In Eckleburg's Eyes - 12/1/2008, Part 1

I had a great Black Friday though I did not wake up as early as many. I did wake up a large family, however.

BKW, one of the best things about my seminary, was in town from Kennesaw, Georgia. We had agreed that I would pick him up at his in-laws home at 9 am. Unfortunately, the rest of the family was unaware of said agreement and my ringing the doorbell woke them up. Fortunately, several family members were already awake, including my goddaughter Kelsey.

I got to talk with her while she was eating breakfast. She is a treat. I am biased as she still looks a lot like me: red hair, pale skin, stunningly attractive, etc. She introduced me to her bear and informed me that she was not the one driving from Georgia to Knoxville. That was good to hear.

I also briefly got to see BKW’s wife RCFW. She is well. She is pregnant though one can hardly tell by looking at her. Her model genetics did not disturb me in the least... They recently learned that Kelsey will have a sister in 2009.

After my brief visit with his family, BKW and I hit the road. We drove somewhat aimlessly for awhile. We discussed every political/religious/ethical issue known to man. Words cannot convey how much I have missed BKW. Eventually, the conversation moved to Shoney’s, where we ate breakfast.

Time with BKW is always educational. I learned what larding a car is. One of his college students at St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church had done this as a prank. It entails smothering a car in pure lard (while wearing gloves). As lard is water resistant, it takes a great deal of effort to clean the automobile. So that I do not get accused of inspiring someone, BKW knew the young man as he signed off on his community service hours. It is worth noting that the same mischievous young man also later brought his porn star girlfriend to chaperone a youth lock-in! I felt guilty as BKW depends on me for hijinks and on this day we mainly conversed about past antics.

We then returned to my house. After inspecting my libraries, we watched the 1999 film 10 Things I Hate About You. BKW had never seen the adaptation of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew. Since it is in my Top 5 of all-time, he agreed to view it. I do not think he minded too much.

Amazingly, I deposited BKW back at his in-laws home at the appointed time of 2 o’clock. He was to take his daughter to see Bolt. We interrupted, or added to, a family reunion. This is a photograph of four generations of women from the family: BKW’s daughter, wife, mother-in-law and his mother-in-law’s mother.

This early end time also allowed me to catch most of the Tennessee basketball game. Bruce Pearl pulled out another impressive win in Orlando, defeating Georgetown, 90-78. The win was great but I must note that it has been a long time since I have seen a player get dunked on as hard as Emmanuel Negedu did in this game.