In Eckleburg's Eyes - 6/12/2008

On Wednesday, I met the drama team I would be working with the remainder of the week at our church’s Vacation Bible School (VBS).

I quickly learned that I was the only actor with no training in the group. Naturally, I have a prominent roll in my first skit on Thursday. While I know there are no smalls parts (only small actors), I found myself wishing I had a smaller part.

The director, JLW, is the managing director of the WordPlayers, a local Christian acting troupe. The supporting cast featured DGF (who I had seen in The Trip to Bountiful on May 4, MEI (“Betsy”) and ASR (“Amy”). The latter two had been in drama groups at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. If ASR did not drive 200 miles weekly to teach at Roane State, she too would be in the WordPlayers.

The two youths in the skit were Thomas Waldrupe (TW) and Joel Weber (JW). TW played the Wizard in Christian Academy of Knoxville’s recent production of Once Upon A Mattress. JW, the middle of JLW’s three sons, also acts.

So I fit right in...

We rehearsed the Jeremiah-Baruch drama many times on this day. I have four lines, but they do allow me to showcase my range. I begin with dramatic lines and then moves to comedic fare. This would be great if I had any range. In the scene we are depicting (Jeremiah 36), Jeremiah is really good at delegating at best or really lazy at worst. My interpretation is the former, naturally.

I was given my costume - a pastel pink robe with a pastel blue sash. At least they match. Fortunately ASR was there to teach me to put it on, arms first and then the neck. She once worked in a huge production of a Dickens' play at Joel Gregory’s church at the time, Travis Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Worth. After pasting hundreds of mutton chops on volunteers there, she had little trouble working with this untrained volunteer. I also had the advantage of learning from MLM’s mistake. He forgot to take off his sneakers earlier in the week, a mistake I aim not to copy.

I enjoyed my church visit as I got to catch up with some old friends like JLC and SQP. I also conversed with our senior pastor, LWF, who is portraying “Senior Dude” as part of this week’s festivities.

The big scandal of the week was that for the first time ever, children participating in the summer daycare program were not allowed to participate in Vacation Bible School! Participants whose family were church members could, but others could not. One child (Katelyn Cornwell) goes only one week and that is so she can attend VBS. The VBS play area was right outside of the Annex where the summer care program meets. So all they would see of VBS was the other kids having fun. This is horrible! Fortunately someone saw the error in this and remedied the situation. By Tuesday the daycare kids were included. Nothing says Jesus like excluding those who are not church members. I was appalled.

After my rehearsal, I visited the Verizon store. I explained that I needed to upgrade my policy in regards to pictures as my last bill was inordinately high. I explained that I take a tremendous amount of shots of KJW. The salesman was very helpful and I soon added $10 and 500 photos a month to my plan. After this he asked, “Do you have a camera phone?” Really?

On Wednesday night, JTH and I ran errands before meeting Mr. X at Applebees at 10 pm. I visited with his parents while he cleaned up. (His case of OCD makes me look normal.) His father CEH (“Homer”) was to receive the last in a series of injections the following day (June 12th). Thus far they have not alleviated any pain. Even clothing hurts to touch his skin, so he no longer wears a shirt around the house. While a topless Homer would ordinarily be a welcome addition to any home, the reason makes this situation sad. Please keep him in your prayers.

JTH and I went to Oak Ridge where we went to Mr. K’s and Wal Mart. When we got back to Knoxville, we visited Marshalls (where we got his father a soft t-shirt) and Target where his friend and co-worker MM is registered for her wedding. I really feel that the registries should only print off what has not been bought. It would be far less confusing. Also, while I understand the benefit of registering as no one wants several hundred toasters, I think it is sad not to be surprised by gifts. But what do I know? I have never gone through the process.

While at Target, we ran into ZC’s aunt. She had just eaten with him at a Mexican restaurant where he had tricked his younger cousin into saying, “I have a cat in my pants” in Spanish. Well played, Sir.

Applebees was great as usual. Mr, X, now a full-fledged Kroger employee, let us in on some Kroger news. The new Kroger being built in Farragut in an abandoned K-Mart (next to an existing Kroger) will be the nicest one this side of Cincinnati. There will even be a jewelry department as Kroger owns Fred Meyer Jewlers. While I am no jewelry expert, I just do not see myself buying jewelry from a grocery store...