Class of 2008

I am in a little bit of disbelief that I have put off this blog for so long. I was consistently writing and then, BAM, I pulled a Carvey. I know I have kept my readers on the edge of their seats for the next blog post.
The past two months have been truly great. I can remember being lost, confused and frustrated in January, but I quickly transitioned out of that funk and into a smooth rhythm. I have been doing my best to finish well at Vanguard and I have succeeded to some degree. I was never the task-oriented, focused teacher I was supposed to be, so the past four months were mainly spent finishing well with the students at Vanguard. The majority of my students are seniors and I have enjoyed getting to know the Class of 2008. I was able to take multiple golf trips with the seniors and go on the class trip. These events opened the door for opportunities to try and encourage and bless different individuals in the class. I house-sat for a family who went through a tragedy last year. I committed to praying for this family and I was always hoping that I would get the chance to spend more time with the boys. The Lord opened the door and it happened. In the moment, I didn't even recognize that the Lord was providing opportunities with these guys, but he did it! There are too many instances like that where the Lord worked through my own naivety to bless these kids. I still failed in many ways: said things I shouldn't have said, laughed when I shouldn't have laughed and missed opportunities to encourage these kids. There is really no reason to focus on what I should have done, that will get me nowhere. I am choosing to believe that the Lord used me somehow to lead some of these kids to him.
Many of these students have become friends of mine. Over the past three years, I have spent so many hours with them in class, on golf trips, and during break when they would invade my classroom. They know me really well and I know them really well. Many of the seniors are going to Baylor and I couldn't be more excited about the opportunity to continue to see them and go play a round of golf with them. I know I will probably be a lost thought to most of them in a couple of months (Who was that young teacher? Mr....uh....Chevy? I can't remember...). But, I hope that I will be able to see a few of them in the future. The photo is not of seniors, ironically, but of a few sophomores and I at a spring dance.

The Road, Part 3

So, we got to DC. Baylor lost. We drove home.

The Road, Part 2

(written in the car) The entrance into Memphis was one of the geographic highlights of the trip. The city sits on the grand Mississippi, as does the state line. So, from a quarter-mile away, we saw the illuminated bridge and then crossed the mighty river. On the other bank was downtown Memphis. The towering buildings and hotels were nestled up close to the river. A sign hung close to the highway that claimed, “Memphis, the city of Rock and Roll.” Midnight approached quickly and soon we found ourselves driving into the dark Tennessee night.

Tim took the wheel while Brennan laid down in the back and I dozed off riding shotgun. Tim was the only one awake when we reached Nashville around 2 in the morning. I was looking forward to seeing Nashville, but knew we would probably stop there on the return trip. When we reached Knoxville, Brennan switched spots with Tim and I stayed in the front seat. I wasn’t concerned about Brennan’s driving at all, but I decided to stay awake and make sure he didn’t start dozing or anything. We made it through Nashville and then decided to make the final switch. I had been resting the whole trip knowing that I was going to be driving during the early morning. I can remember getting into the car and having no problem for the first hour or so. Brennan was still awake, but he was busy facebooking on his iPhone. I turned up the music so that I would have something to interact with. The morning drive wasn’t too bad. I had my cappuccino to keep me up, but it didn’t last too long. I went a couple of hours and began to struggle. I never closed my eyes or went off the road, but I started feeling weak and I began to fight to stay awake. I blared some old Pearl Jam songs to try and help the sleepiness and I believed it worked. Brennan later told me that he heard me singing loudly. I replayed “Better Man” a couple of times and then belted out “Nothing Man” with all my little heart.
With Brennan and Tim completely asleep, we crossed into Virginia and the sun began to creep over the horizon. We stopped at a gas station at the Natural Caverns where I was able to juice up on a refill of normal coffee. My travel-mates didn't budge when I stopped to recharge and they honestly thought that I didn't stop during the morning. I changed the tunes and listened to some David Crowder and continued the drive toward DC. We didn’t have much time to waste, the flawless navigation system indicated that we would get to the Verizon Center until thirty minutes before game time. I continued to struggle to keep my eyes open, but the drive soon became gorgeous. The sun came through the clouds and the hills and hills surrounding the highway amazed my eyes. The green grass contrasting with the blue morning sky created a work of art for my tired eyes. Tim and Brennan awakened an hour or so later and I surrendered the wheel to Tim for the drive into DC. I crashed hard for the next couple of hours and I woke up to the hilarious banter between Brennan and Tim. Drowsy and determined to stay awake, I geared up for our final hour of driving. We placed the BU flag on the passenger window and we began to realize that we accomplished a legendary feat. On the drive into our nation’s capital, we crossed the Potomac and I caught a glimpse of the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial and the Capitol. It was a neat moment to think about the history and importance of the city.
(written post trip) We headed downtown and my face was glued to the window as we passed different government buildings and skyscrapers. As we passed the Department of the Treasury I heard the tired and semi-drowsy version of Jacob Ford say, "Hey, I bet those guys make a lot of money." Tim and Brennan just stared at me and I stopped talking for a few minutes. We drove past the Verizon Center, wrapped around downtown and ended up in a parking lot in the center of downtown. We made it. There was no extensive celebration. Tim headed to a Starbucks to go the bathroom while Brennan and I changed clothes in the parking lot. One local man came up and said, "Did you guys really drive from Texas?" We humbly responded by telling him that we were from Waco and we here to support the Bears. He then said, "The who?" Obviously, not too many easterners have heard of Waco, more or less Baylor University. We still took the comment as a compliment considering that he realized we drove 23 hours to get to a basketball game.
After picking up the tickets for the Baylor game at will call, we then began to play the scalpers' games outside the stadium to try and get tickets to the night games. I had no cash on me and Brennan was already talking prices with one guy. Brennan immediately gave the guy his highest offer and, of course, the guy didn't budge off of it. We could have gotten in the building for half of the price that the guy was offering us, but Brennan wanted good seats and this guy had them. So, we dropped a significant amount of money for the night tickets, but it turned out to be completely worth it.

The Road

Editor's Note: The next three posts are part of a series describing the details of my road trip to Washington D.C. The trip began on Wednesday March 19 and ended Saturday March 22. I ended up taking the trip with two Vanguard seniors, Tim Latimer and Brennan Bailey. Tim and Brennan needed a third to come with them and asked me to come. With the blessing of the Vanguard administration, I took two days off of school and went to D.C. The purpose of the trip was to witness Baylor's first NCAA tournament game since 1988.

Thursday (written on the road): Today came quick. As I went to bed last night, I couldn’t help but be excited for the trip. I had completed a long list of tasks, including making two tests and cleaning up the house in which I was babysitting. I still find it odd that this trip was even possible considering I have a job and everything, but that decision is miles away at this point. After staying at school for a stress-filled two hours, Tim, Brennan and I met at Brennan’s house and began the journey to Washington D.C. at 10:30 a.m. We made a few quick stops, but we have recently made up some time in Arkansas. We are soon to be in Tennessee and my enjoyment of this time continues to increase. After getting through Ft. Worth and Dallas, we headed northeast on the tree-lined I-30. The road resembled I-20 East to Atlanta. It brought back images of my cousins and my sisters playing in the back of a suburban for 12 hours on our way to Grandma’s house. We continued into Arkansas and I found myself falling asleep very easily. I slept for an hour or so before Texarkana and then immediately fell asleep again after our stop for lunch. We missed the exit for Subway in Texarkana so we went to the po-dunk town of Mandeville. There appeared to be a bar-b-que place on the left, but it looked a little run-down and untrustworthy. So, we went to The Cookery at the Flying J across the street. It was an interesting little restaurant to say the least. I walked in and the hostess smiled at us and told us to sit anywhere. I glanced at the buffet and saw the thinnest chicken legs I have seen since Carson went swimming with us last summer. Needless to say, we ordered from the menu. Our waitress came over immediately and got our drink order. She was older, had black lining the outside of her eyes and wore some sort of black lace shirt underneath her Cookery uniform around her neck. She had on a glittering belt that was adorned with small rhinestones. It looked like something Avril Lavinge would wear and not a 60-year-old waitress. Another obvious immediately recognizable trait of the restaurant was the number of people eating by themselves. There were 10-15 people just sitting at their own tables for four. The man in the booth behind us was wearing brown velvet pants with some sort of racing stripe down the side and a leather vest. It was an interesting combination and I truly felt I was in a different country. The food took a while to get to us and it was a frustrating first stop.
We hit the road again and I hit the pillow. I don’t even remember driving through Little Rock. Brennan and Tim talked and we used the video camera to highlight the one-third mark. It will be fun to go back and look at the video footage of this weekend. I awakened just in time to see the sun set at our backs. The trees created the choppy view of the sun, dispersing its light and giving me the ability to look directly at it. The Lord is so faithful with every sunrise and sunset.

Sportsmanship at its Finest

Tonight my friends and I were able to witness one of the most embarrassing examples of sportsmanship in recent college basketball history. Baylor hosted the Aggies from A&M and lost by 14 points. The game was close throughout, but the Aggies made their free throws down the stretch and won the game.
With about 10-12 minutes left in the game, one Baylor fan threw a ball onto the court in response to a bad call. The referees saw the infraction and warned the crowd that if another item was thrown on the court, the Bears would receive a technical foul. Soon afterwards, some of the players started talking trash. After a hard collision at midcourt, which left my boy Tweety writhing in pain on the floor, there was a double technical foul called and the players and fans began to express their frustration.
At this point, something awful began to happen. I turned to my left to see one Baylor fan calling the Aggie fans "fags" and "girls." The Aggies responded fairly well; jawed back some, but nothing profane. Then I looked down and saw a man with a face full of terror screaming at the Aggie Faithful. He ended his tirade with an inappropriate gesture and then sat back down in his seat. Another ball flies onto the court. This time the Baylor fans are cheering because either an Aggies actually threw the ball (which makes no sense) or they found a scapegoat for someone who threw the ball on the court. Either way, the team received a pair of technicals and the game was then out of reach.
As my friend Carson put it, "Mob mentality took over." It was unbelievable. I began to feel frustrated and just gross: not because Baylor lost, but it was as if the actions of the fans took all the 'good' out of the game. I looked in every direction and saw men acting like spoiled little kids. The A&M guard (I can't remember his name) put the exclamation point on the evening with a little, "screw you" by catching his own toss off the backboard and throwing it down with a second left. It is debatable whether this was a sportsmanlike act, but it didn't matter. Soon more foam balls, water bottles, and one open cup of Dr. Pepper hit the floor while the players and coaches were shaking hands.
It was a sad night for Baylor. Carson didn't even care that his Aggies won, he genuinely felt bad that something that volatile could occur at a college basketball game. I am not embarrassed at my university, just amazed at the power of people and the danger of a mob mentality. The emotions I felt thrown at me toward the end of the game were bitterness, anger, ire, jealousy, fear, frustration, and hatred. Sound like an event hosted by the biggest Baptist university in the world? I have never felt that way leaving a game and I hope I never will again.

Rocky Mountain Thoughts

For some random reason, I have been inundated with thoughts about the state of Colorado this week. With my future occupation and location in a flux, I have considered heading back to the Centennial State. I worked two summers in Estes Park at a Christian Mountain Adventure Camp and enjoyed every minute of the crisp air and rocky terrain. In retrospect, the camp experience is unique and special, but temporary. I look back at those times in the mountains and remember all the great people I had the opportunity to meet and all the fun stories I am able to tell. Part of me wouldn't mind living and working in Colorado, but any move to new place can be daunting for the transitionally challenged, like myself.
My thoughts shifted to Colorado earlier this week when I decided to apply for a job in Ft. Collins (1). I would be working as a sports writer for the daily newspaper, but the city attracted me to the job opening as much as anything else. I could see myself living and working in Ft. Collins more than any other city in Colorado. FOCO, as the locals call it, is the home to Colorado State University and is about the size of Waco. I have stayed there on multiple occasions and feel comfortable there.
After thinking about the application I sent to the Coloradoan, I ran into a former camper-turned-Baylor Bear on Saturday. I haven't seen Anne (2) since she worked at camp with me after she graduated from high school. After talking with her, a rush of memories and visions of all-day hikes and falling asleep under the stars came back into my mind. I was overcome with a desire to do whatever it took to get back there.
After these two Colorado surprises filled my thoughts, my roommate Carson announced that his parents just recently purchased a house outside of Buena Vista (3). I was excited for Carson, but I also wondered why I was all of a sudden in "I must get to CO" mode.
I can never figure out if these thoughts are God or not. They may just be fleeting ideas resorting back to a comfortable place in my memory. Or, the Lord could be putting these things on my heart for a specific purpose. Either way, it has been good to remember the people and adventures I have had in the Rockies.

The Job

I thought I would "cleanse my palate," after the last blog. For some reason, I ended the blog on a mysteriously depressing and hopeless mood and I can't stand to leave it as such. In fact, the Lord can redeem families and I believe my family is in the middle of that process.
I work at a small private school in Waco. I have enjoyed this job for the last three years. It has pushed all my buttons at times, yet been extremely rewarding at other times. I teach Latin and Journalism (yearbook and newspaper) for high school students. As a younger teacher, I tend to participate in some of the dress-up days and holiday activities. Two weeks ago, we had spirit week and I thought I would share a photo or two. As you look at these, ask yourself what you did at work today.


I am the one in the middle. I hope that was obvious.




We had a politically incorrect "Fiesta Day." Kyle Dietz provided the green thing.

Old People

I was able to travel to St. Joseph, Missouri on Saturday for my Grandma's 90th birthday party. It was quite an experience to say the least. My expectations were pretty high considering I was the only grandchild who would be in attendance. My sisters Kelly and Kat live overseas and the only cousin on that side of the family is currently in China. So, I was the youngest person at the party by approximately 30 years.
My Dad and I arrived at St. Joseph Country Club about fifteen minutes early and we had the privilege of taking the Honoree. My Grandma is in a wheelchair full time and has 16-hour per day living assistance. She still lives at home, which is rare for someone who has had Parkinson's for 25 years, but she is able to go to church and get her hair done. My dad and I never get to help her out, so the trip to the party was a process. By the end of the night we had a routine set and I felt a sense of joy helping her in and out of the car. She is a sweet woman and has done her best to love our family. We arrived at the party minutes before my Uncle Bob and the future, second Mrs. Ford made their appearance. Bob had recently proposed to Peggy and no one in my family, including my dad, knew that he was now engaged.
As the remaining guests poured in, I counted six walkers, and fourteen glasses of Scotch. My dad's generation (he turns 60 in April), was the youngest group of people in the room. Needless to say, I was a little out of place. I went to the bartender, who was probably twenty or so, and told him that I would probably start hanging out with him. The night went smoothly, but I still was having a rough time interacting with people 3-4 times my age.
We only had one fall through the evening, which I confidently consider a complete success. Former attorney Vance Leinager was apparently trying to move a chair when he fell over backwards onto a walker which shot into the air and then fell on his shoulder. Mr. Leinager was all right, but we had to take him home earlier than planned. On the way home we heard these grunts and wheezes when we went over bumps. He was still hurting from the fall, but he ended up being all right. His wife had the best old-lady voice I have ever heard. It was very round but shaky and inconsistent. She still had great inflection, but it was harsh and wobbly.

So here's the point:

Families are pretty messed up these days. Uncles are weird and grandparents are alcoholics. For some reason, we are connected to these people by a bond that is difficult to sever. But you work through it. You deal with the stuff and move on. It was difficult to see my dad battle his emotions all weekend: the tension, awkwardness, mistrust and regret. My family has faced a ton of difficulties, but it honored me to be able to attend my Grandma's 90th. I wanted to be there hanging out with people who knew my grandma for years. It was a special, unique night that I will not soon forget.

This is a blog

Some of my friends recently started blogging and I have now decided to add to the fun. My purpose in writing these excerpts is to highlight some events in my life and to tell some interesting anecdotes. Before I started writing today, I went and looked up the word "blog" in an online dictionary. The result led me to "weblog." I found this interesting considering that I will be writing most of these blogs and there is no "we" involved in any of these. I am not married, nor dating anyone, and the idea of describing my roommates and I as "we" is just downright creepy. Why would they call these things "we-blogs"anyway? I am sure that as I continue to write and gain some experience with blogging, I will get to the bottom of this.
I went to the Baylor vs. Texas basketball game today and left Austin with a bad taste in my mouth for multiple reasons. First of all, the Bears lost. The Bears have lost to Texas 21 straight times. 21 times!!! At this point in the season, it looked like Jerrells and the crew were ready to break the streak. Unfortunately, the Bears let a solid first half lead disappear into an eight point loss. To properly express my second frustration, I would like to include some quotes I heard from Baylor students sitting around me:

"Bull____, Bull____," in reference to a bad call.

"Durant is gone!!!" (i have no idea why this makes any difference in the game, which was just ignorant and annoying).

And my personal favorite,

"God still loves us more," in response to the loss.

The last quote is still running through my mind because it wasn't followed with an, "I am just kidding," or "Haha, what if that was true?" It sounded like the scholar behind me really believes God prefers those who attend Christian universities or don't commit the "big" sins of drinking and sleeping around like "those Longhorns." It was a sad comment and it sincerely bothered me.
I still had a great time in Austin today. The story of the Bears' revival is stunning and should be well documented. Maybe I will talk about that later.