know you are cute when you still look adorable while picking your nose.)
We ordered lunch from Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches. KLTW had never eaten there and after having fliers repeatedly dropped in her mailbox, she decided to honor their persistence and give them a try. My second experience there mirrored my first. They are very fast, but their sandwiches pale in comparison to virtually any other deli. In regards to their “gourmet” claims, I will borrow a line from The Princess Bride: “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”
Friday night was spent in downtown Knoxville with my parents and a lot of hip people. The area was especially crowded as it was First Friday. On the first Friday of each month, shops and art galleries in the area (Gay Street and Market Square) keep their doors open to the public until late in the evening, offering complimentary food (especially wine) and entertainment in hopes of building interest in this older region of Knoxville. On this night the gimmick evidently worked. We ate at Trio Café in Market Square before going to see my cousin dance at the Tennessee Theatre.
My youngest cousin, HLN (aka “Noodle” as there are three Hannahs in the company), is a member of the Tennessee Children’s Dance Ensemble. To say their performance is a dance recital is like saying the Super Bowl is a football game. They have toured the globe and are acknowledged as Tennessee’s official goodwill ambassadors. She and her older sister have been involved with the group for years.
With a large group graduating from last year’s squad(including her older sister), there are now only six veterans in the company. This meant my cousin starred in many of the performances. She even had two solos ("Heartland" and ""At the Limelight"). I am so proud of her. I was most pleased that she seemed happy.
My aunt and uncle placed an advertisement in the program that read, “Twice Blessed...Doubly Proud.” While I like the Christian language (have you ever heard a non-Christian use “blessed?”), I found it very amusing as they have four, not two, daughters. I suppose by comparison, my oldest two cousins were curses. I love them anyway.
My entire family showed up in droves for the event. I had not seen my cousin HANJ since I co-officiated her wedding in December. She and her husband live in Pensacola now so it was a special treat to see her. They still look picture perfect. DJ (aka “Lou”), has dropped 12 pounds as he just completed survival training for his job as an Air Force pilot. Pray that this is training he never needs.
My cousin, MLW, and I bonded, as usual, as we share the same lense through which to appreciate culture - professional wrestling. Whereas I saw a perfect spot for a heel turning clothesline in the dance “Heartland”, he noted that my cousin looked like she was about to drop an elbow in her photo in the program. This is part of the reason I refer to MLW and his family (who also graciously attended) as the “In-law Jackpot.”
The highlight of the show was a video detailing the rationale behind the dance “It Feels Like Pitch Black.” It was composed as a form of autism awareness and received a standing ovation. My feeling is that this is because it was the only dance people understood very well. I admire dance as an art, but when done in churches, I believe it should be accompanied by an explanation just like speaking in tongues (I Corinthians 14:13) as the average person (myself included) does not grasp its meaning. I cannot tell you how much impact this dance had just by knowing the basic concept. With proper explanation, dance is a great method of communication as well as art.
Afterwards, I rushed to meet my friends at Baileys Sports Grille. GAB, JTH, JBT, his lovely fiancé SB, and the new MoFoS employee and former CBCB member, L, gathered to shoot pool. I loved the people, but detested the locale. It is just too loud and smoky for my tastes. The evening was not a total loss as we saw our old friend JS (though we do not think she will remember it) and we did get to see a large contingency of pint-sized Hispanics nearly break into a fight at the adjacent pool table. One loud peacemaker intervened from amongst the group. The only word I understood was “loco.” I felt so proud of myself for translating without having even one Spanish class. Are you impressed?
Saturday morning I arrived at the church at 8 am to work with the Literature Ministry. The fact that it was snowing made the event indoors and delayed many of the participants, including LAC, the organizer. Fortunately, EAT had a key to the church to let us in. Unfortunately, he did not have the security code. MLM was able to intervene before there was any police involvement Having me work with distributing books is like putting the fox in charge of the hen house. On this day, I took home no freebies. This fact amazes even me.
My parents picked me up at 9 and we braved a small snowstorm to see my grandparents in Newport. My mother had been asked to attend a DAR meeting as she knew the guest speaker, BM. She is actually an inactive member of the group, having joined long ago to appease my grandmother. Through my fandom of “Gilmore Girls” I knew what the DAR was. What I did not know was that there is a masculine counterpart known as the Sons of the American Revolution and I am eligible for membership. The reason I care about this is so I can tell people I am involved with a group called SARs...
My father and I continued the process of interviewing of my grandparents regarding their history at their apartment and then at Cracker Barrel. It was enlightening. On this day, I learned that my grandmother had dated two boys in high school, one of which was my grandfather. The other was named Bruce Campbell. That is awesome!
While there, I took a picture of my grandmother. She told me she doesn’t like to smile because it looks like she has no teeth. That is probably because she doesn’t. I think she is still beautiful, like all redheads.
I returned to Knoxville and spent the evening with JTH. We shopped at Sam’s and ate with my parents at Silver Spoon. While eating, my mother chastised my language when I described MLM’s niece as “cute as hell.” I explained I meant this literally, as the devil always masquerades as something beautiful, like an angel of light (II Corinthians 11:14). My dad said he thought the explanation was “damn good.” Mom was pleased with both of us to say the least. For whatever reason (latent frustration?) I really do need to watch my language of late. Things to pray for...
At Sam’s, I showed great restraint (for the second time in one day!), only buying a massive container of strawberry pop tarts and a gift for RAW. Does anyone know why a lot of products do not make grape flavored items? There are no grape pop tarts, smoothies, etc. Why?!?!
We spent the evening at MPW’s condo with he and RAW and later (very briefly) KL to watch the Duke (#6)-UNC (#1) basketball game. JTH and I, the OCD boys, watched while alphabetizing MPW’s extensive CD and DVD collection. It does not bother me so much that we did it, but rather that we enjoyed it.
I presented RAW with his gift, a bulk box of Lego fun snacks. At 27, he still loves Lego’s (who doesn’t) and I felt I owed him. Earlier in the day, I bought his daughter a chirping chicken Palm Pet. It is a 3" chicken that makes chicken noises continually. She will love it! The fact that it will drive him insane is merely an added bonus.
Oh, UNC won the game, 76-68.
Sunday morning was spent as usual, at a church. The loss of an hour also meant the loss of many attendees. On this morning, I taught Genesis 29-31 to my parents’ Sunday School class. They are always very supportive. I really think I made an impact as I do not believe any in the class will allow two of their children to marry the same spouse. I am sure it is do to my brilliant exegesis of the Jacob-Leah-Rachel saga.
Afterwards, MPW and I then made our way to the friendly confines of 315A for the last time this season to watch the Vols play their final home game against South Carolina. We arrived early to watch the pre-game ceremony honoring the team’s three seniors. We were joined by JeML and JiL. Well, JiL anyway. JeML had his ticket but we were brining his wifehers. So, JeML left his wife standing out in the cold waiting on for twenty minutes so he could take pictures inside the stadium. Seriously. Neither of them seemed to have a problem with it, so I won’t either. I do think it is funny though.
Inspiration occurred on the way to the stadium resulting in MPW and I finding a new cause - to get Duke Crews to sing the national anthem before a game. We have noted that, with the exception of Jacqui Pearl, few of the pre-game singers have been good this season. (One poor girl added words to the song and as such length to the already excruciating performance.) There is precedence for both successfully petitioning to get an act at TBA and an active player singing the anthem. The Sons of Bruce petitioned for two years and received the chance to perform at a halftime this year. Walter McCarty sang the anthem while playing for Kentucky. So at the end of the season, we may begin an underground movement to get Duke some singing time. Why Duke Crews? Can you imagine any other player bringing the house down like Willard Vincent Crews? It would also be historic - has the anthem ever been sang in ebonics before? Finally a cause we can all really get behind!
The game was a blowout win for the Vols. My game thoughts are posted under a “View from 315A.” We even stayed for the post-game. We just did not want to leave knowing it would be so long before we would get a chance to be there again, and never again with Lofton and JaJuan. The three seniors were named co-players of the game and were interviewed in front of the crowd. Just as we got up to leave, Bruce Pearl began talking to the crowd. We were already leaving and had forced a lady with a baby to stand up so we could not change our course. We walked out on Bruce Pearl! I felt like I had interrupted a prayer a church.
After the game, I ate with Couple Y at Applebees. Yes, again. I had not eaten all day and was starving. They had a project to get to and I needed some rest so I called it a night. I want my hour back, Daylight Savings!
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