Music Review; Brad Paisley - Part II

   The second part of this music-reviewing project, on Brad Paisley's second CD, "Part II", which was released by Arista Nashville in 2001 on May 29.

Track One - Two Feet Of Topsoil - At first glance, a typical breakup song...but then you start to notice the landslide of adjectives used in these sentences...and by then you're smiling in sympathy and nodding, with tears possibly escaping from laughing so hard. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9R7Zs-odjU

Track Two - I'm Gonna Miss Her - His first huge hit, George Strait, Alan Jackson and Garth Brooks all wanted to do this song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9R7Zs-odjU (Video is okay.)

Track Three - Part Two - This has one of the most famous backstories in country music. In college, before he moved to Nahsville, Paisley was dating this girl he knew back in West Virginia, they went to see "Father of the Bride" on his mom's birthday. Well, people convinced him his path lay in Tennessee, so he moved down there, and this girl immediately started dating his best friend back home. That led to them breaking up, and he had an impossible time getting over her. His two songwriting pals got sick of hearing his wistful complaints, and when the sequel came out, they convinced him to go see it, on the very same day, at the very same time, in the very same theater, where he and that girl had watched the first one. They figured if she was as torn up about it as Brad was, she'd have the same idea and they'd be reunited. If not, well, he would finally be able to put it behind him and move on. He went, felt like an idiot, and came back to Tennessee complaining, and the three of them got to talking, and it led to this song. Also, he did see the girl who would become his wife...who just happened to be the main actress in the movie. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVQY3yJ5z5Y

Track Four - Wrapped Around - Not much of a story here, just that a guy has finally decided to ask his girl to marry him. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbe9mCVYL54 (Concert video.)

Track Five - Two People Fell in Love - A great look at how the ordinary leads to the extraordinary. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNU3k_poj_Q (Great video.)

Track Six - Come On Over Tonight - A guy who swore he'd stay away from relationships finds himself in one, and his humorous explanation of the fact. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIvJUcCyP7k

Track Seven - You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive - A dark, depressing lament of life in a coal-mining community. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1BGyegjiT8

Track Eight - I Wish You'd Stay - An incredibly sad story that you almost cry at while listening. But it's a good one. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV-kzLZs650 (The video adds so many more layers to this song...it's great.)

Track Nine - All You Really Need Is Love - Wonderful. He can take a cliche like the title, and then flip it upside down and inside out into a hilarious ode to "Well, yeah, that's true, but..." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhxPIrPpc20 (This video is homemade, but they captured it perfectly.)

Track Ten - Munster Rag - Instrumental, again, this is crazy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcxLQ9fRxKc

Track Eleven - You Have That Effect On Me - Sort of a continuation of "Wrapped Around", but a little different view. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHqAq-RmrFU

Track Twelve - Too Country - This is a song featuring a bunch of old guys, and it's a little boring. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZIxonh56jI

Track Thirteen - The Old Rugged Cross - A live recording of this song he did when inducted into the Grand Old Opry, and it's great. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emTMoLaRGy8

   There's some clunkers on this album for sure, but on the other hand, there's some gems, too.

 My Rankings:
13 - Too Country
12 - You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive
11 - You Have That Effect On Me
10 - Munster Rag
9 - I'm Gonna Miss Her
8 - Wrapped Around
7 - Come On Over Tonight
6 - Two Feet Of Topsoil
5 - All You Really Need Is Love
4 - The Old Rugged Cross
3 - Part Two
2 - Two People Fell In Love
1 - I Wish You'd Stay.

Music Review; Brad Paisley - Who Needs Pictures

    I need projects to do, things to report on. Since AI isn't on right now, I'm not even sure I'll watch when it is, and I don't have a TV, shows are out. Movies...eh, that wouldn't be any good, either. I'd go too in-depth dissecting and analyzing the story and characters, and either bore my audience to tears, or tell them everything there is in the movie, and thus there wouldn't be any point in watching it. Books? Oh, no....see above comment on movies, only seven times more so. Restaurants? Way too expensive, and I wouldn't know a good one from a bad one, anyway. Sports? I know those the best, but it's a little depressing just to give recaps on here, and there isn't much shelf life. So I guess I'll give reviews of CDs, since I already have a few, and I'd be listening to them anyway. I guess I'll start with Brad Paisley's first album, "Who Needs Pictures", released by Arista Nashville in 1999.

Track One - Long Sermon - This guy is a genius songwriter. An etremely common everyday experience, but who would actually write a song about it? The basic story of it is the narrator is bored listening to a sermon that's dry as dust on a beautiful summer Sunday after a week of nothing but rain(Bleah!) and he wants to be out on the lake with his wife or girlfriend on her brother's boat. This link isn't that great vocal quality, just found it on YouTube, but nobody sounds good at concerts. Besides, it also shows off what a fantastic guitarist he is. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCpg5z48MG0

Track Two - Me Neither - A guy untalented at flirting is getting rejected by a lady...and then by another one....and again....and yet again....hysterical. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbeaLb4KvEE (Not much a fan of concert-footage videos, if anyone's wondering.)

Track Three - Who Needs Pictures - Coming across an old Kodak camera brings back a flood of memories from a relationship that he thought he'd put in his past...it happens often. Why is it those random phrases or objects bring back such memories, good and bad? And then why won't they go away like we wish they would, why must we wrestle with things again? (Interesting psychologic rabbit trail opens up here...part of why I love country music. It's life - The good, the awful, the smart and the dumb, the feelings, the actions, the history. And for all those reasons, it's the genre of stories. And a well-made story should make you think.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbeaLb4KvEE (Great video.)

Track Four - Don't Breathe - A guy is trying to figure out what to do next after a breakup, having some trouble doing that. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCLVvhyTqRU

Track Five - He Didn't Have To Be - In a hospital while his wife is in labor, a husband thinks back over how the man who raised him accomplished that, and resolves to be as good a father to his children as his dad was to him. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjO1F6oCab8 (Terrific video.)

Track Six- It Never Woulda Worked Out Anyway - A jealous guy invents outlandish tales to keep other guys away from the woman he loves. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjO1F6oCab8

Track Seven - Holdin' On To You - Sometimes you just can't let go, have trouble moving on. Captures that heartbreaking sentiment well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yH9tKQh0ro

Track Eight - I've Been Better - "Dear, I've gotten that job that I was chasing, making a ton of money, have an incredible amount of prestige, everyone's saying I'm at the top of the world...but you were right, I was going after that too hard, and my life really is as empty as you said it would be. You probably will never read this, but I just wanted to say....that you were right, and I was wrong. And now I'm kicking myself for my stupidity." That's a paraphrased version of this song, which is actually written as a letter. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3qU1nke8_w

Track Nine - We Danced - One of the two greatest love story songs, start to finish, ever writen, and in my top ten of favorite country songs of all time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6lTU_bhISI

Track Ten - Sleepin' On The Foldout - Switching gears back to reality, this song accurately pictures us guys' ability to do stupid things and stick our feet in our mouths. Funny, because it's easy to relate to.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2jGMgCBvFc

Track Eleven - Cloud Of Dust - "Life's hard. I'm tryin' as best I can to get through it, but it kinda looks hopeless right now." This is a pathetic tale similar to Jason Aldean's "Amarillo Sky", which came out later, but more emotional and gripping. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MGanRgGNJY

Track Twelve - The Nervous Breakdown - An instrumental, it blows your mind to listen to, and even more so to watch, much less comprehend how to actually play. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y-Ipi1dnng

Track Thirteen - In The Garden - The old semi-known hymn. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM_nEZbIISc

   My criteria for a good story, whether book, TV show, photograph, magazine article, movie, song, or whatever; was summed up by a talking cucumber, and echoed by a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer. Larry said after watching Dave and the Giant Pickle: "Oh my, what a show! I laughed, I cried, it moved me, Bob."
   A while after I (sort of, you never completely) moved on from VeggieTales I found this quote by Ansel Adams: "If it makes you laugh, if it makes you cry, if it makes you think; that's a good picture."
   This CD does that.

My rankings of the songs on this album:
13 - I've Been Better
12 - In the Garden
11 - It Never Woulda Worked Out Anyway
10 - Holdin' On to You
9 - Don't Breathe
8 - Cloud of Dust
7 - The Nervous Breakdown
6 - He Didn't Have to Be
5 - Sleepin' on the Foldout
4 - Me Neither
3 - Who Needs Pictures
2 - Long Sermon
1 - We Danced.

CAMP: Part VI, Lessons Learned

Part Five - http://www.anotherloveroftheblade.blogspot.com/2012/08/camp-part-v-2012.html

Part Four - http://www.anotherloveroftheblade.blogspot.com/2012/08/camp-part-iv-2011.html

Part Three - http://www.anotherloveroftheblade.blogspot.com/2012/08/camp-part-iii-2010.html

Part Two - http://www.anotherloveroftheblade.blogspot.com/2012/08/camp-part-ii-2009.html

Part One - http://www.anotherloveroftheblade.blogspot.com/2012/07/camp-part-i-2008.html

   I have learned so much from going for a week each summer to Missouri, about God, about me, about others. When I went for the first time, I learned so much, mostly in the way of odd facts, but that led into meeting other people who would become friends that I learned with and from later on. I actually made up a list of things that were new a few months afterward; listing items like "How to play cabbage ball and Ultimate Frisbee, how to throw a Frisbee, that I'm awful at volleyball and ping pong, that even counselors don't always listen to each other, how to (not)  shoot a bow, lightbulb-shattering techniques, and how to make new friends in a short time".
   Also, there was the importance of following directions, and being able to function when out on my own, without my family around for backup. That mandolins are nice-sounding instruments, could that have been part of the reason that I got one a few years later? That if the right motives are there, how wonderful performing can be. New songs like "In Christ Alone", "Prince of Peace", "Isaiah 43", "Hear the Call of the Kingdom", "Give Praise To God", "Conquering Now and Still to Conquer", and "I Will Not Walk Away From You", just to name a few over the years. What worship can be, and if this is a shadow of things to come, how many unfathomable times greater will heaven be?

   The power of the Holy Spirit to convict us of our wayward lives, and to pull us closer to the One who saved us. What a godly life looks like, and instructions on how to live that way. Appreciating the gifts of others, whether that be on the volleyball court or behind the keyboard, how to serve with a proper attitude of thanks to show others the glory of God.
 
   Lesser things like how to play softball or volleyball, how to ask girls to dances(I've never really figured that one out yet...), how to square dance, that all those can be really enjoyable. To work on things as a team whenever possible, that it isn't possible to do everything on your own, sometimes you have to either be quiet and let someone else have their way, or try to compromise or something. How to follow, I guess.

   Another thing I learned there is that I have a horrible sense of direction, haha. That story actually was included in the book of camp legends, which means it'll get passed down over and over...if I'm ever a counselor, that'll be kind of fun to tell about.

   That second year, it was such a haven, a weeklong stay at a safe harbor before re-entering the chaotic storm of stress that was going on with rebuilding the house and everything. "My Presence will be with you, and I will give you rest", the Lord told Moses in Exodus 33:14, and he did for me, too. Deeper relationships grew and new ones started to form, it was restful and enjoyable.

   The friends I've made, it was awesome. There's some great people scattered around the country, and it always kind of amazed me how they could all converge into one space for fellowship and learning. I've observed how to encourage others in their faith,  how to rejoice with others, how to weep with them, too. How to pray, how to care about others, to share joys and struggles.
   So many crazy insane moments of laughter over the years, the dark times, too. It's really good to be able to pray for others when they're having tough times, and know that they'll do the same for you when you need it. Very encouraging.

   That the Lord shows us where we're veering off, and that we need to change, and then that he helps us to do that. When our focus is in the wrong place, he'll take the whole camera away if he has to, in order for us to see the right picture again.

   I've met a lot of people that I consider family, even. It sounds weird to say, but if you ever could see what I'm talking about, it would make sense.

   Learned how to play ping pong. And not just to play it, but how to play it well, and treat it as an art form.
   It's so...it's a great game. A wonderful workout,  and it provides a ton of laughter and great memories. And besides all that, it can be a tool for understanding complicated subjects, or to help guide someone when they need a little help. The general store where you can catch up on the latest news, share your opinions, and get the useful things you need. And it provides such an incredible amount of competetion!!! The tie that binds lives together.

   I found out how to lead my fourth year, how to guide others towards a goal, of winning ballgames and otherwise trying to live the way God has told us to, modeling what that looks like. I know there's people I can count on when I need help with some things, and they'll ask for my advice or help occasionally, too.

   My last year, it wasn't for me. I wasn't for sure why I even went, other than the fact that I had to continue the tradition set before me by the guys I looked up to, that of setting the example for the younger kids. As far as the sports and stuff, it was a very cooperative experience, decisions-made-by-team type of thing. And I couldn't ask for better friends to work with.
   Duty was one of the main topics last summer, and change. Nothing ever stays the same, and that's the way life is supposed to work. One of those things is shifting priorities, different jobs God gives us to accomplish. For one of our camp family, that meant staying home to care for her dying dad. For others, it meant working or taking summer college courses. For others, it was teaching a music class, stepping away from the spotlight, or working on a super-important project with a quick deadline. One of the most important things I took from this year, I think, was to let go of what I knew and give those things to God, instead. There's a quote from C.S. Lewis' book "Prince Caspian", it's amazing.
     "Aslan," said Lucy, "you're bigger."
     "That is because you are older, little one," answered he.
     "Not because you are?"
     "I am not. But every year you grow, you will find Me bigger."
   We saw and felt the Lord move that week, it was unbelievable. His majesty and overruling power, His protection, His strength, and His love.

   So, the question, "Who am I?", I don't know the full answer yet, I probably never will completely. But whatever stab I might make at trying to answer would be impossible without bringing up the Sovereign Grace Youth Camp and what it's done for me, meant to me. I was a self-centered, shy, immature awkward boy when I came, and when I left for the last time, I'm a man; still finding his way along this new journey, unsure most of the time what I'll face next, but knowing that the quest I'm taking is a worthy one, and trying to fight my way through the many dangers and toils and snares, helping others when I can.
   I'm in the opening paragraphs of a new chapter in my life, one that I'm not really enjoying all that well just yet. But I can take the lessons and things I've learned with me as I figure out this life; and God will give me the tools and helpers I need at their appointed time, if I keep Him in view and press on towards the goal.
   Are there some things I wish I could change, wonder what might have been? Sometimes. I imagine that happens to everyone from time to time. Another quote from the same book, from a little later on in the same scene:
     "You mean," said Lucy rather faintly, "that it would have turned out all right - somehow? But how? Please, Aslan! Am I not to know?"
     "To know what would have happened, child?" said Aslan. "No. Nobody is ever told that."
     "Oh dear," said Lucy.
     "But anyone can find out what will happen," said Aslan. "If you go back to the others now, and wake them up; and tell them that you have seen me again; and that you must all get up at once and follow me - what will happen? There is only one way of finding out."

Homecoming

   It started like a lot of things do, with a war.

   No, I'm not talking about the United States, or the end of the world, or the end of a friendship or a relationship. This story begins with slavery, in the mid 1840s. The state of Missouri allowed it; the state of Kansas didn't. Fierce battling over this and other issues raged throughout the border in the years to come, and eventually cooled down enough to just become a bitter rivalry and loathing for those in the opposite state. About thirty years after the Civil War ended, the University of Kansas and the University of Missouri picked up a tamer, though more deadly, version of combat to prolong the Border Wars: ...the battleground? What would be called later "the gridiron", in the new game of "foot ball".
   For various reasons, it was played at a neutral site, in Kansas City most years, in St. Joseph, MO once. Due to some obscure conference ruling by someone, the games had to be shifted to the campus football fields in there somewhere. The two teams had played eighteen times, the Jayhawks had a 12-3-5 lead in the series.  
   "Something wasn't right here..." thought a guy named Chester L. Brewer. He was the Missouri athletic director(amazing that they had those way back then), and he pictured some more excitement was necessary, to maybe give the Tigers a little extra spark whenever they went up against the hated Jayhawks. So he worked on this idea and that, until he hit on one that seemed like it might work well: to invite Mizzou alumni to "come home" for the day or weekend to attend the football game, and if you're trying to get a lot of people to be in one place at the same time, what better way is there to do that than by having a parade? And then, once you have the crowd gathered, it'd be easy enough, most likely, to get them to listen to whatever it is you wanted to say by corralling them into a gathering with speeches and such. Call that a "spirit rally", say, and then those can lead into the actual contest...

   This "Homecoming" celebration, began on campus in the town of Columbia in 1911, was well received, as 10,000 gathered for the parade, bonfire and football game(It was another tie, 3-3), and quickly became an annual fixture. It became so well-known and proved so popular, other colleges copied the idea, and high schools joined in, too. And now, a hundred years later, nearly everywhere has them. There's crazy theme days, the royalty to select, some kind of gathering....lot of visitors in town honk their horns and get drunk and keep the police busy and people up all night...oh, and the home team always loses(okay, this last part isn't exactly proven, but from many years' experience following sports, it nearly always happens).

   Well, this was Homecoming week at Northeastern State, the theme was "Oh, the Places You'll Go(from here)", basically Dr. Seuss. So, the campus became filled with colorful signposts, peppermint-striped trees, random rainbow-hued flowers grew overnight, and the fountain turned green. A Comp I classmate(and cheerleader) described the scene this way; "Our campus is slowly turning into a cartoon! I love it!"
   I didn't really understand it, to be honest. Course, Dr. Seuss is kinda hard to understand sometimes. And I've never been that great at leaping into themed celebrations or anything. And I've never understood the concept of Homecoming, either. Sure, I knew that that was when the alumni were invited back and got together and talk about old memories, but why would they do that? What was necessary about the pageantry of the queen and the candidates and all, why did the candidates need their picture in the paper? ("Because they just need to, people expect it" isn't a very satisfactory answer, but they were taken anyways, and then briefly mentioned in the game recap.)
   And it involves school pride, right? Thought so...but, what's that, and why do people have it? These are the things I've always wondered as I stand on the sidelines, observing the culture of small town life. Maybe it's because I've moved a lot, or maybe because I was homeschooled, I don't know, but that seems like a totally foreign concept, a loyalty to a place, a school, to belong as a part of something's history like that.

   I didn't really go to any of the activities this week, didn't know about most of them. Was busy trying to study or stay warm, try not to get sick and keep my grades up. One thing I noticed about campus elections, though; campaign posters are a lot simpler, and you get free snacks and candy from candidates trying to get your vote. Real politics could take a cue from the students, then more folks might care, or even enjoy them. I voted for homecoming people, and I helped spray-paint the CCF float, but that's all.
   I'm just...not that kind of person, not that outgoing. Yeah, I like being around people, but not if they try too hard to be friendly and everything...I don't know. It's either that or dead silence...supposedly there's supposed to be this median level found somewhere, I haven't found it yet.

   The high school here in town had their Homecoming last night, and were clobbered 56-0, my grandpa was complaining about it on the way to Wal-Mart. Of course, they've had a horrible football team for the last twenty years, but still...kinda proves my point.
   The college parade was this morning, but with the temperature in the low forties and sleet coming down, I ran for the hideyhole of my dorm after getting a free donut in the bookstore(kind of sad when Ross is the warmest building on campus...). It was good to see all the older people smiling and talking to each other in the student union, that's a necessary part of life that doesn't exist here in this campus bubble. Everyone is about your own age, it's kinda depressing.
   The weather cleared up enough to venture out into the world by afternoon, it had settled into being merely a very cold day from the oncoming ice storm it wanted to become in the morning. I walked to the football field, trekked up to my usual place on the highest bleacher(it's warmest up there, plus you have the best view of the field, and are close to the press box), and stayed for less than one quarter. The 'Hawks were getting murdered again, and it was too cold to be sitting there if you didn't have to. Missouri Western was leading 21-3, they won 45-31, keeping NSU winless on the year.
 
   Got a little bit of studying done, but I don't think quite enough needed. Tried to connect the rented laptop I'm getting to use for school to the Internet, couldn't figure that out. Played my guitar for a bit til my fingers froze, and wandered around the deserted campus. Had dinner at Chick-Fil-A, fourth time I've eaten there this week, called my family, talked to them for over an hour and a half. Talked to my friend Mark Twain, he was telling me some stories about a boy named Tom. (Amazing conversationalist, I highly recommend spending some time with him. He usually hangs around libraries and bookstores.) That was nice, good well-written books brighten life.

   Hope the alumni enjoyed their time here, got caught up on memories and how friends are doing, and are glad they came. But for me...well, not only is it the weird apathy for holidays, but why would anyone want to come back here if they could escape?
   Not "Homecoming", more like "Homestaying", or "Homeleaving". Yeah, this is home base for a while...but it isn't home. Almost nowhere feels really like home, actually, because I grew up so many places, sort of like Tolkien's Rangers, always going from place to place.  An oven mitt in my aunt's kitchen sums it up pretty well: "Home is where your mom is." This is where I'm placed for now, and I'm surviving, with the grace of God. Having a hard time with the "thriving" part, though. Lot of lyrics seem to fit well, in particular those from Building 429's "Where I Belong"(the chorus) and Carrie Underwood's "Temporary Home"(the whole thing) and "Don't Forget To Remember Me"(part of the second verse). I'm just so...weary most of the time, cold, tired, stressed and lonely, trying to hang on to the belief that I can get through this, wondering what God's trying to teach me. Thankful for hymns I've memorized and can dwell on.
   Trying to serve God as best I know how, daily reminded that this world isn't really my home, either. Nope.  Not til heaven, I won't be there yet. Until then...I'm trying to remember that "What I feel is tellin' me I'm goin' crazy/But what is real says God's still on His throne/What I need is to remember one thing/That the Lord of the gentle breeze is Lord of the rough and tumble/And he is the King of the Jungle". (King of the Jungle, Steven Curtis Chapman)
   And, I've gotten through half a semester of college, that's a good thing. Still sort of living on a prayer.

The Goodness of Sand and Phone Calls

   It's been another Wednesday. Which meant another day of classes and school, and another day full of fighting my way through.

   I managed to get two skinned knees, a skinned elbow, and a skinned hand, one of the wires on my braces popped loose, and I have a loose bracket, too; all this already so far this week. Couldn't hear a thing our Strat instructor was saying, it seemed like Comp I would never end...however, we were actually doing something for a change, so that was kinda neat. It's interesting editing your classmates' papers. History was good, but it was raining slightly and very gray and cloudy. Sort of wondering if I'm in the right place here. MassComm went pretty well, we had to research various entertainment trends for the past fifty years in fifteen minutes and then give a short recap of what we'd found.

   The CCF flag-football team, the Mortal Wombats, had their first game today, at three p.m. down on the intramural fields, facing a team called(Interesting use of non-originality here) Team Name. They might not have been all that creative in picking their moniker, but they could pick off our passes for sure. The game opened with an interception on the first play, several defensive stands and interceptions later, they scored a touchdown. After an iffy call that was decided best left alone, they made the two-point conversion. At halftime it was 8-0, the Wombats nearly scored several times, and did make one touchdown, but were beaten 20-6.
   Some extra practice was needed, so we kept at it until about 5:30, I headed back to the dorm for some dinner. After finishing off a box of cookies, a granola bar, some Monster, Diet Coke and strawberry milk, I checked Facebook and my emails to see if I'd missed anything. Hadn't really, but had that feeling like I just needed to be alone or something, just too much going on to be around people. And that odd restless feeling where you need to attack something was back. That's usually when I start running, because there isn't a ball handy whenever I need to punt one. But you can only run from things so far, that only gets you nowhere, really. Still hungry from my snack, I get a bit of food from the caf, and then figure out what's going on. My form of displacement, a kind of hiding from reality by taking out my frustrations on something that won't fight back, is to find a ball of some kind and play around with it. Tonight I needed to play volleyball. Don't know why, but just had to. I guess that's probably the way most guys are about dealing with stress, and some girls, go play sports. Anyway, I walk down to the volleyball courts, sort of wishing I was in Missouri or at the house and I could hit it around with Ash and the Freelands, or play with Courtney off the roof.
   So I practice jump serves with my soccer ball. (Yeah, I know. Sounds weird, and even harder to actually do. But I usually set weird challenges like that for myself. And my internal sports calendar is completely different than most. I can play basketball in July, and baseball in December.) Amazingly, I figure out a way to  launch the heavy dead weight over the net, and my jump serve is accurate about half the time now, so it was a productive half-hour. Then Jacob and Felicia come up to play on the other court, I ask if I can join. They're in my Strat and Comp I classes, respectively. They say, "Yeah, come on over." and a game gets sort of started. Trent, another guy in my Comp I class, and Charlie, in history, wander over later, and a bunch of other people I don't know, we played about nine games in an hour and a half.
   
   It just seemed so amazing, such the providence and grace of God, that when I needed to play volleyball, He would have a game be picked up with several people I knew. A more personal example of "I'm here, Wesley, and I'll keep guiding you. Just keep on fighting, hang in there for now."
   And also, been thinking I need to call Steven for a few days, I call him up as I get back to my dorm, starting up the laptop at the same time to see what's happening. I see a message from, of all people, Steven, just checking up to see how things were going. He said that he'd been thinking of seeing how I was doing for a couple days now, too, just another of those weird God-things. I got caught up on youth-group and church news, he found out a bit about how college life is treating me. It was a good conversation to have, talking to another brother in Christ like that who I feel comfortable around, admitting I'm having a hard time. We talked for about twenty minutes.

   Well, just two of those bright little things that we usually don't notice, that shine all the more because of the darkness and oppression surrounding them, and I just had to share them.

Songs of the Day

   Every once in a while, there's a song that gets stuck in your head. And it just keeps playing over and over until either it gets replaced by a new song, or it just finally kills itself to death and suffocates. These(as named by my cousins and spread through our AI discussions) are known as "Songs of the Day". Had a lot more than normal today.

   Last night is when the school week begins, really. And thankfully, it wasn't a "Never Grow Up" kind of night, as Sundays usually are, endless loops of Taylor and Carrie. Instead, it was another great song, that's still not all that great to live out: "I'm In A Hurry", the Alabama classic.

   This morning began with Rascal Flatts' "What Hurts The Most". Then it was Tim McGraw's "Something Like That", that bridge just lodges itself into your cranium and won't let you go without examining it. And by then I'd eaten breakfast and was waiting for my first class to start, my mouth was kinda hurting a bit from the orthodonist appointment last week. So the Owl City song "Dental Care" was next on the mind-radio's playlist. And for some random reason I found myself singing Jason Aldean's "Tattoos On This Town", too.
   Isaiah 43 is another of those songs that's been often sung and thought about in here, too, as has Come Thou Fount, Great Is Thy Faithfulness, and Mercies Anew.

   Found out I got a B on my history test last Friday(it's a very hard class), I was happy with that. Then, with the curve put onto it, I got an A, Comp I was uneventful, and Strat went all right. And the lunch food in the caf was pretty good today. Then, I get some mail from my friend(and quote, "adopted sister", it's kinda complicated, lol) Amanda, and MassComm was crazy. Disorganized, but creative. All that, the song I was reminded of was Keith Urban's "God's Been Good To Me" and FFH's "It's A Good Day". And He has, and it was. Flag-football practice went pretty well, made a couple decent plays, starting to jell as a team, hopefully we'll do okay once the season starts later this week. Then there was a picnic type of thing with some people from CCF, it was a little spoiled by an attack of giant mosquitoes and bees. But then there was VOLLEYBALL No specific songs for that, but just good camp memories. (And side note, but why is it that the sports I'm best at are the really out-of-the-ordinary ones? Volleyball, ping pong, soccer?) So that was a great way to end a good day, a good beginning to the week.
    And, I've almost survived half a semester of college so far.

   Now to get started on all the projects and things that need to get done tomorrow...

Hornets Sting NSU 30-20

   The random switches between pondering all the things in this life and reporting on the unimportant things that make this life easier continue...

   Hornets sting NSU 30-20

   It was their first meeting in over twenty years, but things were still the same as they have been this year for Emporia State and Northeastern State, the Hornets' offense was too much for the RiverHawks, and the visitors stayed unbeaten after Saturday night's 30-20 victory in Tahlequah.
   Emporia won the coin toss and elected to defer, Northeastern was forced to give the ball back after two series. The Hornets' offense met resistance, the ball switched hands several times before Emporia's Eli Coons kicked a 27 field goal with 4:23 to go in the first quarter, a trick play led to a Northeastern conversion on 4th and 8, but no points came of it, the first quarter ended with the 'Hawks trailing 3-0 in a defensive struggle. Sophomore quarterback Johnny Deaton plunged successfully for a two yard gain on 4th and 1, but again, the NSU offense sputtered. Emporia's gears began running smoothly, Derwin Hall scored on a two yard touchdown run with 3:44 to go in the half, the extra point try was wide right. Northeastern gained some good yardage, but went into halftime down 9-0.
   Fall was definitely in the air, cooler temperatures and breezy conditions helped an ESU pass to sail far enough off course to NSU senior cornerback Vernon Jones' hands, he gave the RiverHawks posession at the Hornet six-yard-line with 13:42 to go in the third quarter. Freshman Daniel Bond nailed a 28 yard field goal 43 seconds later, getting the home team on the board. ESU answered that with an emphatic drive the length of the field that was capped by a eleven yard Dozie Iguawa score. A long kickoff return set up a 47 yard Bond field goal, the Northeastern momentum continued as Emporia was stopped on downs. And then Deaton threw an interception two plays later, leading to a seven yard touchdown from Iguawa with 2:33 left in the quarter, which ended with Emporia State leading 23-6. Junior defensive back Victor Williams pounced on a loose football to thwart a Hornet attack, three plays later Deaton found senior receiver Jermaine Sherman for a 17 yard touchdown strike with 9:50 to play. With the following kickoff at midfield due to an ESU penalty, the 'Hawks tried an onside kick and Williams recovered, but after gaining only two yards they turned the ball over on downs. With time becoming an issue, Emporia kept the ball on the ground and kept the clock running. Northeastern got the ball back, SO tailback Joel Rockmore found the end zone from nine yards away, and suddenly it was a three-point game with five minutes left. The Hornet duo of Tyler Eckenrode and Shiuan Richardson squashed the home side's comeback hopes with their eleven yard connection, the game ended with the scoreboard showing Emporia State Hornets 30, Northeastern State RiverHawks 20.
   For Emporia, Eckenrode was 18-26 passing for 221 yds with a TD and INT, he ran ten times for 56 yds, Iguawa had eighteen carries for 81 yds and two TDs, Ray Ray Davis had six receptions for 107 yds. For NSU, Deaton was 18-44 for 205 yds with a TD and INT, Rockmore had fourteen carries for 105 yds, Gionni Harris had two catches for 70 yds. NSU was 4-of-19 on third-down conversions, 2-for-4 on fourth-down conversions.
   Up next on the Northeastern schedule is a trip to Northwest Missouri State on Saturday, Sept 29 for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff, the RiverHawks(0-4, 0-4 MIAA) look to take on the #12 ranked Bearcats(3-1, 2-1 MIAA), who topped Nebraska-Kearney 37-13 last week.

Rain and Riches

   I've been here at school for about a month now, and wondering already how so many people could grow up with this stuff in public school for twelve years and then add four or so at college onto it...it's been kinda rough. But there's been some good things, too. As an example, here's a quick summary of my life for the last two weeks.

   Friday night, Sept 7: I spend the weekend in town, given that there's a soccer game, and running some errands might lead to writing later on. So I get there to the soccer field and learn how to operate a scoreboard, while listening the stressed-out, profane media relations director and his assistant complain at everything. And then it starts to RAIN. SHEETS of rain. (And, being Oklahoma weather, of course I had to guess on the temp before I left. I guessed wrong, didn't even have a hoodie or jacket or anything with me.) And then the wind picked up, gusting like crazy from the north...and the temperature dropped thirty degrees in about three hours. So the game went into a rain delay with 9:33 left in the first half, due to lightning. A 116-minute wait later, and thoroughly soaked, things were finally clear enough to finish the first half. Another storm cell comes up, redrenching the already well-watered ground. They finally call the game, and I walk as quickly as I can the half-mile back to the (safety?) of the dorm with its' hypothermic-inducing air-conditioning. But, I can now run a scoreboard, so maybe that'll lead to something, which might lead to something...

   Saturday, Sept 8: I study in the morning, gulp down protein bars for breakfast and lunch(the cafeteria was closed, due to Labor Day), and pretty much don't see a human being I know all day. Run on my hamster wheel, and I'd found "The Big Green" on YouTube the day before while searching for the old Billy Ray Cyrus TV series "DOC"(didn't come up with anything. It's like all my favorite songs and TV shows and most movies don't exist, according to the internet.) I love that movie. Actually, I love almost anything that's sports-related, has some kids and/or animals in the cast, that's a little Cinderella-like in it's predictability of plot. But they're so GOOD! And funny! And have all these great lines, and cool camera angles...
   Anyway, since I didn't really have anything else that needed to get done, I sat down and watched the movie. It was nice. Then, because I'm me, and already living it up on the weekend, I call my grandma to see if I can get a ride to Wal-Mart. So I get my shopping done(Oreos, Diet Coke, a ping pong paddle, the Cars soundtrack and a soccer ball), and come home in time for some peanut butter and football. I listen to NSU lose a close ballgame(naturally keeping notes), and then write up a story afterwards, because I can't help it. And I need to keep up those writing skills.

   Sunday, Sept 9: I wake up and get ready for church, and then find some other useful things to do while waiting for Javier to come pick me up. I read through the entire book of Ecclesiastes, and then found a broom(Yay!!!) and swept the front porch(Double yay!!!).
   After church, I went to lunch with a family I sort of know, Ryan and my dad were really close friends in college, so they're kind of interested in how I'm doing. It was a nice afternoon, being in that family environment again, even if it's wasn't my own. Hearing the "Mom...can I do...?" questions, watching the siblings interact, or watching life on the back porch, kind of Mayberry-like. Played with their little two-year-old, she wanted me to read her several books, so I did. Sort of reminded me of Amy. Admired the little boy's Lego collection, petted the cats and the dog, and watched the football recap show while discussing this season's NFL storylines with Shelly.
.  That was really special. One of God's blessings that he gives us in rough times, I needed to be around other people after a week of classes and studying. Then there was worship practice that night, which was pretty good.

   Monday, Sept 10: This was an insane day, I was ready for it to be over by three p.m. The skies were cloudy, didn't really learn anything in University Strategies, and then our English teacher was hung over. It made for an interesting hour; we all agreed afterward that nobody learned anything. And our homework was to find out about the Stanford Prison Experiment, which was pretty awful. History was all right. Then in MassComm that afternoon, we were studying sound media, and how music can impact our culture. It opened with listening to Ozzy Osbourne, and then immediately went to Eminem. After having our ears blistered, we then got into a spirited debate over illegal file-sharing.
   Once all that was over, I was exhausted. But I had to write something about 9/11, so I rewatched news clips and poked around for the facts...it was necessary, but it was a hard night, reliving all that terror and uncertainty.
   There was kind of a lot on my mind, I counted six different subjects at least chasing each other. Just kind of felt scared, lost and stressed(Well, I nearly always feel like that here lately, but it was especially strong that day). So I tried listing some of the things I was thankful for, it sort of helped. And I talked to Ash, she's always good to know.

   Tuesday, Sept 11: Finished up the last touches on that blog post and published it, and tried to get through the day's workload, trying to stay in real life and get what I needed to done. Acted as a guide dog for Russell after psych, it isn't much, but it's a way to serve God here clearly. Psych was good, we learned about Erik Erikson's Theories of Psychosocial Development, what we learn at each stage of our lives, and how we learn it. For example, how we come to trust, have independence, form a work ethic, that kind of thing.
   Explained some of the ways we use defense mechanisms to avoid unpleasant reality to Jessica; really interesting stuff I'm finding out in this class. Didn't feel right to play Frisbee, so I stayed at home, too somber a day, wouldn't have felt comfortable. CCF was that night, the worship music went okay. My guitar is so quiet...sounds great solo, but with any other instrument, and it's not that good...and I was a little nervous, and my picks kept sailing everywhere, had to hunt clear around the room for them after the service was over.  The message was good, I slipped out once it was over.

   Wednesday, Sept 12:  An Army guy from the ROTC came and talked today in Strat, and we had Comp I outside on the gazebo, that was different. Getting ready for the history test coming up, and then in MassComm the topics covered were public service announcements and goat milk.
   Had to study, so didn't go to church, got a lot done. (And I hate asking for rides...) There was this open mic kind of thing down by the fountain; something between a camp talent share and Idol auditions. Didn't really want to go, didn't think that's what I was supposed to do, but I had to stop by and listen on my way back from the library. And then this girl MCing it gave a last call for doing something, I walked over and signed up. Sang that Colin Raye song "Love Me" right near the end, it went okay. And it was good to sing again.
   Talked to Amanda that night, then tried to get to sleep. My neighbor had some friends over, they came in just as I was nearly asleep, and started watching TV and talking and laughing. I gave up trying to ignore them about 2 a.m, fired up the laptop, checked the news, and then read my Bible for a while. Got about the first ten chapters of First Samuel read, and then moved on to most of Paul's letters. Studied that for about an hour, by then they'd finally left, and I finally fell asleep about 4 a.m.

   Thursday, Sept 13: My alarm woke me up at 5:30, I fell back asleep and didn't wake up til about 9:30. This, of course, throws me into a panic, so I shoot for the shower and get into the day's workload. Just as I close my door, I remember I hadn't grabbed by keys yet. So, yeah....I locked myself out. Not sure what else to do, I go ahead and take a shower anyway, put my clothes back on, and then walk over to the housing office (barefoot, and without keys, phone or wallet; kind of humiliating) to get some help. They get somebody to unlock the door, and my day finally begins at 11 a.m. It didn't exactly get much better after that, though psychology was good, like always. It started pouring rain, cleared up just enough to get down to the intramural fields for some Ultimate, and these guys ask if we wanted to play football against them. Planning to enter a team in the flag-football league, we look at each other and shrug. "Sure, I guess. Why not?"
   That was a very bad idea, but a good learning experience. Turns out half these guys are on the actual team, we get slaughtered, the final score was 70-14. It almost would have been really funny to watch, if I wasn't playing. And it started raining again. Needing to wipe away our wounds, we immediately challenge them to Frisbee. Now, they had no idea how to play, but being so athletic and everything, they caught on quick. We ended up winning that 7-5.
   Also, there was MORE walking through rain, and dealing with some financial stuff that looked like a problem.
   BUT, another bright spot was the dorm cat that we found that night. Amazing how spending five or ten minutes with an animal can make your life seem brighter and easier to take...another one of those blessings. Heard from Daniel, that was an encouragement.
   And I stopped by Wal-Mart real quick to get Mom a birthday present.

   Friday, Sept 14: I felt kind of sick, which wasn't great. Had to swim to class, Ross was like an island stuck in the middle of a lake. Learned about citing reference works in Comp I, which was confusing, but hopefully I'll get the hang of it. History went well, now just to wait until everybody came back from Westville to pick me up. It was good to visit home again. Very good. We got back without the van breaking down or anything, and (of course) there had to be ping pong played with Courtney and things like that. Mom enjoyed her birthday gifts.

   Saturday, Sept 15: NOTHING TO DO!!! Just relax, pet the dogs, clean a little....did I mention relax? That scared, stressed feeling didn't really go away, which was irritating. After being so stressed out and everything, everything that had just built up inside, my body just collapsed to force me to rest and force everything out of my system. I had a massive headache, upset stomach, fever and was throwing up. About eight hours of agony. I felt better about ten, and had some dinner at eleven. (Crazy college hours, I know.)  Petted Copper, Skeet and Sunny, heard from Jed, spent the day watching football, and the second Mighty Ducks movie was on TV. It was a good day.

   Sunday, Sept 16: Went to GBC, that was great. It was the tail end of a mini-conference on missions, Sunday School was taught by a guy from Voice of the Martyrs, it was good to be reminded of how our problems here aren't really so bad, compared to the rest of the world. We don't really have much to complain about, we have so much more freedom than they do. The sermon was from a missionary we support in Myanmar, who knew broken English could be so eloquent? A passionate call to preach the Gospel, loudly and often.
   And it was great to get to talk with and be around my church family. Mr Meredith asking how school was going, offering encouragement, the wonderful conversations with older people like Mr and Mrs Tobey or Clara, the Lawsons' understanding exactly what I'm going through out there in the world, seeing Sam for the first time in forever, Steven and Jamie checking on me, Josh's prayers and news source, Dylan to talk sports with. It was just an incredible encouragement, to be around so many people who hunger to know the Word and help others apply it and grow; so in contrast to everyday life right now. Prolonged my stay a few more hours by doing laundry, finally got back home about ten p.m, not really ready to face the challenges of a new week, but...time to get back to work.

   Monday, Sept 17: Not really that much happened, class went all right in everything, we got some instruction in writing press releases in MassComm(Hooray!!!). The first flag-football practice went about as well as could be expected, we've got a lot to work on.
    Had dinner with Grandpa and Robbie, then Harry and Louise dropped by, and one of Louise's friends; that was good to see them all. Went over to Harry and Louise's for a bit afterwards. Spent the night researching facts about a civil rights sit-in in 1960 North Carolina while listening to DC Talk.

   Tuesday, Sept 18: Had an orthodonist appointment, glad Grandpa could drive me there. Useful and helpful as they may be; they're not pleasant. Had my bottom braces put on, a new wire on top, and my expander was finally taken off. There feels like there's so much room in my mouth now that it isn't full of metal! Well, I mean, it still is, but wire is much different than thick bars. Anyway, my mouth is hurting. A lot. I've kinda been living on ibeprofen and caffeine, since I can't chew hardly anything yet for a few more days.
   Classes were canceled, it was a teacher-training day or something, but that didn't mean it was an off day. It meant more studying! Got a lot done, tried to keep myself busy, and away from sad memories. (It would've been my grandma's birthday, I was really close to her.)
   CCF at nighttime, brought my electric for the worship music, that went well. Good message on missions. Then back to the library for finishing up a few projects.

   Wednesday, Sept 19: Classes went okay today, more studying and projects to get done, all seemingly at the same time; trying to juggle those without going insane, and also dealing with this mouth pain. Word is a vastly underappreciated tool; very important, and life doesn't run as smoothly without it, I'm finding. Study group for Friday's history test, that didn't go anywhere near as well as we'd hoped. Got into too much of a hurry on my MassComm test and ended up with an 86, I could've done a lot better than that, not too happy with myself. It hasn't been the best type of day since lunch. Actually, any time of day you nearly get run over by a golf cart isn't generally a good one.

   But overall, this week has been much better than the last, it's been good to be prayed for. And even though  there's times when I freak out and don't care what my hair looks like, I'm so stressed, or howl at the moon, or fingerpick my way through sad, melancholy tunes, or just want to collapse and start crying, get too tired to keep going, but plunge on anyways, there's a reason for this, a lesson of how to deal with people and life on my own. I don't understand it always, don't like it ever, but I have a strong, faithful God to lean on, and He'll help me through this, giving me the right tools and helpers when I need them.
   These are some of the rich blessings that He bestows in the rough times, that we fully appreciate because they shine through the darkness we're in. Things like ping pong, a cat, relatives anxious to help in any way they can, or the encouragement, prayers, laughter and advice of good friends. Sermons that remind us of things we need to hear again, or points in Scripture that leap out at us in a new way.
   So, yeah, I'm kind of living in a tornado, dealing with a fire and trapped by an ice storm right now, but someway or another I'll get through this semester, hopefully with good grades, and then we'll see what happens after that. At this point in the road, visibility is about two feet or less, but if I just keep putting one foot in front of the other, I'll come across a landmark or to a resting-place eventually.

Things I'm Thankful For

   There's kind of been a lot on my mind here these last few days. Sort of unsettled and just not right. So I'm hoping listing some of the things I'm thankful for might help turn things around. Let's see...

• I'm thankful that the weather's cooled down, that's nice. 
• I'm glad that I can blast music to drown out irritating neighbors. (Okay, my definition of "blasting music" is turning the CD player up to half-strength, but still, you get the point.)
• Football season is here!!!! And for the opportunities to learn new things like how to operate scoreboards. 
• Glad that God gives us the strength and whatever tools we need to get by each day. That's really something to be grateful for. 
• That I'm getting to learn things from my textbooks and teachers, and that I can learn how to deal with people, in whatever form they may come in, unusual or crazy as it might be. And for the teachers I've had before, too. 
• Thankful that I have relatives nearby to check on me or help with errands. 
• Really thankful for wise, godly friends that God's given me, and for their well-timed encouragement and advice. 
• I can see the world, and everything in it. That's a huge blessing we don't realize often enough. 
• For the fact that there's families; and all the things that come with that. That your little siblings miss you, and that they're just a phone call away. That other families you know invite a near-stranger to spend the day with them, that was really nice. It wasn't mine, but it was just good to be in that environment again, even if it was just as a visitor. 
• There's animals; dogs, cats, guinea pigs, rabbits, goats, chickens, squirrels, horses, whatever, to be around, and for the comfort and love they provide. 
• That we can praise God through song. 
• That the financial stuff is being taken care of, so I don't have to worry about it(too much). 
• For good food. 
• That we can pray for others and know they're praying for us, too. That's a great help. 

   I think it might've worked. At least a little bit. :) 

9/11

     It's just two numbers, marking another day on the calendar. But it stands for so much more than that.

     As the sun rose in the east on Tuesday morning, it was simply another September day in the good ol' U.S. of A. Football season was about to start, could Kurt Warner lead St Louis back to the Super Bowl? Every household in America was tuned into ABC on Monday nights. In college, could Oklahoma repeat as national champs? And what is this new BCS system, anyway?
      In country music, there was song after song after song that would become well-known: "Austin", "But For the Grace of God", "I'm Already There", "It's a Great Day To Be Alive", "One More Day", "Only in America", "Riding with Private Malone", "Where I Come From", "Who I Am", just to name a few), there was this Australian guy named Keith Urban who was new, Garth Brooks was winding down, Alan Jackson and Tim McGraw were still in the middle of their careers,  and Lonestar and Diamond Rio weren't quite finished yet.
     Steven Curtis Chapman had just released his "Declaration" album, in Christian music news; which was huge. The Backstreet Boys and N'Sync ruled the pop charts along with Britney Spears.
     The four highest-grossing movies of the year featured many characters we've come to know as a culture, any of these sound familiar? #1, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone; #2, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring; #3, Monsters, Inc; #4, Shrek. Also in theaters: A Knight's Tale, Legally Blonde, and The Princess Dairies.
     Nokia and Motorola were the two main cell phone companies, gas was about $1.40 a gallon or so, and pictures were still taken on rolls of film

     On September 11, at 8:49 a.m. Eastern time, American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. It had been hijacked by a group of Islamic terrorists, with the Al-Queda terrorist organization, veering from its intended course of Boston-to-LA. United Airlines Flight 175 was also on the same course, it was hijacked and plowed into the south tower at 9:03 a.m. The planes exploded upon impact, and the buildings' internal structures couldn't withstand such a violent shock. They collapsed, crumbling amid a horrific scene of shattered concrete and flames, acrid burning smoke was billowing everywhere, and there was a frantic stampede in order to escape. For many, they never made it. America's citizens were stunned, watching in shock as the media outlets tried to attempt to understand what had happened.

     As stunned spectators, we as a country prayed and watched the news. We found out that this was not an accident, that unimaginably evil men had done something so horrific, for a reason that no one really understood. It resulted not only in their own deaths; but brought an end to the lives of the other 246 passengers on the planes, and 2,991 lives lost altogether. And then we learned that American Airlines Flight 77 had also been hijacked, and was driven into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. at 9:37 a.m.  President George W. Bush was speaking at an elementary school in Florida when reporters first asked him about what happened, his first response to them was, paraphrased, "Not right now. There was something that happened, but there's a lot of kids here, and we don't want to scare them too much. I'll answer your questions later."
     This was part of his statement for the press: "Today we have had a national tragedy. Two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist attack on our country. I have spoken to the Vice-President, to the mayor of New York, to the director of the FBI, and have ordered that the full resources of the federal government be used for the support of the victims and their families, and to conduct a full-scale investigation to hunt down those folks who committed this attack. Terrorism against our nation will not stand."

     That was what the passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93 thought, too. The plane left Newark, New Jersey, en route to San Francisco. There were four hijackers on the plane, 45 minutes in they stormed the cockpit and stabbed the pilots to death, seizing control of the plane and redirecting it eastward. Overhearing conversation between the hijackers, the passengers realized that this was going to be a suicide mission, aiming for the White House. Several of them called family members, where they found out more details of the other planes, and to say goodbye.
     Then the passengers and crew, led by Mark Bingham, Jeremy Glick, and Todd Beamer, launched a counterattack of their own. They wrestled control away from the hijackers, and immediately dropped the plane. The aircraft plowed into a field outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania, all 44 souls aboard were killed instantly. That act of sacrifice was one of the incredible stories in a time of unreality, where honor and horror were intertwined, as we were reeling, trying to comprehend the events. In stopping the hijackers, they became heroes, and saved an untold amount of innocent lives. They became heroes, as did the firefighters and policemen, National Guard and EMTs, everyone who helped with the rescue efforts for those trapped in the rubble. Some of the rescuers were lost, too. But the military gained a lot of new recruits over that time; many young kids realized that they wanted to protect this country when they grew up.
     There was this unbelievable sense of togetherness and community and thankfulness, the closest we can ever come to it nationally in ordinary times is during the Olympics; regionally it can come from a tornado or an ice storm  Tales that were dreadful and terrible to hear about were on the news, but also stories that were just awe-inspiring and evidence of God's mercy.

     In the immediate aftermath, all NFL, college and high school football games were canceled. Major League Baseball paused its' playoffs, I believe, the Yankees went to the World Series. As much as we hated the Yankees, they needed to be there, in order to restore some type of normalcy to the world. We struggled with how to respond to such a tragedy as a culture, sports played a key role in restoring some sense of normal reality to our worlds. So did country music. Alan Jackson immediately wrote a song trying to deal with what happened, and it was needed. It was "Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning(On That September Day)?"  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvj6zdWLUuk
     Lee Greenwood's "God Bless The USA" was played everywhere, too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNqUORIFV4I
     Darryl Worley asked us an important question a few months later, "Have You Forgotten?" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6yLQRF-cEU

     We sent troops into Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan, to try to track down and eliminate all terrorists, especially those connected with Al-Queda, especially leaders Sadaam Hussein and Osama Bin-Laden. Some questioned why we had troops over there in the first place, "Have You Forgotten?' was a response to those critics.
     Life was hard for those troops, they had a hard job to do, and they went out to do it. It sometimes was tough, though; and they needed encouragement. John Michael Montgomery provided us a glimpse of what they were going through, in "Letters From Home".  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X75sVw0xH2c&feature=fvst
     Too many of those soldiers fell, a peril of their duty that many of us, I'm afraid, don't have the courage or belief to do. Tim McGraw attempted to comfort those families who lost a son, a brother, a husband, a father.  "If You're Reading This" is a terribly sad, but good, song detailing this sacrifice. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwoXmXA8BvY
     We weren't just scared or terrified, or drowning in sorrow, though we were all of those things. We were also MAD. Toby Keith to the rescue, can you possibly listen to "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" without feeling proud and ready to take on anybody who dares mess with this country of ours? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruNrdmjcNTc

     Over time, we slowly healed. That was a good thing, yes; but it also meant that we got back into the old ruts of yelling at each other and blame-shifting over petty problems. New trials came, and we've had to deal with those. Gas prices have launched into the stratosphere, gay marriage, illegal immigration, abortion...more and more government power, the status of the troops out there...we did do some good, though. Deposed Sadaam's reign of terror in 2004, and killed Osama Bin-Laden May 1, 2011.
     Personally, I've lost my grandma, two of my great-grandmas, my great-grandpa, and a handful of uncles over the last ten years. Gained a new baby sister, understanding what it's like to love someone in your life with Down's. Had my house burn down from a fire, and rebuilt that. Graduated high school, and otherwise just grew up. There's been a lot of things to walk through, many opportunities to witness and lean on God's strength and provision to get me safely through whatever He set in the path. He's given me a lot of good teachers in life to learn different skills from, and good friends to help out along the way. Whatever dangers we face as a country, whatever challenges come my way personally, and whatever I end up with as my mark on the world, His Will will be done, and life will go the way it's supposed to.

     Our world was changed forever that day, and it will never be the same. People under twenty-one don't really know what it was like beforehand, not really. We might have some idea, but we don't know. And our parents probably can't imagine growing up in the world we did.
     A wise tennis coach I know once said that 9/11 was our generation's Pearl Harbor, our generation's JFK shooting, our generation's Challenger explosion; it shaped our identity in some way, and we will always remember where we were when it happened and what we were doing. People today seem to forget that, the dark place that we went through, it's unpleasant to think about, doesn't have any meaning on life today. But if we choose not to remember the hard stretches, how will we appreciate the good? Solomon had something to say about this(come to think of it, he kinda had something to say about everything. But, anyway...) "Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun. However many years a man may live, let him enjoy them all. But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many." Ecclesiastes 11:7-8 (NIV)

     Today is the eleventh anniversary. Have You Forgotten?

Game goes down to the wire, MoSo overcomes 'Hawks 27-21

   It didn't look good early for Northeastern State(0-2, 0-2 MIAA) as they faced the Missouri Southern State Lions(2-0, 2-0 MIAA) in their first road game in their new conference, but a second-half rally turned it into a nailbiter, MSSU outscrapped NSU for a 27-21 victory in Joplin Saturday night.
   The home Lions took the opening kickoff and plowed upfield on a long ball-control drive, capping it off with a one yard touchdown from Kellen Cox with 6:25 left in the first quarter, Dallas Herndon added the extra point. It was a very fast-moving fifteen minutes; each side touched the ball once. MoSo led 7-0 when it ended, but Northeastern answered back with a three yard TD from sophomore quarterback Johnny Deaton, freshman Daniel Bond tied it with 14:20 left in the second. Three plays later Cox reeled off a three-yard score of his own, and Southern led 14-7, later upping that lead to 21-7 after a Ne'Ronte Threatt 16 yard run. Bond tried a 47 yard field goal that fell short, leading to the halftime break, where the Lions led 21-7, thanks to a dominating ground game.
   NSU's offense showed promise early before being forced to punt, a miscue by a MSSU player made it a free ball, and the RiverHawks had possession inside enemy territory. They made use of it, too, working into a seven yard touchdown throw from Deaton to SO tailback Terrence Dixon, it was a one-score game. The two teams traded punches after that, little by little Northeastern got the advantage, especially when Herndon sliced a 30 yarder left of the uprights, with one quarter to go, the score was Lions 21, RiverHawks 14. On fourth down inside the red zone, MSSU's defense held, so did NSU, which set up another potentially-game-tying drive as the clock kept ticking. On 4th and 5 at midfield with 6:08 left, Deaton's pass was intercepted, leading to a MSSU drive at the 'Hawks 37. They made full use of it(and some lucky penalty flags) to score on a fifteen yard run, the extra point was missed, keeping it theoretically in reach. Northeastern needed fourteen points in about four minutes. They got six after Deaton found a wide-open Jermaine Sherman, the senior receiver raced 67 yards for a score with 2:13 left, and Bond made it a one-possession ballgame. A perfectly executed onside attempt just missed falling into the right hands, and one last free prowl ensured a first down and the game. Final score: Missouri Southern State 27, Northeastern State 21.
   Deaton was 19-for-34 for 287 yards with 2 TDs and an INT; Dixon rushed seventeen times for 36 yards and a TD; Sherman had seven catches for 134 yards and a TD; for MSSU; Cox was 2-for-3 passing for 36 yards; he was also the leading rusher, gaining 96 yards and 2 TDs on eight carries, Landon Zerkel had one catch for sixteen yards. The RiverHawks were 7-of-13 on third downs and had seven penalties for 79 yards, compared to the Lions' 3-of-9 ratio and 9-69 penalty yardage.
   In other MIAA action, Central Missouri's Mules upset #3 Northwest Missouri State after racing out to a big lead early, they hung on to pull out the 31-21 win. Emporia State won a track meet over Nebraska-Kearney, it was 58-35, Hornets over the Lopers. #1 Pittsburg State continued their domination, the Gorillas rolled past Central Oklahoma, #14 Missouri Western Griffons shut out William Jewell 56-0 in a non-conference game, and  the Truman Bulldogs pounded Lincoln in a battle of schools named after presidents, 42-12 was the final there.
   The RiverHawks  travel to Topeka to face #15 Washburn on Sept 15 at 6 p.m, the Ichabods(2-0, 2-0 MIAA) crushed fellow Kansas school Ft Hays State 45-25 this week.

College Life (So Far...)

   It is 12:06 p.m. as I start this post, I really should either be studying or eating lunch. But since I already had lunch a half hour ago, and haven't really been able to get much headway on studying this morning....well, here I sit at my desk in my dorm, beginning a new blog post on Dad's laptop.

   But, anyway, I've been a college student for about three weeks or so now. It's a little weird, to be honest. No, I'm not talking about the many hours a day reading and absorbing information on your own....I'm used to that. But the "going-to-class" part, that's a little odd. Good, though, to have a schedule to follow(I like schedules, they make life run so much more smoothly), the "sitting-in-class-and-listening-attentively, pretending-like-I've-done-this-all-my-life" is what's been a little hard to get used to. That's probably exactly backwards than it is for most people. I still didn't really like the RBC experience much, but I think it was worth it, it's been nice to know a few people, share a few classes with those people.

   And the cafeteria food....well, it's not that it isn't good, at least edible; it's just that it's so unhealthy. Everywhere you look, carbs, carbs, carbohydrates....with like a tiny amount of protein follow it up with. True, it's much, much cheaper to deliver say, potatoes and bread, to a large audience than it is to do the same with beef or chicken, but for the people eating it...
   My fridge is stocked full of Diet Coke, water, peanut butter, cheese, and yogurt, in about that order. And I have a box of protein bars in a drawer. So I'm not dying or anything yet. :)

   Took a little while to get used to all the walking necessary to get from place to place, did some exploring of the campus day after orientation, got a rough idea of where everything was and how long it took to get from one place to another, done more exploring as I've had time since. Haven't really measured or anything, but I think I'm covering three to five miles a day just in ordinary activities, and that's not counting anything extra I might do.

   Starting to know a few people on my floor and in my dorm, that's kinda cool. And people around campus are always hollering "Hey Wes!", things like that. (Half the time, I have no idea who they are, but just smile and say something equally Mayberry-like in response.) I even got called Caleb last night by my RA as I went to check my mailbox. In a minute, he pokes his head out the office. "Your name is Caleb, right?" "Nope! It's Wesley. But I have a brother named Caleb, so I'm used to being called that." "Oh. I totally have you mixed up with another guy, then, cause I've been calling him Wesley all this time...." Anyway, name issues aside, it's really, really QUIET in here most of the time. Leonard Kessler's Owl would fit in great at Ross Hall. It's awful! Just...silence. Or really, really dim noises, so you only have your thoughts to notice, and the bare white concrete walls to look at. Hard to adjust to. And, my neighbor watches TV late at night, so when I'm trying to get some sleep, THEN it's noisy, but....oh well. Getting used to that, too. And the showers take about ten minutes to heat up, lot of pipes to run through to get all the way up here on the fifth floor. And the radio reception isn't that great in here, and the CD player works two-thirds of the time. So, pretty much, here's a quick description of my dorm room: A- Silent. B- Bare. C- Spotless.

   Living alone(no roommate, nobody wanted this floor), there's never anything to clean! Nothing to pick up, nobody to remind to do their laundry, nothin'. Not even any trash to haul out. So I'm discovering all this extra energy that I didn't know I had, since it doesn't have any outlet...
   So I've started just going and running somewhere. Down to the intramural fields, through the parking lot, racing squirrels...it's not much, can't go very far or for very long, but it's kinda fun. And it keeps me busy. (Almost.) When things just get too mental-hospital like or I get sick and tired of talking to myself while reading Plato, I sail up and down the staircase a couple times as fast as possible. Five flights of stairs makes a terrific hamster wheel, if anybody's curious.
   And I've been playing a lot of Ultimate Frisbee. There's games set about three times a week, I try to play at least once a week. I'm not that good, too short to play well, but it's fun, getting to know some good guys through that. Right now I'm kind of that one freshman kid, the last person nobody really wants to have on their team, whatever help I can give usually comes on defense and from being the only guy who wears a watch. But that'll change over time, just gotta keep practicing and improving. Pretty low-key atmosphere, a little like the Backyard Sports series come to life.

    (Continued at 4:58 p.m...) Did I mention that the air-conditioning is a little weird? Half the places it's out, creating massive airtight boxes, and then where it is on, it's subzero temperatures. All through the dorms and classroom buildings. Football 's interesting here so far, I'd never been to a game anywhere as a student. I got to study the atmosphere, too; besides watch the game. Planning to watch some soccer Friday night.
 
   There was a fire in our building Monday night, that wasn't very fun. At all. Smoke alarms are some of the worst sounds on Earth. The entire building was evacuated, far too slowly, and then nobody knew where the fire was or how it started. The firefighters got it put out after about 45 minutes, most people were laughing and joking around with each other. There was this odd, detached kind of calmness as I was running out(again, barefoot with only my phone), and then once outside I started seeing flashbacks. And I was already tired from studying hard all day and a little homesick...bleah.

   In English, our Comp I teacher was telling us about the backbone of story plotlines, we ended up discussing Star Wars for 45 minutes, it was awesome. But he mentioned that we, as college students, are kind of in an exile, cast out from the worlds that we knew, on a quest for knowledge. It's kind of hard being an exile, ya know? (Robinson Crusoe, Moses, Swiss Family Robinson, that guy in Castaway, Simba, Hercules, Thor, etc...) I mean, I know that God will get me through whatever I'm facing/going to face, because He's done it so many times in the past. It's just sometimes a little hard to remember that when you're just trying to keep your head above water. Some days go easier than others, but it's a fight to stay focused on that day's tasks and things. I mean, it's my job; shouldn't I try to give it the best effort I can?

   A lot of the guys I play Frisbee with are involved in Campus Christian Fellowship(CCF), that's about the only thing I've gotten involved in this semester(Intramural sports...not this time.). It's sort of like a youth group for college students, most run by college students, with some guidance. Think I'm gonna help with the worship music there, started that for the first time Tuesday, it went okay. Also, I found a pretty good church to go to here in town, so that's good.

   Had my first test Wednesday, in MassComm. I just kind of took it like I did the SAT, or all those drama programs I did in middle school: Go over the material, memorize it, understand it, then repeat eighteen times, and when it's time, try to relax as much as possible and let what you know take over. I got a 94 out of a possible 99, so I was happy with it.

   College is it's own little bubble, it's a weird concept. I didn't hear about Neil Armstrong's death until a few days later, same thing with Randy Jackson being fired as AI judge, not to mention football scores. Instead, I've helped guide a blind man places, read billboards chalked on the sidewalk, tagged along on trips to eat tacos and cherry crisp after church, shot pool, and played my guitar on the front porch. This is about what the first few weeks of college has been like.

Baseball

   A few weeks ago, on the night before my moving out, my family and I went to a minor-league baseball game as kind of a last all-together celebration-type thing. We used to have season tickets, went to many, many games over the years, but lately have gone to about one game every two or three years.

   None of us had ever been to the new stadium that was built a few years ago, and my siblings had free tickets from participating in the library's summer reading program, so those provided good excuses to see a ballgame. Interesting atmosphere around the park, lots of neat old architecture to look at. Once inside, our tickets were on the grassy lawn in right field, so it was a little hard to judge what the new field was like, as we couldn't see much and were surrounded by crickets, popcorn and little kids chasing the crickets, trying to capture them. We're pretty baseball-illiterate, so Dad and I tried to answer Caleb's questions about what was happening as best we could.
   So, it was a little hard to make a judgement on the actual stadium itself, not being in the stands. But one thing's for sure: It just isn't Drillers Stadium. We left in the middle of the sixth inning, have no idea if Tulsa even won or not. But it was kind of sad, for most of us. We were all slightly bored, and Mom, Dad and I were thinking of memories of my growing up, and all the times I'd tagged along on youth group nights and things like that, re-enacting last night's game in the apartment, or playing catch with Katie while Mr Rae watches from his back porch and yells encouragement, with all the dogs on the block yapping loudly.

   No, I'm not much a fan of baseball, though I try to keep up with the Cardinals. (Always sort of liked them, and I've got friends in St Louis and Springfield, home of their AA team.) And I used to hate the game. But somewhere along the way of being forced to watch, covering high school games for the paper, and then playing cabbage ball in the summertime, I learned to tolerate it, and occasionally even enjoy the peculiar style of big plays and important moments.
   I have a lot of friends who LOVE it, though; and that's fine. If they enjoy it, let them, and I'll enjoy watching their enjoyment. Josh has played for practically forever until he stopped last summer, trying to figure out where to go next. Dylan played a little, and Cassady went on to play college softball. I know a family who goes down to see Rangers games every chance they get, and a few who about flew through the roof during last year's World Series. That was interesting, being Texas-St Louis, and so I knew people (rabidly) rooting for both sides. And my goodness, Game 6...that was amazing! I had the TV on all night, checking the score once in a while, and then tuned in about the seventh or eighth inning. Things don't look too good for the Cards, but then comes that rally, and then it goes into extra innings, and then David Freese's play in the eleventh...that was awesome. I heard this one story of someone who went to Wal-Mart that night, naturally listening to the game on the radio. She sat in the car in the parking lot for over an hour, because things were that exciting and tense.THAT is why I love sports.

   My friend Emily is one of those people I mentioned who love the game, and try to stay in touch with it as much as is realistically possible. She wrote a poem about it one day, and then dug out an old essay from several years ago that she'd written, and put them on her blog. (See http://www.myearnestheart.blogspot.com/2012/05/game-baseball.html) The poem is this:

"The game has its balls and strikes,
The umpire never gets it right,
But that's the game; you'd better sit tight.
The game has its hits and runs,
Depending on which team you're on,
But that's the game; just take it, son.
The game is either home or away,
Doesn't matter, you better show up and play,
But that's the game, no matter what they say.
The game has its die-hard fans,
Who will yell and scream from the highest stands,
But that's the game; lend a hand.
The game has its ins and outs,
Drop third strike, you better run up a cloud,
But that's the game; help your team out.
The game is either won or lost,
Most try to win at all cost,
But that's the game; show 'em who's boss."

   It's a game for movies, a sport for stories. Really, can you imagine sports movies without "Field of Dreams", "The Sandlot", or "The Rookie"? How many millions of college students grew up playing ball in Tin Can Alley and Dirt Yards with Jocinda Smith, Pablo Sanchez and Tony Delvecchio, as the Super-Duper Wombats faced the Blue Rockets with Sunny Day and Vinnie the Gooch calling the action on Backyard Baseball? And will Charlie Brown's team ever win a game with him pitching? What would we do without the sport to foster our imaginations and pretend that we'll be the hero one day? I may complain about it, and make fun of it often, and usually wonder at all the things that don't make sense about the way the game is played. But it's important to our history, and without the game of baseball, sports would be missing something.

The Race of Joseph

   In life, sometimes we run into people we just connect with. While the terms for this have changed over the years: the principle behind it is still the same: There are people who make life better just by being around them. They could be your siblings, cousins, friends on the other side of town, on the other end of the state, or even farther away like Missouri or Mississippi, Minnesota or Canada.
   You can meet them in all kinds of situations: a class, an ice storm, at church, in Washington, D.C. They might be friends of your aunt's, little siblings of pals, or people you've known since second grade. Lucy Maud Montgomery summed up pretty well what this is, in her book "Anne's House of Dreams", on pages 37-38, in chapter seven, "The Schoolmaster's Bride".

   "I must be getting back to the light," announced Captain Jim. "I've enj'yed this evening something tremenjus."
   "You must come often to see us," said Anne.
   "I wonder if you'd give that invitation if you knew how likely I'll be to accept it," Captain Jim remarked whimsically.
   "Which is another way of saying you wonder if I mean it," smiled Anne. "I do, 'cross my heart', as we used to say at school."
   "Then I'll come. You'll likely to be pestered with me at nearly any hour. And I'd be proud to have you drop down and visit me now and then, too. Gin'rally I haven't anybody to talk to except the First Mate, bless his sociable heart. He's forgotten more'n any McAllister of them all ever knew, but he isn't much of a conversationalist. You're young and I'm old, but our souls are about the same age, I reckon. We both belong to the race that knows Joseph, as Cornelia Bryant would say."
   " 'The race that knows Joseph'?" puzzled Anne.
   "Yes. Cornelia divides all the folks in the world into two kinds - the race that knows Joseph, and the race that don't. If a person sorter sees eye to eye with you, and has pretty much the same ideas about things, and has the same taste in jokes - why, then he belongs to the race that knows Joseph."
   "Oh, I understand," exclaimed Anne, light breaking upon her. "It's what I used to call - and still call in quotation marks - 'kindred spirits'."
   "Jest so, jest so," agreed Captain Jim. "We're it, whatever it is. When you come in to-night, Mistress Blythe, I says to myself, 'Yes, she's one of the race that knows Joseph.' And I'm mighty glad she was, for if wasn't so  we couldn't have had any real satisfaction in each other's company. The race that knows Joseph is the salt of the airth, I reckon."

Gorillas run over RiverHawks 41-20

   Northeastern State University joined the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association(MIAA) in July, after being an independent for one year following their departure from the Lone Star Conference in 2010. The RiverHawks' welcome to their new conference home, generally regarded as the SEC of NCAA Division II football, looked daunting, to say the least, on paper. A home date against defending national champions, and #1 ranked, Pittsburg State Thursday night at Doc Wadley Stadium. A decent-sized crowd of 3,527 filled the 12,000 seat stadium, and they witnessed the Gorillas' well-executed offense move at will, en route to a 41-20 loss for NSU.
   Pitt State took the opening kickoff and marched downfield mixing option runs with screen passes from the Wing T/Pistol setups, quarterback Anthony Abenoja found John Brown on a seven yard touchdown pass with 9:01 to go in the first quarter. Northeastern countered this three minutes later with a 49 yard run by sophomore tailback Terrence Dixon, the extra point try failed. SO defensive back Chandler Barr halted the Pitt attack next drive with an interception, but nothing could be made from the pick, the first fifteen minutes ended with the score Pitt State 7, Northeastern 6. PSU's Tillman pounded his way into the end zone from six yards away with four minutes gone in the second, going up 14-6. Dylan Beers recovered a fumble on a Pitt return of his punt, but again, the 'Hawks couldn't capitalize. Abenoja found Brandon Ledgeworth on a three-yard pass with thirty seconds to play in the half, and the Gorillas held a 21-6 lead going into halftime.
   Sibold blasted his way through the NSU line from four yards out with 12:37 to go in the third, RiverHawks quarterback Johnny Deaton's rough start continued, after going 2-for-12 in the first half, he threw a pick inside the red zone to Pitt's Riley, the ensuing drive was capped off by a 29 yard field goal from Frezelle. It took just three plays and 68 yards to answer that score, Deaton fired a thirty yard strike to senior receiver Jermaine Sherman with 3:01 left in the quarter, Daniel Bond added the extra point. The Northeastern offense had some strong drives in the second half, just the results weren't always there. SO WR Prince McJunkins recovered the onside kick, a strong drive was pulled up short with an interception. Forty seconds later, though, SO DB Kyler Harris returned the favor, and the 'Hawks had possession at the Gorilla 28. The third quarter ended with the home team trailing 31-13, the fourth began with a 47-yard Bond kick that drifted wide right. Pittsburg State took advantage, slamming their way forward; an Abenoja pass was tipped by an NSU linebacker, but the carom dropped right into Brown's hands for a touchdown. Dixon ran into the end zone from 29 yards away fifty-two seconds later, the final score of the game came from Frezelle's foot on a 37-yard field goal with 5:55 to play.  Trying to score one last time, another interception was thrown, and that sealed the game, with the #1 Pittsburg State Gorillas taking the 41-20 victory over the Northeastern State RiverHawks.
   On offense, Abenoja was 26-for-41 and 382 yards with 3 TDs, 2 INTs, Jeremy Spradling led the rushing attack with eight carries for 56 yards, Brown was the team's leading receiver with ten catches for 146 yards and 2 TDs. For NSU, Deaton was 15-for-38 for 242 yards with one TD and 3 INTs, Dixon had fourteen carries for 132 yards and 2 TDs, Sherman caught five passes for 76 yards and a TD, Victor Williams led the way on defense with eight tackles.
   In other MIAA action, Truman's Bulldogs topped Southwest Baptist 24-14, the #18 Missouri Western Griffons prevailed over Central Missouri 38-26, #20 Washburn was victorious over Nebraska-Kearney, the Ichabods won 24-14 over the Lopers; the Lions of Missouri Southern survived a late scare to finish off Central Oklahoma 25-20, Emporia State's Hornets stung Ft. Hays State to the tune of a 41-18 beatdown, and #3 Northwest Missouri State won a non-conference game as the Bearcats destroyed East Central 33-3.  The newest members of the 15-team league have a 0-3 record so far.
   Up next for Pittsburg State(1-0, 1-0 MIAA) is a home game at 6:05 p.m. Sept 8 against Central Oklahoma(0-1, 0-1 MIAA), while the RiverHawks(0-1, 0-1 MIAA) will travel to Joplin, MO on Sept 8, where Missouri Southern(1-0, 1-0 MIAA) awaits in a 6 p.m. matchup.