Back from a Journey

Well, hello! This is a story of a little boy and a big sheep.

...Not.

This is the story of my life for the past three or so weeks. Haha, I've finally slept/recovered enough to write a blog post about it. Anyway, let's begin:

On Sunday, May 27th, we embarked on a journey that would last three weeks. We drove a little over three hours to visit my grandmother on my dad's side in Georgetown, TX, and stayed with her until Wednesday morning. The town had a neat little Memorial Day Service where we got to hear The Honorable Rick Perry speak. That was pretty cool. :D

On Tuesday I had an amazing date with me madre. After driving 45 minutes into Austin, we ate Pappadeaux's and then....wait for it....went to see the Musical of All Musicals:

AHHH it made me so happy. :D It was absolutely beautimous. Well, for the most part...the Lovely Ladies scene (which I had never seen before) was quite shocking, to say the least. Other than that, though, I loved it. 

Upon our arrival at my grandmother's house around 12am, I promptly went to sleep.

The next morning, we got up semi-early, ate breakfast, and drove a few more hours to my other grandmother in Sherman, TX. This was when Dad, being the responsible one with a job, had to say goodbye and head home. Also, it was in Sherman that we met up with the Luthers for the rest of the trip.

After staying up 'til 1am Wednesday night at my aunt's ranch, we (me, Ethan, Clay and Jamie) finally went to bed, only to get up four and a half hours later at 5:30. Well, we were supposed to get up earlier, but the alarm failed to go off...so Brett (my uncle) had to wake us up when he came in to work out. And, we had wanted to leave at 6, so we only had time to throw our things in the car and drive back to Sherman to meet up with the others.

Anyway, we finally got on the road about 6:15 and drove to Paris, TX, where we stopped for breakfast and sightseeing. I must say, their Eiffel Tower was quite disappointing. You can't really tell in the picture, but it was only like, 25-30 feet tall.

I'll condense the next few days of driving for brevity's sake. We stopped in Memphis Thursday night, Kingsport, TN Friday night, and came to a temporary stop in Lynchburg, VA, until we left for Purcelville on Sunday afternoon. On the way, we went to the Civil Rights museum at the site of Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination in Memphis, a music store in Nashville, a quaint little visitor's center in Smyth County, VA (which is apparently the birthplace of Mountain Dew), Liberty University in Lynchburg, and a pretty snazzy hole-in-the-wall place called Baine's Books and Coffee. Being a book lover and all, my favorite place was probably Baine's. While I browsed their selection of classics and modern stuff, Thor played his guitar and sang. (Of course, it wasn't really Thor, but he very well could have been.) I managed to get my hands on The Moonstone and The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, The Man Who Knew Too Much by Chesterton, and Flatland by Edwin Abbott Abbott. They also had __Cattus Petasatus, a Latin translation of Seuss's --The Cat in the Hat__, but I didn't feel like spending $27 on it.

Anyway, we got up fairly early on Sunday morning and drove to Monticello, which was quite lovely. Even though I've been before, it was still pretty cool. Plus, this time I remembered to bring a camera, so I managed to get a couple pretty nice pictures:

These flower-thingies were over by the slave quarters. I thought
they looked pretty cool.

Monticello and the fish-pool.

I took this one at the end of the lawn behind Monticello,
laying down. I like it.

Of course, these weren't all the pictures I took, but they're a few of my favorites.

After Monticello, we hurried on to Patrick Henry College in Purcelville, VA for iGovern, arriving ten minutes before registration closed. Haha, we only had time to sign in, throw a few of our bags into our dorms, and run over to the dining hall for supper. After eating, we hurried back to the car to get the rest of our things into our dorms, then went to the Town Hall for orientation.

In all, I loved iGovern. The food was pretty good (for cafeteria food), the lectures were awesome, the House/Committee sessions were awesome, most of the people were awesome, and chapel/worship each night was awesome. I probably could have stayed another week if I didn't have Super Summer and I hadn't already been away from home for a week. But, I definitely want to go back next year.

The Barbara Hodel Center in the morning. This had the
 gym, cafeteria, House committee rooms, the gift shop,
 and the coffee shop. 

As the sign says, this is the Embassy of Australia.
When we went into DC, you could either go to the Capitol
or the Embassy. Obviously, I chose the Embassy. I can now
say that I have been to Australia without having left
North America. :D

This is Founder's Hall. Please ignore the obnoxious flagpole.
This was where the Senate and Foreign Summit convened. We
also had the Gala here Tuesday evening.

Onward!

Next stop was Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene for Super Summer. On the trip back, we finally finished up our three-pound bag of gummy bears. It was a sad day. But, the gummy bear we stuck to the driver's-side mirror stayed with us until Mrs. Pam took him off. Alas, I lack a picture of our faithful traveling-buddy. (I suddenly thought back to Calill, the caterpillar-worm in the VeggieTales' Jonah movie..."I'm coming weeth you, traveling-buddy!")

Super Summer was also awesome. With the epicness of iGovern in my mind, I came into Super Summer thinking, "How can it compare?" but God blew those thoughts out of the water the first night. I think it was the first time that my family group (and I) had really opened up during the initial Family Group session. Brad Cardwell did a great job as speaker, preaching about how God is brought glory through our suffering; the Nick Gainey Band did quite nice leading worship at Rainbow, and both my dean, assistant dean, and Orange School worship leader were amazing. Needless to say, I plan on continuing through years 4-6. 

Well, like my trip and all good things, this post must come to an end. It just so happens that we're about to leave for church, then on to San Antonio, where I get to help teach public speaking. This should be interesting. Wish me luck!

A Wee Tale (Because "Short Story" is too Conventional)

Well, I do apologize for the lack of posts. I pretty much failed that challenge. First came finals, then I was out of town for 3 weeks...ah, excuses, excuses. I hope to write a good deal this summer, so some of that may make its way here. Here's a short story to start things off. Enjoy!

Worth Fighting For

Asher’s ice-blue eyes locked with the Sorcerer’s dark, bloodshot ones. In his hands flashed two razor-sharp daggers. His long blond hair fell to his shoulders, over which hung a brown, ankle-length cloak.

            The Sorcerer looked quite different. His face was thin, the skin drawn tight over his cheekbones. Dark, hollow rings surrounded his eyes, and several strands of his glossy black hair partly covered them. A black, hooded cloak fell from his forehead to swish at his ankles with a crimson robe. He carried no weapon.

            “Why, Dark One?” Asher said. “Why do you want to destroy humankind?”

            The Sorcerer laughed. “Ha! Why? I could ask you why you are so eager to protect them. The race of man has grown increasingly wicked, and is now merely a disgusting blemish to be wiped from the beautiful slate of the world. These people are a ragged mob of thieves, murderers, drunkards and prostitutes—nothing more.”

            Asher’s mind flashed back to his walk through the marketplace that day: A baker argued over the price of bread witha potential customer. The local tavern was filled to overflowing with men too lazy to get a job and with loose women. In the town square, a band of soldiers placed a noose around a cutthroat’s neck, then laughed when they kicked the stool away. Were they any better than the one who was swinging in the breeze?

            Down an alley, a group of silhouettes mugged a scrawny pauper, taking the few alms he had collected and running back into the bar. The Sorcerer was right, Asher thought. There is nothing but evil in mankind’s heart.

            But then Asher remembered the young woman who had rushed to the bloody beggar and bandaged his wounds. He remembered the soldier who grimaced while his comrades mocked; the man outside the tavern who told the alcoholics about the King of Light; and Asher remembered the group of children playing and laughing in the shop-lined streets.

            His mind snapped back to the present. “No,” he replied. “You’re wrong. As a wise person once said, ‘There’s still good in this world, and it’s worth fighting for.’”

            The Sorcerer’s face darkened. His lip curled and his eyes flashed. “Fool! You know nothing of the world. I will extinguish the Light and all of mankind, starting with you!”

            A ball of fire flew from the Sorcerer’s hands. Throwing himself to the ground just in time, Asher avoided the blast’s main force, but it easily burned through his cloak. He leapt to his feet and lunged at the Sorcerer’s chest, daggers raised. Before Asher could reach him, a gust of wind knocked him to the floor.

            The Sorcerer looked at him scornfully. “Bah! Pathetic. A fool and a weakling. Boy, with the powers I have been given, I am stronger than you could ever dream of being!” he shouted, punctuating his words with a bolt of lightning shot from his fingertips.

             This time, Asher was too slow to avoid the attack. Pain lanced through his body and took his breath away. He rolled on the floor, struggling to rise. “O King,” he prayed, “give me strength!”

            Almost immediately, another bolt shot through him. Rather than weaken him further, however, this one restored his strength. Glowing with new power, Asher slowly rose and stalked towards his opponent.

            “No, Dark One,” he challenged softly. “Once more, it is you who is wrong. I am the one who has been given the greater power, a power from the Light of Man, the Morning Star.”

            The Sorcerer looked upon his face and quailed. Trying to stop Asher’s fearsome march, he began showering him with fire and lightning. His efforts were in vain; before the missiles could reach their target, they disintegrated into tiny particles of light.

            Now only ten feet away, Asher lifted his hands towards the Sorcerer. Light streamed from his fingertips and gathered into a huge sphere in front of him. Screaming in pain, the Sorcerer covered his eyes and ran for the tower’s window.

            He never made it. Asher released the sphere and it flew at the red-robed figure, completely enveloping him. More screams pierced the air, then disappeared with the ball of light. The Sorcerer was gone.

            Asher bent double and gasped for air. He did it! He had accomplished his task.Thanking the King, he crossed over to a small pedestal on the other side of the room and placed a cross-shaped crystal on it. The crystal began to emit a soft light, which grew and grew until it enveloped the entire tower and shot intothe heavens. Turning his face to the sky, Asher grinned. Then he, too, disappeared.