Remembering Will

     The weather's been gray, cold, sullen and thoroughly wet for the last several weeks. That's usual weather in our part of Oklahoma for late February/early March. It's made me thankful I haven't had to walk through it back and forth from classes to my dorm. But it's made me wonder what Will is doing.

     Will was the resident Jehovah's Witness missionary at NSU. He was a friendly, soft-spoken, obese, middle-aged guy who had to retire early because of severe back pain after thirty years of working in publishing/printing in Colorado. He has a grown daughter in Denver and several grown sons in Georgia. His wife ran the quilting supplies shop downtown just past Felt's Shoes, where he occasionally helped out when his back allowed. The rest of his time - probably three days a week, on average - was spent manning the table of JW fliers halfway between Seminary Hall and the Fine Arts Building.
      Most of the time he was ignored, accepted as part of the scenery, except for the folks from CCF, who would aggressively attack his theology whenever they had a couple spare minutes. The BCM folks were kind of scared of him.
     I would stop and talk with him for five or ten minutes if I had time; if I didn't I'd always wave and he'd holler a wisecrack about my speedwalking setting the pavement on fire.
     We didn't talk about theology much. Sometimes we would ask each questions about various points about what the other believed, and then we'd try to answer those questions as best we could. I would occasionally take some of his literature to talk over it with him later, and he would occasionally read the online articles I mentioned. Since I was a MassComm major, and he'd worked in journalism, we would usually talk about those kinds of things. Local news, the merits of coffee, campus gossip, what we'd been reading lately, observations about people-watching. And sometimes we'd just sit and people-watch together, since a college campus is an excellent spot for doing that: one girl he always called Pirate Boots, because he didn't know her name and she wore boots that looked piratey nearly every day.
     If I was running down to Morgan's Bakery, I'd once in a while ask if he wanted me to get anything for him. If his health was especially good for a few days in a row, he'd usually go on a baking spree, and sometimes would bring the extra cookies for me that he and his wife didn't eat the night before.
     One day we were talking and he frowned in midsentence and gave me one of those curious, hard stares for a minute. "Y'know, Wes....you're different." I must have looked surprised, because he continued: "I know we don't believe the same things, but you don't try to ram it down my throat like those other people do. You just treat me like a person. I can't remember meeting a Christian who ever did that. Thank you."

     That's always stuck in my head ever since, and often replayed itself while working on homework late at night. I didn't think of it as anything special; it was just something that needed to be done, so I did it, just like guiding my blind classmate Russell back and forth from Dr. Fuller's psych class freshman year. Will was discouraged, everyone ignoring him like that. It doesn't take much to brighten somebody's day.
     Hope he's doing okay.         

Thanks

     The acknowledgements are one of the best overlooked parts of books, because while writing is a solitary act, the creation of a book involves a lot of time and a lot of people. So does getting through college. There are far more people who ought to be on this list, probably, but it's been a (very long) journey full of twists and turns and rocky places, so I can't remember everything.

     First, thanks to Mom and Dad, Courtney, Caleb, Trevor and Amy. You guys are awesome. And thanks to Grandpa and Robbie for being there while I was in Tahlequah. And Harry and Louise, and Nano, for being themselves.

     Thanks Ashland, Amanda, Daniel, Dylan, Jessica and Jon, for your friendship, prayers and encouragement throughout this whole process, for being there to listen when necessary, tease incessantly or trade insults or excited movie-news speculation with, get advice from or work with on projects.

     Thanks to the GBC people who prayed for me throughout the journey, particularly Steven and Jamie, Scotty, the Gundersens, Fergusons, Steeleys, Wilsons and Dugas. I'm sure there are lots of others, too.

     Thanks to fellow SGYC counselors like Brother Larry, Miss Kathy, Mrs. Boyer and Ryan, for their caring about the kids. Plus they're all good to work with. Grateful for friends made at camp that I still hear from once in a while, like Derek and Shari.

     Thanks to Alton and Maddie for offering encouragement about life at key times, and outside-of-school writing pals Cassie, Julie, Mrs. Curtis and Mrs. Hollis.

     Thanks to Sport, Sunny and Copper, for being great dogs, and Sunny and Copper for helping me get through that first year. Thank you, Rags, for being a fantastic cat, and helping me get through the rest.

     Thanks, Josh, for helping get through freshman year. Congrats to you and Sara on the wedding in a couple weeks!

     Thanks, Sam, for helping me get through that first semester.
     Thanks, Mallory and Cheyenne, for always being ready to joke about how awful Deiter's horrendous Comp I class was.

     Thanks, Bob and Deb, for showing what following Christ looks like in your lives, in your marriage and in your ministry while leading the NSU BCM.

     Thanks to the SWAT crew, particularly Samantha, Elizabeth, Susan, Jacob, Ja Li Si and James. It was fantastic to work with you guys, and I appreciate your friendship so much. Other BCM people who should go here: Daniel P., Annie, James Hoover, Stephen, Zach, Jocelyn, Bucky, Amber, Ashleigh, TJ and Drew. All of y'all also brightened up sophomore year quite a bit, whether that be working on the worship team, Bible studies, vollleyball/basketball, or planning miscellanous things like the Friday Lunch Bunch gatherings or Thunder watch parties. Finally, a special shoutout to Elizabeth, Stephen, Daniel P., Bucky, and Mom for introducing me to the residents of Pawnee, Indiana. (In other words, for getting me hooked on Parks and Recreation.)
     Thanks, Randall and Lacey, for your efforts leading RSU Chi Alpha, and showing how a young couple can serve Christ through their marriage and ministry.

     At NSU - Thanks to Cassie and Dr. Eversole for teaching in the MassComm/Media Studies department, and to Professor Semrow and Dr. Faulds in the English Department.

     Thanks to the Galdemezes and DeSpains for being there when needed, and allowing me to feel like part of y'all's families - including crashing the couch and raiding the library.

     At RSU - Thanks to Dr. Mackie, Dr. Dial-Driver, Dr. Marrero, Mr. Williams, Tip and David for loving your subjects, and being amazing teachers. Thanks especially to Dr. Mackie for explaining how to write poetry, and to Dr. Mackie and Dr. Dial-Driver for trying to teach me how to use an academic tone in essays. Thanks to David for teaching scriptwriting and directing theater projects, and all three of them for encouraging me to keep writing.

     Thanks, Brittany. It was great to work with you and spend time with you this semester

     Thanks to Cody, Kinze, Lauren, Brian, Coale, Debra and Jenny for being frequent classmates/coworkers/friends. It's a privilege to work with you guys, whatever that work might entail - acting, writing stories/poetry/nonfiction/essays/stage plays/screenplays/radio copy, arguing with each other about edits in our work or about the merits of works studied, mutual panicking over deadlines, whatever. Hopefully our paths will cross again someday.

     Thanks for Youth Tour pals for understanding what college life is like, and being willing to laugh along in gladness or sympathy with one another's triumphs and trials. Adam, Lorene, Ravi and Tauri immediately leap to mind, but I know there are others, too, from that trip. It's been really cool how most of us have kept in touch over the years.

     In short....

Easter 2017

     It's been a restless and wandery day. There's a storm coming, the tension has been slowly building since morning. Called home, everybody's helping Amy hunt for Easter eggs, and then the traditional baseball game with them afterwards.
     The Passover dinner at GBC apparently went really well, there were about 110 people there, roughly twenty percent of them being visitors, in the sense that they aren't part of the congregation, but all were at one point or are well-known friends of folks who are.
     Dado's final living brother, Kenneth, died this morning. And yesterday would have been Grandpa's birthday, the first one since he died last summer. That was kind of hard to deal with, but easier than I thought it'd be. Maybe because I was distracted by the day's tasks. Mom, Courtney and Amy all went over to Tahlequah to Louise's Thursday, Trish and everyone are visiting, and Bob came over.

     GBC's not officially sending a group to SGYC this year, but there's a plan for an Oklahoma-based camp to start near Chouteau in summer 2018. According to an email I got from Mrs. Boyer, Steve Long will still be the pastor this year, which should be a good thing. I'm not sure if I can be a counselor this year, depends on how the job search goes. If I do go, it'll match the time I spent as a camper - five years.
     Amanda's been teasing me incessantly all week long. ("Rolling eyes") Maya's second birthday is in two weeks.

     Reading slowly through Wendell Berry's Hannah Coulter, because he just can't be read quickly. And also, it's good to sit and think for a while on what his characters have to say and experience. Same way with Flannery O'Connor. I've mostly been reading her nonfiction work Mystery and Manners, which I would say is one of those books on writing that everyone ought to read, along with Stephen King's On Writing, William Strunk Jr's and E.B. White's Elements of Style, William Zinsser's On Writing Well, and William Goldman's Adventures of the Screen Trade. And, if you're into that sort of thing, the AP Stylebook.

     This week's movie of study for Gothic Film and Lit was Crimson Peak, which started well, but unraveling quickly into a horror movie that just didn't work - the harshest critique a story can have. Dr. Mackie and I hate horror movies, so there was that part of it, but Kenzie likes them, and even she wasn't a fan. Tom Hiddleston did well in his role, and there were some good ideas as far as storyline or plot developments, and it had a lot of the traditional Gothic elements (creepy mansion, ghosts, a secret, naive young woman, murder) but there was far too little backstory and far too many unanswered questions by the end. Also, all three of us vehemently wanted the heroine to die, which can't be a good sign.
     The Predators crushed the Blackhawks in game two of their first-round series, and in other NHL action today, Ottawa beat Boston in overtime, Toronto defeated Washington halfway through double overtime, and the Ducks put out the Flames. In NBA news, the Thunder start their first-round series against the Rockets tomorrow night.

     Tom Sawyer went fairly well both nights; the audiences were mostly responsive and animated, and also fairly high in terms of numbers: maybe twenty-five Thursday, thirty-three Friday, and only about a quarter of those were comp tickets. It's kind of sad that thirty people is an enormous audience, but that's the way it is with the RSU Theater Department.
     I played the voice-acting role of Sid Sawyer, Tom's insufferable half-brother, who is, in the words of Derek Steeley, "the Eddie Haskell of American literature." And he's right; Sid is (shudder). So that's partially how I played him, although I was primarily thinking of Waldo from The Little Rascals. (Indignant shudder.) Most lines were voice-acted, as it was a staged reading, which meant only key scenes were acted out. My actual character was Doc Robinson, whose only purpose is to be the brutally-slain murder victim of Injun Joe in the graveyard. Cody played Tom's friend Joe Harper, Keirstine (Jennifer from last spring's "Tales From Tent City") was Becky Thatcher.

     Jimmy Fallon was the host of Saturday Night Live this week, and about half the sketches were really funny. For SNL, that's a good average. The cold open was making fun of Trump again, which was pretty snicker-worthy. - it features someone in a Grim Reaper costume, which instantly brought to mind Jacob's Killer from "Go With the Flow," one of our SWAT skits. (Our blooper reel still cracks me up. And MAN do I miss everybody....) Another good SNL sketch tonight was a date getting crashed in the most awkward way imaginable by the woman's ex, with the punch line stating that he was the one responsible for dragging the guy off the United flight the other day. And they didn't have the best reputation in the first place even before that - remember the (parody?) tune "United Breaks Guitars"? Another was a time-traveling version of Family Feud. 

     Haven't been able to get much work done today on essays and stories that need to be written, but that's part of why I'm typing this post - hopefully it'll kick-start my word output. Sometimes that happens. But anyway, it was time for an update.

Friday Night Thoughts

     Week after next will be spring break (which I doubt will be much of a break). But still, that's a pause from classes for a bit, which is kind of nice. The Thunder are losing to the Suns in Phoenix right now on the almost-silent TV, and Pandora is running in another window. I got a short story finished that's due next week, and a good chunk of another assignment mapped out. It's been a pretty usual Friday night - sort of productive, a little lonely, but with some effort at following a routine to give things some structure - that's why I'm typing this blog post, and why the game is on.

     Overall, this week was pretty average; last week was rough. Uploaded some overdue stuff to the writing projects blog, which I'd been meaning to do for a while. I need to work on the book-review blog, too.

     Texted Dylan and Jon earlier today, it was good to hear from them. They're both doing all right. Jon had some good advice, which is helpful. Ashland and I are counting down until Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 releases in early May.  Her classes are going "fairly easily" this semester, she said last week, so that's good. No news about SGYC 2017 yet - if I can, I think I'd like to help out again.

     Trevor had surgery on his shunt Monday morning, and that went well. Caleb got Dad's old phone, so Courtney and I taught him how to use Spotify. That was fun.

     The MCU is currently at 14 movies (and an ever-widening array of TV shows) since 2008. That's amazing. I think it was right at the end of 2011 that we got into sucked into it. Anyway, Iron Man 3 released at the start of finals week my freshman year, which was a really great motivator.

     Capstone is extremely depressing. Which is slightly better than feeling depressed, anxious AND extremely pissed off, which was how I felt after every Seminar class let out last semester. We've been talking a lot about philosophy for some inexplicable reason, and most English majors don't understand philosophy, so our eyes glaze over while three people out of fifteen say anything. And so far the overarching topic during the immediate coursework has been Death. So if religion can't be used (and it can't, because this is a classroom), how else can you talk about or argue your way around its inevitability? Everything becomes a foolish waste of time.
     The highlight of yesterday was finishing a crossword puzzle in one sitting, which doesn't happen often. But it sounds pathetic that that was the highlight. I'm frustrated by my Pop Market stuff this week, considering that it was one my teaching weeks and the topic was sports. I could have whipped out a really good sports scene in no time, so why did I go with nonfiction, straightforwardly reconstructing myself at five watching Monday Night Football? And the discussion Tuesday morning didn't go too well, either - except for Brian (who was also teaching this week) everybody is pretty apathetic towards them. So their sports-set inclass assignments were full of really obvious errors; that drove me crazy. (I'm really persnickety when it comes to writing well, especially when it's about sports.) Still, there was at least some praiseworthy scrap from almost everyone's piece.
     There are a couple novels that I'll probably come back to from Gothic Film and Lit, but I've pretty much hated every single movie.
     Psych is going fine, and it's interesting, but you can only contemplate serial killers for so long before wanting to just wail at the evilness of their actions, and of sin in general.

     I really miss relatives at night. Grandpa, Mimi, Nano... I'd call Robbie to see how she's doing, but I lost her number when my old phone died. Mom was asking if I was going to order graduation announcements, but I don't think I will. Are college grad announcements a thing people do? And if they are, where would I send them? Almost all the extended family who would be proud is gone, and it would be weird to send them to non-relatives.
     Also missing the NSU BCM and having a place where I fit; where you knew where friends were hanging out and where you knew you were doing something useful, however small. The SWAT antics on the road and during practices, and the wonderful intensity of basketball/volleyball practices. Playing worship music with Daniel P., James Hoover, Ja Li Si and Annie. The Friday Lunch Bunch get-togethers. Praying collectively with other believers. If I could have stayed in Tahlequah I'm pretty sure Grace Baptist would be my home church by now. (I miss the Galdamezes, too.)

     Steven and Jamie are having another murder mystery tomorrow night, which should be amazing for those attending. I wish we could have done more of those during my generation's time in the youth group. GBC is a great church still when it comes to teaching and all, it's just....not so great when you're a single college student in a church full of older people and young families. And the downside of attending the same church for 14 years is that you remember so much. Too many ghosts in the hallway.

     Tried to shoot some baskets this afternoon, to take advantage of the nice weather, but that didn't go very well. Missed about 85% of my shots, a mix of not practiced in forever, it being a really windy day, and the clear-Plexiglass backboard. Those are always really hard to play on, because there aren't any spatial clues about where the backboard is - it just looks like it's hovering in space, which is really unsettling.
    Last night I played Abby Lee for about an hour, mostly playing along with my 90's Spotify playlist. (NSYNC does not work on an acoustic guitar, FYI. Jars of Clay, however, sounds excellent that way.) It didn't go great, but at least it was playing. Usually here lately there's a desperate run through my hymnal/worship-music-songbook about once a week, because it's hard to know what words to pray a lot of the time.
     Missing Rags, too. And Sport. Creek and Firefly and Klipsey and Shadow, Rocky and Swifty. Sunny, and Copper.  There are a lot of animals.

     A classmate named Cody was presenting a reading of his capstone screenplay Tuesday night, so I read a minor role as the minions of the school bully. Hopefully he'll get a good grade on the project.

     Kurt Busch won the Daytona 500 last Sunday, which was good. The college basketball conference tournaments are starting, which has a flickering excitement to it.

     Been flipping through old posts this week. I started this blog one February afternoon as a high school senior, and in December 2014 I wrote a long post about honesty in social media. When it comes to writing, I'm not sure how much truth and honesty are intertwined, though I kind of think they are separate things. It's a muddy area. But mostly I think I've kind of glossed over what this college experience has been like, mainly because of the monotony - at some point there aren't any more ways of saying "I went to class, I did homework, I wish this were over and I had a clear idea of what happens next." I don't know how much I'll post here once the summer comes, but I'll probably keep writing in some way or another.

September Recap

      The month of September didn't exactly speed by, but it's almost in the rearview mirror. Trevor finally got that surgery to fix his meniscus, and we spent around $90 at the Okmulgee library's annual book sale.

     Classes aren't great, but I'm surviving, more or less. And Dylan, Jessica and Ashland are all having a rough time with school, too. Daniel's sister Emily just got engaged, and Jacob got married.

     In sports, the Rams began their tenure in Los Angeles, which is weird. Tim Tebow decided to try playing pro baseball with the Mets, which is also weird. Kevin Durant is now wearing a Warriors jersey, which hurts a lot more than I thought it would. The Paralympics were astonishing to watch, making me grateful for all I can do on a daily basis. Lots more arguments about politics on all TV channels, which is frustrating. Even sports channels, due to 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's protests during the National Anthem.

     Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s fourth season is off to a "meh" start, given that the character of the Ghost Rider has been introduced. That's making it kind of Buffy-like, which is difficult to understand what my reaction ought to be to it. (Is Buffy a well-written show? Yes, definitely. But the supernatural aspects of the vampires make me kind of uncomfortable, so I don't watch unless I have to.) I haven't decided my take on this season of Agents yet. Since it will probably be the final season, I'll likely stick with it, at least until we learn how they're going to explain how a mechanic like Robbie Reyes can transform into a flaming skull vengeance demon creature with an amazing '69 Dodge Charger.

     Why is September such a popular month when it comes to lyrics? Daughtry's "September," Green Day's "Wake Me Up (When September Ends)," Taylor Swift's "Tim McGraw"... I'm sure there's others, too, but those were the ones that have been stuck in my head recently.

Help. Another semester is upon us.

     I really, really, really loathe college. That isn't news. It's just reality....and I didn't expect it to change at all. Granted, it's only Monday, and I just moved in Friday, but this is going to be a tough semester. Tougher than the last one, which wasn't that surprising, either; given that each one has just seemed to get progressively more unpleasant since I came here. Sure, the play last spring kept me busy, and around people, but it was just like another class: You came in, did your job, endured coworkers, then left. Haven't slept well at all, which is nothing new, except that it's maybe a change from most of summer, where it seemed like I was sleeping too much.

     Children's Lit will be my favorite class this semester, I think. Not sure what that says about me. Especially since it's an 8:30 a.m. class, just like all of Dr. Dial-Driver's. I've read through three and a half schoolbooks already, and I haven't even been studying that much. I have been hiking in circles, which always feel ridiculous around here, because there isn't anywhere to go, so I'm not sure what it accomplishes. Half the time I was downtown in Tahlequah I was stopping by Morgan's Bakery. Here? I have no desire to get smushed by a car on the highway like Louie the cat in Bill Wallace's Upchuck and the Rotten Willy(which is a children's book, by the way). But that can get frustrating, too, being marooned on an island-prison of foolish ideas in the midst of a vast ocean of sky and prairie, with the only way to escape being large obnoxious cars.
     In Greek mythology, Pandora's opening of her box let all kinds of horrors into the world. As wonderful a town as Tahlequah is, there are all kinds of reasons - most of which are too inconsequential to even be defined - that NSU was not the greatest school ever. Much of this could be due to being trapped by tradition - CCF certainly was, at any rate. Maybe part of it was knowing so many people who had gone there, I felt like I had to do even better than they all did, maybe. At the bottom of Pandora's box, the last thing to fly out was hope. Hope of leaving isn't much of something to hang on to, but you hang on to whatever you can to survive. The BCM and SWAT were amazing to be involved with. And I did leave, which was good, I guess. I feel like I'm getting a better education here, I think. RSU doesn't have all the traditions that NSU does; it's possibly the newest university in the state, as compared to the oldest. But there doesn't seem to be any room for hope here. And that is very concerning at the least, dismaying and alarming the rest of the time. Because if you don't have hope - of something, anything, really - then what good is there in going through the motions of living? Filling out the mindless assignments of busywork to be turned in, dealing with stupid foolish authors writing drivel.

     I tried to play guitar some earlier tonight, finding a halfway-decent spot on the theater steps. Couldn't seem to play right, and then I got thoroughly cussed out by a large red squirrel to invading his space. Or for playing badly. He was the right size of squirrel to be a bouncer. And I thought I read somewhere a long time ago that squirrels sometimes had rabies, so I didn't feel like sticking around and maybe getting bitten. It just seemed like a perfect encapsulation of my college experience.

     So I'm typing away in my apartment as the laptop lights up the darkness of night, working on a blog post. A couple, actually, since besides this one I'm trying to work on the recap of this year's SGYC experience. And I'm still just as clueless about what the future holds as ever. But maybe more miserable, which is saying something. "Don't be sad, little Joshua. God has a special place for those who feel left out," says Abigail the Cow in Max Lucado's book The Crippled Lamb(another children's book!) I know that at some point this time will prove to have been useful in some way, but this sure isn't it. I'm not sure how I can do this for another year.

Events of Early Summer

     We went to Okmulgee Saturday night to see Captain America: Civil War at the Orpheum. It was very good, but very hard to watch, seeing the bonds which have built so strongly disintegrate. The new Tom Holland version of Spider-Man is awesome; much better than Andrew Garfield.
     Amy's been getting birthday cards from all over, which she has been thrilled by. It's really fun to watch. Mom, Courtney and I started a book-review blog called Dust-Jacket Judgmentalism, check it out!

     In NSU BCM news, Mallory, Jacob, Bucky and Amber all graduated last week, which was cool. Lots of Youth Tour folks graduated, too; so there was lots of posts on Facebook. Justin and Ashleigh's wedding is tomorrow, which is awesome. Susan got an internship as an assistant stage manager in Indianapolis for the summer, which sounds interesting.

     Grades came in Wednesday night; I got three A's in Fiction Writing, Studies in Poetry and Scriptwriting, and a B in Topics of Advanced Comp. So that's a 3.75 GPA this semester, which is way better than I was expecting. Kelsey's documentary turned out well; as did this highlight video that Andrew Nichols put together of the last several seasons of RSU Theater shows.

Infinity Dreams Award

     Just gonna be honest: I have no idea what "Infinity Dreams" are. (But it sounds like it would be the title of an Owl City song, which is a good thing.) Anyway, Susan tagged me in this, which is kind of a blog-based version of those Facebook-chain-notes that were so popular in high school. Because, as always, there is a handful of rules which must be adhered to in things like these, they are:
A - That banner photo must be used. (It is a nice picture.)
B - Thank the blogger who tagged you. (Makes sense. Just out of common courtesy. Thanks Susan!)
C - Tell 11 facts about yourself. (Unless your name is Ron Swanson. My name is not, so I shall find facts to tell about myself.)
D - Answer the 11 questions asked of you.
E - Tag 11 other bloggers. (If possible. I can't think of anyone.)

FUN FACTS ABOUT WESLEY
I can quote the entire script of The Princess Bride from memory.

After NSU BCM friends talked me into watching Parks and Recreation occasionally, I watched season 7 as it was airing, and then turned around and blazed through all seven seasons in six weeks last spring. (And then I began again, tracking the best quotes and quips. Currently at the beginning of season 4 with this massive project.)

I cannot drive due to bad eyesight, as I am blind in my right eye, very nearsighted, and have basically no depth perception or night vision. That can make life interesting.

I've never seen The Lion King all the way through.

Two of my screen crushes as a kid were Belle (from Beauty and the Beast) and Space Jam's Lola Bunny.
Speaking of Space Jam, I will still dance like a maniac if I hear the soundtrack playing.

Dogs and cats are usually much easier to talk with than people are. Also, I have a completely irrational fear of cows. They're almost as scary as dinosaurs.

I once gave an end-of-semester PowerPoint presentation on "The Art of Making Peanut Butter Sandwiches" for my basic computers gen ed, which received a perfect score.

If milk is even close to its expiration date, I'm not drinking it.

I have nine toenails.

I love cleaning. (Just call me Danny Tanner.)

Hunting has never had any appeal for me. I understand that it's sometimes necessary, but it's just not for me. It sounds unpleasant, tromping around in the cold darkness for hours while waiting for a target to show up. I think this comes in large part from loving The Fox and the Hound so much. (Highly-underrated Disney classic.)

NOW FOR THE QUESTIONS
What is your favorite time of the day?
     I can be highly productive between 10 p.m.- 2 a.m., and also late mornings. So I guess those would be my favorite times of day....I can't remember ever actually thinking about this question, so I'm not sure how to answer it.

What is your favorite book genre?
     I really enjoy cozy mysteries. I also like regionalist writers, I've discovered, and I've always pretty much loved work set in small towns, in addition to plots that are very character-driven. I'm not sure any of those is exactly a genre(since I'm terrible at identifying them) but I'll try just about anything. 

What song gets you super motivated to accomplish anything?
     There are a lot of motivating songs. But one of the best is the theme song from Hoosiers. Also the theme song from the Air Bud series, that's good, too.

If money was not an issue, what is the first thing you would do?
     That's a good question. I'm not sure. Maybe go exploring all over the country if I could find some people who wanted to take a cross-country trip for no reason. It seems like it would generate good material for a novel; in addition to being useful from a travelogue-writing perspective and interesting from an adventuring and prowling-through-history standpoint. 

Do you know any scary stories?
     I suppose so...let's see. 
     "Once upon a time - it may have been a dark and stormy night - there was a four-year-old little boy who watched Jurassic Park for some unfathomable reason. He was haunted by nightmares of being ripped apart by raptors for a year afterwards, and  he lived in mortal fear of dinosaurs in general ever since. Eventually, he forced himself to watch it again one day his sophomore year of college, and found just as alarming, though he did applaud the way the story was told, and the mechanics of the movie."

Do you know any puns/jokes?
     Of course. But since there isn't anything to build puns off of from the phrasing of this question, I'm at a loss what to use. 

Should you be doing something else right now instead of writing a blog post?
     Of course I should. I ought to be working on an essay, rewriting another, and revising a handful of short stories and a play-script. Instead I'm thinking of taking a nap on this stormy Sunday afternoon.

What is your favorite color and why?
     Blue, green and orange have always been my favorite colors. I'm not really sure why. Orange is likely because I grew up in an OSU household. And there's a lot of good shades of blue and green, from darker shades like the navy blue of RSU to the dark green of NSU. On a much happier note, there are also lighter shades like sky blue or lime green. 

Have you ever been on stage? If so, what was it like? If not, would you like to be?
     Let's see....first define what's meant by "on stage." Okay, assuming it doesn't mean the musicals and short plays from middle school/early high school, or youth group semi-scripted murder mysteries. And readings of Shakespeare are just readings, though a really fun way to pass the time. 
     There was the NSU BCM drama ministry of SWAT, of course. Those times hanging out/rehearsing with everybody down in the basement or the living room are easily my favorite part of college. Coffee runs late at night with Elizabeth, Susan and Jacob. Even those times like when we nearly died looking for nonexistent churches in sketchy Sallisaw neighborhoods. And First Baptist-Tahlequah did have an actual stage, because we teased Elizabeth about how excited she was gushing about it once we got there. Park Hill was pretty nice, too. (As the archivist of the team, I made sure to upload videos to YouTube when we remembered to shoot them. They can be found here.) 
     Used in the sense of an actual full-length theater production? Yes, actually. The RSU Theater Program just wrapped up their spring '16 show Tales From Tent City, which was a complicated, emotional, ensemble piece about homeless teenagers, where I played the role of Crick, who was a dog-loving scrounger/thief with anxiety issues. It was a bit like if The Breakfast Club took place on the streets, with the group dynamics of the crew from Firefly. I wrote a promo piece to generate interest in the show for my other blog, You Keep Using That Word. 
     The role of Crick was very challenging to play in some ways, because this play had never been produced anywhere before us, so we were originating the roles simply from the script. But it was a good experience, though very tiring, it was worth it. The cast was enjoyable to work with, and we all got along pretty well. Part of my costume was a denim jacket, which was really cool, as I've always loved those. One of the things that was difficult once we actually got to production was not washing my hair for two weeks, since we were homeless. Another semi-entertaining fact, just because it's so strange: One of the major selling points that was used for advertising around the English and Comm departments was "Come see Wes drop F-bombs all over the place!" 

If you had magical powers, what would they be?
     Hmm. I've always thought invisibility would be cool, but teleportation would be the most useful. 

Are you an artist?
     Hahahahaha.....NOPE. Though Courtney and Trevor can both draw really well, so maybe if I had a chance to really practice I could. This is actually the second time in 24 hours that I've been asked this. I definitely admire those who can, like I admire those who can play piano or fiddle really well.  

Modeling Christlikeness in a Sitcom-like Stage Family

     The first assignment for Topics of Advanced Composition was for a personal essay. I was missing everyone from the BCM. So this was good(though tough to reexperience everything from this time) to write, and extremely easy to research. It scored a 93, and when I turned in a revised draft, Dr. Dial-Driver gave me a look like, "Really?" That version got a 100 points.

            Talking about the citizens of Pawnee, Indiana, Parks and Recreation’s Ben Wyatt says at one point, “You know, it’s weird. I’ve been to a lot of towns…usually people don’t care about anything. I mean, don’t get me wrong, they’re weirdos, but….they’re weirdos that care” (“Time Capsule”). For a while around the Northeastern State University campus, and to a lesser extent the city of Tahlequah or Cherokee County generally, if “the SWAT team” were mentioned, the speaker likely didn’t mean a squad of heavily-armed law enforcement officers. Instead they were talking about the drama ministry of the Baptist Collegiate Ministries, which was considered as somewhat of a loose cannon amongst the tight-knit community of BCM outreaches. But we cared about each other. And that was important.

            I was a loner growing up, for the most part. Not that I didn’t like people – it’s more just that I like a small group of specific people, and if someone is able to gain my trust in order to be called a friend, then that trust is nearly indestructible. I had acted in middle school musicals with our homeschool co-op and really enjoyed that, but in general, Oklahoma is rather lacking in acting opportunities. So there was just the occasional murder-mystery, and quoting good TV lines with my siblings. But in general, nothing, which didn’t do much to take my mind off a disastrous freshman year of college or the violent implosion of the sarcastic, witty and creative support group that served as our personal Buffy-type “Scooby Gang” for me and my friends in surviving high school.

            The project known as “Students with a Testimony” began when Samantha Hill transferred to NSU around the spring of 2012 from Carl Albert; their branch of the BCM had a drama ministry primarily used as a tool for evangelization, and Sam wanted to continue that work in and around Tahlequah. She obtained the blessing of NSU BCM directors Bob and Debbie Lipscomb, and then the project was off and running. So she set out to round up some team members through word-of-mouth.

     “I pretty much just had to go out on a limb, finding strangers who wanted to be a part of the BCM and say, ‘Hey, are you a Christian? Would you like to share your testimony?’” she said during an interview for an unpublished newspaper article in September 2013. “I was the crazy girl that everyone saw coming and, believe me, they’d run the other way, because they knew exactly what I was wanting to recruit them for.”

Sam tried to recruit me to immediately join the team when I came to Tahlequah in fall 2012, but I declined, since I thought I had better focus solely on schoolwork until I was more adapted to campus culture. Besides, I was more involved at the time with Campus Christian Fellowship, another ministry which has (though no one on either side wants to actually admit it) a fierce rivalry with the BCM. She got about a dozen people to sign up, though; and they performed a handful of shows in churches of various sizes, interspersing testimonies and Scripture with music and comedy sketches.

     Through a mix of gentle pestering by Sam throughout the year and knowing several other people who attended the BCM regularly, together with realizing that CCF wasn’t at all a place where I could grow spiritually, I started going to the Monday-night worship service, and gradually discovered that this was a good organization to be a part of. When fall 2013 started up and the SWAT sign-ups were passed around, I figured that I ought to dive deeper into helping out. It had been forever since I’d acted in anything, and besides, it was a ministry opportunity. The team was made up of mostly new faces this time around, with Haley Ritter co-leading the group with Sam for a semester.

     “I actually heard about SWAT when I first met Sam and Haley, they were telling me about it, and it seemed like a really, really cool way to do ministry,” said Elizabeth Hodge in an interview from September 2013. “I’ve been involved in theater most of my life, but never have done any kind of ministry like this before. It’s a really cool way to spread the Gospel, because you don’t have to go five thousand miles away and spend five thousand dollars.”

     Once we’d gotten the sketches memorized, life quickly turned into something of a sitcom: Friends was blended into Full House and the sketch comedy group Studio C, and then that combination was added to the YouTube series Messy Mondays, as I put it in a blog post simply titled “SWAT.” But we really did become like family. Sam was the mom of the group, Haley the drill-sergeant aunt. And together, they kept things running with a mix of strictness and sweetness. Jacob was the cool older cousin, while Elizabeth, Susan and I were like siblings. Neighbors included the spacey janitor James, four-wheeling Becca, obnoxious Scott (everyone hated him), couple Skylar and Ja Li Si (we gave them a hard time, of course), while Caleb and Holly were always sort of hanging out in the corner. New additions to the cast several weeks in were TJ, serving as the fiery deadpan snarker in addition to doing voiceovers, while Justin turned out to be a jack-of-all-trades, doing everything from locating churches to running sound equipment and acting.

     There were a lot of coffee runs to McDonald’s when someone had a lot on their mind –

“Random coffee runs late at night make for a gem of a night,” Elizabeth tweeted once – and there was entertaining improvisation out of necessity, and malapropisms galore (well-chronicled in my video “SWAT Blooper Reel”). Road trips to and from shows were also very…interesting, to say the least. As Elizabeth said, “The basic theme of all our road trips is, like once we get there, you ask: ‘…But did we die?’ And that sums up everything perfectly.” For example, there was that night we went looking for the invisible church in Sallisaw.

     Having put together a silent project to go with the Lifehouse song “Everything” for a charity fundraiser/talent show, we were invited to perform it at a revival at Deliverance Baptist the next week. We didn’t usually do shows on Wednesday nights unless it was a special occasion, and this definitely counted. Thing was, though, we’d lost several key props between performances, since it was supposed to be a one-time thing. And several people were late, adding to the tension. So we nervously played ping pong to pass the time, then split up, one group racing to Wal-Mart for glass-bottled root beer, the other group flying to Dollar Tree for play-food money. We got to Sallisaw with a half hour to spare, more than enough time to find the church…..except that none of us can find it on our phones’ maps. We did find three other churches, which all turned out to be the wrong ones. So we finally talk Jacob into calling the pastor, where he’s given directions which sound straightforward enough: “At Wal-Mart, turn right onto Maple and then drive a ways, and then another right.” Maple is located, but it leads to a really sketchy-looking neighborhood….and none of us (ten people in three vehicles) had ever been to this city before, so we were completely lost. And by now it was pouring down rain. Susan and I ask for directions from some terrified construction workers at the Assembly of God, which turns out to be another dead end. (Also, we realized once we got back in the car that she was already in costume as Death.) We get a lead on another place it might be, which takes us several miles out of town and past three burned-out buildings which were at one point churches. The search has now taken an hour and fifteen minutes, all five occupants of our car vote for giving up and finding dinner. We relay this information back to the other two cars, and then eat and drive back home to Tahlequah, crying in frustration yet knowing the situation was hilarious. . This experience was recapped in far more detail in my blog post “Getting Lost.”

     Weather slowed the beginning of our spring semester’s schedule, but the execution of the performances was greatly improved, due in part to the addition of Drew and Ashleigh as tech crew and about a quarter of the cast dropping out. We banded together often to cover roles whenever necessary, and strengthened connections with the other BCM ministries, as the more musical of us joined the worship band. Organization-wide lunch hangouts were a staple of Friday afternoons, and watch parties during Thunder games caused much screaming and strangling of pillows. The overall atmosphere was much like working in Pawnee’s Parks Department, and when you enjoy your coworkers, coming in every day is awesome. Most of us spent nearly every nonclass moment in either the BCM’s basement, living room or office. Special SWAT events included Christmas caroling at a senior citizens’ center - three days before Thanksgiving - a birthday party picnic, and a game night featuring intense rounds of Catchphrase and Apples to Apples. An elderly pastor in Muskogee even gave a handful of us marriage advice after the show one night. (”If you live long enough to say ‘Yes, dear,’ you’ll live to learn everything else.”) Pretty good advice.

     After Sam and her husband moved once she graduated, the way everyone planned the leadership transition to take place was for Susan to take over the reins the next year, with me taking the second-in-command role which Haley had filled. But there were a lot of family problems at home, which meant that I had to leave for a semester in order to help out. Susan’s theater duties kept her too stressed to run SWAT properly, so it was absorbed into the worship band, where it limped along for the rest of the year before apparently being shut down sometime in spring 2015. And by then transfers happened – Skylar and I came to RSU, Elizabeth went to NSUBA, Caleb to Southwest Baptist, etc. And life happened, too – Justin and Ashleigh fell in love almost immediately, and their wedding will be held in a couple months. Jacob is engaged now, and Haley got married. Ja Li Si became Miss Cherokee last year, and began dating Sam’s brother. Graduations will begin proceeding in a couple months.

     We weren’t that successful at evangelizing, but we did do well at encouraging those who needed it – whether that was audience members, relatives, friends or castmates – through the spiritual valleys, discouragements, breakups, general insecurity and school panic of this life. We were a team, which doesn’t come up very often. You don’t really get that Parks and Rec vibe in real life very often. And when you do….that ought to be treasured. “A team isn’t a bunch of kids out to win; a team is something you belong to. Something you feel. Something you have to earn,” Gordon Bombay said in The Mighty Ducks. We earned that, and you don’t let those ties fall slack. So we still keep in touch, and have mini-reunions whenever possible. I may be allergic to college, but SWAT has definitely been one of the highlights.

Works Cited

Coburn, Wesley. “Getting Lost”. Blog post. Another Lover of the Blade. Blogger. 21 November 2013. Web. 17 January 2016.

--------------------. “SWAT”. Blog post. Another Lover of the Blade. Blogger. 9 November 2013. Web. 17 January 2016. 

-------------------. “SWAT Blooper Reel”. Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube. 29 December 2014. Web. 17 January 2015.

Hill, Samantha. Personal interview. 9 September 2013.

Hodge, Elizabeth. Personal interview. 9 September 2013.

------------------ (HodgepodgeEH). “Random coffee outings late at night make for a gem of a night.” 7 March 2014. Tweet.

The Mighty Ducks. 1992. Dir. Stephen Herek. Buena Vista Pictures, 1992. DVD.

“Time Capsule”. Parks and Recreation: Season Three. Writ. Michael Schur. Dir. Michael Schur. NBCUniversal Television Distribution. 2011. DVD.

2015 in Review

     Glory is helping me type this post, she's purring and half-asleep beside me on the bed I use as a desk while at the house. The year's almost ended, so it's time to think over what happened. Basically, it sucked. There were a couple bright spots, like how the entire internet celebrated Back to the Future in October, but in general, bad things happened. As Westley said in the movie, and Fezzik's parents said in the novel, "Life is pain. Anyone who says differently is selling something."

     People shot people often; in St. Louis and South Carolina and elsewhere. There were a lot of racial complaints; in St. Louis and on the OU and Mizzou campuses, among other places. A Muslim guy beheaded a coworker over the summer in an Oklahoma City warehouse. Terrorists bombed Paris repeatedly. The Supreme Court legalized gay marriage nationwide. There was the Bruce Jenner mess. Age of Ultron and Jurassic World ruled the summertime box office. It was announced that season fifteen of American Idol will be the end. Trevor tore his knee all up. Found a couple December 1941 issues of the Joplin News Herald at an estate sale. A woman murdered several people at the Oklahoma State Homecoming parade.It rained and rained and rained even more. Grandpa got cancer which turned terminal. Everyone was outraged at those Planned Parenthood videos and Starbucks changing the design of their holiday cups.

     In sports, the Thunder had an awful season, American Pharaoh was the first horse since 1978 to win the Triple Crown, and Jeff Gordon drove off into the sunset.

     I wrote in-depth pieces on AI and not driving, and there was the annual recap of SGYC '15 to get down. Watched all of Parks and Recreation, Friday Night Lights and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the first seasons of Agent Carter and Daredevil, and nearly, if not all, of Phineas and Ferb. 

     For me, I was stranded on the island of a hilly campus in a city where I didn't know anyone, which wasn't very walkable, with the irony that Claremore has several major highways running through it, allowing people with cars to pass freely wherever it is they wished to go. But it's just a place where I happen to be, not a town where I live. Same thing with RSU, it's just another temporary home where I happen to be right now. It was very good to get to see NSU people occasionally; Daniel, James, Bucky and Amber at Falls Creek in April, and then Daniel, Bucky, James, Jordan, Annie, Ja Li Si at Momentum in September.
     Had a roommate for about three weeks, before he freaked out about the roaches crawling around the apartment. (They weren't that bad.) He was cool, but it was kind of nice to be by myself again. Except when it wasn't. Got lonely often, and there was way too much time to think when I didn't want to. Classes forced me into all-nighters at least once a week, which took a toll. Learned that I sometimes enjoy poetry, though; and also that I can't handle the stress of broadcast news. Also discovered that I am extremely judgmental when it comes to literature.
     Occasionally heard from Daniel, Amanda, Jessica, Dylan, Jon and Ashland, they were all helpful in getting through the year. Became an uncle to Amanda's daughter Maya.
     Read a ton of horrible novels and plays for school, about a third of which was worthwhile.
     Spiritually, it was a tough year. I don't think I met a real Christian around the campus at all all year; and something is weird at GBC, siphoning the energy and congregation even more than in previous years.

     Watched a lot of Studio C sketches, trying to stay upbeat and press on. The Avril Lavigne songs "Everybody Hurts", "I'm With You", "Keep Holding On", "Mobile" and "Tomorrow" could pretty accurate describe most of the year. It just seemed like a year full of failure....and that's hard  to take. Most of the time I was exhausted, stressed out, panicked, worried or pissed off; generally a mix of all those. When I wasn't, I was probably sleeping.

     But now it's over. I want to say that the sun'll come out tomorrow and that 2016 will go easier, but the Irish and pessimistic parts of me say that things can always get worse. I don't see exactly how, but I bet that's probably true. On the other hand, it could be a good year. Guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Thanksgiving Unbreak Two

     It's time for another Thanksgiving unbreak. Which means that the semester is almost over with. And that's good news. It also means that the semester is almost over with....so things are extra-busy with the final projects before finals. That's the other side of the coin.

     I spent all morning at my laptop furiously typing away on the keyboard; where I realized something: It IS possible to write two essays in less than five hours. Not recommended, but it is possible. And so then I rush off to the campus library to print them off before today's Shakespeare class....and there's a note on the door saying "Shakespeare is canceled today."
     ....Seriously?
     So I trooped back to my apartment and played Need For Speed for a while before getting started on some more homework and watching back-to-back episodes of Studio C. (Useful thing about having cable...it's also useful for Wednesday night hockey. And Thunder games.)

     I've had a bunch of SWAT quotes running through my head the last couple days, which has been kind of nice. And also a little sad, now that we've split up all stretched out across the state. I really miss the BCM at NSU. The Parks-like office hierarchy and antics, Bob and Deb's leadership, SWAT practices in the basement or worship practices upstairs before Impact meetings, the anything-can-happen vibe during the Velocity bible studies on Thursday nights, Thunder watch parties in the living room where we all suffocate pillows, the softest couches on campus, Friday Lunch Bunch meetings....it feels like a lot longer than three semesters ago that I left Tahlequah. Or maybe they've just been really long semesters. Anyway, Elizabeth and I got to chatting on Twitter tonight about the disastrous Sallisaw road trip, which happened two years ago on Saturday. I'm still a little mad about that, honestly. (Though it does make a wonderful story. Probably because it was such a complete failure.) 

     The first "Thanksgiving Unbreak" post was written two years ago, but I liked the title and thought I'd reuse it. I have to read John Steinbeck, of all people, over the break for American Lit. (I loath John Steinbeck slightly less than my hatred for Charles Dickens.) Maybe Of Mice and Men will be tolerable, though? I can hope....

     Done a lot of reading not-for-school this week, which is the best kind. Wilson Rawls's classic Where the Red Fern Grows was devoured on Sunday night, it was a good chance to study great writing. And besides, it was a pretty crappy day and I needed to cry. And it's a lock that oceans of tears will fall all through, especially the last thirty pages. Anyway, there was also a quite disappointing history of Sesame Street, which spent fully half the book detailing the preproduction arguments between government officials and education professors. And it gave way too much attention to the earliest examples of children's television programming. But when it actually focused on making the show, it was a good book. It's just that took about fifty pages out of about 350 total. Also read a history of America told through major foods that have been important through the years, Amy Poehler's well-written and very strange memoir, and an introductory textbook about the business of voice acting.
     Hoping to get some not-for-school fiction in soon, because while The Tempest is interesting(and I think played a big part in influencing The Little Mermaid, of all things), Eugene O'Neill and Tennessee Williams are incredibly depressing. especially back-to-back. And that's not even counting the bizarre Alice in Wonderland-like novel written by some Japanese guy or some extremely frightening short stories set in a dystopia where megacorporations of GMO manufacturing rule everything. (I hate dystopian stories maybe more than Dickens. Also, I realized yesterday morning that I'm VERY JUDGMENTAL when it comes to literature. This is probably good for life, but not so great for classes.)

     Where was I? Complaining about how tired I am, maybe? But that's what happens when you must pull at least one all-nighter a week in order to keep up with coursework for several months in a row. Heard from Ashland the other day; encouraging each other through this last couple weeks of school. That was good.

     I caught one of those 24-hour viruses on Friday night, so that pretty much wrecked most of the weekend in terms of productivity, which led to the frantic cram session this morning. But I'm feeling better now. Went Christmas shopping yesterday morning, then watched Jeff Gordon's final race, where Kyle Busch won his first title. I've never been much of a Gordon fan, but it'll be even weirder watching a race without him racing than it is to see a football game without Brett Favre....but Bill Elliott's son Chase is the guy replacing him, so I'll have a new driver to root for next season.

     Now to finish the last peer critiques of the semester for tomorrow's Poetry Writing, email them to myself for printing in the morning, and I think I can get some sleep.

Middle of September

     Well, let's see....the Okmulgee Public Library's annual book sale was last weekend, and so we got about three hundred books. On Saturday read through The Hidden Life of Dogs by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas and When God Doesn't Make Sense by James Dobson.
      I think somehow I must act as an animal magnet. It's strange, but nice. Rags, Captain, Banjo, Darcy, Glory, Jellybean, Drysa....it's just "Wesley! Pounce!"

     In school stuff, I found that I don't particularly care for Edgar Allan Poe all that much, and was somewhat ridiculed by the teacher for never having read him before. Much Ado About Nothing back-to-back weeks, first for Lit Traditions and then for Shakespeare. That was good. And so I watched the amazing Joss Whedon adaptation at least six times in two weeks, plus reading the actual Shakespeare script several times, as research for two papers. As You Like It doesn't have much of a plot at all, and so it's hard to follow what's happening, but there are a lot of good quotes throughout. Drive Me Crazy is a 90's romcom that follows Shakespeare's general rules for structure pretty well. Melissa Joan Hart is the lead, and her dad is Stephen Collins(Eric Camden of 7th Heaven).

     Ordered the season two DVD of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. from Amazon; and bought Mom the first season DVD of Agent Carter as a birthday present. Season three of S.H.I.E.L.D. begins in eight days(not that we're counting the hours or anything...)  
     This weekend there was a (very small) arts and crafts show on campus, so I bought some art for my apartment, since it's a little sparse on decorations right now(I haven't even hung up Amanda's basketball hoop yet). And also, it would have been Mimi's birthday, and she loved arts-and-crafts shows, so that was kind of nice.

     The RSU BCM was showing The Princess Bride last Monday night, so I sat way in the back and quoted all the lines of the script to myself; finding out that, yes, I can do it accurately the entire way through. That was good to know. Reading through the William Goldman novel again right now.
     The Friday before that, they talked me into coming with them to a conference called Momentum in Moore, which all the schools go to, kind of like the Falls Creek retreat in spring. That was okay. It was fantastic to spend time hanging out with Annie, Bucky, Daniel P., James and Ja Li Si again. They were just as glad to see me as I was to see them. But I guess it's like 2018 now in our Pawnee Parks Department....which is sad. No amount of waffles and steak can fix that. Nor coffee runs. And it was very good to see Bob and Deb again. They taught a breakout session on trusting God through the difficult times, which was wonderful. Just the way their faith has carried them through everything over the past year...amazing to see. I mean, I knew it before, but they're the kind of people you want to emulate.

     Talked with Amanda for a while the other night, which was good. And Jon is using a picture I took of Abby Lee years ago as the cover for the new Heroes At Large single. The continued evaporation of the GBC congregation is worrying and disappointing.

CAMP: Part IX, How Firm a Foundation In Christ Alone

     It's that time of year again: We just got back from the 2015 edition of the Sovereign Grace Youth Camp, and so a recap needed to be written. (See these earlier posts for the first, second, third, fourth and fifth years as a camper, as well as lessons learned while there; and then these for years one and two on the other side of the buffalo fence as a counselor. (That was a figure of speech. Stay VERY FAR AWAY from the buffalo. But y'all knew that already.)

     We had a smaller group from Tulsa than expected; only fifteen, but that still was easily the most of any group. (By state, of course, Missouri had the most people overall.) The guys were Bennett, Wesley DeSpain, Trenton and Caleb, and then rookies in Wesley's brother Bailey and the Coxes' cousin Joe. The girls were Laura, Courtney, Callie, MattieGrace, Vivian, Lydia, and then rookies Chloe(the DeSpains' sister), Kate and Hope.
     There were 25 guys, and about thirtyish girls; the final count was about 57 campers, so by far the smallest year that I've ever seen. I knew all the counselors; Tim, Brother Larry, Tom Henry, Curtis, Mrs. Boyer, Robin, Janets Crawford and Pokorny, Rachel, Miss Kathy, and then new camper-turned-counselors Anne and Abbey. Trevor Johnson spoke during the group sessions, and his wife and kids were back again, too. The camp pastor this year was Mark Webb from Mississippi, and his sermons were from the elements of Jesus' life that Luke looked at specifically, or gave more detail to than others did.
     The camp books had a page dedicated to camp history for the first time; which was awesome. During the counselors' meeting on Tuesday morning we looked at a lot of pictures from 1985(the first year) and heard lots of stories about how awful Camp Sonrise was. (Ryan and Mary had both talked in earlier years about the electrifying showers, and Mrs. Boyer added that her first year as counselor she broke her ankle falling down a hill.)
     Except for sermon notes, and scorekeeping for cabbage ball, I kept absolutely zero written record on what happened during the week. So what follows won't be chronological, and it probably won't be as detailed.

     Things were really fixed up this year; the outer left cabin "ghetto" was walled over(insert complaining here...though it probably was a health hazard). The ceilings and walls of the guys' cabin had received new plywood covering and paint; the cabin had a completely new metal roof, replacing the shingles, and the chapel had gotten a total makeover; lights, paneling, carpet, everything. Most of the mini golf holes had been recarpeted as well. And the concrete of the tabernacle floor had been stained.

     Almost nobody got hurt; which was great, and there weren't very many rule infractions, either. So that definitely helped, too. Forrest did break his nose digging a volleyball on Thursday night, and one girl got pretty dehydrated Monday/Tuesday, but other than that I don't think there was anything serious.
     There was a food fight at lunch on Wednesday, which resulted in pudding splashed across several backpacks, and scrapes caused by fork attacks. But we learned later why that fight took place, and while it wasn't a good thing, it happened for a pretty good reason. Apparently one of the Beth-Eden staff was being a huge jerk in general, and he kept pestering Audrey in particular, causing a general freakout among everyone on the Black team. ("Freakout!" actually became the Black rally cry.) Her brothers and most of the Tulsa guys came to her defense by retaliating at the guy somehow over lunch.

    There were a lot of hijinks in the cabins all week. Caleb Freeland and the Bebouts were playing pranks on everyone, beginning with moving a mattress into the shower. "What are you doing?" "I thought you said there weren't any counselors in here right now?!" Forrest hisses at Caleb. "We're moving this bed into the shower." "Who's is it?" "Drew Brashers's." "Uh-huh....Is it wet?" "Nope! We're just hiding it here." "Why?" "Cause it'll drive him crazy. Is that okay?" I think a minute. "That's hilarious. Go for it." One of the younger Mississippi kids, watching the scene, says, "That guy's my new favorite counselor." Drew then stole Hunter's mattress as payback.
     A couple nights later Caleb F. and Chris Underwood markered on the faces of most people who were asleep, using a Sharpie I'd found in my backpack.
     I think I must've been influenced a lot by Jon to allow/help with those pranks. But it was fun; and they'll remember how they had a blast doing all that stuff. And maybe Jed's comment about the spirit of adventure had something to do with it, too.
     There was also a bunch of Nerf gun battles almost every night; which can be quite intense in such a confined space as the cabin.
     Tim's nephew(and rookie) Matthew kept incessantly setting his flashlight on strobe mode and shining it in everyone's eyes; that was a little frustrating at times. Thus he will likely forever be known camp-wise as "Strobe".
     I went with most of the guys down to the hidden meadow soccer field each day while the girls sang; playing on Tuesday, talking to Christian on Wednesday and serving as a goalie and dealing with a swarm of wasps flying around the whole time on Thursday. I just kept hoping none would land in my hair like that one last year did to Ashland. And the following mangled Scripture came to mind: :"When you encounter wasps of various kinds, consider it all joy; by doing these things for them, you have done them for me." (James 1:2 and Matthew 25:45)

     I was assigned to work cabbage ball solo; which felt weird, taking over Brother Larry's spot there. And also, probably a nearsighted guy whose knowledge of baseball rules is shaky isn't the best candidate for serving as umpire? I tried to call things as best I could, but I got a lot of flak most games. Thankfully, Miss Kathy, Abbey and Janet P all helped out at various points with second-base calls.
     The new cabbage ball I got from Amazon got broken in pretty well; the games used both mine and Brother Larry's well-used mushball, with the switches depending on how play was going. Remembering that Ryan, Dylan and I weighted down the archery targets with chunks of firewood, I pulled a couple chunks out of the woodpile down by the tabernacle to mark the pitcher's circle and Catcher Safety Zone. And not wanting a repeat of the time that Samara got a bat thrown at her ankle(she had a bruise for two months), I created a rule that a flung bat was an automatic out. It wasn't very popular, but no one got hurt.
     White and Yellow started the Tournament Challenge in cabbage ball; their game went back and forth for five innings before White erupted for 18 runs in the final inning; the final score was 25-6, which everyone talked about for most of the week. Mrs. Boyer even opened the lunch line by announcing "if your team got destroyed this morning, go ahead!" (Red was also obliterated in volleyball by Green; as best I could piece together, the final score was 15-8, 15-1, 21-0).
     Red beat Yellow 8-6 in a fast-moving back-and-forth game during Worst/First Tuesday night. (It went seven and a half innings.)
     Red won Wednesday morning 7-4 over Blue in another fast-moving game, which went eight and a half innings.
     In the second Worst/First through Thursday morning mist, Yellow defeated Black in the rematch by a 7-4 score in eight full innings.
     And to wrap things up, Green exploded for 13 runs in an extremely-slow-paced game to beat Black 16-0 in four innings, winning the Tournament Challenge with six points.

     Most of the great camp songs were sung again - Daniel 4:35, "In Christ Alone", "Conquering Now and Still to Conquer", "Are You Washed in the Blood?", the camp "Come Thou Fount", among others.
     For the talent share, the Grace Bible-Tulsa youth group sang a couple songs, including "Come Praise and Glorify"; the Fergusons sang the Chelsea Moon version of "How Firm a Foundation", the Knapps played several awesome fiddle/cello/piano pieces, the Underwoods and Dischers had some fantastic songs, including a teamup effort. Courtney and I did the Studio C sketch Evil Memory Lapse, she as Jemima and me playing Professor Murdoc, drafting Caleb as the soldier and Audrey as my assistant Dr. Jenny Graves, since she'd borrowed Courtney for The Triune Tale of Diminutive Swine last year. My SWAT T-shirt wasn't worn, but I did use it as a prop, on Courtney's suggestion. On a rather disappointing note, there was nothing done by Tim, Mrs. Boyer, or Miss Kathy this year. The talent share went by very quickly, probably 45 minutes until some encore performances, and still there was about a half-hour gap until general session started.
     Rachel said the skit reminded her of Megamind; and Janet C thought it was hilarious, especially since it was clean. Tom joked that I better not go all Hollywood on everyone. Maybe the humor was too subtle or something - Courtney said a lot of people were a bit confused. Caleb Freeland asked me the next day, "Do you guys watch Studio C?" I grin and answer "Yep!" He laughs. "I thought that was one of theirs." (Comparison of our favorite sketches commenced here.)

     Some of the girls asked for a tour of the guys' cabin once we'd gotten it all cleaned up, and their reactions were entertaining. They said it was like visiting a prison. Sure, it's not fancy. But it works. (Besides, footballs and karate kicks tend to break stuff and cause holes in walls and floors...and that's why we can't have nice things.)

     The Gum Tree was freshly decorated, as it should be. (Old picture from several years ago.)

     The general session sermons were from Luke, and going in order from Monday night, from Luke 1:1-4, which was basically an introduction to the book, and educated guesses about the character, life and work of Luke. Much like Mark worked closely with Peter, Luke worked closely with Paul. Luke's Gospel tends to emphasize the same things a lot of Paul's letter did; and it's written as a story in tone(which is why it's always been my favorite Gospel). Each Gospel writer stressed different points, as Mr. Evans' choir explained to Jane Blonde in The Mystery of the Manger, probably to reach different people. Luke was a careful historian and likely personally interviewed many of the key characters of Jesus' story , since he states in v3 that he has "carefully researched everything since the beginning".
     Tuesday morning was from Luke 7:11-16, showing how Jesus' raising of the widow's only son in that little town called Nain connected with Old Testament history. It featured a lot of explanation about the area that Nazareth is in; how drenched in OT events the area is.
     More interesting facts about Israeli geography in Tuesday night's sermon; apparently Jericho and Jerusalem are only separated by about fifteen miles, but Jerusalem is 3,500 feet above sea level, and Jericho is a thousand feet below sea level. And the road goes through an enormous dark canyon the locals call "the Valley of the Shadow of Death". In other words, this was(and is) the perfect place to get robbed. Which is exactly what happens to the traveler in the parable Jesus tells of in Luke 10:25-37. Here's something I hadn't thought about before; maybe the priest couldn't help the man, because he had his own job or task to do at the moment. I suppose that would have been God's will, too, one of those mysterious ways it works sometimes, that the right man would come along. The Levite was probably a kind of priest's assistant, so maybe he couldn't help, either. Or maybe he just didn't want to get involved. And then there's this Samaritan, of all people....Samaritans were kind of halfbreeds, and fully outcasts. Also, they hated the Jews almost as much as the Jews despised them. John Dugas preached from John 4 about the Samaritan woman at the well a couple months ago; that helped a lot in understanding this passage. Anyway, this Samaritan is the one to help the man, and in so doing, serve as the example for what it means to love one's neighbor. The lawyer asking the question that started this parable is looking for a loophole to close off the "neighbors" circle, but Jesus makes it clear that what the law demands is that anyone we come across that needs help is our neighbor. Which is basically everybody. And by helping that person, that is love. It's more of a chosen willful action than it is an emotion, though emotion sometimes goes with the action. Mr. Webb defined it like this: "A self-sacrificing determination to do good for the other person, as God defines what 'good' is."  That's...really specific. And very hard. And highly encouraging. And really convicting. It goes back to the idea of Jesus becoming a servant, really. (Mark 10:45)
     Didn't get any notes on Wednesday morning's sermon on prayer from Luke 11:1-10, but Wednesday night was the entirety of Luke 15 on the parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin and the Prodigal Son. I hadn't really connected before that they were all really parts of the same speech; or the common themes of lostness and grace. The stakes keep rising throughout the story; at first it's only one sheep out of a hundred. Sure, you want to find it, but if you don't, it's not a bad shrinkage rate. An individual coin is worth more than an isolated sheep; especially if there's only ten to start with. And then when it comes to people....well, it's hard to measure stakes that high; but it's easy to feel the weight of losing people. There were lots of stories about how dumb sheep are; they're experts at getting lost, they follow the leader all the time, they're helpless without any natural defenses, and they're stupid. It's almost like they stay up late at night in the barn plotting their suicide attempts for the next day. A lot of that....kind of really applies to people, too, spiritually speaking. Which is pretty embarrassing... Anyway, the lost thing is sought because it belongs to the seeker. But in order to find the object, the seeker must expose themselves to the same environment as the lost thing. Which is why Jesus came to live as a man. Grace is the Holy Spirit hunting down that lost object, or the soul of those God has chosen. It's invisible and gradual, but it happens, and as the sought soul draws closer to God, they reflect him more clearly. And the second half of the story of the Prodigal Son, I heard this explained really well on the radio by Ravi Zacharias one time, is that even "good" people need a Savior. Maybe more so, because they usually don't realize that they need him. Self-righteousness will keep you outside of heaven; and no matter what you do, you'll never be good enough to earn your salvation.
     Didn't get any notes on Thursday morning, either; but it was about Zaccheus, from Luke 19:1-10. Paul was said to be 4'11" and bald, so maybe he particularly liked this story, and so that's why Luke included it. But from now on I'm probably going to imagine Paul as Wallace Shawn. Also, this response stood in sharp contrast to the rich young ruler(imagined as Tony Stark, due to one of our SWAT skits), who refused to surrender all his wealth.
      Anyway, Thursday night's sermon was from Luke 23:39-43 about the Thief on the Cross. He mocked Jesus, too; but sometime during the horrific ordeal he changed his mind. Maybe because Jesus prayed for the Father to "forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). That rich young ruler asked what good works he could do to earn his salvation; this dude on the cross can't do ANY good works. And he can't promise to do any in the future, either; because he's gonna die in hours. It's all grace. No one deserves to go to heaven, but some are allowed to go there, because it's a gift. Mr. Webb quoted Matthew Henry the commentary guy, who once wrote that there were "Two thieves there on the crosses along with Jesus. One of them was saved; so that none might despair. But only one was saved, so that none might presume."
     On Friday morning, the last sermon was from Luke 24-13-32, on the Road to Emmaus. These disciples had put their trust in Christ; but things looked extremely dark, and so they were sad(grave), because the world had been shattered and they realized that none of what they thought would happen actually would. They were probably confused, which is why Jesus explained all those Old Testament Scriptures about himself to them. They were ignorant; which doesn't mean stupid, it just means not being able to recognize something obvious. Before we can see God's glory, our eyes must be opened.

     This year, going in, I had a really bad feeling about how things would go. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because almost none of the puzzle pieces last year fit together quite right. Maybe I realized that this would be the beginning of the end of the third generation that I'd known. But it really went pretty well. Bennett called it "a year of healing", which seemed to fit well.
     Everywhere I look at Camp Beth-Eden, there's memories. Talking with Jed and Jon in the cabins(and making Tim really mad by keeping him awake with aforementioned conversations.) Duets with Jake on the trail and in the showers. Square dancing with Madelyn and Ashland. Mealtime chats with Daniel, Ryan, the Davises, the Freelands, the Hankinses or the Taillefers. INTENSE ping pong matches. Ultimate Frisbee mishaps. That tension of Final Jeopardy in Bible trivia. Plotting strategy with Ashland and Matt. Getting lost that first day with Josh, and the terror that was meeting Brother Larry. Jamming during Talent Share practice with me on guitar, Daniel on mandolin and Keely on viola. Learning how to throw a Frisbee from Matt, and then teaching it to Dylan Steeley several years later. The Great Rains of 2009. The Oppressive Heat of 2011. All those volleyball games; from learning to play(and Ash and I using each other as targets) to the "Sharkbait!" rally call to winning the Tournament Challenge to chasing runaway balls through the woods. Talent Share times; that first time to sing in front of strangers, "Temporary Home" with Samara, with the Jedites, and as part of Daniel's and Jed's choirs. Wednesday night in 2012. The Card Ceremony. Courtney and Paige's "Twelve Things of Camp". The momentous Thursday nights of '11 and '12. Experiencing things from a counselor's POV for the first time alongside Jed, Taylor, and Dylan Underwood.
     I was able to appreciate the moment just by living in it, not necessarily having to capture it for later analyzation. I heard a lot of rather-sheepish comments by campers, as they realized I could probably hear them, that us counselors in general were "not as uptight as usual". But also, they knew where the boundaries were, so they didn't try to stretch them too much out of shape. There were times I wanted to yell at some people, sure, but overall everyone was very respectful. It was a blessing to work with everyone again; and very good to be able to serve the campers.

     Other random bits; Square dancing went well, it was fun to dance again. Brad DeSpain and Mickey Buckmaster drove up in record time(three hours and thirteen minutes from GBC parking lot to sitting in front of the dining hall). Mrs. Mueller and Mrs. Wilson drove on the return trip back to Oklahoma, and it felt a little bit like a SWAT road trip, involving McDonald's mixups, a detour through someone's yard and driving in the wrong lane(I definitely thought of our motto.) Gary Long was the special speaker again this year; much to nearly everyone's dismay, but he didn't say anything offensive this time. Bailey DeSpain was accidentally listed in the camp book as a girl. Brother Larry is pretty good at ping pong.

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CAMP BOOK SIGNINGS

"Enjoy working with you. Mrs. Janet (Pokorny)"

(Drew Blanton's signature)

"Your a good counsalor. John Thomas"

"Jesus said 'in this world you will have tribulation, but BE OF GOOD CHEER! I have overcome the world!' Mrs. Bebout  To my sane and urbane friend!"

"Dear Wesley, Thank you for being such an encouragement to me each year. Your love for the Lord is evident and also your love for the kids. Lord willing I hope to serve with you again next year. Love, Janet (Crawford)"

"Wesley, thanks for the great job you did at camp! May God bless you in the days ahead. - PROV. 3:5 Mark Webb"

"Wesley, good to see you again as a councelor! Loved Cabbage ball you made it even more fun, Grayson H."

"Wesley, you are a very good counselor. I so much appreciate your willing spirit. Hope to work with you again next year. In Christ, Tom Henry"

"Wesley, you are one of those counselors I know will answer any question I have about games or help me out...sorry I have not been more friendly over the week. Thank you for your kindness and encouragement at camp! Keep coming back! Emily P."

"Hey Wes! For a counsler and a brother your not terrible....Love, Courtney"

"Thanks for keeping the belches under control. Yours truly, Benito" (Bennett)

"Wesley, thank you so much for all your work this week. I truly do appreciate it. Please come back next year! Jacob"

"Wesley! Thanks for being a soops cool counselor and letting Yellow win at cabbage ball. U da bomb! Laura F."

"thanks for being an amazing conselor and letting us do pranks :) and for playing soccer with us. Caleb Freeland"

"You are so sweet and awesome! Mary Kate"

"Glad to see you again this year. You're a great cousnelor! - Rachel"

"Thanks for being a good counselor Wesley - Forrest"

"You're a great counselor! Thanks for making the week even greater. - Mattie F."

"Wesley, thanks for being a good counselor! - Joe"

"Thank for being a good counselor and for taking away Strobe's flashlight. Wesley #2"

"Wesley, I hope you had a great time, and was blessed by the preaching! Hope to see you next year. Anne"

"Wesley, your a great counselor, and it was great hanging out this week!! - Andrew B."

(Tim Nehrbass's signature) "Thanks for serving again!"

"Nice seeing you again. Have a great year. - Christian"

"Wesley!! Hey, it was great to see you again!! By the way, you make a great evil doctor. Thanks for involving me in that. Hope to see you next year!! - Audrey Bebout"

"Wesley! You were a great counselor again. :) - Callie"

(Bailey DeSpain's signature)

"Wesley, so glad you could come back this year! You were a great counselor! - Brett"

"Wesley, Run the race with endurance, brother. In Christ, Curtis Knapp"

"Wesley, you were a great co-counselor this week! Hope you enjoyed it! Abbey"

"Great to see you again. May God bless you as you continue your education. See you on Facebook! L. Dean"

"Thanks for calling cabbage ball! Hunter B."

"Wesley! You have grown to such an excellent example of a yougn Christian man! I'm honored to know you! Praying often for you - you have a special place in my heart! Love you! :) Miss Terry"