I can't believe I forgot to post this one in my previous post--this was my favorite!!!!
Wishing you a perpetual lack of elephants in your way,
LH
Sunday, February 18, 2007
One more reason I majored in English...
...and not in physics.
I can't believe I forgot to post this one in my previous post--this was my favorite!!!!
Wishing you a perpetual lack of elephants in your way,
LH
I can't believe I forgot to post this one in my previous post--this was my favorite!!!!
Wishing you a perpetual lack of elephants in your way,
LH
Friday, February 16, 2007
Why I Was An English Major...
High School Meme
1. Who was your best friend? Had a group of best friends. Folks from choir, mostly. Jodi, Sarah, Jason, Brian, another Brian, Brianna, and Angie, among others.
2. What sports did you play? 9th grade track
3. What kind of car did you drive? 1985 Chevy Nova
4. It's Friday night, where were you? Taco Bell, Village Inn, the Old Market, or at a friend’s house watching Clue (one of the funniest movies ever!)
5. Were you a party animal? Nope - didn't even know where the parties were!
6. Were you considered a flirt? Not that I know of.
7. Ever skip school? Once that I can remember—junior year, I had a big American History test I hadn’t studied for, so I faked illness for a day and crammed.
9. Were you in any clubs? Junior ROTC for a year (to get out of P.E.), Future Teachers of America, Debate, Literary Magazine, choir, show choir, National Honor Society, Mock Trial, Quiz Bowl, Drama. (Good Lord, when did I have time to actually learn something?!?!?!?!)
10. Suspended? Nope.
11. Can you sing the fight song? (To the tune of the University of Oregon’s fight song) We’re the Thunderbirds of West High, we’re the purple gold and white, we will cheer our team to victory, we will always prove our might. Thunderbirds are proud and loyal, and we’ll always do our best, we will fight to win our battles, Thunderbirds of Bellevue West! (yelling) CHEER! CHEER! FOR BELLEVUE WEST CAUSE WE! ARE! NEBRASKA’S BEST! FIGHT! FIGHT! WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT! THUNDERBIRDS KICK SOME @$&^@$ TONIGHT! (okay, that last line’s supposed to be “Thunderbirds win this game tonight” but nobody actually said that except the cheerleaders…)
12. Who was your favorite teacher? Wow…I had some great ones. Some standouts: Mr. Reimer for choir and music theory/history. Mrs. Wolford for English. Mrs. Beckmann for English.
13. What was your favorite class? English, followed closely by show choir/choir/music theory and music history.
14. What was your school's full name? Bellevue West High School
15. School mascot? The Thunderbirds!
16. Did you go to dances? A few of ‘em.
17. If you could go back and do it over again, would you? I’d do senior year over, but that’s about it.
18. What do you remember most about graduation? Singing Irish Blessing Song with the choir.
19. Favorite memory of your Senior Year? Endlessly debating in English, working my butt off but loving every minute in music theory (and the food days), being a high tenor yet being named bass section leader in choir, singing the stupidest solo in the history of the Broadway musical as part of our production of Oklahoma: The Farmer and the Cowman Should Be Friends.
20. Were you ever posted up on the senior wall? Didn't have one.
22. Where did you go most often for lunch? Lunchroom.
23. Have you gained weight since high school? 8 whole pounds.
24. What did you do after graduation? Went to Northeast Missouri State (which has since changed its name to Truman State University) to get a B.A. in English (cue the ever-so-true Avenue Q song What Do You Do With A B.A. In English?)
25. When did you graduate? 1992
26. Where are most of your classmates? Spread out all over the country. Most of us were military brats, and there was a major restructuring the summer after graduation. They’re all over the place!
27. Did you have a high school sweetheart? Crushes, yes…sweethearts, sadly no. Didn’t go on a single date all throughout high school.
28. Have you changed since? Well, at my 10 year reunion, I was voted “Best Preserved.” (Oh dear...)
29. Have you been to your high school since you graduated? It’s been a couple of years—I try to get to the Choral Christmas Candlelight Concert most years, but didn’t make it this past December.
2. What sports did you play? 9th grade track
3. What kind of car did you drive? 1985 Chevy Nova
4. It's Friday night, where were you? Taco Bell, Village Inn, the Old Market, or at a friend’s house watching Clue (one of the funniest movies ever!)
5. Were you a party animal? Nope - didn't even know where the parties were!
6. Were you considered a flirt? Not that I know of.
7. Ever skip school? Once that I can remember—junior year, I had a big American History test I hadn’t studied for, so I faked illness for a day and crammed.
9. Were you in any clubs? Junior ROTC for a year (to get out of P.E.), Future Teachers of America, Debate, Literary Magazine, choir, show choir, National Honor Society, Mock Trial, Quiz Bowl, Drama. (Good Lord, when did I have time to actually learn something?!?!?!?!)
10. Suspended? Nope.
11. Can you sing the fight song? (To the tune of the University of Oregon’s fight song) We’re the Thunderbirds of West High, we’re the purple gold and white, we will cheer our team to victory, we will always prove our might. Thunderbirds are proud and loyal, and we’ll always do our best, we will fight to win our battles, Thunderbirds of Bellevue West! (yelling) CHEER! CHEER! FOR BELLEVUE WEST CAUSE WE! ARE! NEBRASKA’S BEST! FIGHT! FIGHT! WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT! THUNDERBIRDS KICK SOME @$&^@$ TONIGHT! (okay, that last line’s supposed to be “Thunderbirds win this game tonight” but nobody actually said that except the cheerleaders…)
12. Who was your favorite teacher? Wow…I had some great ones. Some standouts: Mr. Reimer for choir and music theory/history. Mrs. Wolford for English. Mrs. Beckmann for English.
13. What was your favorite class? English, followed closely by show choir/choir/music theory and music history.
14. What was your school's full name? Bellevue West High School
15. School mascot? The Thunderbirds!
16. Did you go to dances? A few of ‘em.
17. If you could go back and do it over again, would you? I’d do senior year over, but that’s about it.
18. What do you remember most about graduation? Singing Irish Blessing Song with the choir.
19. Favorite memory of your Senior Year? Endlessly debating in English, working my butt off but loving every minute in music theory (and the food days), being a high tenor yet being named bass section leader in choir, singing the stupidest solo in the history of the Broadway musical as part of our production of Oklahoma: The Farmer and the Cowman Should Be Friends.
20. Were you ever posted up on the senior wall? Didn't have one.
22. Where did you go most often for lunch? Lunchroom.
23. Have you gained weight since high school? 8 whole pounds.
24. What did you do after graduation? Went to Northeast Missouri State (which has since changed its name to Truman State University) to get a B.A. in English (cue the ever-so-true Avenue Q song What Do You Do With A B.A. In English?)
25. When did you graduate? 1992
26. Where are most of your classmates? Spread out all over the country. Most of us were military brats, and there was a major restructuring the summer after graduation. They’re all over the place!
27. Did you have a high school sweetheart? Crushes, yes…sweethearts, sadly no. Didn’t go on a single date all throughout high school.
28. Have you changed since? Well, at my 10 year reunion, I was voted “Best Preserved.” (Oh dear...)
29. Have you been to your high school since you graduated? It’s been a couple of years—I try to get to the Choral Christmas Candlelight Concert most years, but didn’t make it this past December.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Church Music Wars
In my meanderings across cyberspace, I stumbled across this, which I think does a good job of identifying the deep chasm between the singers and "culture" (if that makes any sense) of praise music and hymns:
An old farmer who is a member of a traditional church decides one weekend to visit a church with a contemporary service, just to see what it's all about. He comes home and his wife asks him how it was.
"Well," says the farmer, "It was good. They did something different, however. They sang praise choruses instead of hymns."
"Praise choruses," says the wife, "What are those?"
"Oh, they're ok. They're sort of like hymns, only different," says the farmer.
"Well, what's the difference?" asks his wife.
The farmer says, "Well, it's like this - If I were to say to you: 'Martha, the cows are in the corn,' well, that would be a hymn. If, on the other hand, I were to say to you:
'Martha, Martha, Martha,
Oh Martha, MARTHA, MARTHA.
The cows,
the big cows,
the brown cows,
the black cows,
the white cows,
the black and white cows
the COWS, COWS, COWS are in the corn,
are in the corn,
are in the corn,
are in the corn,
the CORN,CORN, CORN.'
then if I were to repeat the whole thing two or three times, well that would be a praise chorus."
The same Sunday, a farmer from the church with the praise worship service attends the traditional church. He returns home and his wife, also named Martha, asks how it was.
"Well," says the farmer, "It was good. They did something different, however. They sang hymns instead of regular songs."
"Hymns," says his wife, "What are those?"
"Oh, they're ok. They're sort of like regular songs, only different." says the young man.
"What's the difference?" asks the wife.
The farmer says, "Well, It's like this - If I were to say to you, 'Martha, the cows are in the corn,' that would be a regular song. If on the other hand, I were to say to you:
'Oh Martha, dear Martha, hear thou my cry
Inclinest thine ear to the words of my mouth.
Turn thou thy whole wonderous ear by and by
To the righteous, inimitable, glorious truth.
For the way of the animals who can explain
There in their heads is no shadow of sense.
Hearkenest they not in God's sun or his rain
Unless from the mild, tempting corn they are fenced.
Yea those cows in glad bovine, rebellious delight,
Have broke free their shackles, their warm pens eschewed.
Then goaded by minions of darkness and night
They all my mild Chilliwick sweet corn have chewed.
So look to that bright shining day by and by,
Where all foul corruptions of earth are reborn.
Where no vicious animal makes my soul cry
And I no longer see those foul cows in the corn.'
Then, if I were to do only verses one, three and four and do a key change on the last verse, well that would be a hymn."
And never the twain shall meet...
...or shall they?
I'm in an interesting position as the director of music at a church where the music for one service is very traditional, and the other is very contemporary. My church began their contemporary service a little more than 4 years ago, so it was pretty well established by the time I came on board.
For the record, I'm not a big fan of either service.
On the one hand, I think the traditional service is too full of German and Scandanavian sounding chorales, with language that's either archaic or as the LBW tended to do, so modernized it sounds cutesy and shallow, especially if you know how the original was supposed to be (see LBW #58, Lo, How a Rose Is Growing as one of the more egregious examples). In the LBW's defense, modern for modern's sake was all the rage in the 70's, and I suppose the hymnal that resulted was in many ways a product of the times.
But, as usual, I digress.
Point is, there's some incredible music and some incredible texts to be found in your run-of-the-mill traditional hymnal (i.e. LBW). But if that's all you hear, listen to, or are exposed to, you're really missing out on a lot of the breadth of very good theology and hymnody that's come along since 1978. And there's a lot of it out there.
On the other side of the coin, we have the praise service. While I commend the crafters of this service at my church for retaining the general feel of the Lutheran liturgy, when I came on board the vast majority of the music that was being sung was...well...without mincing words, a lot of it was crap. Music that a pastor friend of mine refers to as "Jesus is my boyfriend" music, or that a fellow music director refers to as "7/11" music (the same 7 words repeated 11 times). Stuff that may sound nice and may be fun to play, but is the theological equivilent of marshmallow fluff. Tastes good at first but after consuming too much I end up with a stomachache and run the risk of falling into a diabetic coma. I mean, how often do we need to tell God how great he is? Think about it. If you had a good friend whose only words to you were words of praise, after a while wouldn't you be thinking "this is nice and all, but can't we someday have a real conversation?" I don't think any part of the Trinity has self-esteem issues, maybe we oughta explore a little more deeply what it means to be the church and live out his grace in our everyday lives than spend 10 minutes singing "I Exalt Thee" over and over and over.
And over.
And over and over and over and over and over and over.
But see, the problem is that this service was very well established before I even arrived...yet I'm in charge of picking the music. There's generally 5 songs sung at this service, so what I've been doing is trying to stay close to this general formula:
An old farmer who is a member of a traditional church decides one weekend to visit a church with a contemporary service, just to see what it's all about. He comes home and his wife asks him how it was.
"Well," says the farmer, "It was good. They did something different, however. They sang praise choruses instead of hymns."
"Praise choruses," says the wife, "What are those?"
"Oh, they're ok. They're sort of like hymns, only different," says the farmer.
"Well, what's the difference?" asks his wife.
The farmer says, "Well, it's like this - If I were to say to you: 'Martha, the cows are in the corn,' well, that would be a hymn. If, on the other hand, I were to say to you:
'Martha, Martha, Martha,
Oh Martha, MARTHA, MARTHA.
The cows,
the big cows,
the brown cows,
the black cows,
the white cows,
the black and white cows
the COWS, COWS, COWS are in the corn,
are in the corn,
are in the corn,
are in the corn,
the CORN,CORN, CORN.'
then if I were to repeat the whole thing two or three times, well that would be a praise chorus."
The same Sunday, a farmer from the church with the praise worship service attends the traditional church. He returns home and his wife, also named Martha, asks how it was.
"Well," says the farmer, "It was good. They did something different, however. They sang hymns instead of regular songs."
"Hymns," says his wife, "What are those?"
"Oh, they're ok. They're sort of like regular songs, only different." says the young man.
"What's the difference?" asks the wife.
The farmer says, "Well, It's like this - If I were to say to you, 'Martha, the cows are in the corn,' that would be a regular song. If on the other hand, I were to say to you:
'Oh Martha, dear Martha, hear thou my cry
Inclinest thine ear to the words of my mouth.
Turn thou thy whole wonderous ear by and by
To the righteous, inimitable, glorious truth.
For the way of the animals who can explain
There in their heads is no shadow of sense.
Hearkenest they not in God's sun or his rain
Unless from the mild, tempting corn they are fenced.
Yea those cows in glad bovine, rebellious delight,
Have broke free their shackles, their warm pens eschewed.
Then goaded by minions of darkness and night
They all my mild Chilliwick sweet corn have chewed.
So look to that bright shining day by and by,
Where all foul corruptions of earth are reborn.
Where no vicious animal makes my soul cry
And I no longer see those foul cows in the corn.'
Then, if I were to do only verses one, three and four and do a key change on the last verse, well that would be a hymn."
And never the twain shall meet...
...or shall they?
I'm in an interesting position as the director of music at a church where the music for one service is very traditional, and the other is very contemporary. My church began their contemporary service a little more than 4 years ago, so it was pretty well established by the time I came on board.
For the record, I'm not a big fan of either service.
On the one hand, I think the traditional service is too full of German and Scandanavian sounding chorales, with language that's either archaic or as the LBW tended to do, so modernized it sounds cutesy and shallow, especially if you know how the original was supposed to be (see LBW #58, Lo, How a Rose Is Growing as one of the more egregious examples). In the LBW's defense, modern for modern's sake was all the rage in the 70's, and I suppose the hymnal that resulted was in many ways a product of the times.
But, as usual, I digress.
Point is, there's some incredible music and some incredible texts to be found in your run-of-the-mill traditional hymnal (i.e. LBW). But if that's all you hear, listen to, or are exposed to, you're really missing out on a lot of the breadth of very good theology and hymnody that's come along since 1978. And there's a lot of it out there.
On the other side of the coin, we have the praise service. While I commend the crafters of this service at my church for retaining the general feel of the Lutheran liturgy, when I came on board the vast majority of the music that was being sung was...well...without mincing words, a lot of it was crap. Music that a pastor friend of mine refers to as "Jesus is my boyfriend" music, or that a fellow music director refers to as "7/11" music (the same 7 words repeated 11 times). Stuff that may sound nice and may be fun to play, but is the theological equivilent of marshmallow fluff. Tastes good at first but after consuming too much I end up with a stomachache and run the risk of falling into a diabetic coma. I mean, how often do we need to tell God how great he is? Think about it. If you had a good friend whose only words to you were words of praise, after a while wouldn't you be thinking "this is nice and all, but can't we someday have a real conversation?" I don't think any part of the Trinity has self-esteem issues, maybe we oughta explore a little more deeply what it means to be the church and live out his grace in our everyday lives than spend 10 minutes singing "I Exalt Thee" over and over and over.
And over.
And over and over and over and over and over and over.
But see, the problem is that this service was very well established before I even arrived...yet I'm in charge of picking the music. There's generally 5 songs sung at this service, so what I've been doing is trying to stay close to this general formula:
- One new (or relatively new) song that is theologically sound that I think needs to become part of the catalog.
- One song that they've done in the past that is also theologically sound (not a ton of these right now).
- Three "greatest praise hits" marshmallow fluff songs to keep things recognizable.
Over time, I hope to raise the numbers of category #2 and in turn lower the numbers of category #3. At the same time, I'm working on educating folks on what liturgy and music are all about in worship so that I can change the general perception that the most important thing to consider when choosing the closing song is "how fast is the tempo."
I know it ain't gonna happen overnight...but in the words of a great song, "a change is gonna come."
It really bothers me that people see hymns and a contemporary sound as mutually exclusive. Truth is, they can work together quite nicely. Sometimes when I'm between projects or just need a mental break, I'll go into the sanctuary and play a song or play around with the very nice electronic keyboard we have there. It has a lot of bells and whistles, most of which are never used, and I figure I ought to at least know what it can do, in theory at least. So I was listening to some of the drum beats it has, and found a "techno" setting. Wow--I suddenly felt like I was in a dance club on a Saturday night. On a whim, I found an electronica sound for the keyboard, and with the techno beat pounding away started playing Crown Him With Many Crowns.
That was one kicking techno song. And hey, where else are you gonna find the phrase "ineffably sublime" in a dance mix?
Not that I ever plan on doing that in worship (unless I ever decide that I want to be fired), but the point is with a little creativity it's possible to make the old new again.
The ELCA's new worship resource, Evangelical Lutheran Worship, does that with a number of hymns and in many of the new liturgies and special services it offers (no, you won't find any techno dance club music, unless you count Crown Him With Many Crowns, which is hymn #855). Recapturing the old and presenting it in new, fresh ways. But that's a subject for a different post.
For now, I'll continue to work in small ways to make our traditional service more contemporary, and our contemporary service more traditional.
I'll be starting next month by introducing our traditional worshippers to a man named Marty Haugen. I'll be sure to keep y'all updated on that.
Our contemporary worshippers have already been introduced to Marty (they've sung Now The Feast And Celebration), as well as songs like David Haas's We Are Called, Rory Cooney's Canticle of the Turning (which you can totally rock out to, btw), and Larry Olson's Kyrie Eleison. More to come there, as well.
Taking it one small step at a time.
LH
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Ten years...Sweetie's version
After reading my thoughts and remembrances of our first date (which you can find here), Sweetie started thinking about her perspective on it all. Here, in her words, are what she remembers from that day 10 years ago tonight:
Okay, so every story has two sides…here’s my version of what went down 10 years ago... =)
I loved working at church camp in 1996! “Honey” was a great Site Manager (yes, technically “my superior”…although that changed quickly when we got married! =) Just kidding!), and he and I became good friends. It was one of the best summers I can remember. I wanted to spend my summer at camp making a difference in children’s lives, just as counselors at church camp had done for me when I was younger. But the personal rewards were more than I ever expected. The kids, without knowing it, taught me so much about myself, and I made friendships with my peers that continue to be some of the strongest ever.
I went to the staff reunion that winter in hopes of reconnecting with many of my friends. It was a great time of sledding, singing, laughing and bonding. I honestly don’t remember talking to “Honey” much until that Sunday when we were all about to leave the reunion. I remember standing in the parking lot, and making plans to call each other sometime to catch up. Seemed pretty innocent to me!
I was living at my parents’ house at that time, and I remember being in my room studying (for nursing school) that next night, Monday, when I got a phone call from “Honey.” We talked for awhile and then, surprisingly, he asked me out for dinner that Friday night! Now, I KNEW that that Friday was Valentine’s Day immediately…that’s why as soon as I got off the phone I was freaking out! I couldn’t believe he had just asked me out on “The-Day-O-Love!” All hopes of any further studying that night went straight out the window…there was no way I could concentrate! I called my friend, D, and she was convinced that “Honey” had a thing for me! But I denied it every chance I got, saying, “We’re just FRIENDS!!” I kept telling myself that too…ALL week!
Finally the evening of our “friendly” date was upon us. I remember exactly what I wore…jeans, my Doc Martens, and one of my favorite fuzzy sweaters (that way I was dressy, but not TOO dressy!) “Honey” and I were meeting each other at Rock and Roll Runza downtown. I arrived at the parking garage way too early that evening!! If I showed up at the restaurant early, that would surely make me look too anxious for our “friendly” date! So I stood at the top of the parking garage for about 10 minutes before slowly making my way to the restaurant. =)
Once inside the place, I saw “Honey” right away. He was sitting at one of the bar stools by the entrance. Okay, play it cool! I was so nervous. But why?!! We were just FRIENDS! Calm down. Okay. We sat in a booth by the window. He looked so handsome…he was not the “sweaty, sunburned, over-tired but happy and high on coffee for the kids, grungy clothed, no voice left due to over-singing and yelling camp type” that I had known from the summer! (sorry, Hon! =) ) NO, this guy cleaned up well! Too bad we were only “FRIENDS”!
At some point during dinner, he handed me a card across the table. He got me a Valentine’s card???!!? I hadn’t gotten him anything!! I quickly read through it, and gave a nervous laugh and thanked him for such a nice gesture. I was so nervous about the entire thing that I didn’t really pay close attention to the words. We had a fun dinner together and the conversation flowed great.
After dinner, we walked to the movies. We saw In Love and War. Honestly, I don’t remember most of the movie after about an hour into it, when “Honey” pulled a total “guy move.” …We were sitting there watching the movie, when suddenly he leans back in his seat like he’s going to stretch his back, but his left arm “stretches” across the back of my seat!!!! Oh my gosh!!! My “FRIEND” now has his arm around me!! I guess we’re not “FRIENDS” anymore, now are we?!! :0 Okay, be calm. What should I do? I’ve gotta do something or he’s going to think I don’t care, or that I’m uncomfortable! So I take my right hand and place it on his knee (palms sweating, pulse racing)! And there, on his left knee, is where my hand is locked in pure terror for the remainder of the movie!! When the movie finishes, I unlock the death grip of my sweaty hand from his knee, and we proceed to our cars.
We were talking and having a really nice time on the walk back. I’ll never forget how he placed his hand on my back in a protective kind of way when we crossed the street at one point. When I got home that night, I actually READ that card that he had given me at the restaurant, for the very first time. It had Garfield on the front holding a candy bar. The inside of the card said, “I’ve got a CRUNCH on you!” Oh, man! I must have stayed up half the night just thinking about the entire evening!
Who would’ve thought 10 years ago that that night would’ve been the beginning of such an amazing journey for the two of us??!! I guess you never know where life’s twists and turns are going to lead you. Happy Valentines Day and “First Date Anniversary”!! Love you “Honey!”
=)
LH
Okay, so every story has two sides…here’s my version of what went down 10 years ago... =)
I loved working at church camp in 1996! “Honey” was a great Site Manager (yes, technically “my superior”…although that changed quickly when we got married! =) Just kidding!), and he and I became good friends. It was one of the best summers I can remember. I wanted to spend my summer at camp making a difference in children’s lives, just as counselors at church camp had done for me when I was younger. But the personal rewards were more than I ever expected. The kids, without knowing it, taught me so much about myself, and I made friendships with my peers that continue to be some of the strongest ever.
I went to the staff reunion that winter in hopes of reconnecting with many of my friends. It was a great time of sledding, singing, laughing and bonding. I honestly don’t remember talking to “Honey” much until that Sunday when we were all about to leave the reunion. I remember standing in the parking lot, and making plans to call each other sometime to catch up. Seemed pretty innocent to me!
I was living at my parents’ house at that time, and I remember being in my room studying (for nursing school) that next night, Monday, when I got a phone call from “Honey.” We talked for awhile and then, surprisingly, he asked me out for dinner that Friday night! Now, I KNEW that that Friday was Valentine’s Day immediately…that’s why as soon as I got off the phone I was freaking out! I couldn’t believe he had just asked me out on “The-Day-O-Love!” All hopes of any further studying that night went straight out the window…there was no way I could concentrate! I called my friend, D, and she was convinced that “Honey” had a thing for me! But I denied it every chance I got, saying, “We’re just FRIENDS!!” I kept telling myself that too…ALL week!
Finally the evening of our “friendly” date was upon us. I remember exactly what I wore…jeans, my Doc Martens, and one of my favorite fuzzy sweaters (that way I was dressy, but not TOO dressy!) “Honey” and I were meeting each other at Rock and Roll Runza downtown. I arrived at the parking garage way too early that evening!! If I showed up at the restaurant early, that would surely make me look too anxious for our “friendly” date! So I stood at the top of the parking garage for about 10 minutes before slowly making my way to the restaurant. =)
Once inside the place, I saw “Honey” right away. He was sitting at one of the bar stools by the entrance. Okay, play it cool! I was so nervous. But why?!! We were just FRIENDS! Calm down. Okay. We sat in a booth by the window. He looked so handsome…he was not the “sweaty, sunburned, over-tired but happy and high on coffee for the kids, grungy clothed, no voice left due to over-singing and yelling camp type” that I had known from the summer! (sorry, Hon! =) ) NO, this guy cleaned up well! Too bad we were only “FRIENDS”!
At some point during dinner, he handed me a card across the table. He got me a Valentine’s card???!!? I hadn’t gotten him anything!! I quickly read through it, and gave a nervous laugh and thanked him for such a nice gesture. I was so nervous about the entire thing that I didn’t really pay close attention to the words. We had a fun dinner together and the conversation flowed great.
After dinner, we walked to the movies. We saw In Love and War. Honestly, I don’t remember most of the movie after about an hour into it, when “Honey” pulled a total “guy move.” …We were sitting there watching the movie, when suddenly he leans back in his seat like he’s going to stretch his back, but his left arm “stretches” across the back of my seat!!!! Oh my gosh!!! My “FRIEND” now has his arm around me!! I guess we’re not “FRIENDS” anymore, now are we?!! :0 Okay, be calm. What should I do? I’ve gotta do something or he’s going to think I don’t care, or that I’m uncomfortable! So I take my right hand and place it on his knee (palms sweating, pulse racing)! And there, on his left knee, is where my hand is locked in pure terror for the remainder of the movie!! When the movie finishes, I unlock the death grip of my sweaty hand from his knee, and we proceed to our cars.
We were talking and having a really nice time on the walk back. I’ll never forget how he placed his hand on my back in a protective kind of way when we crossed the street at one point. When I got home that night, I actually READ that card that he had given me at the restaurant, for the very first time. It had Garfield on the front holding a candy bar. The inside of the card said, “I’ve got a CRUNCH on you!” Oh, man! I must have stayed up half the night just thinking about the entire evening!
Who would’ve thought 10 years ago that that night would’ve been the beginning of such an amazing journey for the two of us??!! I guess you never know where life’s twists and turns are going to lead you. Happy Valentines Day and “First Date Anniversary”!! Love you “Honey!”
=)
LH
A decade later
 |
| Rock N' Roll Runza, Lincoln (man I miss that place!) |
Dude.
We had worked at church camp together during the summer of 1996. She was a counselor, I was a Site Manager (which basically meant I was the direct supervisor of 10-15 counselors each week). I knew she was a helluva counselor, so for most of the summer I requested to have her at the site that I managed. That summer especially, good counselors that you could count on were prized treasures, and Sweetie was one of the best.
She was also pretty darn cute.
Not that I noticed, of course. I was, after all, her supervisor, and she had a boyfriend and I was engaged to someone else (long story for a different time).
So the summer flew by, we got to know each other pretty well as friends and co-workers, then the fall came and we lost touch.
In December, for a number of reasons, all of which are unimportant to this particular story, my fiancee and I broke off our engagement.
Then came an announcement that in February, there would be a 2-day reunion for camp staff from the previous summer.
Sooooo....with that scene set, I arrived the first day looking forward to reconnecting with some old friends and just getting a taste of camp life again. As an aside, in my opinion every Christian ought to work at least one summer at a church camp while in college. There's a very real sense of community and living faith that in many ways makes it a more powerful experience for staff than it even is for the campers. And it's the perfect environment to discern and connect with your personal sense of call.
So I get to the reunion, I'm enjoying hobnobbing with everyone, including Sweetie, when a friend of mine pulls me aside. Telling me about Sweetie, she asked me, "did you hear that she recently broke up with her boyfriend?"
Oh reeeeeeeeeeeeeeally? I was immediately interested.
I was also a big fat chicken. Because even though I had this information, and even though I totally wanted to ask her out, I didn't. Which was a problem, because the reunion was a Saturday to Sunday affair, and I worked as a youth director and needed to be back at my church 130 miles away for Sunday morning. I don't think I even talked to her again after I found out that she wasn't seeing anyone anymore.
So there I was on the interstate very early Sunday morning (5 AM or so), alternately dreaming about "what-if" and hitting myself over the head with mental anvils for being an idiot chicken and not doing something to allow any of the "what-ifs" to come to fruition.
I made a decision. If I attended the early service, my Sunday School duties would be done by 10:45 or so, and I could drive back to the camp to be less of a chicken. I could get there around 12:30, and still have a little while to redeem myself before the reunion ended (I forget exactly when, but maybe 2 or 3). So that's exactly what I did. Even then though, it wasn't until everything was done and everyone was getting ready to leave that I finally mustered up the courage to go to Sweetie and say "it was great seeing you again."
"Yeah, you too."
"I oughta give you a call sometime. We should get together, get caught up, you know, just talk...whatever..."
"Sure, here's my number." (YESSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!)
"Cool. I'll call sometime."
The next day, I called. It was a Monday, so I asked if she wanted to meet for dinner on Friday. She lived in Lincoln, and I was almost 2 hours away, so I offered to come and meet her at the only place in town I knew how to find at the time...Rock and Roll Runza. We agreed on a time and hung up, and I started doing a victory dance there by myself in my house.
And singing a victory song. Catchy little ditty.
So I danced and sang my way over to the calendar, and looked.
Friday was February 14th.
Holy Crap! I just asked her out on Valentine's Day!
Well, this changes everything! She'll be expecting cards, flowers, a limo, candlelight, a string quartet serenading us the whole evening, and probably Josh Groban personally singing You Raise Me Up in a private concert! Well, I can't do a bunch of that other stuff on limited time and budget...flowers? Hmmmm....maybe not on the very first date...don't want her to run away screaming in the night, fearing for her life from her gentleman stalker.
But a card? Yeah, I need to do that.
Do you, dear reader, have any idea how hard it is to find a Valentine's Day card that tells someone you really kinda like them without being too over-the-top or too cynical? Something you can give someone on a first date when you accidentally asked them out on the "day of love" and even though you really do like them a lot and hope that you can become more serious, you still realize that this is only the beginning?
After (I kid you not) almost 3 hours in the Hallmark store, I finally found the card. It was a Garfield card...he had a Nestle Crunch candy bar in his hand. On the outside I think it just said "Valentine..."
On the inside it said "I have a crunch on you!"
It was perfect. Cute, but not too cute. It said that there were feelings there while acknowledging that at the time, it was just a crush...but hopefully she'd read into it that I wouldn't mind exploring if there was more to it. Not too sappy, not cynical, not stupid.
Now the next problem was what if things went really well at dinner and we wanted to spend more time together but didn't want to take up a table at the restaurant forever? Hmmm....okay, a movie! There should be some romantic movies out--it's Valentine's Day, right?
Let's see...The English Patient. It's about falling in love while you're cheating. Not the best first date movie.
Okay, here's one. In Love and War. Sounds like it could have possibilities. It has love for her, war for him. Chris O'Donnell for her, Sandra Bullock for him. Sandra plays a nurse (Sweetie was in nursing school) for her, Chris plays a writer (I was an English major) for him.
Perfect!
But what if there's a steamy sex scene or something? Talk about uncomfortable.
Soooo...early in the week, I previewed the movie. That's right, I went to the theater and watched a movie that I was planning on suggesting we watch during the date.
Satisfied that I had left no stone unturned, I went into Friday confident and ready to go!
Okay, I was actually nervous as hell.
And ten years ago tonight, Friday came. How did it go? Well, we're married, aren't we?
I'd say it went pretty well.
Sweetie, I love you. Even though I still spend a long time finding the right card for you, I'm glad I don't have to preview our movies anymore. I'm looking forward to many more years of dates with the girl I still have a "crunch" on.
Happy Valentine's Day.
And happy "Decade Date-a-versary!"
LH
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Great Big Sea
Well, I only have a few minutes to post and I've been on such a great roll with posting lately...I don't wanna lose that momentum!!! Soooooooo...I figured I'd introduce you to another of my fave groups, Great Big Sea. I mentioned them a couple of months ago real briefly--they're an Irish maritime folk rock band out of Newfoundland, and they're AWESOME. Check out some of their live stuff sometime on YouTube. For now, here's a video of one of my favorite songs of theirs...Consequence Free. Enjoy!
LH
LH
Monday, February 12, 2007
"Hallowed be MY name..."
Or so reads the Lord's Prayer According to Kiddo. We've been saying the Lord's Prayer together at bedtime for the last month or so, and if a proud daddy may say so himself, he seems to have picked it up pretty well. =)
Last night for the first time I got him started, but let him take it by himself the rest of the way. He remembered it so well that I rushed downstairs to get the digital camera and have him say it again (I know, making it a parental media event kind of reduces the "prayerfulness" of it all...but at the same time I'm convinced that if God were a human parent he'd TOTALLY be breaking out the digital camera every chance he got and would have a wallet so full of pictures of his kids...well, he'd be the person you quit inviting to parties because you're just so tired of him going on and on and on about how much he loves his kids...but I digress.).
So anyway, here's Kiddo from last night. He apparently doesn't believe in forgiving those who trespass against us, but other than that he got it all in there. And it's obvious that he's not comprehending 95% of what he's saying, but as is the case with so many things, the comprehension can come later. It's so danged important to take advantage of the learning sponges kids are at this age--the words will be permanently etched in his mind, and he'll have the rest of his life to grow into the meaning of what he's saying.
And please don't quit inviting me to parties. =)
Last night for the first time I got him started, but let him take it by himself the rest of the way. He remembered it so well that I rushed downstairs to get the digital camera and have him say it again (I know, making it a parental media event kind of reduces the "prayerfulness" of it all...but at the same time I'm convinced that if God were a human parent he'd TOTALLY be breaking out the digital camera every chance he got and would have a wallet so full of pictures of his kids...well, he'd be the person you quit inviting to parties because you're just so tired of him going on and on and on about how much he loves his kids...but I digress.).
So anyway, here's Kiddo from last night. He apparently doesn't believe in forgiving those who trespass against us, but other than that he got it all in there. And it's obvious that he's not comprehending 95% of what he's saying, but as is the case with so many things, the comprehension can come later. It's so danged important to take advantage of the learning sponges kids are at this age--the words will be permanently etched in his mind, and he'll have the rest of his life to grow into the meaning of what he's saying.
And please don't quit inviting me to parties. =)
Saturday, February 10, 2007
"Scrubs" Rant of the Week
Once again, the often imitated but never duplicated Dr. Perry Cox!
Dr. Cox: [to J.D] Newbie, the only way you could be less productive right now is if you were in fact the wall in which you're leaning against, of course, then you would be providing some jackass with a wall on which to lean against and reflect on what a jackass he truly is. I know, here it's a conundrum, but don't you worry about it, I'll tackle that one right upstairs. In the meantime, you could at least pretend to be doing some work, and right about now, even though you don't have your basket, its just a terrific time for you to skip away, Shirley... skip away... skip away... skip away, skip, skip, skip to my loo, woohoo!
LH
Dr. Cox: [to J.D] Newbie, the only way you could be less productive right now is if you were in fact the wall in which you're leaning against, of course, then you would be providing some jackass with a wall on which to lean against and reflect on what a jackass he truly is. I know, here it's a conundrum, but don't you worry about it, I'll tackle that one right upstairs. In the meantime, you could at least pretend to be doing some work, and right about now, even though you don't have your basket, its just a terrific time for you to skip away, Shirley... skip away... skip away... skip away, skip, skip, skip to my loo, woohoo!
LH
Friday, February 09, 2007
Had enough Taylor Hicks yet?
I ran across these clips just a little bit ago. As you may or may not know, Taylor Hicks is getting ready to start his first solo tour. He's got an 8 piece band he's rehearsing with, and they have some of the rehearsals up on rehearsals.com.
There's others to be found up there, but here's 2 that I thought were particularly good. The first I wanted to include because it's not a cover. It's a song Taylor wrote that's on his Under The Radar album called Hell of a Day. As a matter of fact, the album version of this song was the first non-American Idol performance of his that I ever heard. An Alabama public radio station had done an interview with him a year or 2 before Idol, and still had clips of the interview as well as 2 songs from his independently released album on their site. It was after hearing Hell of a Day that I realized this gray-haired guy I had started to root for on the show was the real deal, and when I changed from a casual fan to a much bigger fan. Click on the link to watch and listen:
(Note: I just checked to make sure the links work...when the video page comes up for some reason you'll need to click the little link in the top right corner that says "big" to get the video to play. Not sure why, but hey, if it works why ask, right?)
Hell of a Day
The other one I wanted to include was Taylor's (rehearsal) version of Billy Preston's You Are So Beautiful. When done poorly, this can be one of the most boring songs on the planet, but when done well, it'll raise the hairs on your arms and bring a tear to your eye. He screws up the harmonica solo at the end, realizing at the very end of the clip that his harmonica is in completely the wrong key for the song...and I love how cool he thinks it is that he's singing a Billy Preston song while wearing a Billy Preston t-shirt. Good stuff. Here's the link:
You Are So Beautiful
I so can't wait for the concert!
LH
There's others to be found up there, but here's 2 that I thought were particularly good. The first I wanted to include because it's not a cover. It's a song Taylor wrote that's on his Under The Radar album called Hell of a Day. As a matter of fact, the album version of this song was the first non-American Idol performance of his that I ever heard. An Alabama public radio station had done an interview with him a year or 2 before Idol, and still had clips of the interview as well as 2 songs from his independently released album on their site. It was after hearing Hell of a Day that I realized this gray-haired guy I had started to root for on the show was the real deal, and when I changed from a casual fan to a much bigger fan. Click on the link to watch and listen:
(Note: I just checked to make sure the links work...when the video page comes up for some reason you'll need to click the little link in the top right corner that says "big" to get the video to play. Not sure why, but hey, if it works why ask, right?)
Hell of a Day
The other one I wanted to include was Taylor's (rehearsal) version of Billy Preston's You Are So Beautiful. When done poorly, this can be one of the most boring songs on the planet, but when done well, it'll raise the hairs on your arms and bring a tear to your eye. He screws up the harmonica solo at the end, realizing at the very end of the clip that his harmonica is in completely the wrong key for the song...and I love how cool he thinks it is that he's singing a Billy Preston song while wearing a Billy Preston t-shirt. Good stuff. Here's the link:
You Are So Beautiful
I so can't wait for the concert!
LH
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)