A couple weeks ago I found this interesting article published on ESPN's website, which originally was printed in ESPN The Magazine, about this football player who quit the 49ers after his rookie season and retired because he was afraid of future brain damage.
With football season starting this week for colleges all across the country and high schools across Oklahoma, it seemed like a good time to share.
Teaching Oedipus on Friday in Lit Traditions went pretty well, I guess. Over the weekend I raced through J.K. Rowling's first Harry Potter book and Jack Schaefer's Shane, besides getting homework done. (Taming of the Shrew is really hard to follow...reading Edgar Guest as homework isn't bad, though.)
Good to visit home last weekend; Rags and the dogs were really happy. So were the people. And I was able to be at GBC for the first time in a while, that was good. The DeSpains gave me a ride back.
Forced myself out into the world of socialization for about an hour on Monday and Tuesday nights, Monday at the RSU BCM and then Tuesday at Chi Alpha.
In NSU BCM news, things are going well. Elizabeth is in Broken Arrow this semester; but Daniel and Bucky have things under control. Also, Ja Li Si is dating Samantha's brother, which is cool.
And Sarah Gaston was the latest person I knew to get married, guess that happened over the weekend. Cody Wright is working in the Oklahoma City Police Department now, I think. Pretty much lost touch with everybody from the Okmulgee homeschool group.
The weather has been really pleasant for late August; humid and rainy in the mornings, then bright sunshine in the afternoons.
Monday, August 31, 2015
Sunday, August 30, 2015
From the Blue Notebooks, Vol. 9
The last portion of the blue-notebook journals I kept off and on in high school. Editorial comments are in brackets; I just got back from D.C. on Youth Tour as we start this post.
Sunday, 6-26-11
Hey,
Wellsir, as Uncle Billy Watson would say, "No rest for the wicked, and the righteous don't need none." Been busy doing something since the 10th, every day. Ken is real bad sick, maybe a stroke, they don't know exactly, but he had to move into the nursing home[where he used to work, and his little sister Nina lived]. They're taking it pretty hard. Saw Nano on Wednesday, she seemed in pretty good health. Dayla's kinda mad at Mom, we missed archery(but nearly everyone else did, too. It was scheduled at an odd time.) Cars 2 came out on Friday. I've nearly got all of my pictures onto Facebook, guitar is going all right, but barre chords are a bit tough. The Coxes were in Dallas visiting family, so Ryan taught Sunday school instead, it was good, about legalism. Hopefully I can get some school done this week. Camp is the 25th-29th, it'll be Courtney's first year, she's pretty excited. It'll be nice to go back.
Wednesday, 7-13-11
Hey,
It's been hot. First time in 14 or 15 days the high was only in double digits. Got all my DC pictures up, & got the official pics, too. Lorene leaves for the national YLC on Saturday. Swifty died of heatstroke. :/ Mom got another baby Alpine goat named Frolic, she's cute. And tiny. We saw Cars 2 at the Orpheum in Okmulgee. It was really good, but I can't make comparisons until I see it again. Full-blown spy movie. It was supposed to be the last archery today, but Dean totally forgot about it, so it was moved to August 24. Spent most of last week installing furniture at Morris' new elementary school, & we moved the last session of Henry V to Monday. Me & Samara got a practice in on "Temporary Home", we made some progress. Needs a bit more work on the timing, though. Just about got registered for the ACT, that's good, I guess. Trying to finish my algebra book by September. The NFL & NBA lockouts are still going on... Ken isn't doing much better. We went to Louise & Harry's last night to see Trish, Vonda & her kids, Grandpa stopped by, too. Good times. Softball should start soon, & football on its heels. And we'll find out who made Oklahoma Living, too.
Tuesday, 7-19-11
Hey,
Sport died. 12 years, 3 months & 5 days old in people years, that's about 86 in dog years. We'd just moved to Morris, I was 6, and Courtney hadn't had her first birthday yet. Horrible way to start the day, huh? Then Dad ran his truck over a bucket of white Kilz, spraying it all over the side. (He got most of it washed off.) Everyone's been irritated, there's a huge mountain of algebra awaiting me, and I only got three loads of laundry done. Pretty terrible day. At least there's camp on Monday. This has been a bad month for pets. Still triple-digit temps every day.
Wednesday, 8-3-11
Hey,
Camp was a huge blessing. [See the year's recap there; the next year was even more so.] Frisbee, ping pong, good teaching, friends(re: Ashland, Jed, Jon Lange, Matt, Daniel Noah, Madelyn, Marshall, Eva, Joanna Ivie, etc., etc., etc.) It was fun. And also scary. Sam & Jed both passed out, & Eva gashed her eye open. It was a really different year, a full third of the campers were new. I think the Lord will keep blessing the camp, we've all gotten a lot out of the teaching, I think Courtney enjoyed it. [This was the year of the black eye due to the touch football game.] She got a FB, too. Senior year started Monday, hopefully I'll survive, lol. Little sick lately. I got into Oklahoma Living, due to spacing issues, they couldn't run the journal entries, & since they needed something about Youth Tour, and I had the only (I think) complete summary, it was inserted and seen all over the state. Pretty awesome, really. It got to 113*F this afternoon, it's crazy hot. The NFL will go on as scheduled, the NBA, probably not. I might get to do some stuff for Vype's website, I'll meet with the editor of the Eastern OK magazine Friday after guitar. [This did not work out. Also, OKBlitz had just shut down.] I'm getting close to getting the playing by tabs. Not fire-my-guitar-into-the-wall close, but that Plain of Discouragement close. Jed has a very large crush on Samara...haha. [It was funny....then. Later? Not so much.] Josh is in Wisconsin, the Wrights just got back from their last family vacation, to Yellowstone & Mount Rushmore, before Cody leaves for boot camp in Nov.
Tuesday, 8-16-11
Hey,
Started the Teaching Textbooks Algebra 2 from the Muellers, it's actually making sense! Not sure how often I'll write, Herman & Larry want more space in the Free Lance, and the Dewar lady, Sunny Tiger, might do their football again. So, softball, or just a few football, or nothing til basketball, Idk. Going to do a bit for the Vype website. Amanda & Jed have had some relationship troubles, looks like I'll be Dusty again... [Reference to one of my fictional characters.] Trevor's birthday is tomorrow, he's extremely excited. He'll be nine. I need something to happen....it's kind of lonely doing school & talking to friends through FB & texting. If the Nolands did drama, that'd be great...but otherwise, though I'd enjoy it somewhat, it just wouldn't be worth the effort. Looked around Books-A-Million today. [This was the night Bennett and Courtney were initiated into the GBC youth group; Sam helped us kidnap Courtney on the way to CherryBerry. It was fun. And gave us something more to tease her with.] I want, somehow I need, to get at least one book published. I just hope when I do, it'll be a good one. But hey, if that's not what God has planned for me, well, I'll be okay with that. Frolic's growing well, we've had Copper nearly a year, Sunny has been going downhill.
Saturday, 9-3-11
Hey,
Been spending a lot of time looking at colleges. It's kind of scary. Overwhelming. Terrifying. Glad I have friends who tell me to relax. [Sam, Jed, Amanda, Ashland and Daniel were probably who I meant here.] Had a good talk with Ashland Tuesday, it was strange, but good. Registered for the SAT, October 1 at Bishop Kelley. Went to the Kellyville-Beggs game last night, it was my first HS game solely as a fan since fourth grade. Good to see Bill, Mickey, James & Larry again. We nearly had a mini-YT reunion, but me, Danielle & Bailey G. couldn't ever quite find each other. Jed's coming down in about three weeks, it'll be cool to see him again. Dad's working security in Stillwater, we might have a garage sale Saturday. Going through new songs at church, which is always good. Softball is nice to watch, but tough to write. hadn't had much time for fiction or guitar.
Monday, 9-19-11
Hey,
It's been one of those times when there's a real conflict of emotions going on. Mimi's birthday was yesterday, she'd have been 64. It was kind of a tough day. Suzanna was baptized, & we sang an old song I know real well for the first time. Today was beautiful weather, algebra went pretty well, the SAT is less than two weeks away. We had a movie night at the Coxes' Friday, saw Facing the Giants then picked it apart afterwards. Pretty good discussion, we played a lot of chess, & grilled pizza. Jed's coming down next week, that should hopefully be cool. The garage sale didn't go so well, between eight and ten customers all day, & $75 profit. It feels wrong to not be covering football games. Need to do a lot of praying, Lizzie's been really discouraged, and Jed & Amanda are both pretty torn up as well. I don't want to take one side or the other, I just want it to be worked out however it should be. 9/11 was also tough. It was a weird feeling, it wasn't the kind you should have. It wasn't remembered anywhere near enough. We went to a Tulsa Shock game after church, it was like wrestling: An experience you want once, and then never repeated. Bad basketball, bored fans, & lesbians. Dad's inspection business is starting to pick up group, he's excited about that. I wish I could pen down all my feelings lately onto paper and be able to use them later. There's too much to write here. Book sale is this weekend.
Sunday, 10-2-11
Hey,
The book sale was great, like it always is. This week has been stressfull. Took the SAT at Bishop Kelley yesterday, we got there at 7:15 am, the test started at 8, and ended at 1:10 pm. There were about fifty or sixty people taking it, half of them Asian or India Indian. I think I did okay, but won't know til the scores come in in November. Mrs. Boyer and Jed came in from Lawton, their visit went pretty well. Mom & Mrs. Boyer got along pretty well, Trevor liked meeting Jed, there was a lot of ping pong. [A lot. We had to break in the new table, though, so...and when you have a houseful of extremely competitive people...] We had a cookout last night, Paige, Katie Carmichael & Samara came over. We also played some Apples to Apples. Me & Jed had a long theological discussion, on topics from the Christian's response to science and denomination differences to why we fear; and pondered our mistakes and desires, as well as whether or not we should study past failures to not repeat them(I say yes, he said to ignore the past, since we can't change it.) Westopping stopped at 1:40 this am because Dad wanted us to get to sleep, & we were keeping him awake. I'm worried. Not so much about me, now, but about Amanda, Jed and Samara. Pretty much, he dropped Amanda for Sam. He fell head over heels for her, & she for him, though doing a somewhat better job of hiding it. Mrs. Boyer doesn't approve, neither does her dad...it's a mess, and it's only going to hurt everyone involved. It's painful to watch, feeling so helpless, witnessing th genesis of yet another of the world's nasty breakups. On a lighter note, it was Marie's 18th birthday today, she's going to see TobyMac at the fair tomorrow night. Josh & Mr. Cox asked me to be assistant worship leader, I might start that in a week or two. Softball's done - is my sportswriting?
Tuesday, 11-1-11
Hey,
I scored an 1800 on my SAT out of 2400, got a 660 in Reading(91st percentile), 620 in Writing(86th percentile) and 520 in math(51st percentile, hadn't taken geometry yet). I only got a 7 out of 12 for my essay. Oh, well. I have about two or three weeks of Algebra 2 left. I'm going crazy just spectating at games. I don't know how to just watch. Thursday is Senior Night, which is weird, and kind of sad. I've never known school culture, yet I think I understand some of what everybody'll go through. Last night was Halloween at Westville. It went better than expected. The best part? Talking to Nano & passing out candy to trick-or-treaters. Wish I would've brought my recorder. She was telling how she & Lois used to make popcorn balls, and one time a man in overalls, etc, walked right in and sat down on the couch! And they looked at him and wondered....and then he pulled his mask off & it was Julie Cagle, who came twenty miles just to play a prank on them. I feel irritated, lonely, sort of. The year's going by too fast. I don't feel like I belong anywhere(well, in a sense I don't), and an overwhelming grief for people in general, their sins and mistakes. I either need new songs to learn, or a new instrument to learn. I'd like to write something great. But maybe I just need to keep plowing along, with newspapers in smalls towns, and Facebook fiction nobody reads. Maybe I can serve God better in that way. I've got a tangled plot set in HS that I can't even make sense of, and a well-developing one in a setting I know needs work.
Friday, 11-25-11
Hey,
Thanksgiving was yesterday, it went pretty well. Caleb, Trevor and I watched the Macy's parade, Tosh Fletcher was in it. We went to Grandpa's , ate, talked, watched the Dolphins-Cowboys game, visited everybody at Louise's, then came back for leftovers and dog petting. Lillyanne won the betting, she was two pts off as the Cowboys won 20-19 on a last-second FG by Dan Bailey. Ken died this morning. Kind of hard to process that yet. Applyed[applied] for a job at Beggs General Store, need to check on that. [Didn't get it.] Need to apply to colleges and take CLEP tests, but, that kind of takes money...and my acoustic is messed up, something wrong with the B string tuning peg, won't build up tension. Started as co-worship leader for the youth group last Sunday, that went okay, it'll take a few weeks for me & Josh to get the timing down. Samara's grandpa died a few weeks ago. It's been kind of tough knowing how to help. A nice old lady Jed knew died, he's having a tough time with that. Lfe's just been kind of stressful. I'm really missing Youth Tour, and thankful I got to experience that.
Tuesday, 12-27-11
Hey,
First off, OSU won Bedlam in astonishing fashion 44-10. It wasn't enough to get to the national title game, though. Didn't get the job(or any at all) yet, Christmas went all right, it was like usual: Holiday-spirits for a few days after Thanksgiving, then guilt, fear, uncertainty and thankfulness. Got a new Bible, two sets of guitar strings and a Chick-Fil-A calendar. Geometry is making sense.
(In the large gap here, I created this blog on the afternoon of February 24, while Mom was visiting with Trinnica.)
Monday, 4-9-12
Hey,
In Louisville, KY fro the Together for the Gospel conference. Me, Josh, Dylan, Mr. Cox, Mr. Rusco, Mr. Pickard and Paul Stefan left at 8 am, stopping for gas and breakfast at Joplin's Kum and Go aroudn 11:30 am, a pack of Hostess donuts & Diet Coke makes a fine meal(and it's only $3.33). MO is a beautiful state, all through. Breathtaking. The road seems natural, to have grown there; you don't drive to make great time, you drive to have a great time. Crossed into IL at 3, SO IL is like Hwy 16 between Morris & Muskogee, with Maryland trees interspersed in thickets. SW IN is straight from Hoosiers, nothing but flat farmland. Passed by New Harmony, I can see the landscape Philip Gulley's characters live in. SE IN is hilly and wooded, freaky alone feeling. Spent two hours in Illinois, two in Indiana, got to the hotel(Galt House) at 8:30. The place is fancy. Even nicer than the Embassy or Hyatt in DC. We then after checking in went walking(WALKING) around Downtown Louisville at 9 pm, looking for a place to eat, we found this high-class place called Bistro 301. Bursting with culture here. It was an adventure something like jaywalking thru DC. Saw the Arch[from a very great distance], added three states to my 'been to' list, weird facts: Once we left OK, didn't see one toll booth nor casino. Conf starts tomorrow, we'll see how this goes. Nearly everyone else fell asleep. Sharing room w/Mr. Rusco, Dylan w/Mr. Cox, Josh w/Paul Stefan, Mr. Pickard has his own room, 19th floor.
Tuesday, 4-10-12
Hey,
Second day(first full) in this city on the Mason-Dixon Line which produces 80% of the US bourbon supply and 90% of all disco balls[according to a brochure I found somewhere in the hotel]. Ate Panera for breakfast after a Starbucks run/Bible study time, ran into this black guy named Lasadhi, he was waiting for his bus, reading James 2 on his iPhone, we talked for about five minutes, then he prayed for us. Toured the Lousivlle Sligger Factory Museum, that was really cool. Italian place called Louigi's for lunch, much too $$ and food, these places are all like that. One meal is all you need for the day. Thank goodness for Clif bars. KFC Yum! Center is nice, 8000 people is quite a few for something non-sports-related. First day of the conference went well, preaching was good, the panel sessions interesting. Got 17 free books, we stalked Mr. Pickard halfway around the room before he spotted us, haha. Held a bat of the first guy they[Louisville Slugger} made bats for, watched how they make them, got scrapwood for free, they were playing "The Story of Us" on the speakers in the gift shop. Paul Stefan not feeling well most of today, walking all over this downtown is interesting, feel like it's an episode of Doc. Ohio River is enormous, wonderful scenery, neat buildings. Charging camera battery now.
Thursday, 4-12-12
Hey,
This was a good trip. Glad I came. There isn't many times you know God's speaking to you, but this was one of those times. John Piper is a very good preacher. Of course, those other guys are, too. Messed up stomachs most of today, not that cool. We're okay now, though. Met Gunner yesterday, that was kinda neat, met a youth pastor at a Tulsa church named Joey; he was a character. Protein bars are good investments. Had dinner at this bar called Bluegrass Brewing Co(BBC), neat place. Mr. Cox and Mr. Rusco went to a special meeting on marriage after the session last night, me, Dylan and Josh watched SportsCenter, it was cool. [I was texting Sam there, too; trading updates of how the week was going. Josh's sister Natalie knocked most of her teeth out after a stroller accident.] The Yum! Center has some severe faults - Too few bathrooms(four) and too congested walkways. I like the Ford Center/OKC Arena/Chesapeake Arena and BOK Center much better. Good trip. [We all} had lunch w/Ana Marie yesterday, tomorrow's Friday the 13th. :/ Two weeks til enrollment meeting, one month until graduation. Early start tomorrow, better run.
That's all.
Sunday, 6-26-11
Hey,
Wellsir, as Uncle Billy Watson would say, "No rest for the wicked, and the righteous don't need none." Been busy doing something since the 10th, every day. Ken is real bad sick, maybe a stroke, they don't know exactly, but he had to move into the nursing home[where he used to work, and his little sister Nina lived]. They're taking it pretty hard. Saw Nano on Wednesday, she seemed in pretty good health. Dayla's kinda mad at Mom, we missed archery(but nearly everyone else did, too. It was scheduled at an odd time.) Cars 2 came out on Friday. I've nearly got all of my pictures onto Facebook, guitar is going all right, but barre chords are a bit tough. The Coxes were in Dallas visiting family, so Ryan taught Sunday school instead, it was good, about legalism. Hopefully I can get some school done this week. Camp is the 25th-29th, it'll be Courtney's first year, she's pretty excited. It'll be nice to go back.
Wednesday, 7-13-11
Hey,
It's been hot. First time in 14 or 15 days the high was only in double digits. Got all my DC pictures up, & got the official pics, too. Lorene leaves for the national YLC on Saturday. Swifty died of heatstroke. :/ Mom got another baby Alpine goat named Frolic, she's cute. And tiny. We saw Cars 2 at the Orpheum in Okmulgee. It was really good, but I can't make comparisons until I see it again. Full-blown spy movie. It was supposed to be the last archery today, but Dean totally forgot about it, so it was moved to August 24. Spent most of last week installing furniture at Morris' new elementary school, & we moved the last session of Henry V to Monday. Me & Samara got a practice in on "Temporary Home", we made some progress. Needs a bit more work on the timing, though. Just about got registered for the ACT, that's good, I guess. Trying to finish my algebra book by September. The NFL & NBA lockouts are still going on... Ken isn't doing much better. We went to Louise & Harry's last night to see Trish, Vonda & her kids, Grandpa stopped by, too. Good times. Softball should start soon, & football on its heels. And we'll find out who made Oklahoma Living, too.
Tuesday, 7-19-11
Hey,
Sport died. 12 years, 3 months & 5 days old in people years, that's about 86 in dog years. We'd just moved to Morris, I was 6, and Courtney hadn't had her first birthday yet. Horrible way to start the day, huh? Then Dad ran his truck over a bucket of white Kilz, spraying it all over the side. (He got most of it washed off.) Everyone's been irritated, there's a huge mountain of algebra awaiting me, and I only got three loads of laundry done. Pretty terrible day. At least there's camp on Monday. This has been a bad month for pets. Still triple-digit temps every day.
Wednesday, 8-3-11
Hey,
Camp was a huge blessing. [See the year's recap there; the next year was even more so.] Frisbee, ping pong, good teaching, friends(re: Ashland, Jed, Jon Lange, Matt, Daniel Noah, Madelyn, Marshall, Eva, Joanna Ivie, etc., etc., etc.) It was fun. And also scary. Sam & Jed both passed out, & Eva gashed her eye open. It was a really different year, a full third of the campers were new. I think the Lord will keep blessing the camp, we've all gotten a lot out of the teaching, I think Courtney enjoyed it. [This was the year of the black eye due to the touch football game.] She got a FB, too. Senior year started Monday, hopefully I'll survive, lol. Little sick lately. I got into Oklahoma Living, due to spacing issues, they couldn't run the journal entries, & since they needed something about Youth Tour, and I had the only (I think) complete summary, it was inserted and seen all over the state. Pretty awesome, really. It got to 113*F this afternoon, it's crazy hot. The NFL will go on as scheduled, the NBA, probably not. I might get to do some stuff for Vype's website, I'll meet with the editor of the Eastern OK magazine Friday after guitar. [This did not work out. Also, OKBlitz had just shut down.] I'm getting close to getting the playing by tabs. Not fire-my-guitar-into-the-wall close, but that Plain of Discouragement close. Jed has a very large crush on Samara...haha. [It was funny....then. Later? Not so much.] Josh is in Wisconsin, the Wrights just got back from their last family vacation, to Yellowstone & Mount Rushmore, before Cody leaves for boot camp in Nov.
Tuesday, 8-16-11
Hey,
Started the Teaching Textbooks Algebra 2 from the Muellers, it's actually making sense! Not sure how often I'll write, Herman & Larry want more space in the Free Lance, and the Dewar lady, Sunny Tiger, might do their football again. So, softball, or just a few football, or nothing til basketball, Idk. Going to do a bit for the Vype website. Amanda & Jed have had some relationship troubles, looks like I'll be Dusty again... [Reference to one of my fictional characters.] Trevor's birthday is tomorrow, he's extremely excited. He'll be nine. I need something to happen....it's kind of lonely doing school & talking to friends through FB & texting. If the Nolands did drama, that'd be great...but otherwise, though I'd enjoy it somewhat, it just wouldn't be worth the effort. Looked around Books-A-Million today. [This was the night Bennett and Courtney were initiated into the GBC youth group; Sam helped us kidnap Courtney on the way to CherryBerry. It was fun. And gave us something more to tease her with.] I want, somehow I need, to get at least one book published. I just hope when I do, it'll be a good one. But hey, if that's not what God has planned for me, well, I'll be okay with that. Frolic's growing well, we've had Copper nearly a year, Sunny has been going downhill.
Saturday, 9-3-11
Hey,
Been spending a lot of time looking at colleges. It's kind of scary. Overwhelming. Terrifying. Glad I have friends who tell me to relax. [Sam, Jed, Amanda, Ashland and Daniel were probably who I meant here.] Had a good talk with Ashland Tuesday, it was strange, but good. Registered for the SAT, October 1 at Bishop Kelley. Went to the Kellyville-Beggs game last night, it was my first HS game solely as a fan since fourth grade. Good to see Bill, Mickey, James & Larry again. We nearly had a mini-YT reunion, but me, Danielle & Bailey G. couldn't ever quite find each other. Jed's coming down in about three weeks, it'll be cool to see him again. Dad's working security in Stillwater, we might have a garage sale Saturday. Going through new songs at church, which is always good. Softball is nice to watch, but tough to write. hadn't had much time for fiction or guitar.
Monday, 9-19-11
Hey,
It's been one of those times when there's a real conflict of emotions going on. Mimi's birthday was yesterday, she'd have been 64. It was kind of a tough day. Suzanna was baptized, & we sang an old song I know real well for the first time. Today was beautiful weather, algebra went pretty well, the SAT is less than two weeks away. We had a movie night at the Coxes' Friday, saw Facing the Giants then picked it apart afterwards. Pretty good discussion, we played a lot of chess, & grilled pizza. Jed's coming down next week, that should hopefully be cool. The garage sale didn't go so well, between eight and ten customers all day, & $75 profit. It feels wrong to not be covering football games. Need to do a lot of praying, Lizzie's been really discouraged, and Jed & Amanda are both pretty torn up as well. I don't want to take one side or the other, I just want it to be worked out however it should be. 9/11 was also tough. It was a weird feeling, it wasn't the kind you should have. It wasn't remembered anywhere near enough. We went to a Tulsa Shock game after church, it was like wrestling: An experience you want once, and then never repeated. Bad basketball, bored fans, & lesbians. Dad's inspection business is starting to pick up group, he's excited about that. I wish I could pen down all my feelings lately onto paper and be able to use them later. There's too much to write here. Book sale is this weekend.
Sunday, 10-2-11
Hey,
The book sale was great, like it always is. This week has been stressfull. Took the SAT at Bishop Kelley yesterday, we got there at 7:15 am, the test started at 8, and ended at 1:10 pm. There were about fifty or sixty people taking it, half of them Asian or India Indian. I think I did okay, but won't know til the scores come in in November. Mrs. Boyer and Jed came in from Lawton, their visit went pretty well. Mom & Mrs. Boyer got along pretty well, Trevor liked meeting Jed, there was a lot of ping pong. [A lot. We had to break in the new table, though, so...and when you have a houseful of extremely competitive people...] We had a cookout last night, Paige, Katie Carmichael & Samara came over. We also played some Apples to Apples. Me & Jed had a long theological discussion, on topics from the Christian's response to science and denomination differences to why we fear; and pondered our mistakes and desires, as well as whether or not we should study past failures to not repeat them(I say yes, he said to ignore the past, since we can't change it.) We
Tuesday, 11-1-11
Hey,
I scored an 1800 on my SAT out of 2400, got a 660 in Reading(91st percentile), 620 in Writing(86th percentile) and 520 in math(51st percentile, hadn't taken geometry yet). I only got a 7 out of 12 for my essay. Oh, well. I have about two or three weeks of Algebra 2 left. I'm going crazy just spectating at games. I don't know how to just watch. Thursday is Senior Night, which is weird, and kind of sad. I've never known school culture, yet I think I understand some of what everybody'll go through. Last night was Halloween at Westville. It went better than expected. The best part? Talking to Nano & passing out candy to trick-or-treaters. Wish I would've brought my recorder. She was telling how she & Lois used to make popcorn balls, and one time a man in overalls, etc, walked right in and sat down on the couch! And they looked at him and wondered....and then he pulled his mask off & it was Julie Cagle, who came twenty miles just to play a prank on them. I feel irritated, lonely, sort of. The year's going by too fast. I don't feel like I belong anywhere(well, in a sense I don't), and an overwhelming grief for people in general, their sins and mistakes. I either need new songs to learn, or a new instrument to learn. I'd like to write something great. But maybe I just need to keep plowing along, with newspapers in smalls towns, and Facebook fiction nobody reads. Maybe I can serve God better in that way. I've got a tangled plot set in HS that I can't even make sense of, and a well-developing one in a setting I know needs work.
Friday, 11-25-11
Hey,
Thanksgiving was yesterday, it went pretty well. Caleb, Trevor and I watched the Macy's parade, Tosh Fletcher was in it. We went to Grandpa's , ate, talked, watched the Dolphins-Cowboys game, visited everybody at Louise's, then came back for leftovers and dog petting. Lillyanne won the betting, she was two pts off as the Cowboys won 20-19 on a last-second FG by Dan Bailey. Ken died this morning. Kind of hard to process that yet. Applyed[applied] for a job at Beggs General Store, need to check on that. [Didn't get it.] Need to apply to colleges and take CLEP tests, but, that kind of takes money...and my acoustic is messed up, something wrong with the B string tuning peg, won't build up tension. Started as co-worship leader for the youth group last Sunday, that went okay, it'll take a few weeks for me & Josh to get the timing down. Samara's grandpa died a few weeks ago. It's been kind of tough knowing how to help. A nice old lady Jed knew died, he's having a tough time with that. Lfe's just been kind of stressful. I'm really missing Youth Tour, and thankful I got to experience that.
Tuesday, 12-27-11
Hey,
First off, OSU won Bedlam in astonishing fashion 44-10. It wasn't enough to get to the national title game, though. Didn't get the job(or any at all) yet, Christmas went all right, it was like usual: Holiday-spirits for a few days after Thanksgiving, then guilt, fear, uncertainty and thankfulness. Got a new Bible, two sets of guitar strings and a Chick-Fil-A calendar. Geometry is making sense.
(In the large gap here, I created this blog on the afternoon of February 24, while Mom was visiting with Trinnica.)
Monday, 4-9-12
Hey,
In Louisville, KY fro the Together for the Gospel conference. Me, Josh, Dylan, Mr. Cox, Mr. Rusco, Mr. Pickard and Paul Stefan left at 8 am, stopping for gas and breakfast at Joplin's Kum and Go aroudn 11:30 am, a pack of Hostess donuts & Diet Coke makes a fine meal(and it's only $3.33). MO is a beautiful state, all through. Breathtaking. The road seems natural, to have grown there; you don't drive to make great time, you drive to have a great time. Crossed into IL at 3, SO IL is like Hwy 16 between Morris & Muskogee, with Maryland trees interspersed in thickets. SW IN is straight from Hoosiers, nothing but flat farmland. Passed by New Harmony, I can see the landscape Philip Gulley's characters live in. SE IN is hilly and wooded, freaky alone feeling. Spent two hours in Illinois, two in Indiana, got to the hotel(Galt House) at 8:30. The place is fancy. Even nicer than the Embassy or Hyatt in DC. We then after checking in went walking(WALKING) around Downtown Louisville at 9 pm, looking for a place to eat, we found this high-class place called Bistro 301. Bursting with culture here. It was an adventure something like jaywalking thru DC. Saw the Arch[from a very great distance], added three states to my 'been to' list, weird facts: Once we left OK, didn't see one toll booth nor casino. Conf starts tomorrow, we'll see how this goes. Nearly everyone else fell asleep. Sharing room w/Mr. Rusco, Dylan w/Mr. Cox, Josh w/Paul Stefan, Mr. Pickard has his own room, 19th floor.
Tuesday, 4-10-12
Hey,
Second day(first full) in this city on the Mason-Dixon Line which produces 80% of the US bourbon supply and 90% of all disco balls[according to a brochure I found somewhere in the hotel]. Ate Panera for breakfast after a Starbucks run/Bible study time, ran into this black guy named Lasadhi, he was waiting for his bus, reading James 2 on his iPhone, we talked for about five minutes, then he prayed for us. Toured the Lousivlle Sligger Factory Museum, that was really cool. Italian place called Louigi's for lunch, much too $$ and food, these places are all like that. One meal is all you need for the day. Thank goodness for Clif bars. KFC Yum! Center is nice, 8000 people is quite a few for something non-sports-related. First day of the conference went well, preaching was good, the panel sessions interesting. Got 17 free books, we stalked Mr. Pickard halfway around the room before he spotted us, haha. Held a bat of the first guy they[Louisville Slugger} made bats for, watched how they make them, got scrapwood for free, they were playing "The Story of Us" on the speakers in the gift shop. Paul Stefan not feeling well most of today, walking all over this downtown is interesting, feel like it's an episode of Doc. Ohio River is enormous, wonderful scenery, neat buildings. Charging camera battery now.
Thursday, 4-12-12
Hey,
This was a good trip. Glad I came. There isn't many times you know God's speaking to you, but this was one of those times. John Piper is a very good preacher. Of course, those other guys are, too. Messed up stomachs most of today, not that cool. We're okay now, though. Met Gunner yesterday, that was kinda neat, met a youth pastor at a Tulsa church named Joey; he was a character. Protein bars are good investments. Had dinner at this bar called Bluegrass Brewing Co(BBC), neat place. Mr. Cox and Mr. Rusco went to a special meeting on marriage after the session last night, me, Dylan and Josh watched SportsCenter, it was cool. [I was texting Sam there, too; trading updates of how the week was going. Josh's sister Natalie knocked most of her teeth out after a stroller accident.] The Yum! Center has some severe faults - Too few bathrooms(four) and too congested walkways. I like the Ford Center/OKC Arena/Chesapeake Arena and BOK Center much better. Good trip. [We all} had lunch w/Ana Marie yesterday, tomorrow's Friday the 13th. :/ Two weeks til enrollment meeting, one month until graduation. Early start tomorrow, better run.
That's all.
From the Blue Notebooks, Vol. 8
Nearing the end of the blue spiral notebooks I used as journals in high school. This one starts in the middle of March 2011, near the end of my junior year, and a couple months before Youth Tour and SGYC '11. Editorial comments in brackets.
Thursday, 3-17-11
Hey,
Happy St. Patrick's Day. Headed to Westville later today. NCAA tournament starts today, that's always exciting. [There were games in Tulsa at the BOK.] If I can be sure of gas and hotel money, I'm to Dallas for X-Factor auditions. [HAHAHAHA....] Starting guitar lessons at Southern Cross next week. Josh is learning to play, me and Samara have been giving him tips. We got Swifty a new house yesterday. And a large section of guilt disappeared this week. I felt like I should apologize to Maddie for the way I left. She FB poked me, so I typed out an email. She understood.
Saturday, 3-26-11
Hey,
Dad turned 40 today. We went to the J.M. Davis Gun Museum and the Will Rogers Museum today, they were both neat. The pistols of Bonnie Parker, Jesse James and Pretty Boy Floyd, a Stradivarius violin, Nazi machine guns and helmets, World War I propaganda posters, a cartridge from Frank James' gun when he surrendered, and Will Rogers' typewriter were some of the things I saw today. Haven't done much school this week, but I did see most folks at archery Wednesday. Had my first real guitar lesson at Southern Corss yesterday, it went well. Jed's been having some health problems lately, that isn't really cool. I guess we're headed to Columbia [Missouri] for about a week soon. Sounds kind of like a nightmare. Maybe I'll get to see some people I know, though. Should know in two weeks or so if that essay was any good or not. Trevor got a rabbit from the Jacksons, he's calling it Nibbles. Rabbits can be kinda cute. Today went better than I thought it would, being six years since MiMi died. A lot of times I wish I could talk to her again. Ever since, I've never really had anybody I could talk things over with like that. Arizona was playing again tonight, they lost to UConn. They were playing Illinois when we heard the news. I guess I'll try to get some sleep, might write more, Idk.
Saturday, 4-23-11
Hey,
UConn beat Butler in a sloppy title game. [That was one of the worst basketball games I've ever seen. With a ton of great storylines, Butler getting to the title game in Indianapolis.] Wondered if Alli was watching. [Webkinz contact, huge fan of Huskies basketball.] The trip went pretty well, I suppose, except for Dad catching a staph infection. I've had to do a lot of babysitting this week. Haven't had any basketball to write about, so I took up Talons coverage for OKBlitz. They won tonight on a last-second field goal. I don't think I like family vacations much. They're somewhat overrated. Easter is tomorrow, doesn't feel like it. Pretty good storm right outside, lots of thunder and rain. Jamey Mullin gave us tickets to a Thunder game last month, it was AN AWESOME experience. That's where I'd like to be someday. It was such an incredible atmosphere. Take the energy of a Talons game, add HS-spirited fans, increased, and there you go. I'd like to help make that happen. Guitar lessons are going well. Dale is a good guy. Kind of like Coach Truesdell, or Dean. Oh, yes. Us homeschoolers were in an archery meet against Beggs, Schulter, Morris and Wilson. We did pretty well. Brenna and Denver each got third, Kyle took second, and Quinton won. I was firmly average. Oh, yeah. I'm headed to DC as part of East Central's delegation on the Youth Tour in June. I'm getting kinda excited about that.
Tuesday, 5-3-11
Hey,
School's gone okay, not nearly enough done, but it's going all right. Caleb & Trevor played w/Jonathan today, & Mom had a good visit with Trinnica. Dad's almost over his staph infection, the graduation's Saturday. Roy, Cody, Jessica, Kyle, Billy are all graduating. And thus, leaving for college in the fall. [Except for Cody joining the Army, none of them actually left the county for a while.] Just part of getting older, but slightly sad, just the same. Osama bin Laden was killed on Monday. Caleb's birthday is soon, he'll be ten. Hard to believe it's been ten years since he was born. Dewar nearly won a state championship in [slowpitch] softball today, that makes around twelve near-misses that I could have written about state championships. Maybe someday... Feeling kind of lonely & a bit lost. The drama program is Thursday, it'll be odd being in the audience. Of course, the script was horrendous in its brevity & shallowness, but still. Idol will be over in about three weeks. XFactor is in Dallas the week before my birthday. Guitar is going okay, me & Samara might team up for a duet for talent share at camp. We're thinking Carrie Underwood's "Temporary Home" for now. [DC Talk's "Supernatural" would have been so much cooler, but neither of us could play barre chords very well, so we nixed that.] Josh in in Florida for the Homeschool World Series.
Saturday, 5-7-11
Hey,
The program went better than expected. It was below average, even for this group. However, Annette, me & Mr. Noland are possibly going to campaign to do a (serious) musical called GodSpell. It's about these hippies in the 70's who reenact the Gospel on a deserted baseball diamond. [This would have been so awesome. Alas, it never happened...] Guitar went pretty good Friday, Dale gave me a Sara Evans song to work on. [It was "Never Alone", because I needed practice with barre chords. There's a lot of Bm's in that one.] Went to the graduation of Billy, Cody, Jessica, Roy, Quinton, Kyle & Michael Vogt today. It was good, but kinda scary that we're near this point of our lives. My class next year will be Alton, Nate, Phil, Rachel, Kaitlyn & me. [And at GBC, Sam and Marie.] What's been happening w/friends? Kyle got a job offer, doing illustrations for a kid's book. Brenna's cat Twilight ran away, and Mariah & Phil are together now. That seemed like a 50-50 match to me. Either it'll go all Alton-JB, or it'll end within a month. [It was more like six weeks.] We'll see. Mr. Cox is starting a lesson group on homosexuality tomorrow, that might be good. [It was an incredibly awkward series for everyone involved; and we were all extremely grateful when it ended.] Dad still isn't completely well yet. Baseball ended(thank goodness).
Friday, 5-20-11
Hey,
Amy's birthday was Monday. Valerie put an announcement in the Free Lance, that was cool. Courtney went over to Lani's, she had a good time, I think. The Nolands had a cookout last night, that was fun. I felt kinda depressed and irritated most of today, Idk why. The trip is in three weeks, my birthday's next Sunday. Is acting a form of lying? An elaborate pretendence set up to avoid facing reality? Does that apply to fiction, too? Is that why we need it, because it's lying, and so therefore cane be sinful, and due to our sinful nature we enjoy it? Or is it a mangled attempt to duplicate God's creation? Can God use this imagining for good purposes? Well, yes. Both the stories I'm working on seem meaningless.
Harry & Louise came to visit last Friday, & we had a good time. Then as they were leaving, they gave me a box, left over from Trish's yard sale. In it I found a card signed by nearly all the Lankfords, & even Doc and Lavonna signed it. They also got together a collection for my trip, it added up to $200. That really made me feel loved, like I felt right after the fire. Overwhelmed with the sheer amount of kindness & love poured out. I also had to buy a suit on Tuesday. Dad helped a lot. The salesman was balding and had an accent, reminded me of Hercule Poirot. It was an interesting experience. I've wanted to fire my guitar into the wall sometimes, but I suppose that's part of becoming really good at it. OKBlitz took a Talons story I sent them last week. I don't feel ready to be 18. Or a senior. I want to go live life, but I'm scared. And when you can't pick them up, that doesn't exactly inspire courage to ask girls out. What have I changed into? I have some idea of who I changed from - a shy, obnoxious kid with plans much bigger than his abilities - but who, what, am I now?
Friday, 6-10-11
Hey,
We started the trip today! Left the house around 10 am, got to OKC about 12. The banquet went well, the YLC interview wasn't so bad, Lorene McGhee won. We'll leave for Baltimore tomorrow, hung out after dinner with a bunch of cool people, lost ping-pong (twice) to a guy named Ashton Davis. [We kept accidentally hitting a bald guy in the head. He thought it was hilarious.] My roommate is Trent Swann, we're boys group J. The East Central ppl seem cool, haven't seen much of Tre McPherson, but Christian Pak, David Crosslin, Bailey Golihare and Bailey Ross seem cool. Can't wait! Jennifer seems like Mrs. Boyer.
Saturday, 6-11-11
Hey,
In DC now, we had about an hour & a half wait, the trip was just under 3 hrs, pretty smooth. Saw the Lincoln Mem., that was really something. Met a lot of different ppl, among them Chrystal, Will, Brandi, Joseph, Tosh, Trent, Daniel, Ryan, Kim, Taylor & Tauri. We walked along the Baltimore Harbor, taken lots of pictures, this has been good for people-watching. Two old guys in the airport were talking about the weather[in North Carolina]. We went to the mall, the day wasn't so bad, but everyone was incredibly thirsty. Arlington & Smithsonian tomorrow, & dinner theater, there's be a Gay Pride parade...hopefully we can stay out of the way... :P MD has a TON of trees. We're supposed to cover 40 miles on foot this week. We're unofficially the Penguins(or Zebras). [Based on a comment by a lady in the OKC hotel, she said to her husband, "Look! They look like a bunch of penguins!" as we were getting ready to board the buses to the airport.]
Monday, 6-13-11, about Sunday, 6-12-11
Hey,
Toured Arlington Cemetery, that was really something. Didn't know what to think about the Changing of the Guard. Trent & Ryan got lost, we had to wait in the bus for half an hour[for them to find us]. So I talked to Lorene, which was cool. We went to the Smithsonian, ate at the McDonald's{in the Air & Space Museum] then toured the Natural & American History museums w/Will, Claire, Taylor & Chrystal. We saw First Lady dresses[Claire LOVED those], Kermit the Frog, the ruby slippers, the Hope Diamond, moon rock(which I touched), meteorites(also touched), strange art(OK kids in an art museum...that is a good idea!) & a gay parade - unintentionally.
PETA Lady - "Do you guys want some stickers?"
Chrystal - "No thanks, we're from Oklahoma."
Lady - "Oh. Well, there's nothing wrong with being from Oklahoma..."
Chrystal - "And besides, we're on our way to slaughter a cow." (Guffaws from us, out of earshot.)
We saw the flag of Fort McHenry, then we drove through a huge rain - which no one else seemed to care about - & saw a musical of Happy Days at a dinner theatre, which was cool. Good day, mostly. [I would love to go back. Also, we merrily jaywalked like crazy all day long.]
Monday, 6-13-11
Hey,
We went to the big hotel - the Hyatt - for Youth Day, we traded pins, rocked out to Alabama & Rodney Atkins, cheered for Lorene at the YLC presentation & fell asleep during the speeches. Last year's YLC National winner was horrible. The second guy was an ex-Senator impersonating at guy key to the founding of co-ops, he was good, and then there was this guy who was a 4-time Olympic medalist in wheelchair basketball. He was okay. We then traversed the Hard Rock Cafe, which was pretty cool, I got some guitar picks :-) Then we went to Madame Toussad's, which was all right. After that came the National Cathedral, which while impressive, radiated phoniness. We then took pictures of the White House, went to Union Station for dinner & Taco Bell(we like familiar things), had to race back to the bus after getting turned around[Tauri, Alicia and I were literally sprinting], then it was off to the Potomac for the boat cruise. The boat was cool, the water & sunset pretty, the Minnesotans had funny accents(Ham-MOX), the music wasn't my favorite, but it was neat. I danced some, which was fun. Then things got a little crazy, so us Oklahomans sat & watched. Very sweaty & smelly, but fun. No one knew why we went to the Kennedy Center, but there was a great view from its terrace. Oh, yeah. We all got together(OK, most of us) in the lobby to watch the game, & to almost everyone's satisfaction, the Mavs won by ten, thus keeping LeBron from another title. Now, it's the Thunder's turn. Wisconsin people are rude, TN & MI & OH & GA are cool. The trip is already halfway done. :-( At Arlington yesterday, we saw Robert E. Lee's house, his father-in-law was George Washington's nephew.
Tuesday, 6-14-11
Hey,
We spent the am @ Mount Vernon, which was all right, didn't much like the tour guides. [None of us did. Funny quote of the day, after an argument between Michael and Amanda F. over whether a cow was a heifer or a bull, Railey pronounces it a steer, he started pestering her, she snaps back, "Do you want to become a steer?!"] We went to the Newseum next, which was amazing. So much history & newsprint to read...so many things to see and do...I would have loved to spend all afternoon in there. We stopped by the Jefferson Memorial, which was my favorite mem. this trip. Joe's bus got stuck in traffic picking us up, & so Rodney's short bus took ppl to the park. Well, Joe's bus breaks down. So he calls somebody, who begins to bring another bus. It gets stuck in traffic. We start playing Ninja. [It's pouring rain, and we're on the side of the highway.] Joe begins moving our stuff into the replacement bus, which is stalled in the middle of an intersection. It starts raining, we keep playing Ninja. [Me, Maty, Agatha and Aubrey became collectively known as the Spider Monkeys after this episode.] Rodney comes back w/the short bus, half of us left(who have been waiting for an hour), Joe gets his stuff back loaded, when it cranks back up, long story short, we eventually made it to the park. First time Jennifer had ever had a bus break down on her, maybe the first time ever. Anyway, we all got to the park eventually, where we watched the Marines Sunset Parade. It was kind of boring, like somebody extended halftime to 75 minutes. And 34 planes(at least) flew overhead in an hour. Brandi lost her purse on the boat last night, & Lorene her camera, which caused great consternation & apprehension. We think they were taken to the Hyatt, so that eased things, kind of. Why are all the coolest people west of OKC? It's irritating. After the park & walking back a mile or so to the bus, we killed some time at the mall. Lorene, Danielle, Juliana, Amanda A. & Caleb all wanted to go to Bath & Body Works, so me, Tre & Charlie R. tagged along, I got Mom some cucumber-melon hand sanitizer. Then we posed for pics wearing dorky oversized sunglasses. We did a lot of picture-posing today. Charging my phone & camera battery, the latter ran out before 2:30. Drat. E.B. White was right when he said that hotel rooms are some of the world's loneliest places. Wondering how the gang back home is doing...having slight withdrawals from not having Facebook or my guitar.
12:47 am, Thursday, 6-16-11
Hey,
Today was our last full day. Bummer. :'/ We went to the capitol, where we were led(after an hour wait) on a tour conducted by a blonde Cornell student named Laurel working as an intern; she got lost every 10 min. & had to ask for directions. We saw the old(mid 1800's) Senate chamber, & stood in front of Will Rogers's and Sequoyah's statues, where John Quincy Adams's desk was, & in the space where all DC directions are reckoned from, as well as the very center of Wash., DC. David ripped his shorts, huge hole in the crotch. In the am. [That was hysterical. We still talk about it, actually...] Got suckered into buying stuff at this mall we went to, sped through the Holocaust museum, then waited for two hrs, the bus broke down again, we went to the Hyatt for the dinner dance. It was crazy, & I don't think anyone enjoyed it. I danced for 10 min, then took pix & played Ninja w/South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas & Kentucky. [Noticed at the time that it felt like Laurie Keller's Scrambled States of America. Also, a lot of us OKYTers played cards and silent football.] Very crowded & hot. We then had a wrapup party at our Embassy Suites hotel, ate pizza & talked for an hour. Kind of bittersweet. I'll miss these guys(and girls). Our toiliet clogged up, & Trent & Karis discovered they were cousins, which neither of them knew. Good conversations today. I've scratched them down elsewhere in here. By 10 pm we'll be home.... :S
Friday, 6-17-11, about Thursday, 6-16-11, 8:26 am
Hey,
Well, we're back home now. Talked to Congressmen & Senators(Uncle Tom was there) at the Congress building, then ate some food, jumped back onto the bus for Baltimore, then toured the Orioles Park at Camden Yards(gotta be the longest field name in baseball). [That was really awesome.] The airport was all right, we mostly all made it through bag weight & security easily enough. Our luggage got soaked due to a 109 min rain delay, we got to OKC about 10:30, then got home around 1:15, fell asleep near 2:00, woke up at 7:40. It was an awesome trip, but I hated to see it end. I'll miss the dorkiness of Brendan & Tosh, the duos of Kim/Taylor and Amanda F./Railey, Chrystal & Will's nuttiness, & the personalities of people like Brandi, Mikyla, Trent, Ravi, Aubrey, Lorene, Weston, Claire & Agatha. The ride home was interesting, lol. Tauri & Alicia were stupid-tired & cracking up at everything. A - "Have you ever....Have you ever...Have you ever, like, peed in a bottle?" T - "Yeah, once, when I was little." A - "Girls can do that?" Have to finish up taking pics & then check FB & work on pictures. Good times. :-D
Thursday, 3-17-11
Hey,
Happy St. Patrick's Day. Headed to Westville later today. NCAA tournament starts today, that's always exciting. [There were games in Tulsa at the BOK.] If I can be sure of gas and hotel money, I'm to Dallas for X-Factor auditions. [HAHAHAHA....] Starting guitar lessons at Southern Cross next week. Josh is learning to play, me and Samara have been giving him tips. We got Swifty a new house yesterday. And a large section of guilt disappeared this week. I felt like I should apologize to Maddie for the way I left. She FB poked me, so I typed out an email. She understood.
Saturday, 3-26-11
Hey,
Dad turned 40 today. We went to the J.M. Davis Gun Museum and the Will Rogers Museum today, they were both neat. The pistols of Bonnie Parker, Jesse James and Pretty Boy Floyd, a Stradivarius violin, Nazi machine guns and helmets, World War I propaganda posters, a cartridge from Frank James' gun when he surrendered, and Will Rogers' typewriter were some of the things I saw today. Haven't done much school this week, but I did see most folks at archery Wednesday. Had my first real guitar lesson at Southern Corss yesterday, it went well. Jed's been having some health problems lately, that isn't really cool. I guess we're headed to Columbia [Missouri] for about a week soon. Sounds kind of like a nightmare. Maybe I'll get to see some people I know, though. Should know in two weeks or so if that essay was any good or not. Trevor got a rabbit from the Jacksons, he's calling it Nibbles. Rabbits can be kinda cute. Today went better than I thought it would, being six years since MiMi died. A lot of times I wish I could talk to her again. Ever since, I've never really had anybody I could talk things over with like that. Arizona was playing again tonight, they lost to UConn. They were playing Illinois when we heard the news. I guess I'll try to get some sleep, might write more, Idk.
Saturday, 4-23-11
Hey,
UConn beat Butler in a sloppy title game. [That was one of the worst basketball games I've ever seen. With a ton of great storylines, Butler getting to the title game in Indianapolis.] Wondered if Alli was watching. [Webkinz contact, huge fan of Huskies basketball.] The trip went pretty well, I suppose, except for Dad catching a staph infection. I've had to do a lot of babysitting this week. Haven't had any basketball to write about, so I took up Talons coverage for OKBlitz. They won tonight on a last-second field goal. I don't think I like family vacations much. They're somewhat overrated. Easter is tomorrow, doesn't feel like it. Pretty good storm right outside, lots of thunder and rain. Jamey Mullin gave us tickets to a Thunder game last month, it was AN AWESOME experience. That's where I'd like to be someday. It was such an incredible atmosphere. Take the energy of a Talons game, add HS-spirited fans, increased, and there you go. I'd like to help make that happen. Guitar lessons are going well. Dale is a good guy. Kind of like Coach Truesdell, or Dean. Oh, yes. Us homeschoolers were in an archery meet against Beggs, Schulter, Morris and Wilson. We did pretty well. Brenna and Denver each got third, Kyle took second, and Quinton won. I was firmly average. Oh, yeah. I'm headed to DC as part of East Central's delegation on the Youth Tour in June. I'm getting kinda excited about that.
Tuesday, 5-3-11
Hey,
School's gone okay, not nearly enough done, but it's going all right. Caleb & Trevor played w/Jonathan today, & Mom had a good visit with Trinnica. Dad's almost over his staph infection, the graduation's Saturday. Roy, Cody, Jessica, Kyle, Billy are all graduating. And thus, leaving for college in the fall. [Except for Cody joining the Army, none of them actually left the county for a while.] Just part of getting older, but slightly sad, just the same. Osama bin Laden was killed on Monday. Caleb's birthday is soon, he'll be ten. Hard to believe it's been ten years since he was born. Dewar nearly won a state championship in [slowpitch] softball today, that makes around twelve near-misses that I could have written about state championships. Maybe someday... Feeling kind of lonely & a bit lost. The drama program is Thursday, it'll be odd being in the audience. Of course, the script was horrendous in its brevity & shallowness, but still. Idol will be over in about three weeks. XFactor is in Dallas the week before my birthday. Guitar is going okay, me & Samara might team up for a duet for talent share at camp. We're thinking Carrie Underwood's "Temporary Home" for now. [DC Talk's "Supernatural" would have been so much cooler, but neither of us could play barre chords very well, so we nixed that.] Josh in in Florida for the Homeschool World Series.
Saturday, 5-7-11
Hey,
The program went better than expected. It was below average, even for this group. However, Annette, me & Mr. Noland are possibly going to campaign to do a (serious) musical called GodSpell. It's about these hippies in the 70's who reenact the Gospel on a deserted baseball diamond. [This would have been so awesome. Alas, it never happened...] Guitar went pretty good Friday, Dale gave me a Sara Evans song to work on. [It was "Never Alone", because I needed practice with barre chords. There's a lot of Bm's in that one.] Went to the graduation of Billy, Cody, Jessica, Roy, Quinton, Kyle & Michael Vogt today. It was good, but kinda scary that we're near this point of our lives. My class next year will be Alton, Nate, Phil, Rachel, Kaitlyn & me. [And at GBC, Sam and Marie.] What's been happening w/friends? Kyle got a job offer, doing illustrations for a kid's book. Brenna's cat Twilight ran away, and Mariah & Phil are together now. That seemed like a 50-50 match to me. Either it'll go all Alton-JB, or it'll end within a month. [It was more like six weeks.] We'll see. Mr. Cox is starting a lesson group on homosexuality tomorrow, that might be good. [It was an incredibly awkward series for everyone involved; and we were all extremely grateful when it ended.] Dad still isn't completely well yet. Baseball ended(thank goodness).
Friday, 5-20-11
Hey,
Amy's birthday was Monday. Valerie put an announcement in the Free Lance, that was cool. Courtney went over to Lani's, she had a good time, I think. The Nolands had a cookout last night, that was fun. I felt kinda depressed and irritated most of today, Idk why. The trip is in three weeks, my birthday's next Sunday. Is acting a form of lying? An elaborate pretendence set up to avoid facing reality? Does that apply to fiction, too? Is that why we need it, because it's lying, and so therefore cane be sinful, and due to our sinful nature we enjoy it? Or is it a mangled attempt to duplicate God's creation? Can God use this imagining for good purposes? Well, yes. Both the stories I'm working on seem meaningless.
Harry & Louise came to visit last Friday, & we had a good time. Then as they were leaving, they gave me a box, left over from Trish's yard sale. In it I found a card signed by nearly all the Lankfords, & even Doc and Lavonna signed it. They also got together a collection for my trip, it added up to $200. That really made me feel loved, like I felt right after the fire. Overwhelmed with the sheer amount of kindness & love poured out. I also had to buy a suit on Tuesday. Dad helped a lot. The salesman was balding and had an accent, reminded me of Hercule Poirot. It was an interesting experience. I've wanted to fire my guitar into the wall sometimes, but I suppose that's part of becoming really good at it. OKBlitz took a Talons story I sent them last week. I don't feel ready to be 18. Or a senior. I want to go live life, but I'm scared. And when you can't pick them up, that doesn't exactly inspire courage to ask girls out. What have I changed into? I have some idea of who I changed from - a shy, obnoxious kid with plans much bigger than his abilities - but who, what, am I now?
Friday, 6-10-11
Hey,
We started the trip today! Left the house around 10 am, got to OKC about 12. The banquet went well, the YLC interview wasn't so bad, Lorene McGhee won. We'll leave for Baltimore tomorrow, hung out after dinner with a bunch of cool people, lost ping-pong (twice) to a guy named Ashton Davis. [We kept accidentally hitting a bald guy in the head. He thought it was hilarious.] My roommate is Trent Swann, we're boys group J. The East Central ppl seem cool, haven't seen much of Tre McPherson, but Christian Pak, David Crosslin, Bailey Golihare and Bailey Ross seem cool. Can't wait! Jennifer seems like Mrs. Boyer.
Saturday, 6-11-11
Hey,
In DC now, we had about an hour & a half wait, the trip was just under 3 hrs, pretty smooth. Saw the Lincoln Mem., that was really something. Met a lot of different ppl, among them Chrystal, Will, Brandi, Joseph, Tosh, Trent, Daniel, Ryan, Kim, Taylor & Tauri. We walked along the Baltimore Harbor, taken lots of pictures, this has been good for people-watching. Two old guys in the airport were talking about the weather[in North Carolina]. We went to the mall, the day wasn't so bad, but everyone was incredibly thirsty. Arlington & Smithsonian tomorrow, & dinner theater, there's be a Gay Pride parade...hopefully we can stay out of the way... :P MD has a TON of trees. We're supposed to cover 40 miles on foot this week. We're unofficially the Penguins(or Zebras). [Based on a comment by a lady in the OKC hotel, she said to her husband, "Look! They look like a bunch of penguins!" as we were getting ready to board the buses to the airport.]
Monday, 6-13-11, about Sunday, 6-12-11
Hey,
Toured Arlington Cemetery, that was really something. Didn't know what to think about the Changing of the Guard. Trent & Ryan got lost, we had to wait in the bus for half an hour[for them to find us]. So I talked to Lorene, which was cool. We went to the Smithsonian, ate at the McDonald's{in the Air & Space Museum] then toured the Natural & American History museums w/Will, Claire, Taylor & Chrystal. We saw First Lady dresses[Claire LOVED those], Kermit the Frog, the ruby slippers, the Hope Diamond, moon rock(which I touched), meteorites(also touched), strange art(OK kids in an art museum...that is a good idea!) & a gay parade - unintentionally.
PETA Lady - "Do you guys want some stickers?"
Chrystal - "No thanks, we're from Oklahoma."
Lady - "Oh. Well, there's nothing wrong with being from Oklahoma..."
Chrystal - "And besides, we're on our way to slaughter a cow." (Guffaws from us, out of earshot.)
We saw the flag of Fort McHenry, then we drove through a huge rain - which no one else seemed to care about - & saw a musical of Happy Days at a dinner theatre, which was cool. Good day, mostly. [I would love to go back. Also, we merrily jaywalked like crazy all day long.]
Monday, 6-13-11
Hey,
We went to the big hotel - the Hyatt - for Youth Day, we traded pins, rocked out to Alabama & Rodney Atkins, cheered for Lorene at the YLC presentation & fell asleep during the speeches. Last year's YLC National winner was horrible. The second guy was an ex-Senator impersonating at guy key to the founding of co-ops, he was good, and then there was this guy who was a 4-time Olympic medalist in wheelchair basketball. He was okay. We then traversed the Hard Rock Cafe, which was pretty cool, I got some guitar picks :-) Then we went to Madame Toussad's, which was all right. After that came the National Cathedral, which while impressive, radiated phoniness. We then took pictures of the White House, went to Union Station for dinner & Taco Bell(we like familiar things), had to race back to the bus after getting turned around[Tauri, Alicia and I were literally sprinting], then it was off to the Potomac for the boat cruise. The boat was cool, the water & sunset pretty, the Minnesotans had funny accents(Ham-MOX), the music wasn't my favorite, but it was neat. I danced some, which was fun. Then things got a little crazy, so us Oklahomans sat & watched. Very sweaty & smelly, but fun. No one knew why we went to the Kennedy Center, but there was a great view from its terrace. Oh, yeah. We all got together(OK, most of us) in the lobby to watch the game, & to almost everyone's satisfaction, the Mavs won by ten, thus keeping LeBron from another title. Now, it's the Thunder's turn. Wisconsin people are rude, TN & MI & OH & GA are cool. The trip is already halfway done. :-( At Arlington yesterday, we saw Robert E. Lee's house, his father-in-law was George Washington's nephew.
Tuesday, 6-14-11
Hey,
We spent the am @ Mount Vernon, which was all right, didn't much like the tour guides. [None of us did. Funny quote of the day, after an argument between Michael and Amanda F. over whether a cow was a heifer or a bull, Railey pronounces it a steer, he started pestering her, she snaps back, "Do you want to become a steer?!"] We went to the Newseum next, which was amazing. So much history & newsprint to read...so many things to see and do...I would have loved to spend all afternoon in there. We stopped by the Jefferson Memorial, which was my favorite mem. this trip. Joe's bus got stuck in traffic picking us up, & so Rodney's short bus took ppl to the park. Well, Joe's bus breaks down. So he calls somebody, who begins to bring another bus. It gets stuck in traffic. We start playing Ninja. [It's pouring rain, and we're on the side of the highway.] Joe begins moving our stuff into the replacement bus, which is stalled in the middle of an intersection. It starts raining, we keep playing Ninja. [Me, Maty, Agatha and Aubrey became collectively known as the Spider Monkeys after this episode.] Rodney comes back w/the short bus, half of us left(who have been waiting for an hour), Joe gets his stuff back loaded, when it cranks back up, long story short, we eventually made it to the park. First time Jennifer had ever had a bus break down on her, maybe the first time ever. Anyway, we all got to the park eventually, where we watched the Marines Sunset Parade. It was kind of boring, like somebody extended halftime to 75 minutes. And 34 planes(at least) flew overhead in an hour. Brandi lost her purse on the boat last night, & Lorene her camera, which caused great consternation & apprehension. We think they were taken to the Hyatt, so that eased things, kind of. Why are all the coolest people west of OKC? It's irritating. After the park & walking back a mile or so to the bus, we killed some time at the mall. Lorene, Danielle, Juliana, Amanda A. & Caleb all wanted to go to Bath & Body Works, so me, Tre & Charlie R. tagged along, I got Mom some cucumber-melon hand sanitizer. Then we posed for pics wearing dorky oversized sunglasses. We did a lot of picture-posing today. Charging my phone & camera battery, the latter ran out before 2:30. Drat. E.B. White was right when he said that hotel rooms are some of the world's loneliest places. Wondering how the gang back home is doing...having slight withdrawals from not having Facebook or my guitar.
12:47 am, Thursday, 6-16-11
Hey,
Today was our last full day. Bummer. :'/ We went to the capitol, where we were led(after an hour wait) on a tour conducted by a blonde Cornell student named Laurel working as an intern; she got lost every 10 min. & had to ask for directions. We saw the old(mid 1800's) Senate chamber, & stood in front of Will Rogers's and Sequoyah's statues, where John Quincy Adams's desk was, & in the space where all DC directions are reckoned from, as well as the very center of Wash., DC. David ripped his shorts, huge hole in the crotch. In the am. [That was hysterical. We still talk about it, actually...] Got suckered into buying stuff at this mall we went to, sped through the Holocaust museum, then waited for two hrs, the bus broke down again, we went to the Hyatt for the dinner dance. It was crazy, & I don't think anyone enjoyed it. I danced for 10 min, then took pix & played Ninja w/South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas & Kentucky. [Noticed at the time that it felt like Laurie Keller's Scrambled States of America. Also, a lot of us OKYTers played cards and silent football.] Very crowded & hot. We then had a wrapup party at our Embassy Suites hotel, ate pizza & talked for an hour. Kind of bittersweet. I'll miss these guys(and girls). Our toiliet clogged up, & Trent & Karis discovered they were cousins, which neither of them knew. Good conversations today. I've scratched them down elsewhere in here. By 10 pm we'll be home.... :S
Friday, 6-17-11, about Thursday, 6-16-11, 8:26 am
Hey,
Well, we're back home now. Talked to Congressmen & Senators(Uncle Tom was there) at the Congress building, then ate some food, jumped back onto the bus for Baltimore, then toured the Orioles Park at Camden Yards(gotta be the longest field name in baseball). [That was really awesome.] The airport was all right, we mostly all made it through bag weight & security easily enough. Our luggage got soaked due to a 109 min rain delay, we got to OKC about 10:30, then got home around 1:15, fell asleep near 2:00, woke up at 7:40. It was an awesome trip, but I hated to see it end. I'll miss the dorkiness of Brendan & Tosh, the duos of Kim/Taylor and Amanda F./Railey, Chrystal & Will's nuttiness, & the personalities of people like Brandi, Mikyla, Trent, Ravi, Aubrey, Lorene, Weston, Claire & Agatha. The ride home was interesting, lol. Tauri & Alicia were stupid-tired & cracking up at everything. A - "Have you ever....Have you ever...Have you ever, like, peed in a bottle?" T - "Yeah, once, when I was little." A - "Girls can do that?" Have to finish up taking pics & then check FB & work on pictures. Good times. :-D
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Quotes - Season Two, Part III
Recapping the best quips, quotes, one-liners, and other well-written (or humorous) dialogue from the final third of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season two. Parts one and two of season two are there, and season one quotes can be found here, here and here.
Episode Fifteen, "One Door Closes".
" I work for S.H.I.E.L.D., I swear. You don't." - Bobbi. "Try again." - May.
"Fitz, why did you make me watch Paranormal Activity...?" - Skye to herself.
(Not dialogue, but Simmons knocks Bobbi out in an awesome way.)
"Agent Weaver." - Fitz. "It's been a while." "Are you working with them?" Simmons demands. "I could say the same about you." "We went to the Academy to look for you, but you weren't there. We didn't even know if you were alive." - Simmons. "If it weren't for Agent Calderone I wouldn't be. He co-opted a squadron of Quinjets to come to the Academy. He saved us. If it weren't for him, we would have lost...even more young talented minds that day." "Then why are you-" "-why are you betraying S.H.I.E.L.D.?" FitzSimmons demands. "Phil Coulson has no right to call this S.H.I.E.L.D. We obviously have a lot to discuss. But right now, I need your help, Jemma. Agent Mackenzie's injuries have stabilized, but I need you to take a look, see if we've missed anything." (They look at each other, then at Mack.) "There are few whose opinion I value more. And we could use your expertise." (Fitz barely nods; she gets up reluctantly and goes to check on Mack.)
"You really think they'll help you?" - Coulson to Gonzales, about FitzSimmons. "They're S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. I'll let them make their own decisions." (May ices guard and Gonzales.) "I've already made mine." (She then uncuffs Coulson.) "That was a really nice entrance," he says.
Episode Sixteen, "Afterlife".
"You want me to let you in on a little secret?! I've got a gen-u-wine, Honest Abe, God-given SUPERpower. Ya wanna know what it is?" - Pushy Used Car Salesman. "I'm afraid to guess," - Coulson.
(FitzSimmons is being grilled by Gonzales and Bobbi about Fury's Toolbox; nobody can figure out what's in it or how to get inside.) "Maybe it's their favorite recipes," Fitz quips.
"You've got to admit it, they're loyal." - Bobbi to Gonzales, about FitzSimmons. "Loyal to Coulson....not to S.H.I.E.L.D. That makes him a very dangerous person..." he growls.
"Well, at least they didn't take her. That means we can find her and - Well. That's new. Did she just get abducted by aliens?" - Hunter, watching Skye's episode in the exploding forest. Coulson watches, stunned. "I lost her..."
"Where exactly are we?" Skye asks Lincoln. "No one really knows...the official name is Chinese, I think. 'Li She'? Doesn't exactly translate, so we just call it 'Afterlife'." "So, you say the name of this place is Chinese. Are we in China...?" "No idea. Gordon's the only one who knows where we are, and he's the only way in or out. He keeps us secret, and safe from the outside world." "Or it keeps us prisoners." "You're not very trusting, are you?"
"There's loyalty and there's stubbornness. Tell me, Agent May, are you loyal to Coulson, or to S.H.I.E.L.D.?" - Gonzales. "They're the same," she replies. "Coulson's powered pet tried to kill seven of our agents. Dedicated S.H.I.E.L.D. agents with families, and you're gonna say that they're the same-" May blasts into him and the "real" S.H.I.E.L.D., defending Coulson and Skye. "We were chasing HYDRA. Which is what we should all be doing right now, instead of wasting our time on some witch hunt!"
"S.H.I.E.L.D. and Skye gone in one day...how could I let that happen?" - Coulson. "There's no way you could have known. They fooled all of us." Hunter continues grouching about Bobbi and Mack ,"real" S.H.I.E.L.D. and Gonzales. "He's a brilliant tactician who's dedicated most of his life to S.H.I.E.L.D." Coulson interrupts. "I ran into him a few times at the Triskelion. He's a good guy." "Yeah, well, good guys don't usually try to stab you in the back." "Maybe he's got a point. I'm dead, after all. I shouldn't even be here.".
"What's that?!" Hunter wakes up, terrified by a loud noise. "S.H.I.E.L.D." Coulson says. "Ours, or theirs?" "Theirs." "You want to go out guns blazing like Butch and Sundance? That didn't end so well." - Hunter. (Coulson hands him an ICER.) "ICERs only." "Oh, you can't be serious!" "Those are S.H.I.E.L.D. agents out there." "I doubt they feel the same way about us." "It won't come to that."
"I saw everything, Jemma. Did you really want me to find out this way?" - Fitz, about the Toolbox. "Well, I was hoping you would, that way we can work together on this! Do you have any idea how valuable the information inside this could be? You need to help me get it out, get things back to normal." "Things will never go back to normal, can't you see that? Can't any of you see what you've done; you've destroyed a man's life. And for what?" (He picks up the Toolbox.) "Fitz. Put it down, right now." - Mack. "Cause of fear. Cause of fear of what's inside a little black box. Well, I don't believe in fear. I believe in trust, and I'm shocked that you would do this. You knew that this would drive me away, you may as well have packed my bags yourself." (She stares at him.) "You want me to leave, don't you, Jemma?" "If we work for S.H.I.E.L.D., we have a duty to carry out our responsibilities. So perhaps it's best if you do."
(Deathlok arrives on Quinjet and takes out S.H.I.E.L.D. guards.) "Backup," Coulson grins at Hunter. "Agent Hunter, meet Agent Peterson." "Call me Mike." (They shake hands.) "Ow....Quite a handshake you've got there...." Hunter mutters.
"At some point, you should have mentioned that backup was a lethal cyborg...." - Hunter to Coulson. "Truthfully, I just wanted to see the look on your face when he showed up. Priceless." "Glad I amuse you...." "You know I can hear you up here." Mike tells them.
"RAINA!" "Skye. Isn't this....interesting? I had a feeling I might see you...." "Skye..." Lincoln protests. "Please, let's just go." "Let her stay," Raina commands. "We have so much to talk about." "What happened to you?" "Destiny, apparently. I wanted to be set free, but now I can't even bear the light of day. I dread being awake, but my sleep is filled with such....horrible nightmares..." (She sighs and stands up.) "Children are so afraid of monsters. They should know it's worse to be one." "You got what you deserved." "And so did you." "I didn't deserve ANY of this. And you - YOU DID THIS TO ME!" "Skye..." Lincoln protests again. "No, YOU have brought nothing but pain into my life. My father! The Mists! My friend Trip died in there because of you!" "I didn't make you follow me into that chamber. You wanted to go. You needed to go. Because we're the same, Skye. We were the same before, and we're the same now." (Raina's been approaching closer and closer during this line.) "I am on the outside what you are on the inside." Raina reveals her hideous porcupine appearance. Skye snaps and almost force-chokes Raina to death. "ENOUGH." a voice stops them. The voice belongs to a woman named Jiaying.
"I was right, wasn't I? She's here?" Cal asks Jiaying and Gordon. She smiles. "I told you I would find her, and I did." "You were right, Cal. It's Daisy. Our daughter."
"I've tried everything in my power, but it's beyond anything I've ever seen or came across. I'm afraid it's just a worthless piece of junk..." Simmons explains to Bobbi and Mack. (Cut to Fitz escaping with the real Toolbox.) "Good work, Jemma." (He then digs deeper into his bag, finding a sandwich with a note: "PROSCIUTTO AND BUFFALO MOZZARELLA. BE SAFE! LOVE, JEMMA." He sniffs, then takes a bite.) "With a hint of pesto aioli."
Episode Seventeen, "Melinda".
"Keep her safe out there." - Andrew to Coulson, about May just before they head to Bahrain. "She's supposed to keep me safe."
"Fury's quietly started a new initiative. Instead of this catch-and-release with powered people, we form a team. Take Earth's mightiest to find out if they're heroes." - Coulson.
"You're worried that I don't understand your choice. Well, sometimes that's the price of doing the right thing. No one will understand. And it hurts like hell." - May.
(After a training exercise.) "Your gift is quite destructive. But look at the music you can make. That was amazing. So what, we'll drink from wooden cups at dinner." - Jiaying. (Skye looks shaken.) "What's wrong?" "Nothing. That's just it....everything is great here. It feels like home, which....never ends well." "Ends? We're not going anywhere." "Ya sure? Cause mistrust of home is my other superpower." "Where is this coming from?" (Skye bites her lip.) "Nothing. It's stupid. I broke a crystal decanter once at a foster family's house, and they...now, the glass, and...." "They sent you back for that?" "Well, I tried some of the Scotch, too. But, yes. Something....bad happens every time I feel settled somewhere. I'm 25 and I have never spent more than two years anywhere. The second I made friends at the orphanage....gone. I call a foster family 'home', it's 'pack your bags'...I got the news on my birthday once, which is a complete farce cause I don't even know when I was born." "I'm so sorry." "S.H.I.E.L.D. was the closest I ever came to having a family. I belonged there. Saw what I could be. Even that ended with....agents hunting me through the woods." "We're not gonna turn on you, or abandon you. This is a safe place." "See? You say that, but I know you're not being straight with me. Why do you care if I stay or go, and why do-" "July 2nd." (Skye stares at her blankly.) "You were born on July 2nd. It was, um, a hot night, and for some reason I decided to clean the house before I woke your father."
"People have died when the process for selection and training has been ignored." - Jiaying. "But I already skipped that process." - Skye. "And I protected you from the swift response that usually brings." (Skye nods.) "It's happened before. There was a woman once. She didn't trust my judgement, so she stole a batch of Terrigen Crystals and fled. Got caught up with some criminals in Bahrain. Her name was Eva. Russian. Strong-willed, like you." "May....the Cavalry....I know this story. An agent went in and....killed her?" "I wish it had been that simple. She didn't steal the crystals for herself. She stole them for her daughter, Katya. I saw a darkness in the girl, I didn't think she should go through the Mist. But...Eva wanted Katya to receive her birthright, she trusted her judgement over mine. Katya was too young. She went insane. With one touch, she leeched off emotions like a parasite." (With Jiaying's narration, we watch the events in Bahrain.)
"You have to let the girl go, Melinda. You did good. Now let the girl go." - Coulson.
"Hunter!" Fitz shouts. "How did you ring Coulson's tablet?" Hunter asks, mystified. "Are you watching Mexican football? Where are you?" "An....undisclosed secure location?" "Fitz? How did you open Fury's Toolbox?" Coulson asks. "Don't worry, it's safe. I stole it first." "You stole it?" "Yeah." "Fitz, you're amazing. Can we meet up?" "Uh....I'm being followed. They're hopin' to grab me. I think they're hoping I'll lead them to you first. Thing is, would it still be okay if I came and hung out with you? Maybe you could show me how to shake a tail? Maybe you could start....like....now?" "You're in a bathroom, with one of those electric hand dryers?" Hunter asks, after getting Coulson's approving nod. Fitz looks around. "Uh....Oh! Yes!" Hunter grins. "You're gonna be okay, mate."
Episode Eighteen, "The Frenemy of My Enemy".
"Little tip: You wouldn't have lost your footing if you woulda flipped into it." - Bobbi tells Mack during a sparring match. "A flip? Now you're just making fun of me." "Maybe a little bit. But it's not like I can bench-press a small hatchback..."
"Good. It's time we have it all out in the open." - May. "...It's not exactly quite so simple...." "Simmons. What did you do?" "I duplicated the box. Switched out Fury's for a fake and all this time I've been pretending to be working on it when-" "Where is the real box now?" "....Fitz has it. I didn't know who else to turn to."
"That mask on your face. Got any more of those lying around?" Mike asks Kara. "'Fraid not." "At least I have my winning personality."
"You could have run. But you didn't. You risked your freedom for her. That says something about you, maybe there's some good left in you. Maybe your family, Garrett, didn't destroy all that. T.A.H.I.T.I. will erase all the bad, and let you be the man you want to be. Start over." - Coulson to Ward. "Free and clear?" "I give you my word as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D."
"We want to find Skye, yes. But we are making a deal with...." - Fitz. "The devil." - Hunter. (Fitz sighs.) "I'm afraid it's in the job description, mate. Expedient alliances with despicable characters."
"But the point is, he'll feel abandoned, and then people will get hurt." - Skye, about Cal. "Those people are not my concern." - Jiaying. "Well, they are mine. I'm a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent."
(Ward and Kara kiss, Mike hammers on car window.) "Break it up! Let's go." (They open trunk to find Bakshi.) "This just gets better and better." - Coulson. "Not to worry...we're working with Director Coulson. And you're going to do whatever he says. Understand?" - Ward. "Of course. I'm more than happy to comply." - Bakshi.
"So....I was going to find you, but after last night, I didn't want to overdo it. I tend to overdo...BIG overdo-er." - Cal. "Yeah, I noticed." - Skye. (They then have an awkward, but real, conversation about "home". Which in this case is Milwaukee.) "Can I come with you?" "Sure....I can show you around some of the old haunts...it'd be fun, why not?" "Okay, then. How about tomorrow?." "BEST. DAY. EVER!" .
"You can't just leave him on the side of the road like an unwanted puppy. It's irresponsible. And cruel! For both the puppy and Cal! Cal's not a puppy, he's a pit bull. A raging pit bull who will attack if-" - Skye. "This isn't about the people you think you're responsible for." - Jiaying. "This isn't about them. It's about me. You asked me to be decent, give him one dinner. And I...empathize." "After one night, you understand him." "Yes. Because I spent my entire life searching for you. I lied and I broke laws just to get the tiniest sliver of information, and I had no memories of my family. Cal had memories! He knows what he lost!"
"So, Fitz. How ya been?" - Ward. (Hunter and Coulson have to restrain Fitz from attacking Ward.) "Bakshi. He's just like Ward. He'll double-cross us the first chance he gets." "Yes, he would. If he were going it alone." - Coulson. "He's not?" - Ward. "He'll have a bodyguard. That'd be me." - Mike.
"Our first father-daughter date. Well, 'date' might be the wrong word...Is that weird? Is this weird?" - Cal. "Yeah, it's weird. It's a little weird. This is weird." - Skye. (After a long rambling "what might have been" speech, he pulls himself up short.) "I'm sorry. Memory Lane isn't always all that fun to visit."
"Does it matter[that HYDRA agents are everywhere]? He's got a cyborg with rockets in his arm." - Ward. "He's not a cyborg. He's a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. ...With rockets in his arm." - Coulson.
"Bookstores: Dead. Video stores: Dead. Old-fashioned ice cream shops: Dead! The Internet killed everything." - Cal. "I'm not sure the Internet killed ice cream..." - Skye. (Later, after getting some ice-cream sandwiches.) "You're bored. Am I boring you?" - Cal. "No. You are a lot of things, but boring is not one of them."
"Johnson. Is that your last name?" "Was. Pretty ordinary, huh? I changed it to something more sinister when I went on the run." "...Daisy Johnson," Skye whispers to herself. "Huh."
"As much as you wish you could turn back the clock...you can't. You've got to move on now. We all do. Jiaying, she's responsible for all those people, and I - I'm an adult now." - Skye.
"Whoever you are...you don't wanna do this. I'm a friend of Skye's." - Mike. "Sure. And I'm the Hulk!" - Lincoln.
"We're outmanned, outgunned, and our only backup is Fitz. Your call, boss." - Ward.
Episode Nineteen, "The Dirty Half-Dozen".
"Robert. It's good to see you." - Coulson. "Is it?" - Gonzales. "Okay, it's good to see my Bus. But hey, you look well, too."
"At least your sarcasm still works..." - Lincoln, while trapped in a HYDRA prison. "What about that teleporting guy? He coming to help us out?" - Mike. "Hope not...think they're tracking him. It'd put all my people at risk." "Yeah. My people are just as outmatched. Only they're stupid enough to try it."
"That's your plan?" - Gonzales. "I take it from your expression that you're not dazzled." - Coulson.
"We got this video feed about an hour ago. It appears they took out Mike's eye." - Couslon. "Great....now we don't have eyes on the ground." - Bobbi. "Yeah we do. I'm got a man in there. Sunil Bakshi." - Ward. "I thought Bakshi was a HYDRA agent?" - Bobbi. "Not anymore. Now he works for me." "Says the HYDRA agent..." - May. "I'm not HYDRA anymore. Just an independent contractor trying to make amends." "We remain skeptical." - Gonzales. "With good cause." - Coulson.
"You look upset. What's the matter?" - Firz. "I feel sorry for her." - Simmons, about Kara. "Well, you should've seen them back on the plane. It seems the two of them are in love with each other," - Fitz says, disgusted. "Whatever that is, it's not love." "No. Course not." (He snorts.) "Hey, thank you for packing that sandwich before I left. It was really delicious." She smiles. "You're quite welcome. But I simply don't understand why Coulson would take Ward on a mission!"
"You should've told me." - May. "You're right. I should have. And I will apologize to you later, at length. But right now List has Mike Peterson and who knows how many enhanced people, and we need to go rescue them. Please?" - Coulson.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. may be wrong about...a lot of things, but they never leave a man behind." - Skye to Gordon. "Skye's right....she can save Lincoln. I saw it." - Raina. "...You've seen it?" "We think....Raina's gift may allow her to see things before they happen." - Gordon. "I thought her gift was spinning really fast to collect gold rings?" "Be quiet. What did you see?" - Gordon. "What I saw didn't make much sense. Why would Coulson be working with Ward?"
(Coulson, May, Fitz, Simmons and Ward are on a rescue mission. The Bus is pulled up just before takeoff, by...) "Skye." - Coulson. "Hey, guys." "Well. This is great! We finally got the team back together!" - Ward.
(Stony silence is deafening during Ward's mission-prep briefing.) "Okay, uh....Can we just address the elephant on the plane? I know, this is weird. Mistakes were made." - Ward. "By you." - Fitz. "And...people got hurt." "By you." - Fitz again. "And I could stand up here and explain again how my parents...and brother, left me vulnerable-" "We've all had our traumas, Ward. Didn't turn any of us into psychopaths." - May. (They bicker over past injuries.) "No! We were a family, and you betrayed us." Fitz is near tears. "I know. And it's what I regret the most. Not the lying, not the killing of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents....I'm sorry, not even dropping you two into the ocean. It's this. My actions destroyed this I'll regret that forever. Cause there were good times, right? Before? I mean, for a while there, we were a good team, were't we?" "...I'm still happy I shot you." - Skye. "Yeah, me too." - Fitz. "Shouldn't aimed for the face." - Simmons. "Yeah." - May. "Guys. I know this is...so weird. But we have to come back to the mission." - Coulson. (He then gives out assignments.) "And Ward? Just....no more talking. To people."
"What can you tell me about her?" - Jiaying. "Raina? She's...manipulative. Dangerous. Deceitful. We had good times. You need to watch her."
(After the Bus gets blown up; and team is escaping via Quinjet.) "I'm starting to think this wasn't a very good plan!" - Coulson.
(Once inside base, with soldiers shooting at them.) "Just like old times, huh?" - Ward. "Not exactly." (Skye then earthquake-powers the soldiers away. Ward is shocked.) "...So that's what happened in Puerto Rico."
"I always knew the team wasn't going to forgive me. Some people just....don't deserve forgiveness. But Kara? She does." - Ward.
"Theta Protocol. Is it ready?" - Hill. "Yes, it is. Time to bring in the Avengers." - Coulson. (Meanwhile in Afterlife) "It was terrible. Consequences....men made of metal will tear our cities apart....and the world will be changed forever." - Raina to Jiaying.
Episode Twenty, "Scars".
"You said Raina is manipulative. But is she dangerous?" - Jiaying. "That depends on how you define dangerous." - Cal.
"What do you think I'm trying to do?" - Raina. "Oh, I don't know, CREATE CHAOS?!" - Cal. "Why would I do that?" "Because you THRIVE ON IT!!!"
"I miss my plane." - May. "...Me too. Although, if you think about it, mostly terrible stuff happened on that thing." - Coulson.
"You've proven time and again that you're not objective when it comes to Skye." - Gonzales to Coulson. "That's your opinion, not fact." - Bobbi. "You want facts? Ultron was created because people were too close to Tony Stark. They were blinded by his charm; they trusted him, never even thought to look at what he was working on. The Avengers, they let one man do whatever he wanted, and the world was almost destroyed for it. We're S.H.I.E.L.D. We're better than that. Or at least we should be."
(Cal smashes a table in anger at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s coming to Afterlife.) "I'm sorry. That looked very old. Was it old?" (Jiaying sighs.) "Cal. You've met these people. Tell me honestly. Can we trust them?" "I only know a few of them, and none that I've enjoyed. Phil Coulson is my least favorite, but - He does care about our Daisy."
"So, you're just going to let Gonzales waltz in there and have a Fireside Chat with Skye's mum?" - Hunter. "I am. Although that's a really strange way of putting it...." - Coulson.
"I always knew that my life was building up to something, that I had a purpose. It's nice to finally see what it is." - Raina.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. has a very long, and sometimes violent, history with enhanced people. But the truth is, sometimes good people get powers, and sometimes bad. We're there to protect the public when it's the latter." - Gonzales. "And how would you like me to help you do that?" - Jiaying. "I would like to meet your people. Learn about them. We'll keep a record of their powers, and if any try to do someone harm, we'll be there to stop them. That's why S.H.I.E.L.D. exists."
Episode Twenty-One, "S.O.S., Part I".
"I don't believe Skye would turn against us." - Coulson. "You didn't see her fight me." - May. "Her mother had just been shot. I can believe she's confused."
"Forget about the plane. Can you pull up the-" Hunter. "-footage of Bobbi from the base before she left. Good idea." - Fitz. "You know I am capable of finishing my own-" "-sentences, yes, you are. Sorry."
"You knew. You knew it would all fall apart." - Skye. "I'm afraid so. Everyone says flowers are so delicate...they really are quite resilient." - Raina. "I'm not here to talk about botany." "No; you're here to ask questions about what's gonna happen next." "Yes." "Well, that's the tragedy, because even if I were inclined to tell you, you wouldn't believe me. Not with our history." "I don't care about the past-" "Well, you should. Because the past and the future are intertwined. Just like us. Our paths have been intertwined since before we even met. And I'm not talking about our DNA. You and I have spent our entire lives searching for our destiny....It is the thorn that protects the rose. Or in this case, the daisy." "Stop with the metaphors!" "It's not a metaphor. That's the irony. My true purpose, my destiny, is to help you become who you're supposed to be."
"Ward's logic is rarely logical." - Coulson.
"Tell me what drugs Cal took, because my gut's telling me everything ever made." - Coulson. "I haven't been able to fully sequence it yet, because of the multitude of trace drugs found, but an initial analysis reveals androgenic anabolic steroids, liver enzyme blocker, various metabolic enhancers, metanphetamines, what appears to be gorilla testosterone and, no lie, a drop of peppermint. I think it's an ill-conceived attempt at super strength." - Simmons. "Other than Cap, every attempt has been ill-conceived."
"He remade himself. That's why I love him. And no matter what he does, I will always stand with Ward." - Kara. (That was a Twitter hashtag that went viral over the summer break between seasons one and two.)
(Encountering another Inhuman ready for a duel.) "I can't wait to get off this boat..." - Mack.
Episode Twenty-Two, "S.O.S., Part II".
"We both want the same thing." - Coulson. "What I want is to snap your spine like splinters." - Cal. "Except I don't think you really do." "Let's test your hypothesis." "Oh, I think you're willing to. But wanting to's a different thing. What we both want is to protect your daughter. You're a family man." "Who is sick of you sticking your nose in our business." "It was your devotion to them that made you willing to do those terrible things all those years ago, wasn't it?" "Shut up." "Nightmarish acts of violence that you didn't want to commit, did you? Your wife made you do it." "You don't know anything! Say one more word and I'll-" "I'm not saying anything. Your wife is a monster, Cal. I think you already know she's a monster. What I'm saying is, You're not." (Later, after much exposition, Coulson continues.) "She's not my daughter, but she's as close to family as I got. And I will save her, no matter what the cost."
(Mack busts Skye out of a holding cell, much to her astonishment.) "Mack? Who's with you?" "Just you and me, Tremors. Your people just took over this ship. About a hundred or so prisoners. The rest are dead....I came here because I need your skills." "I can't use my powers. They locked these inhibitors on me." (She displays Simmons' gloves locked on.) "Not the skills I'm looking for." (He hands her a laptop.) "You have a history of hacking into S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Agent May?" - S.H.I.E.L.D. soldier. "Not really." - Kara pummels him.
"Melinda?" - Andrew answers his phone. "I just wanted to hear your voice." - May. "You haven't made a call like this since Bahrain." "...Yeah." "Well, then I know it's not good. You wanna tell me what's going on? How bad are we talkin'?" "There's no way it will end well. Andrew....there's a lot I didn't tell you, and I should have." "Me too. Do good, Melinda. And be safe." (She hangs up.)
"You'll be careful." - Simmons. "I won't be careful. I'll get the job done." - Fitz. (He's prepping to go rescue the aircraft carrier held by the Inhumans.) "W-Well, watch your back; because I just saw Hunter with Bobbi, and it made me realize that -" (Talking really fast here) " I - Well - It's just that...we never really spoke about...what you said to me at the bottom of the ocean." "...This? ....Now? You want to talk about this now?" (She's nervous again.) "No! I mean....we - we don't....It means a lot to me that we're friends again, and I - I, um....maybe when you get back we could finally just...talk about it." "It's....There's nothing to discuss, Jemma." (She grabs his hand, holding him back.) "Maybe there is." (He stares, trying to comprehend this.) "Agent Fitz," Coulson pops his head in the room. "We're on the move." (He follows reluctantly, and she immediately starts bawling.)
"It's Gordon, right?" - Mack asks casually. "And you are....?" (Mack's serious now.) "I'm the guy who kills Gordon."
"What took you so long?!" - Mack asks Coulson and Fitz. "It's a big boat with poor signage." - Coulson. "What are those things?" - Mack to Fitz. "It's a quantum field disruptor. Should contain him here if he comes back." "Yeah, of course, why didn't I think of that..." "It's okay. You've been busy. And you're not a quantum physicist, so it's completely understandable."
"...This is so long. For now. After all I've done, I'd be a fool to think I'd get a Hollywood ending. Came close! Found you; got to- You know, you're better than I imagined. I imagined you perfect, so...You're way more interesting than that." - Cal. "I wonder where I get that from..." Skye smiles, teary-eyed. "It's paradoxical, isn't it? My love for my family drove me mad. ...I know I'm going away for good, but I was hoping....you might come visit? Once in a while?" "I will. I promise." "That would be-" "Let me guess. The Best Day Ever." (They chuckle.) "You have a lot of those." Skye teases. "No. Just one. July 2, 1988." Cal says solemnly. (They hug, both crying.)
"I'm done flying solo. I miss having a team around me." - Ward.
"Can I help you?" a veterinarian asks a young woman on the sidewalk. "Just...passing by. Nice place." "Well, thanks. We're just getting up and running. It's gonna be a magical place once we get totally moved in. We already have adoption days every Saturday; tell your friends! Free spaying and neutering, too. Just ask for Dr. Winslow." (About to leave, he remembers his manners.) "I'm sorry. You are...?" "Daisy," the young woman answers. "That's a lovely name." He goes inside, calling, "Remember, a house is not a home without a pet!" The young woman walks up to a red '62 Corvette convertible and slides behind the wheel.
Episode Fifteen, "One Door Closes".
" I work for S.H.I.E.L.D., I swear. You don't." - Bobbi. "Try again." - May.
"Fitz, why did you make me watch Paranormal Activity...?" - Skye to herself.
(Not dialogue, but Simmons knocks Bobbi out in an awesome way.)
"Agent Weaver." - Fitz. "It's been a while." "Are you working with them?" Simmons demands. "I could say the same about you." "We went to the Academy to look for you, but you weren't there. We didn't even know if you were alive." - Simmons. "If it weren't for Agent Calderone I wouldn't be. He co-opted a squadron of Quinjets to come to the Academy. He saved us. If it weren't for him, we would have lost...even more young talented minds that day." "Then why are you-" "-why are you betraying S.H.I.E.L.D.?" FitzSimmons demands. "Phil Coulson has no right to call this S.H.I.E.L.D. We obviously have a lot to discuss. But right now, I need your help, Jemma. Agent Mackenzie's injuries have stabilized, but I need you to take a look, see if we've missed anything." (They look at each other, then at Mack.) "There are few whose opinion I value more. And we could use your expertise." (Fitz barely nods; she gets up reluctantly and goes to check on Mack.)
"You really think they'll help you?" - Coulson to Gonzales, about FitzSimmons. "They're S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. I'll let them make their own decisions." (May ices guard and Gonzales.) "I've already made mine." (She then uncuffs Coulson.) "That was a really nice entrance," he says.
Episode Sixteen, "Afterlife".
"You want me to let you in on a little secret?! I've got a gen-u-wine, Honest Abe, God-given SUPERpower. Ya wanna know what it is?" - Pushy Used Car Salesman. "I'm afraid to guess," - Coulson.
(FitzSimmons is being grilled by Gonzales and Bobbi about Fury's Toolbox; nobody can figure out what's in it or how to get inside.) "Maybe it's their favorite recipes," Fitz quips.
"You've got to admit it, they're loyal." - Bobbi to Gonzales, about FitzSimmons. "Loyal to Coulson....not to S.H.I.E.L.D. That makes him a very dangerous person..." he growls.
"Well, at least they didn't take her. That means we can find her and - Well. That's new. Did she just get abducted by aliens?" - Hunter, watching Skye's episode in the exploding forest. Coulson watches, stunned. "I lost her..."
"Where exactly are we?" Skye asks Lincoln. "No one really knows...the official name is Chinese, I think. 'Li She'? Doesn't exactly translate, so we just call it 'Afterlife'." "So, you say the name of this place is Chinese. Are we in China...?" "No idea. Gordon's the only one who knows where we are, and he's the only way in or out. He keeps us secret, and safe from the outside world." "Or it keeps us prisoners." "You're not very trusting, are you?"
"There's loyalty and there's stubbornness. Tell me, Agent May, are you loyal to Coulson, or to S.H.I.E.L.D.?" - Gonzales. "They're the same," she replies. "Coulson's powered pet tried to kill seven of our agents. Dedicated S.H.I.E.L.D. agents with families, and you're gonna say that they're the same-" May blasts into him and the "real" S.H.I.E.L.D., defending Coulson and Skye. "We were chasing HYDRA. Which is what we should all be doing right now, instead of wasting our time on some witch hunt!"
"S.H.I.E.L.D. and Skye gone in one day...how could I let that happen?" - Coulson. "There's no way you could have known. They fooled all of us." Hunter continues grouching about Bobbi and Mack ,"real" S.H.I.E.L.D. and Gonzales. "He's a brilliant tactician who's dedicated most of his life to S.H.I.E.L.D." Coulson interrupts. "I ran into him a few times at the Triskelion. He's a good guy." "Yeah, well, good guys don't usually try to stab you in the back." "Maybe he's got a point. I'm dead, after all. I shouldn't even be here.".
"What's that?!" Hunter wakes up, terrified by a loud noise. "S.H.I.E.L.D." Coulson says. "Ours, or theirs?" "Theirs." "You want to go out guns blazing like Butch and Sundance? That didn't end so well." - Hunter. (Coulson hands him an ICER.) "ICERs only." "Oh, you can't be serious!" "Those are S.H.I.E.L.D. agents out there." "I doubt they feel the same way about us." "It won't come to that."
"I saw everything, Jemma. Did you really want me to find out this way?" - Fitz, about the Toolbox. "Well, I was hoping you would, that way we can work together on this! Do you have any idea how valuable the information inside this could be? You need to help me get it out, get things back to normal." "Things will never go back to normal, can't you see that? Can't any of you see what you've done; you've destroyed a man's life. And for what?" (He picks up the Toolbox.) "Fitz. Put it down, right now." - Mack. "Cause of fear. Cause of fear of what's inside a little black box. Well, I don't believe in fear. I believe in trust, and I'm shocked that you would do this. You knew that this would drive me away, you may as well have packed my bags yourself." (She stares at him.) "You want me to leave, don't you, Jemma?" "If we work for S.H.I.E.L.D., we have a duty to carry out our responsibilities. So perhaps it's best if you do."
(Deathlok arrives on Quinjet and takes out S.H.I.E.L.D. guards.) "Backup," Coulson grins at Hunter. "Agent Hunter, meet Agent Peterson." "Call me Mike." (They shake hands.) "Ow....Quite a handshake you've got there...." Hunter mutters.
"At some point, you should have mentioned that backup was a lethal cyborg...." - Hunter to Coulson. "Truthfully, I just wanted to see the look on your face when he showed up. Priceless." "Glad I amuse you...." "You know I can hear you up here." Mike tells them.
"RAINA!" "Skye. Isn't this....interesting? I had a feeling I might see you...." "Skye..." Lincoln protests. "Please, let's just go." "Let her stay," Raina commands. "We have so much to talk about." "What happened to you?" "Destiny, apparently. I wanted to be set free, but now I can't even bear the light of day. I dread being awake, but my sleep is filled with such....horrible nightmares..." (She sighs and stands up.) "Children are so afraid of monsters. They should know it's worse to be one." "You got what you deserved." "And so did you." "I didn't deserve ANY of this. And you - YOU DID THIS TO ME!" "Skye..." Lincoln protests again. "No, YOU have brought nothing but pain into my life. My father! The Mists! My friend Trip died in there because of you!" "I didn't make you follow me into that chamber. You wanted to go. You needed to go. Because we're the same, Skye. We were the same before, and we're the same now." (Raina's been approaching closer and closer during this line.) "I am on the outside what you are on the inside." Raina reveals her hideous porcupine appearance. Skye snaps and almost force-chokes Raina to death. "ENOUGH." a voice stops them. The voice belongs to a woman named Jiaying.
"I was right, wasn't I? She's here?" Cal asks Jiaying and Gordon. She smiles. "I told you I would find her, and I did." "You were right, Cal. It's Daisy. Our daughter."
"I've tried everything in my power, but it's beyond anything I've ever seen or came across. I'm afraid it's just a worthless piece of junk..." Simmons explains to Bobbi and Mack. (Cut to Fitz escaping with the real Toolbox.) "Good work, Jemma." (He then digs deeper into his bag, finding a sandwich with a note: "PROSCIUTTO AND BUFFALO MOZZARELLA. BE SAFE! LOVE, JEMMA." He sniffs, then takes a bite.) "With a hint of pesto aioli."
Episode Seventeen, "Melinda".
"Keep her safe out there." - Andrew to Coulson, about May just before they head to Bahrain. "She's supposed to keep me safe."
"Fury's quietly started a new initiative. Instead of this catch-and-release with powered people, we form a team. Take Earth's mightiest to find out if they're heroes." - Coulson.
"You're worried that I don't understand your choice. Well, sometimes that's the price of doing the right thing. No one will understand. And it hurts like hell." - May.
(After a training exercise.) "Your gift is quite destructive. But look at the music you can make. That was amazing. So what, we'll drink from wooden cups at dinner." - Jiaying. (Skye looks shaken.) "What's wrong?" "Nothing. That's just it....everything is great here. It feels like home, which....never ends well." "Ends? We're not going anywhere." "Ya sure? Cause mistrust of home is my other superpower." "Where is this coming from?" (Skye bites her lip.) "Nothing. It's stupid. I broke a crystal decanter once at a foster family's house, and they...now, the glass, and...." "They sent you back for that?" "Well, I tried some of the Scotch, too. But, yes. Something....bad happens every time I feel settled somewhere. I'm 25 and I have never spent more than two years anywhere. The second I made friends at the orphanage....gone. I call a foster family 'home', it's 'pack your bags'...I got the news on my birthday once, which is a complete farce cause I don't even know when I was born." "I'm so sorry." "S.H.I.E.L.D. was the closest I ever came to having a family. I belonged there. Saw what I could be. Even that ended with....agents hunting me through the woods." "We're not gonna turn on you, or abandon you. This is a safe place." "See? You say that, but I know you're not being straight with me. Why do you care if I stay or go, and why do-" "July 2nd." (Skye stares at her blankly.) "You were born on July 2nd. It was, um, a hot night, and for some reason I decided to clean the house before I woke your father."
"People have died when the process for selection and training has been ignored." - Jiaying. "But I already skipped that process." - Skye. "And I protected you from the swift response that usually brings." (Skye nods.) "It's happened before. There was a woman once. She didn't trust my judgement, so she stole a batch of Terrigen Crystals and fled. Got caught up with some criminals in Bahrain. Her name was Eva. Russian. Strong-willed, like you." "May....the Cavalry....I know this story. An agent went in and....killed her?" "I wish it had been that simple. She didn't steal the crystals for herself. She stole them for her daughter, Katya. I saw a darkness in the girl, I didn't think she should go through the Mist. But...Eva wanted Katya to receive her birthright, she trusted her judgement over mine. Katya was too young. She went insane. With one touch, she leeched off emotions like a parasite." (With Jiaying's narration, we watch the events in Bahrain.)
"You have to let the girl go, Melinda. You did good. Now let the girl go." - Coulson.
"Hunter!" Fitz shouts. "How did you ring Coulson's tablet?" Hunter asks, mystified. "Are you watching Mexican football? Where are you?" "An....undisclosed secure location?" "Fitz? How did you open Fury's Toolbox?" Coulson asks. "Don't worry, it's safe. I stole it first." "You stole it?" "Yeah." "Fitz, you're amazing. Can we meet up?" "Uh....I'm being followed. They're hopin' to grab me. I think they're hoping I'll lead them to you first. Thing is, would it still be okay if I came and hung out with you? Maybe you could show me how to shake a tail? Maybe you could start....like....now?" "You're in a bathroom, with one of those electric hand dryers?" Hunter asks, after getting Coulson's approving nod. Fitz looks around. "Uh....Oh! Yes!" Hunter grins. "You're gonna be okay, mate."
Episode Eighteen, "The Frenemy of My Enemy".
"Little tip: You wouldn't have lost your footing if you woulda flipped into it." - Bobbi tells Mack during a sparring match. "A flip? Now you're just making fun of me." "Maybe a little bit. But it's not like I can bench-press a small hatchback..."
"Good. It's time we have it all out in the open." - May. "...It's not exactly quite so simple...." "Simmons. What did you do?" "I duplicated the box. Switched out Fury's for a fake and all this time I've been pretending to be working on it when-" "Where is the real box now?" "....Fitz has it. I didn't know who else to turn to."
"That mask on your face. Got any more of those lying around?" Mike asks Kara. "'Fraid not." "At least I have my winning personality."
"You could have run. But you didn't. You risked your freedom for her. That says something about you, maybe there's some good left in you. Maybe your family, Garrett, didn't destroy all that. T.A.H.I.T.I. will erase all the bad, and let you be the man you want to be. Start over." - Coulson to Ward. "Free and clear?" "I give you my word as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D."
"We want to find Skye, yes. But we are making a deal with...." - Fitz. "The devil." - Hunter. (Fitz sighs.) "I'm afraid it's in the job description, mate. Expedient alliances with despicable characters."
"But the point is, he'll feel abandoned, and then people will get hurt." - Skye, about Cal. "Those people are not my concern." - Jiaying. "Well, they are mine. I'm a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent."
(Ward and Kara kiss, Mike hammers on car window.) "Break it up! Let's go." (They open trunk to find Bakshi.) "This just gets better and better." - Coulson. "Not to worry...we're working with Director Coulson. And you're going to do whatever he says. Understand?" - Ward. "Of course. I'm more than happy to comply." - Bakshi.
"So....I was going to find you, but after last night, I didn't want to overdo it. I tend to overdo...BIG overdo-er." - Cal. "Yeah, I noticed." - Skye. (They then have an awkward, but real, conversation about "home". Which in this case is Milwaukee.) "Can I come with you?" "Sure....I can show you around some of the old haunts...it'd be fun, why not?" "Okay, then. How about tomorrow?." "BEST. DAY. EVER!" .
"You can't just leave him on the side of the road like an unwanted puppy. It's irresponsible. And cruel! For both the puppy and Cal! Cal's not a puppy, he's a pit bull. A raging pit bull who will attack if-" - Skye. "This isn't about the people you think you're responsible for." - Jiaying. "This isn't about them. It's about me. You asked me to be decent, give him one dinner. And I...empathize." "After one night, you understand him." "Yes. Because I spent my entire life searching for you. I lied and I broke laws just to get the tiniest sliver of information, and I had no memories of my family. Cal had memories! He knows what he lost!"
"So, Fitz. How ya been?" - Ward. (Hunter and Coulson have to restrain Fitz from attacking Ward.) "Bakshi. He's just like Ward. He'll double-cross us the first chance he gets." "Yes, he would. If he were going it alone." - Coulson. "He's not?" - Ward. "He'll have a bodyguard. That'd be me." - Mike.
"Our first father-daughter date. Well, 'date' might be the wrong word...Is that weird? Is this weird?" - Cal. "Yeah, it's weird. It's a little weird. This is weird." - Skye. (After a long rambling "what might have been" speech, he pulls himself up short.) "I'm sorry. Memory Lane isn't always all that fun to visit."
"Does it matter[that HYDRA agents are everywhere]? He's got a cyborg with rockets in his arm." - Ward. "He's not a cyborg. He's a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. ...With rockets in his arm." - Coulson.
"Bookstores: Dead. Video stores: Dead. Old-fashioned ice cream shops: Dead! The Internet killed everything." - Cal. "I'm not sure the Internet killed ice cream..." - Skye. (Later, after getting some ice-cream sandwiches.) "You're bored. Am I boring you?" - Cal. "No. You are a lot of things, but boring is not one of them."
"Johnson. Is that your last name?" "Was. Pretty ordinary, huh? I changed it to something more sinister when I went on the run." "...Daisy Johnson," Skye whispers to herself. "Huh."
"As much as you wish you could turn back the clock...you can't. You've got to move on now. We all do. Jiaying, she's responsible for all those people, and I - I'm an adult now." - Skye.
"Whoever you are...you don't wanna do this. I'm a friend of Skye's." - Mike. "Sure. And I'm the Hulk!" - Lincoln.
"We're outmanned, outgunned, and our only backup is Fitz. Your call, boss." - Ward.
Episode Nineteen, "The Dirty Half-Dozen".
"Robert. It's good to see you." - Coulson. "Is it?" - Gonzales. "Okay, it's good to see my Bus. But hey, you look well, too."
"At least your sarcasm still works..." - Lincoln, while trapped in a HYDRA prison. "What about that teleporting guy? He coming to help us out?" - Mike. "Hope not...think they're tracking him. It'd put all my people at risk." "Yeah. My people are just as outmatched. Only they're stupid enough to try it."
"That's your plan?" - Gonzales. "I take it from your expression that you're not dazzled." - Coulson.
"We got this video feed about an hour ago. It appears they took out Mike's eye." - Couslon. "Great....now we don't have eyes on the ground." - Bobbi. "Yeah we do. I'm got a man in there. Sunil Bakshi." - Ward. "I thought Bakshi was a HYDRA agent?" - Bobbi. "Not anymore. Now he works for me." "Says the HYDRA agent..." - May. "I'm not HYDRA anymore. Just an independent contractor trying to make amends." "We remain skeptical." - Gonzales. "With good cause." - Coulson.
"You look upset. What's the matter?" - Firz. "I feel sorry for her." - Simmons, about Kara. "Well, you should've seen them back on the plane. It seems the two of them are in love with each other," - Fitz says, disgusted. "Whatever that is, it's not love." "No. Course not." (He snorts.) "Hey, thank you for packing that sandwich before I left. It was really delicious." She smiles. "You're quite welcome. But I simply don't understand why Coulson would take Ward on a mission!"
"You should've told me." - May. "You're right. I should have. And I will apologize to you later, at length. But right now List has Mike Peterson and who knows how many enhanced people, and we need to go rescue them. Please?" - Coulson.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. may be wrong about...a lot of things, but they never leave a man behind." - Skye to Gordon. "Skye's right....she can save Lincoln. I saw it." - Raina. "...You've seen it?" "We think....Raina's gift may allow her to see things before they happen." - Gordon. "I thought her gift was spinning really fast to collect gold rings?" "Be quiet. What did you see?" - Gordon. "What I saw didn't make much sense. Why would Coulson be working with Ward?"
(Coulson, May, Fitz, Simmons and Ward are on a rescue mission. The Bus is pulled up just before takeoff, by...) "Skye." - Coulson. "Hey, guys." "Well. This is great! We finally got the team back together!" - Ward.
(Stony silence is deafening during Ward's mission-prep briefing.) "Okay, uh....Can we just address the elephant on the plane? I know, this is weird. Mistakes were made." - Ward. "By you." - Fitz. "And...people got hurt." "By you." - Fitz again. "And I could stand up here and explain again how my parents...and brother, left me vulnerable-" "We've all had our traumas, Ward. Didn't turn any of us into psychopaths." - May. (They bicker over past injuries.) "No! We were a family, and you betrayed us." Fitz is near tears. "I know. And it's what I regret the most. Not the lying, not the killing of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents....I'm sorry, not even dropping you two into the ocean. It's this. My actions destroyed this I'll regret that forever. Cause there were good times, right? Before? I mean, for a while there, we were a good team, were't we?" "...I'm still happy I shot you." - Skye. "Yeah, me too." - Fitz. "Shouldn't aimed for the face." - Simmons. "Yeah." - May. "Guys. I know this is...so weird. But we have to come back to the mission." - Coulson. (He then gives out assignments.) "And Ward? Just....no more talking. To people."
"What can you tell me about her?" - Jiaying. "Raina? She's...manipulative. Dangerous. Deceitful. We had good times. You need to watch her."
(After the Bus gets blown up; and team is escaping via Quinjet.) "I'm starting to think this wasn't a very good plan!" - Coulson.
(Once inside base, with soldiers shooting at them.) "Just like old times, huh?" - Ward. "Not exactly." (Skye then earthquake-powers the soldiers away. Ward is shocked.) "...So that's what happened in Puerto Rico."
"I always knew the team wasn't going to forgive me. Some people just....don't deserve forgiveness. But Kara? She does." - Ward.
"Theta Protocol. Is it ready?" - Hill. "Yes, it is. Time to bring in the Avengers." - Coulson. (Meanwhile in Afterlife) "It was terrible. Consequences....men made of metal will tear our cities apart....and the world will be changed forever." - Raina to Jiaying.
Episode Twenty, "Scars".
"You said Raina is manipulative. But is she dangerous?" - Jiaying. "That depends on how you define dangerous." - Cal.
"What do you think I'm trying to do?" - Raina. "Oh, I don't know, CREATE CHAOS?!" - Cal. "Why would I do that?" "Because you THRIVE ON IT!!!"
"I miss my plane." - May. "...Me too. Although, if you think about it, mostly terrible stuff happened on that thing." - Coulson.
"You've proven time and again that you're not objective when it comes to Skye." - Gonzales to Coulson. "That's your opinion, not fact." - Bobbi. "You want facts? Ultron was created because people were too close to Tony Stark. They were blinded by his charm; they trusted him, never even thought to look at what he was working on. The Avengers, they let one man do whatever he wanted, and the world was almost destroyed for it. We're S.H.I.E.L.D. We're better than that. Or at least we should be."
(Cal smashes a table in anger at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s coming to Afterlife.) "I'm sorry. That looked very old. Was it old?" (Jiaying sighs.) "Cal. You've met these people. Tell me honestly. Can we trust them?" "I only know a few of them, and none that I've enjoyed. Phil Coulson is my least favorite, but - He does care about our Daisy."
"So, you're just going to let Gonzales waltz in there and have a Fireside Chat with Skye's mum?" - Hunter. "I am. Although that's a really strange way of putting it...." - Coulson.
"I always knew that my life was building up to something, that I had a purpose. It's nice to finally see what it is." - Raina.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. has a very long, and sometimes violent, history with enhanced people. But the truth is, sometimes good people get powers, and sometimes bad. We're there to protect the public when it's the latter." - Gonzales. "And how would you like me to help you do that?" - Jiaying. "I would like to meet your people. Learn about them. We'll keep a record of their powers, and if any try to do someone harm, we'll be there to stop them. That's why S.H.I.E.L.D. exists."
Episode Twenty-One, "S.O.S., Part I".
"I don't believe Skye would turn against us." - Coulson. "You didn't see her fight me." - May. "Her mother had just been shot. I can believe she's confused."
"Forget about the plane. Can you pull up the-" Hunter. "-footage of Bobbi from the base before she left. Good idea." - Fitz. "You know I am capable of finishing my own-" "-sentences, yes, you are. Sorry."
"You knew. You knew it would all fall apart." - Skye. "I'm afraid so. Everyone says flowers are so delicate...they really are quite resilient." - Raina. "I'm not here to talk about botany." "No; you're here to ask questions about what's gonna happen next." "Yes." "Well, that's the tragedy, because even if I were inclined to tell you, you wouldn't believe me. Not with our history." "I don't care about the past-" "Well, you should. Because the past and the future are intertwined. Just like us. Our paths have been intertwined since before we even met. And I'm not talking about our DNA. You and I have spent our entire lives searching for our destiny....It is the thorn that protects the rose. Or in this case, the daisy." "Stop with the metaphors!" "It's not a metaphor. That's the irony. My true purpose, my destiny, is to help you become who you're supposed to be."
"Ward's logic is rarely logical." - Coulson.
"Tell me what drugs Cal took, because my gut's telling me everything ever made." - Coulson. "I haven't been able to fully sequence it yet, because of the multitude of trace drugs found, but an initial analysis reveals androgenic anabolic steroids, liver enzyme blocker, various metabolic enhancers, metanphetamines, what appears to be gorilla testosterone and, no lie, a drop of peppermint. I think it's an ill-conceived attempt at super strength." - Simmons. "Other than Cap, every attempt has been ill-conceived."
"He remade himself. That's why I love him. And no matter what he does, I will always stand with Ward." - Kara. (That was a Twitter hashtag that went viral over the summer break between seasons one and two.)
(Encountering another Inhuman ready for a duel.) "I can't wait to get off this boat..." - Mack.
Episode Twenty-Two, "S.O.S., Part II".
"We both want the same thing." - Coulson. "What I want is to snap your spine like splinters." - Cal. "Except I don't think you really do." "Let's test your hypothesis." "Oh, I think you're willing to. But wanting to's a different thing. What we both want is to protect your daughter. You're a family man." "Who is sick of you sticking your nose in our business." "It was your devotion to them that made you willing to do those terrible things all those years ago, wasn't it?" "Shut up." "Nightmarish acts of violence that you didn't want to commit, did you? Your wife made you do it." "You don't know anything! Say one more word and I'll-" "I'm not saying anything. Your wife is a monster, Cal. I think you already know she's a monster. What I'm saying is, You're not." (Later, after much exposition, Coulson continues.) "She's not my daughter, but she's as close to family as I got. And I will save her, no matter what the cost."
(Mack busts Skye out of a holding cell, much to her astonishment.) "Mack? Who's with you?" "Just you and me, Tremors. Your people just took over this ship. About a hundred or so prisoners. The rest are dead....I came here because I need your skills." "I can't use my powers. They locked these inhibitors on me." (She displays Simmons' gloves locked on.) "Not the skills I'm looking for." (He hands her a laptop.) "You have a history of hacking into S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Agent May?" - S.H.I.E.L.D. soldier. "Not really." - Kara pummels him.
"Melinda?" - Andrew answers his phone. "I just wanted to hear your voice." - May. "You haven't made a call like this since Bahrain." "...Yeah." "Well, then I know it's not good. You wanna tell me what's going on? How bad are we talkin'?" "There's no way it will end well. Andrew....there's a lot I didn't tell you, and I should have." "Me too. Do good, Melinda. And be safe." (She hangs up.)
"You'll be careful." - Simmons. "I won't be careful. I'll get the job done." - Fitz. (He's prepping to go rescue the aircraft carrier held by the Inhumans.) "W-Well, watch your back; because I just saw Hunter with Bobbi, and it made me realize that -" (Talking really fast here) " I - Well - It's just that...we never really spoke about...what you said to me at the bottom of the ocean." "...This? ....Now? You want to talk about this now?" (She's nervous again.) "No! I mean....we - we don't....It means a lot to me that we're friends again, and I - I, um....maybe when you get back we could finally just...talk about it." "It's....There's nothing to discuss, Jemma." (She grabs his hand, holding him back.) "Maybe there is." (He stares, trying to comprehend this.) "Agent Fitz," Coulson pops his head in the room. "We're on the move." (He follows reluctantly, and she immediately starts bawling.)
"It's Gordon, right?" - Mack asks casually. "And you are....?" (Mack's serious now.) "I'm the guy who kills Gordon."
"What took you so long?!" - Mack asks Coulson and Fitz. "It's a big boat with poor signage." - Coulson. "What are those things?" - Mack to Fitz. "It's a quantum field disruptor. Should contain him here if he comes back." "Yeah, of course, why didn't I think of that..." "It's okay. You've been busy. And you're not a quantum physicist, so it's completely understandable."
"...This is so long. For now. After all I've done, I'd be a fool to think I'd get a Hollywood ending. Came close! Found you; got to- You know, you're better than I imagined. I imagined you perfect, so...You're way more interesting than that." - Cal. "I wonder where I get that from..." Skye smiles, teary-eyed. "It's paradoxical, isn't it? My love for my family drove me mad. ...I know I'm going away for good, but I was hoping....you might come visit? Once in a while?" "I will. I promise." "That would be-" "Let me guess. The Best Day Ever." (They chuckle.) "You have a lot of those." Skye teases. "No. Just one. July 2, 1988." Cal says solemnly. (They hug, both crying.)
"I'm done flying solo. I miss having a team around me." - Ward.
"Can I help you?" a veterinarian asks a young woman on the sidewalk. "Just...passing by. Nice place." "Well, thanks. We're just getting up and running. It's gonna be a magical place once we get totally moved in. We already have adoption days every Saturday; tell your friends! Free spaying and neutering, too. Just ask for Dr. Winslow." (About to leave, he remembers his manners.) "I'm sorry. You are...?" "Daisy," the young woman answers. "That's a lovely name." He goes inside, calling, "Remember, a house is not a home without a pet!" The young woman walks up to a red '62 Corvette convertible and slides behind the wheel.
Sunday, August 23, 2015
From the Blue Notebooks, Vol. 7
The seventh section of recapping the journal I kept in high school in several spiral-bound blue notebooks. Editorial comments are in brackets. It's almost Thanksgiving 2010 when this post begins.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Hey,
Church was good today. Mr. Cox was preaching, as the Dugas' were out of town, he taught on the dangers of "Lone Ranger Christianity". Reading of MacBeth tomorrow night, hopefully that will go all right. Football is nearly over, Henryetta got knocked out, but Dewar, Beggs & Kiefer are still in. Basketball starts the 30th at Preston, that's a Thursday. Me & Courtney have been playing Yahtzee, it can be a lot like life. You get random dive, & it's up to you to use them in the best way possible. You don't get to choose the circumstances you live in, but you use yourplace in life circumstances wisely, making the most of oppurtunities as they come along. Thinking about colleges. Don't think C of O, Rogers State's kinda expensive, maybe NSU, maybe OSU-Okmulgee.Need to look at UCO a bit, might consider there an option.
Thursday, Dec 2, 2010
Hey,
This has been a busy week. Sunday we missed church, Monday we did school & cleaned a little, Tuesday school, Mrs. Jackson's speech class and basketball started. Wednesday school, wrote & typed & sent the article of the game, uploaded pics I snapped w/my new camera(a Canon PowerShot A3100) that I found Sunday night for $70 off at Target, and rang Salvation Army bells & sang Christmas carols for two hours at Wal-Mart w/the gang. Today we went to Westville, and took Nano to her eye doctor in Siloam Springs. When we got back, OKBlitz had posted a link to their Facebook page of the story I sent yesterday, which was neat. [That was really awesome....] "If you can meet with triumph and disaster/And treat those two impostors just the same...then you'll be a Man, my son" - from a poem by Rudyard Kipling, I think. Tomorrow's drama and Dad's East Central Christmas party, so I'll miss Henryetta's first home basketball game thisyear season. Phone call time, I guess. :P Tuesday was Brenna's birthday. Guitar is slowly improving, "Fly Like an Eagle" is awesome to play.
Wednesday, Dec 8, 2010
Hey,
"The Fight for Neverworld" is Friday night, emergency practice is tomorrow morning, then dress rehearsal Friday morning, then that night the actual play. It's the worst we've ever had, (no offense meant to Annette or JB, but it's true), and people know most of their lines, so if it flops, it won't be that big of a deal. Still, it could be the last, & student-written scripts could be shot down if it fails. It's not important at all, but it's very important. I'm not nervous, however. I'm scared. "Down By the Creek Bank" was the only time I've ever been scared to do a play before. Annette's not easy w/it, either. If neither of us are comfortable with it, how does the rest of the cast feel? Apathetic? It's extremely trivial, but for something worthless, it sure seems like a lot is riding on it. Writing is going all right, algebra is making sense, fiction writing is coming together sentence by sentence. The scrap on previous page is from "If", by Rudyard Kipling. [This play is on my YouTube channel; if you were curious. It makes very little sense.]
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Hey,
2 years ago today, life changed radically. In some ways, more than after MiMi died. Like, everywhere in the house is reminders, from the kitchen to the barn to the floor to my clothes. "Neverworld" went pretty well. I've been piecing it together to set on YouTube. Let's see...the Gastons hadn't moved yet, I was still doing volunteer stuff for the ONW, Rocky hadn't been gone for long, Logan was still in Ohio, & Klipsey was still around. We'd just wrapped up "Joseph", my finger was broken, I hadn't started guitar seriously yet. I've definitely grown as a person. God's been very good to us. "Why does the past always seem safer?/maybe because at least we know we've made it/and why do we worry about the future when every day/will come just the way the Lord ordained it?" [Chris Rice, "8th Grade"] This week: Algebra, typing, logic, speech class Tuesday, caroling Tuesday, basketball Friday(& Tuesday), housecleaning, finish up Christmas shopping, that's about it. Seems odd that this year's almost over.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Hey,
Whew. This has been a tiring week. The washer was fixed (maybe) today, we went to Westville yesterday, Tuesday listened to a pair of losses, sat through a speech class that went both well and dismally, sang Christmas carols at nursing homes for two hours, watched a wrestling match, and waited through a power shutoff at McDonald's. [Logan's wrestling team was in Okmulgee; it was a strange experience to watch. So was the McDonald's blackout, which was just before the caroling. No one had remembered to bring lyrics or sheet music except for me, so Mrs. Wright flew someplace to make copies before we all finished lunch.] Mrs. Jackson created a new policy for cell phones, in hopes of restoring order to her classes. [They were not allowed; to be shut off and placed into a holding box until class let out. The course basically screeched to a halt in the following uproar.] Billy & Mariah & JB got into a fight, which was both embarrassing and disappointing. [A very public Facebook group-message one about the policy.] Result so far? Mr. Pickard doesn't like the new policy, & he made Breann quit. It was a discouraging day. There's been a few good things, though; Card games & coffee at the Wright's, finishing a rewrite of "Kick, Pass and Run", by Leonard Kessler, seeing Nano, singing Christmas songs, getting a thank-you email from Annette for chastising the complainers, & finding the book of The Princess Bride. [So some good came of that day in the Okmulgee library.] Hopefully school tomorrow, probably cleaning, basketball, Idk what else. It occasionally feels like Christmas is near, but mainly December is just about surviving, somehow.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Hey,
I lived up to my New Year's resolution last year. [It was to survive.] It wasn't the worst year, but it could have been better. Dad broke some ribs & his wrist, we lost six cats; Liesel, Maggie, Skittles, Benjy, & the Joneses' two kittens. We got chickens, most of them died, I got Swifty, Copper found us, Mom brought Skeet home with pizza, I finished my first biology textbook, learned to tolerate baseball, bought my videocamera and camera(both on sale), had to reteach myself guitar, found out improv is fun, but doesn't (at all) make a good thing to watch, & also found out not to trust a script with one-liners and inside jokes every three words. Spent some good times w/ the gang, skating & exploring Honor Heights, Christmas caroling, demolishing Billy's house, having my, Roy & Emily's parties on the same day, shooting archery, swimming. We met Mariah, and she became family that first day, Zeke went back to Beggs. The book discussion group with the Nolands, Trinnica, Mrs. Perry & the Bolands was started. I began writing for OKBlitz.com, they seem to like my work. In music, big songs were "Welcome To the Future", "Water", "American Saturday Night", "Love Like Crazy", "Temporary Home", "The House That Built Me" & "The Boys of Fall". [GOOD year for country music.] That's the year's highlights in a nutshell, I suppose.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Hey,
School's been going okay, the county basketball tournament is this week. It's exhausting to track games for six hours straight. 8 down, 14 to go. [In six days. And that's just listening; not counting actually typing all those stories necessary.] AI starts tomorrow night, it won't be as good without Simon. Speech class was postponed until further notice, drama starts in two weeks. Mrs. Jackson asked me to find a script, which is a hard thing to do. Not much interesting has happened. I need to finish an essay on energy efficiency, wrote 13 articles, finished a short story & edited a script last week, Caleb's been football-crazy the last couple days...it's kinda funny.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Hey,
Well, I've done a bit of schoolwork. Looked at NSU, UCO & Rogers State, need more info. Haven't seen a basketball game for nearly three weeks. It's been snowing, & snowing, & snowing. We've gotten, like, 7-12 inches. With no ice attached. It's pretty, but annoying, cause we're stuck in the house. The gray van's transmission went out, so we can't go anywhere, really. There's supposed to be another six inches Tuesday, maybe an ice storm. Yay. Mrs. Jackson outdid herself in choosing a completely idiotic script. It's something British that would have a small chance of being funny if it had four or five actors, but sixteen? And it's like, ten minutes long! As Rope said, "Miss, it does not teach anyone anything." [Zeke's character from "The Apple"] And it is "worthless". If I see whatever it ends up as, it will be "the most painfully awkward script I've ever had the misfortune to witness". Been studying for the ACT, the English & Reading tests look easy. Idk about the Writing test, Science doesn't look good, & Mathematics kinda scares me. I rewrote Lonestar's "I'm Already There", practicing guitar and piano. [I like how I've dabbled in all these non-string instruments, learning none competently.] I started a second draft of the "Horsin' Around" story, & in the middle of a second draft of Dusty's story. I should rewrite "AWZ" & "Cougar Country". The Super Bowl is tomorrow, I don't really care whether the Packers or the Steelers win. Why is there such a fuss over Valentine's Day? And why is the onlysong "I lost you" song that admits it's my fault you left written by Taylor Swift? [Mom and Sam's project to change my mind about Taylor's music was still very much a work-in-progress.] Well, there's "Between You and Me". Hmm, maybe I need to write one... I'll be 18 in three months. I don't feel ready. Is that a sign I'm not, or that I am? God sure does answer prayers. Mom & Dad just got a check for their share of Grandma Joy's property, that could help bills a lot. Should I allow the possibility of maybe dating someone? Or should I continue to stay away from anything that looks like a relationship? Skeet loves the snow. Caleb's been sick, hope we don't all get it. I wonder how these pages will look two, three, five, ten years from now? What will they say about me?
Monday, 2-4-11
Hey,
The snow melted! Basketball is again underway! I got sick....like, stay-in-bed-and-take-naps sick. I'm nearly better, but have to go to the doctor tomorrow. Hope to start school again tomorrow, Idk though. Typed up & sent five articles today, three Free Lance, two OKBlitz. Baseball season is coming up pretty soon. I ran into Lizzy last night on Webkinz. Why all the fuss about February 14? What's the point? To let couple enjoy each other, & everyone can "forget" it's a holiday. Got some new glasses today, they need to be adjusted. Being sick is no fun.
Thursday, 2-24-11
Hey,
ACT prep. Playoff basketball. A strong feeling of discouragement. These are what's been happening. That DC essay needs to be finished & sent by Modnay, youth group murder mystery is tomorrow. [That was a blast. I played an alcoholic writer of paperback Westerns, and got a ton of compliments on my ability to act drunk. Besides, it was terrific to be acting again. And worked some of Sam's backstory into the plot of the mystery, which she thought was funny.] I can't really write, cause I'm going to revise some old stuff, & I need a lot of blank paper. Archery was yesterday, that was great. Those guys are awesome. Idol announced the top 24, voting starts next week. The Hollises are going to Michigan, their grandpa's dying of cancer. Baseball is about here (yay.) Well, it's something to write about. I don't have much time left until I head to college. It's kinda scary. Should I try to go on X-Factor?
Sunday, 3-6-11
Hey,
The murder mystery was awesome. It felt so good to act again. I played the part of Warren Peace, an author of Western books for a Japanese publisher. He's gotten into girl problems often, & has a weakness for tequila and brunettes. I got some compliments on my playing of a drunk, lol. I really miss the homeschool group. :( I know I need to separate from most of them eventually, but that doesn't exactly make it easier to deal with. I finished that DC essay, Idk if it's any good, bu I see why people dislike them. They are hard to write!!! Current story has some problems that need ironing out(e.g. stiff dialogue, awkward sentences), but the plot's coming along. About halfway through the second version. "Horsin' Around"s third draft is opening well. Thinking about typing up that story I've never found a good title for, might put it on Facebook. [How I shared writing projects before starting this blog. The last ten notes mysteriously disappeared, which has bugged me ever since.] We visited Nano on Wednesday, that was nice. We also saw Louise, Harry, Robbie & Grandpa, which was even better. Should start Latin tomorrow, maybe chemistry, not sure about geometry. I'm stuck in a vortex. I have to write, & what I put down seems unnatural & predictable. I really need to talk to somebody, maybe I'll feel better. I figured up last night OKBlitz has published 41 of my articles since August, two of which were mentioned on Twitter, one on Facebook and at least three on KOTV's main site. It's very frustrating not to be able to drive.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Hey,
Church was good today. Mr. Cox was preaching, as the Dugas' were out of town, he taught on the dangers of "Lone Ranger Christianity". Reading of MacBeth tomorrow night, hopefully that will go all right. Football is nearly over, Henryetta got knocked out, but Dewar, Beggs & Kiefer are still in. Basketball starts the 30th at Preston, that's a Thursday. Me & Courtney have been playing Yahtzee, it can be a lot like life. You get random dive, & it's up to you to use them in the best way possible. You don't get to choose the circumstances you live in, but you use your
Thursday, Dec 2, 2010
Hey,
This has been a busy week. Sunday we missed church, Monday we did school & cleaned a little, Tuesday school, Mrs. Jackson's speech class and basketball started. Wednesday school, wrote & typed & sent the article of the game, uploaded pics I snapped w/my new camera(a Canon PowerShot A3100) that I found Sunday night for $70 off at Target, and rang Salvation Army bells & sang Christmas carols for two hours at Wal-Mart w/the gang. Today we went to Westville, and took Nano to her eye doctor in Siloam Springs. When we got back, OKBlitz had posted a link to their Facebook page of the story I sent yesterday, which was neat. [That was really awesome....] "If you can meet with triumph and disaster/And treat those two impostors just the same...then you'll be a Man, my son" - from a poem by Rudyard Kipling, I think. Tomorrow's drama and Dad's East Central Christmas party, so I'll miss Henryetta's first home basketball game this
Wednesday, Dec 8, 2010
Hey,
"The Fight for Neverworld" is Friday night, emergency practice is tomorrow morning, then dress rehearsal Friday morning, then that night the actual play. It's the worst we've ever had, (no offense meant to Annette or JB, but it's true), and people know most of their lines, so if it flops, it won't be that big of a deal. Still, it could be the last, & student-written scripts could be shot down if it fails. It's not important at all, but it's very important. I'm not nervous, however. I'm scared. "Down By the Creek Bank" was the only time I've ever been scared to do a play before. Annette's not easy w/it, either. If neither of us are comfortable with it, how does the rest of the cast feel? Apathetic? It's extremely trivial, but for something worthless, it sure seems like a lot is riding on it. Writing is going all right, algebra is making sense, fiction writing is coming together sentence by sentence. The scrap on previous page is from "If", by Rudyard Kipling. [This play is on my YouTube channel; if you were curious. It makes very little sense.]
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Hey,
2 years ago today, life changed radically. In some ways, more than after MiMi died. Like, everywhere in the house is reminders, from the kitchen to the barn to the floor to my clothes. "Neverworld" went pretty well. I've been piecing it together to set on YouTube. Let's see...the Gastons hadn't moved yet, I was still doing volunteer stuff for the ONW, Rocky hadn't been gone for long, Logan was still in Ohio, & Klipsey was still around. We'd just wrapped up "Joseph", my finger was broken, I hadn't started guitar seriously yet. I've definitely grown as a person. God's been very good to us. "Why does the past always seem safer?/maybe because at least we know we've made it/and why do we worry about the future when every day/will come just the way the Lord ordained it?" [Chris Rice, "8th Grade"] This week: Algebra, typing, logic, speech class Tuesday, caroling Tuesday, basketball Friday(& Tuesday), housecleaning, finish up Christmas shopping, that's about it. Seems odd that this year's almost over.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Hey,
Whew. This has been a tiring week. The washer was fixed (maybe) today, we went to Westville yesterday, Tuesday listened to a pair of losses, sat through a speech class that went both well and dismally, sang Christmas carols at nursing homes for two hours, watched a wrestling match, and waited through a power shutoff at McDonald's. [Logan's wrestling team was in Okmulgee; it was a strange experience to watch. So was the McDonald's blackout, which was just before the caroling. No one had remembered to bring lyrics or sheet music except for me, so Mrs. Wright flew someplace to make copies before we all finished lunch.] Mrs. Jackson created a new policy for cell phones, in hopes of restoring order to her classes. [They were not allowed; to be shut off and placed into a holding box until class let out. The course basically screeched to a halt in the following uproar.] Billy & Mariah & JB got into a fight, which was both embarrassing and disappointing. [A very public Facebook group-message one about the policy.] Result so far? Mr. Pickard doesn't like the new policy, & he made Breann quit. It was a discouraging day. There's been a few good things, though; Card games & coffee at the Wright's, finishing a rewrite of "Kick, Pass and Run", by Leonard Kessler, seeing Nano, singing Christmas songs, getting a thank-you email from Annette for chastising the complainers, & finding the book of The Princess Bride. [So some good came of that day in the Okmulgee library.] Hopefully school tomorrow, probably cleaning, basketball, Idk what else. It occasionally feels like Christmas is near, but mainly December is just about surviving, somehow.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Hey,
I lived up to my New Year's resolution last year. [It was to survive.] It wasn't the worst year, but it could have been better. Dad broke some ribs & his wrist, we lost six cats; Liesel, Maggie, Skittles, Benjy, & the Joneses' two kittens. We got chickens, most of them died, I got Swifty, Copper found us, Mom brought Skeet home with pizza, I finished my first biology textbook, learned to tolerate baseball, bought my videocamera and camera(both on sale), had to reteach myself guitar, found out improv is fun, but doesn't (at all) make a good thing to watch, & also found out not to trust a script with one-liners and inside jokes every three words. Spent some good times w/ the gang, skating & exploring Honor Heights, Christmas caroling, demolishing Billy's house, having my, Roy & Emily's parties on the same day, shooting archery, swimming. We met Mariah, and she became family that first day, Zeke went back to Beggs. The book discussion group with the Nolands, Trinnica, Mrs. Perry & the Bolands was started. I began writing for OKBlitz.com, they seem to like my work. In music, big songs were "Welcome To the Future", "Water", "American Saturday Night", "Love Like Crazy", "Temporary Home", "The House That Built Me" & "The Boys of Fall". [GOOD year for country music.] That's the year's highlights in a nutshell, I suppose.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Hey,
School's been going okay, the county basketball tournament is this week. It's exhausting to track games for six hours straight. 8 down, 14 to go. [In six days. And that's just listening; not counting actually typing all those stories necessary.] AI starts tomorrow night, it won't be as good without Simon. Speech class was postponed until further notice, drama starts in two weeks. Mrs. Jackson asked me to find a script, which is a hard thing to do. Not much interesting has happened. I need to finish an essay on energy efficiency, wrote 13 articles, finished a short story & edited a script last week, Caleb's been football-crazy the last couple days...it's kinda funny.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Hey,
Well, I've done a bit of schoolwork. Looked at NSU, UCO & Rogers State, need more info. Haven't seen a basketball game for nearly three weeks. It's been snowing, & snowing, & snowing. We've gotten, like, 7-12 inches. With no ice attached. It's pretty, but annoying, cause we're stuck in the house. The gray van's transmission went out, so we can't go anywhere, really. There's supposed to be another six inches Tuesday, maybe an ice storm. Yay. Mrs. Jackson outdid herself in choosing a completely idiotic script. It's something British that would have a small chance of being funny if it had four or five actors, but sixteen? And it's like, ten minutes long! As Rope said, "Miss, it does not teach anyone anything." [Zeke's character from "The Apple"] And it is "worthless". If I see whatever it ends up as, it will be "the most painfully awkward script I've ever had the misfortune to witness". Been studying for the ACT, the English & Reading tests look easy. Idk about the Writing test, Science doesn't look good, & Mathematics kinda scares me. I rewrote Lonestar's "I'm Already There", practicing guitar and piano. [I like how I've dabbled in all these non-string instruments, learning none competently.] I started a second draft of the "Horsin' Around" story, & in the middle of a second draft of Dusty's story. I should rewrite "AWZ" & "Cougar Country". The Super Bowl is tomorrow, I don't really care whether the Packers or the Steelers win. Why is there such a fuss over Valentine's Day? And why is the only
Monday, 2-4-11
Hey,
The snow melted! Basketball is again underway! I got sick....like, stay-in-bed-and-take-naps sick. I'm nearly better, but have to go to the doctor tomorrow. Hope to start school again tomorrow, Idk though. Typed up & sent five articles today, three Free Lance, two OKBlitz. Baseball season is coming up pretty soon. I ran into Lizzy last night on Webkinz. Why all the fuss about February 14? What's the point? To let couple enjoy each other, & everyone can "forget" it's a holiday. Got some new glasses today, they need to be adjusted. Being sick is no fun.
Thursday, 2-24-11
Hey,
ACT prep. Playoff basketball. A strong feeling of discouragement. These are what's been happening. That DC essay needs to be finished & sent by Modnay, youth group murder mystery is tomorrow. [That was a blast. I played an alcoholic writer of paperback Westerns, and got a ton of compliments on my ability to act drunk. Besides, it was terrific to be acting again. And worked some of Sam's backstory into the plot of the mystery, which she thought was funny.] I can't really write, cause I'm going to revise some old stuff, & I need a lot of blank paper. Archery was yesterday, that was great. Those guys are awesome. Idol announced the top 24, voting starts next week. The Hollises are going to Michigan, their grandpa's dying of cancer. Baseball is about here (yay.) Well, it's something to write about. I don't have much time left until I head to college. It's kinda scary. Should I try to go on X-Factor?
Sunday, 3-6-11
Hey,
The murder mystery was awesome. It felt so good to act again. I played the part of Warren Peace, an author of Western books for a Japanese publisher. He's gotten into girl problems often, & has a weakness for tequila and brunettes. I got some compliments on my playing of a drunk, lol. I really miss the homeschool group. :( I know I need to separate from most of them eventually, but that doesn't exactly make it easier to deal with. I finished that DC essay, Idk if it's any good, bu I see why people dislike them. They are hard to write!!! Current story has some problems that need ironing out(e.g. stiff dialogue, awkward sentences), but the plot's coming along. About halfway through the second version. "Horsin' Around"s third draft is opening well. Thinking about typing up that story I've never found a good title for, might put it on Facebook. [How I shared writing projects before starting this blog. The last ten notes mysteriously disappeared, which has bugged me ever since.] We visited Nano on Wednesday, that was nice. We also saw Louise, Harry, Robbie & Grandpa, which was even better. Should start Latin tomorrow, maybe chemistry, not sure about geometry. I'm stuck in a vortex. I have to write, & what I put down seems unnatural & predictable. I really need to talk to somebody, maybe I'll feel better. I figured up last night OKBlitz has published 41 of my articles since August, two of which were mentioned on Twitter, one on Facebook and at least three on KOTV's main site. It's very frustrating not to be able to drive.
From the Blue Notebooks, Vol. 6
This sixth installment of my spiral-bound high-school off-an-on attempts at journaling. Editorial comments are in brackets. As this post begins, it's late July 2010, and I'm to head to SGYC for the third time.
7:16 am Monday, July 26, 2010
Hey,
Well, I get to break in this journal as I'm headed to camp. We're gonne get to the Missouri line in about an hour. Mariah had her birthday party yesterday, me, Courtney, Brenna, Roy, Levi, Annette, Quinton, Alton, JB, Julie, Emily, Evan, Billy and Kyle were there. [It was held at the YMCA pool.] It was a good time, & I discovered that Brenna looksTERRIFIC good in a bikini. ["Sighs". I hate swimming. Talk about shallow....the Scrabble board on my theme night T-shirt would prove this.] Well, I had a good time, & hoping camp goes well. [It didn't, really. But that was my fault; as I was extremely shallow and self-centered.]
2:19 pm Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Hey,
The above sentence, while true, most likely should not have been written, specially on the way to church camp. Camp was very different, but it was another good year. Made some new friends, got a lot out of the teaching, & a couple of people were saved. [Got to know Jed and Jon really well this year, met Ashland's siblings Austin and Alexa, and I have no idea what the sermons were about, but I do remember some of them made me uncomfortable.] The Hollises gave us some apples Saturday night, we've been drying them on the trampoline. Our new kittens, Skittles & Benjy, are doing well, things are going okay.
Wednesday, 8-18-10
Hey,
Well, I wrote five articles last week, two for the Free Lance & three for OKBlitz.com. The temperature finally cooled down, been doing school, cleaning, reading, & acting Spider-Man to thwart Skeet's boredom. He leaps the fence, then chases Skittles & Benjy, or some of the chickens. It's hard work keeping them in one piece. Haven't really been able to get any type of song wrote down, just partial lyrics. Same thing w/stories, some ideas, but not many. I'm the oldest guy in the youth group now, which is kinda odd. And since Josh, Dylan & Bennett can't really sing, all the guy parts in songs will be like solos, almost. 2 weeks and 2 days til football season, softball started Monday. This will be my 4th year of writing, which seems strange. What seems stranger is next year I'll be a senior. Trevor's birthday was yesterday, he was extremely enthusiastic about opening his presents. It was funny to watch. :) NaNa's gong to have her foot amputated Tuesday & I got to go to the dentist, AND it's a doubleheader softball day. Not really good, but good. If she doesn't have it taken off, she could die, my teeth need cleaning(and braces, but that's another story..), & softball means articles, & possible contacts, & if the paper's budget can handle it, money. So, there's alot of good things, but also some not so great things. I'd play my guitar, but Jon Lange snapped the low E string at camp. And I don't really know how to play banjo, lol. [Still want to learn, though!]
Monday, August 30, 2010
Hey,
Dylan & Paige Steeley were baptized last night, church was good, we didn't make it to Sunday School, still haven't fixed my guitar, Skeet's been jumping the fence & sometimes capturing chickens. Not a pretty sight. Football starts Friday, HHS is probably going to do badly again, but bad football is better than no football, right? School is going all right, trying to get through this year, & then plan ahead. Its kinda scary. Tomorrow it'll be 3 years since I first covered a game, gosh, has life sure changed. Dado hadn't been gone for long, Grandpahad just married hadn't been married long, I'd never been to Missouri in July, & we hadn't started watching AI yet. I've grown a lot as a person since then, but I still have a ways to go. Getting things ready to go to a new chapter in life, but knowing, hey, I'm only 17, I still have a lot to learn. Watched Paul Blart, Mall Cop tonight, it was good. [No, it isn't....it's stupid.] So is A Knight's Tale, those are the only two movies I've seen lately. [Yes, A Knight's Tale is a very good movie, if you can overlook Georffrey's habit of gambling his clothes away. That's awkward.]
6:50 am Saturday, September 3, 2010
Hey,
Football season started last night, Henryetta 28-7. They played pretty well. Caleb & Amy have been sick all week, so we missed the HECNO(official name of homeschool group) meeting yesterday, which was a major bummer. I also missed a youth group movie night, which is only a slight bummer. NaNa had her foot amputated last week, rebab is going okay, I think. Jake Brown & Brenna Hollis both got on Facebook this week. Going to Tahlequah tonight for Harry's birthday party, that'll be cool. School's going okay, no word about if we'll do drama this year.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Hey,
Well, we didn't go to Tahlequah, we missed the homeschool meeting(major disappointment), the church group meeting & church, didn't see anybody I knew really at the Morris game, haven't had any softball to write about, it's just been a dull, tiring three or four weeks. Got some strings, so I can practice again, a dog showed up on our porch last night. [This dog was Copper.] The library's book sale is Thursday thru Saturday,, & drama starts Friday, those are good things. Mom's birthday is tomorrow, MiMi's would be Saturday. I've kinda felt a little depressed lately. We installed an electric fence to keep Skeet in.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Hey,
The homeschool group went to the Creation Museum in Cincinnati over the weekend, & I think they had a great time. Kyle & Breann are together, it seems, that's interesting. We babysat the Gundersen's Sheltie Teddy for a while, which went pretty well. Copper(the stray dog above) is doing well, and the backyard dogs, Swifty, the chickens, goats & cats all are doing okay. Sunday it was a year since we moved back in, it seems longer in some ways. How is it most of these journal entries are about other people? And what am I going to do with my life? I don't know, but I hope I find some answers.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Hey,
The dogs(not Copper) killed Skittles & Benjy. :'( I've had a need to write again, lately, so I penned a song & finished the outline of Dusty's story. Annette & JB wrote the script we're working on, it's funny, but it's another shallow, mindless comedy. It's frustrating, wanting to create something, but being saddled with mediocre talent. Guitar hasn't gone great, but I had a front page story in the Free Lance a couple weeks ago. Saw Brenna yesterday, we were at this mini-zoo in Okmulgee, it was pretty cool. Things have been a bit more stressful than usual. Thursday night was Beggs Senior Night, I've always wondered what that or Homecoming would be like. Henryetta's a pretty good town, but Morris is home, & Beggs is the county's tradition center. I was glad Beggs won. [Not sure what I meant about 'tradition center', but the Demons and Knights were facing each other at the new Beggs field. It was great to work with those guys in the press box again. Also, Kenny Chesney's newest single was "The Boys of Fall".]
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Hey,
Toy Story 3 came out on DVD yesterday, Mom found a great deal, & so we got it. It's great, but sad in a good way, like some country songs. Watching a Pixar movie is great inspiration, it makes you want to make something. Not just something shallow, or topical, or typical, but something that is above most things, that makes you think. I'm not there yet, but I hope to be, someday. Just need to do the best I can, when I can, and in the normal everyday times keep trying to plow through school, & understand it.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Hey,
It's been 59 1/2 pages, two notebooks, 2 moves, & 2 years since I started this. OSU is ranked again, they'll probably lose to Texas like they fell to Tech. Nobody came for the discussion last night, I went & looked at old stuff I've kept in the barn. Good memories, but kinda bittersweet. I wondered if "that Brenna Hollis thing would go anywhere." Yes, because if I wanted, ti would. No, because I don't want to tear her apart like I did to Maddie. So, no, not really. Thanksgiving is coming up soon, we'll be headed to Tahlequah. I wish Mimi were here to talk to, that would be nice. It would also be nice to be able to move on forward with some plots that won't go, & know what I should be doing. Til I know, I'll keep doing algebra, Greek, writing, playing guitar, & spending time w/the animals. Well, I better go.
11-10-10, 6:34 am
I forgot to mention this last night, but Beggs & Kiefer are in the HS football playoffs again, like they were the first day. Henryetta & Dewar are as well.
7:16 am Monday, July 26, 2010
Hey,
Well, I get to break in this journal as I'm headed to camp. We're gonne get to the Missouri line in about an hour. Mariah had her birthday party yesterday, me, Courtney, Brenna, Roy, Levi, Annette, Quinton, Alton, JB, Julie, Emily, Evan, Billy and Kyle were there. [It was held at the YMCA pool.] It was a good time, & I discovered that Brenna looks
2:19 pm Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Hey,
The above sentence, while true, most likely should not have been written, specially on the way to church camp. Camp was very different, but it was another good year. Made some new friends, got a lot out of the teaching, & a couple of people were saved. [Got to know Jed and Jon really well this year, met Ashland's siblings Austin and Alexa, and I have no idea what the sermons were about, but I do remember some of them made me uncomfortable.] The Hollises gave us some apples Saturday night, we've been drying them on the trampoline. Our new kittens, Skittles & Benjy, are doing well, things are going okay.
Wednesday, 8-18-10
Hey,
Well, I wrote five articles last week, two for the Free Lance & three for OKBlitz.com. The temperature finally cooled down, been doing school, cleaning, reading, & acting Spider-Man to thwart Skeet's boredom. He leaps the fence, then chases Skittles & Benjy, or some of the chickens. It's hard work keeping them in one piece. Haven't really been able to get any type of song wrote down, just partial lyrics. Same thing w/stories, some ideas, but not many. I'm the oldest guy in the youth group now, which is kinda odd. And since Josh, Dylan & Bennett can't really sing, all the guy parts in songs will be like solos, almost. 2 weeks and 2 days til football season, softball started Monday. This will be my 4th year of writing, which seems strange. What seems stranger is next year I'll be a senior. Trevor's birthday was yesterday, he was extremely enthusiastic about opening his presents. It was funny to watch. :) NaNa's gong to have her foot amputated Tuesday & I got to go to the dentist, AND it's a doubleheader softball day. Not really good, but good. If she doesn't have it taken off, she could die, my teeth need cleaning(and braces, but that's another story..), & softball means articles, & possible contacts, & if the paper's budget can handle it, money. So, there's alot of good things, but also some not so great things. I'd play my guitar, but Jon Lange snapped the low E string at camp. And I don't really know how to play banjo, lol. [Still want to learn, though!]
Monday, August 30, 2010
Hey,
Dylan & Paige Steeley were baptized last night, church was good, we didn't make it to Sunday School, still haven't fixed my guitar, Skeet's been jumping the fence & sometimes capturing chickens. Not a pretty sight. Football starts Friday, HHS is probably going to do badly again, but bad football is better than no football, right? School is going all right, trying to get through this year, & then plan ahead. Its kinda scary. Tomorrow it'll be 3 years since I first covered a game, gosh, has life sure changed. Dado hadn't been gone for long, Grandpa
6:50 am Saturday, September 3, 2010
Hey,
Football season started last night, Henryetta 28-7. They played pretty well. Caleb & Amy have been sick all week, so we missed the HECNO(official name of homeschool group) meeting yesterday, which was a major bummer. I also missed a youth group movie night, which is only a slight bummer. NaNa had her foot amputated last week, rebab is going okay, I think. Jake Brown & Brenna Hollis both got on Facebook this week. Going to Tahlequah tonight for Harry's birthday party, that'll be cool. School's going okay, no word about if we'll do drama this year.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Hey,
Well, we didn't go to Tahlequah, we missed the homeschool meeting(major disappointment), the church group meeting & church, didn't see anybody I knew really at the Morris game, haven't had any softball to write about, it's just been a dull, tiring three or four weeks. Got some strings, so I can practice again, a dog showed up on our porch last night. [This dog was Copper.] The library's book sale is Thursday thru Saturday,, & drama starts Friday, those are good things. Mom's birthday is tomorrow, MiMi's would be Saturday. I've kinda felt a little depressed lately. We installed an electric fence to keep Skeet in.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Hey,
The homeschool group went to the Creation Museum in Cincinnati over the weekend, & I think they had a great time. Kyle & Breann are together, it seems, that's interesting. We babysat the Gundersen's Sheltie Teddy for a while, which went pretty well. Copper(the stray dog above) is doing well, and the backyard dogs, Swifty, the chickens, goats & cats all are doing okay. Sunday it was a year since we moved back in, it seems longer in some ways. How is it most of these journal entries are about other people? And what am I going to do with my life? I don't know, but I hope I find some answers.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Hey,
The dogs(not Copper) killed Skittles & Benjy. :'( I've had a need to write again, lately, so I penned a song & finished the outline of Dusty's story. Annette & JB wrote the script we're working on, it's funny, but it's another shallow, mindless comedy. It's frustrating, wanting to create something, but being saddled with mediocre talent. Guitar hasn't gone great, but I had a front page story in the Free Lance a couple weeks ago. Saw Brenna yesterday, we were at this mini-zoo in Okmulgee, it was pretty cool. Things have been a bit more stressful than usual. Thursday night was Beggs Senior Night, I've always wondered what that or Homecoming would be like. Henryetta's a pretty good town, but Morris is home, & Beggs is the county's tradition center. I was glad Beggs won. [Not sure what I meant about 'tradition center', but the Demons and Knights were facing each other at the new Beggs field. It was great to work with those guys in the press box again. Also, Kenny Chesney's newest single was "The Boys of Fall".]
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Hey,
Toy Story 3 came out on DVD yesterday, Mom found a great deal, & so we got it. It's great, but sad in a good way, like some country songs. Watching a Pixar movie is great inspiration, it makes you want to make something. Not just something shallow, or topical, or typical, but something that is above most things, that makes you think. I'm not there yet, but I hope to be, someday. Just need to do the best I can, when I can, and in the normal everyday times keep trying to plow through school, & understand it.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Hey,
It's been 59 1/2 pages, two notebooks, 2 moves, & 2 years since I started this. OSU is ranked again, they'll probably lose to Texas like they fell to Tech. Nobody came for the discussion last night, I went & looked at old stuff I've kept in the barn. Good memories, but kinda bittersweet. I wondered if "that Brenna Hollis thing would go anywhere." Yes, because if I wanted, ti would. No, because I don't want to tear her apart like I did to Maddie. So, no, not really. Thanksgiving is coming up soon, we'll be headed to Tahlequah. I wish Mimi were here to talk to, that would be nice. It would also be nice to be able to move on forward with some plots that won't go, & know what I should be doing. Til I know, I'll keep doing algebra, Greek, writing, playing guitar, & spending time w/the animals. Well, I better go.
11-10-10, 6:34 am
I forgot to mention this last night, but Beggs & Kiefer are in the HS football playoffs again, like they were the first day. Henryetta & Dewar are as well.
Saturday, August 22, 2015
The One About Planned Parenthood's Atrocities
I know I'm just one more voice in the blogosphere, and I really hate talking about trending topics in real life, because they become dead news so quickly. But, like the gay-marriage celebration and Confederate flag slamming of a couple months ago, or last winter's post about the dishonesty of social media, sometimes you just have to write.
I dislike the tone of most of Matt Walsh's blog posts. He writes in a very angry, condescending manner. But a lot of the points he makes I pretty much agree with. It's just that I wish he could find a better way to say it. (This could also apply to talk radio.)
Most of this Planned Parenthood video-expose thing I haven't paid much attention to, because they sound incredibly graphic, and I'm squeamish. It's why I couldn't be a veterinarian. But I just read Walsh's post about the videos and actions of PP. And it made me want to do three things: Throw up, cry really hard, and try to say something about it, since as the Edmund Burke quote goes, "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing."
Planned Parenthood is killing people. And then dismembering babies. Sometimes while they're still alive. A nurse says that she's extracted the face of a living human baby in order to reach its' brain for harvesting. This is not science fiction, or even a horror movie. Somehow, this is real life.
"Always after a defeat and a respite, the Shadow takes another shape and rises again."
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But it is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. And already, Frodo, our time is beginning to look black. The Enemy is fast becoming very strong. His plans are far from ripe, I think, but they are ripening. We shall be very hard put to it. We shall be very hard put to it, even if it were not for this dreadful chance."
This passage is from J.R.R. Tolkien's Fellowship of the Ring, chapter three, page 50. Gandalf continues his speech, leading to this quote ten pages later: "But you have been chosen, and must therefore use what strength and heart and wits as you have."
Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 10:16-20: "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves. But be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."
In 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18, Paul reminds us to "Pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
"And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" Mordecai asks his cousin in Esther 4:14.
Maybe we're in 1930's Germany. I'm not Dietrich Bonhoeffer, but I can question what's going on. And I can keep writing, as Professor Semrow urged. Wake up, people. Act against this, somehow. I don't know what to suggest for that; but there's been a lot of protests recently. Maybe if it builds up enough, things will start to happen.
"It's our choices that make us who we are. And we can always choose to do what's right." - Peter Parker, Spider-Man 3.
I dislike the tone of most of Matt Walsh's blog posts. He writes in a very angry, condescending manner. But a lot of the points he makes I pretty much agree with. It's just that I wish he could find a better way to say it. (This could also apply to talk radio.)
Most of this Planned Parenthood video-expose thing I haven't paid much attention to, because they sound incredibly graphic, and I'm squeamish. It's why I couldn't be a veterinarian. But I just read Walsh's post about the videos and actions of PP. And it made me want to do three things: Throw up, cry really hard, and try to say something about it, since as the Edmund Burke quote goes, "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing."
Planned Parenthood is killing people. And then dismembering babies. Sometimes while they're still alive. A nurse says that she's extracted the face of a living human baby in order to reach its' brain for harvesting. This is not science fiction, or even a horror movie. Somehow, this is real life.
"Always after a defeat and a respite, the Shadow takes another shape and rises again."
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But it is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. And already, Frodo, our time is beginning to look black. The Enemy is fast becoming very strong. His plans are far from ripe, I think, but they are ripening. We shall be very hard put to it. We shall be very hard put to it, even if it were not for this dreadful chance."
This passage is from J.R.R. Tolkien's Fellowship of the Ring, chapter three, page 50. Gandalf continues his speech, leading to this quote ten pages later: "But you have been chosen, and must therefore use what strength and heart and wits as you have."
Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 10:16-20: "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves. But be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."
In 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18, Paul reminds us to "Pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
"And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" Mordecai asks his cousin in Esther 4:14.
Maybe we're in 1930's Germany. I'm not Dietrich Bonhoeffer, but I can question what's going on. And I can keep writing, as Professor Semrow urged. Wake up, people. Act against this, somehow. I don't know what to suggest for that; but there's been a lot of protests recently. Maybe if it builds up enough, things will start to happen.
"It's our choices that make us who we are. And we can always choose to do what's right." - Peter Parker, Spider-Man 3.
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