Feeling touched

Well friends, I've been touched. Tagged. Transcendentally tipped by a fellow terrestrial. In a word, I'm "It." We've all known it for some time, but now my good friend and compatriot in escapades great and small, Gabriel Waddell, has broadcast this information to the world. I will now revel in this fact for a prescribed period. Please feel free to approach the presence and offer your fealty...(slight pause). Ahem. *Slight frustrated glance in the direction of a retreating figure.* 'Twould seem I have been grossly misinformed. Apparently, "tagged" is the more appropriate term and I am now obligated by forces outside my control to share seven (7) extremely interesting and surprising facts about my person. I must admit at the outset that I feel somewhat snookered, but for the sake of the common good I will dispense the pertinent information forthwith.

7th fact of incontrovertible truth: My left hand is not as strong as my right, probably due to the fact that I wore my watch too tightly for some years.

6th fact of incontrovertible truth: I truly enjoy English Tea (Ceylon and Darjeeling) and I find the afternoon the best time to indulge this particular interest.

5th fact of incontrovertible truth: I enjoy spending quiet time with good friends. I mean that simply being with them but not saying anything is a very pleasurable experience--just being with them is a good time even if no words are exchanged.

4th fact of incontrovertible truth: I have always wanted to be a drummer and my bones or wooden castanets are my small attempt to express this. Drum solos give me goosebumps and there are times I wish I'd chosen the other instrument in the Fife and Drum Corps.

3rd fact of incontrovertible truth: I have a favorite kind of footwear, and no, its not boots. Boat shoes hold that particular place of honor.

2nd fact of incontrovertible truth: Jumping out of a perfectly good airplane has always seemed like an idiotic act to me, and I want to do it.

1st fact of incontrovertible truth: I have always enjoyed singing--this hopefully does not come as a surprise. However, the fact that my initial inspiration came from Matthew Ward might be new information.

I now am also compelled to ascribe this same task to another magnificent seven. Peter Sauer (constant pressure makes diamonds out of carbon, or complete basket cases out of ordinary folks--which are you Pete? No pressure ... :~), Chris Moss (because if I can do this, he can do it better), Katy Jones (because she saw it coming--I'd hate for her to be disappointed), Laura Molzon (because Free Indeed deserves to know), Daniel Archer (Tenors together, tagged together), Sarah Grosjean (because if I didn't, Katy would), and Kyle Pousson (through the wars yet again, ol' buddy?).

Enjoy, and don't ever do that again.

2 down and 1 to go

Greetings all and sundry! What a whirlwind of weddings and all that sort of stuff has surrounded me lately. In the best possible sense mind you. It started with John and Sarah's wedding on the 21st of April, or rather my part started the Thursday prior when I departed for good ol' Virginny via Continental Airlines out of San Antonio. The flights were satisfactory (I connected in Houston) even if the meals were barely worthy of sniffing at. Since when did a smallish ham sandwich, a bag of chips, and a Twix bar rate as a lunch. I guess they didn't want the hassle of feeding 150ish people a full meal, and I guess I can't blame them. Personally I would have settled for peanuts, but when "meal" gets mentioned, my mind conjures up some wonderful things, which accentuate the let down provided by receiving the aforementioned offering instead.

I got in Thursday afternoon and some good friends picked me up from Reagan Int'l and we all headed out to dinner, after putting together a few wedding invitations for John and Sarah. Naomi took us out to eat at The Cheescake Factory, where we necessarily stayed for dessert. An interesting thing happened as we left. I had the chance to meet, yet again, my partner of row 15 on the long flight from Houston to DC. The odds of us both going to the same restaurant 3-4 hours after arriving were pretty slimish and I'm sure we both found it amusing.

Friday was a nice slow day that my girlfriend/courtive/best friend/Katy and I spend meandering around Harper's Ferry, WV. It was a wonderful day and while we didn't feel like tackling Maryland Heights as we had on past occasions, we did wander all over the town. I found the panoramic shot I had been looking for and simply enjoyed being outside on a glorious day with a treasured friend.

That evening the festivities began with the rehearsal, followed by the rehearsal dinner, followed by Ultimate Frisbee on the Mall, followed by a movie, which might or might not have been followed by sleep. I honestly can't remember. It all passed in a blur of frenzy and food and conversations and camaraderie. The next morning, or later the same morning, to be precise, we (the groomsmen and associates) got our stuff together and headed off to collect the bridesmaids, one of whom I still think came close to excelling the bride.

We arrived at the church in good order and I was assigned the arduous task of cuing the sound board operator on the proper comings and goings of the assigned pieces of music. I was glad to oblige, especially since from the balcony I had one of the best seats in the house. We started up the music on time and mothers were duly seated, followed by the entrance of the groomsmen and groom, followed by individual bridesmaids up the aisle. Here I must ask a question. Why is it that the groomsmen all come in together and generally up the side, while the bridesmaids advance singly up the middle?

The bride was resplendent and the groom was dashing--as it should be, and in this case came as no surprise. Their outward appearance simply came closer to resembling their inner character than was normally the case. The sermon was from 1 Corinthians 13 and while succinct, it still powerfully conveyed the responsibility and God-given joy that already permeated the ceremony. It was truly a God-honoring occasion and I was privileged to participate, even in such a small way.

After the wedding, we all went to the reception, hosted by some friends in the church whose house was more than equal to the task. I mingled and caught up with several old friends and personally congratulated the bride and groom. Since my family had come up for the wedding, I and another friend went out to dinner with them at a local IHOP and enjoyed some wonderful fellowship over pancakes, coffee, and omelettes. When my family headed out, my friend and I were picked up by some friends in Alexandria, since we had arranged in advance to spend the night with them.

We stayed up late talking, but got to bed in time to be well rested for church the next day. We all attended Capitol Hill Baptist Church in downtown DC. Afterwards we walked around the city since it was so pleasant outside. Eventually we found a Mexican restaurant where I had the opportunity to try plantain quesadillas--definitely something new and very delicious. Lots of talking and more walking. All to soon it was time to head to our respective airports and catch our flights home.

The weekend was wonderful and hopefully I will have some photos to post soon, as well as something covering the weekend I attended last weekend. Y'all take care and I'll catch you latre!