A Morning with Her Father

It was early, 7:35 AM when I ran outside and jumped into my car to leave for Orlando. “What about the ring? He may want to see it. It may help to communicate to him how much his daughter means to me.” I hurriedly jumped out of my car and fumbled with the keys while trying to unlock the door that I had just locked on my way out. I ran into the house and grabbed the small white box upon which was written “ZALES the diamond store.” I was now on my way to see her dad.

“How is he going to respond” I wondered to myself as I repeated the few carefully contemplated words that would alter not only my life and hers, but would strongly affect many others who were close to us. I pictured in my mind him and I sitting across the table from one another when suddenly out of my mouth came the words “I would like to know if you will give me your permission, that I might ask your daughter to marry me.”

My mind was back on traffic now. Have I ever told you how bad the traffic is down here in Florida? It’s terrible. Construction has been going on night and day since I have arrived here over two years ago and yet I have still to notice any progress. The cars between me and the stoplight ahead, at which I planned to turn, stretched on for nearly a mile. I could just barely make out the signal in the distance as I brought my car to a stop behind a fellow Floridian commuter. Upon second thought as to my traveling plans I quickly made a u-turn and decided to take the toll road, though two dollars lighter I knew my wallet would be. It was important that I arrived at her father’s house in time.

Finely though nearly two hours later, I had made it. After at least two or three wrong turns and probably that many calls to her dad’s cell phone I was knocking at his door. All of this and I was only fifteen minutes late. We sat down together at his kitchen table and chatted about work, the war in Iraq and the recent hurricanes when suddenly the conversation came to a lull and he said, “So what’s up?” I hesitated and then asked him the question that I had repeated so many times in my head. I spoke the words that caused me so much thought and so little sleep the previous night and then . . . silence. I waited for him to respond. He paused for a moment and then began asking the questions. “How are you going to take care of her?” “You’re not going to take her out of the country on any missionary endeavors are you?” “What are your future plans?” “When would you like to get married?” Though I tried to answer his questions confidently and with strong assurance, the words seemed to stumble as they hobbled on out of my mouth. Somehow they must have come across with some amount of persuasion because before I knew it there was a smile on his face and an outstretched arm which I firmly grasped and happily shook—a feeling of relief coming over me. “Congratulations,” he said.

My Experience with Hurricane Frances

Florida has made it through one of God’s fiercest forces, Hurricane Frances. She produced high wind gusts and steady rain, but as far as I can tell the central part of the state fared well. Most folks were fearfully and strongly motivated to prepare as much as possible for Frances after their experiences with Charley's wake. Certain shelves at WalMart were carefully picked clean of needed back-up items, batteries and such and I understand that Home Depot sold quite a few plywood sheets to folks who wanted to board up their windows. There's much money to be made from these hurricanes. My girlfriend Melissa, who works at Teen Challenge, a home for troubled girls, helped to evacuate thirty-one teenage girls to the local high school where they safely stayed the night waiting for Frances to pass. I spent the day with her and the girls on Sunday. It was quite a site. Hundreds of people lined the halls of the school, sitting on blankets and pillows, chatting with one another and played games while they impatiently waited for the barely moving hurricane to pass. Everyone finally left the shelter at about six or seven that evening. Though the winds still seemed to be blowing fiercely the worst of the circling personality had strolled its way on through Lakeland, Florida.

Taking the Lie Detector Test

I’m working hard to get my job back at the Sheriff’s Office in the communication center where all of the 911 calls are received. I had to take another lie detector test as part of the interview process and it is as if one is baring his soul to the proctor. There you are in a sound-proof room, seated with both feet planted firmly on the floor. Straps are wrapped around your body, your arm and your fingers to measure every breath you take, every beat of your heart and every hint of perspiration. What happens if you make a mistake? You’re doing your best to tell the truth, but will it look like you have lied if you are nervous during the test? All of these thoughts are raging through your head as you consciously feel your heart pumping against the strap circling your chest. The beige wall seems to focus in and out as the man asks you a question and then pauses to stare at his computer screen and then back at you. You are not allowed to look at him, but instead the nail in the wall in front of you is your only friend. One of the questions he asks is, “Have you ever done anything bad?” Who could possibly answer that question no? Of course you’ve done something bad. “Have you ever lied about someone behind his or her back?” Soon the test is over and you’re relieved to find out that you have passed.

Our First Date

I don’t know if I mentioned to you that Melissa and I are seeing each other. I was rather nervous when I asked her if she was willing to pursue a committed relationship because I had been praying for weeks that if this wasn’t right, that she would say no. So, I wasn’t sure what exactly that she was going to say. I talked to her on Friday, and asked her if she was still planning on going bowling with a bunch of friends on Saturday and she replied that most of the people that she had talked to didn’t want to spend the money. So, I asked her, “What about rollerblading?”

“Well,” she replied, “not everyone has rollerblades.”

“What about just you and me?” She looked at me blankly, not sure what to say. “Think about and let me know.” I told her before saying good bye and heading toward my dorm room.

Well, as I’m sure that you have guessed, she came to me later that day and said that she would like to go. It was set, just she and I. I didn’t want to make it too serious of a thing, so I thought rollerblading would be fun, but as causal as the “date” seemed, I was still nervous. I took a shower, combed my hair just right and even pulled out the Tommy Hilfiger bath set that I had received for Christmas. Seven o’clock came around and I went on over to the dorm room that she was at and knocked on the door. The door opened and there she was, though causally dressed, she had just gotten her hair cut and was looking rather attractive. The night had begun. We rollerbladed and carried on a normal conversation for a while, before driving on over to Lake Hollingsworth for a starry walk around the lake.

The lake was perfect. I saw a cute little dock jutting out into the rippling water, and thought it looked like a great place to sit down and ask her about a serious courtship. I led her over to the dock, sat down and swung my feet over the edge, when suddenly, SPLASH! Though I couldn’t see it very well the murky black water was at a very high level, almost up to the edge of the boards. I jumped up, thoughts of alligators jumping into my head. No, no, this dock wouldn’t work. After a few more minutes of walking, we had found the perfect dock. I sat down. She sat down. After a few minutes I turned to her and began the conversation.

“Melissa, I’m strongly attracted to you and I have been thinking a lot about you . . .” You should have seen the smile on her face. Her eyes were practically sparkling. I went on to ask her if a purposeful relationship was something that she was sure about committing to.

She said “Yes.”

So, now we’re together and we’ve been having a lot of fun over the past few weeks getting to know one another, planning our relationship, setting boundaries and working together. We’re even working on a mission statement for our relationship. So far we have: “To exhibit a godly relationship of moral excellence, respect and commitment as we value, enjoy, discover and learn about each other while exploring the possibility of marriage.”

Thank you for keeping us in your prayers Alayna. I wish that you could be down here, along with the rest of the family, getting to know Melissa with me. I really miss all of you. Tell everyone that I said hi. I love you.

Christmas with the Family

Our Christmas day was interesting. Instead of sleeping over our house on Christmas night, like he normally does, Stephen, my older brother decided to get up early and drive over here from his house, which is about twenty minutes away. God decided to bless us with a beautiful, sparkling white Christmas. It was so white in fact that Stephen, spun out on I75 while going forty five miles per hour and kinda sorta had a meeting with the median, which left quite an impression on the rear end of his Aztek. So my dad drove out there to pick him up while he was waiting for a tow truck to come . . . so, our Christmas started a bit later in the day than normal. It was fun though. Later on that evening we went back over his house for a Christmas party that he was throwing at his apartment. It was a fun informal party and it was good to see everyone again. The next day we all went over my aunts for a Christmas party and played a bunch of corny Christmas games. I love party games. I'm looking forward to a bunch of get-togethers this semester with everyone. I'm sure that they’ll be fun.

The Worst Way to Lose Your Car Key

Today, like every other Tuesday, Ben and I went out to Lake Hollingsworth to go running. The three mile run around the lake is very tiring, especially in the middle of the day when the sun is beating down on you at about eighty-five degrees and zapping all of your energy. It was a tough run and I felt like I was ready to fall over when we finished. My mind is now dreaming of sitting in my car with all of the windows down and feeling that cool wind across my sweaty face during our ride back to the school. I’m suddenly jerked from my day dream as I put my hand into my pocket, to find

nothing.

My key was gone. We looked all over the place for it and even managed to get the car unlocked, yet it wasn’t in there either. We ended up walking halfway around the lake to find the key, but we still could not find it and Ben and I ended up walking all of the way back to the college. My body was aching, as I’m sure that you can imagine, after burning yourself out running and then walking a bunch of miles. I still don’t have a key. My car is still sitting over in the park by Lake Hollingsworth. Ah, well, I’m going to go tomorrow to see if I can get a key made at the Ford dealership tomorrow. Hopefully that will work.

Hiking in Michigan's Upper Peninsula

This past weekend I and some friends went up to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to go back-packing for a few days. We had a great time hiking along the shores and cliffs of Lake Superior. The scenery was beautiful. We even went swimming along the side of the pictured rocks and we were able to swim into these caves that the waves had carved into the sandstone. It was magnificent and the water was crystal clear, though a little chilly. During the night, we had to hang up our food from a tree so that the bears wouldn't be able to get into it. Late one night, I was lying in my hammock, trying to fall asleep. It was probably one or two o'clock and as I listened I heard the sound of a heavily breathing animal. Fear gripped my entire body. I could just imagine a bear walking into our camp, but I was afraid to look because the bear might see me. Then I heard another noise that sounded like a quiet snarl. I laid there in a terrified silence, afraid to move. I had never been more afraid before in my life. Then I realized that it wasn't a bear but the person breathing and snoring in the tent next to me.

Canoeing in the Rain

A group of us from the college and career group at church went to Sterling to go canoeing this past weekend. It was a lot of fun, except that it rained half of the time and was slightly cold while we were on the rifle river canoeing. Eventually it stopped raining, just in time to have our canoe tipped over when a big ol' tree stump decided to jump up in the middle of the river just as we were going by.

During the first night of camping it was discovered that we didn't have enough tents for everyone, so a few of us guys decided to sleep in the screen tent. We soon realized that our choice of lodging was not particularly a good idea when it started raining at four in the morning. I huddled as close to the middle of the tent as I could, but the rain still managed to visit.

We had a lot of fun though, sitting around the campfire, talking, singing, and playing games. Camping is always fun and you get to know people quite quickly when your living, eating a sleeping beside them.

A Track Meet

Earlier this week my brothers and I met up with the Bay Area Runners club to do some running along with my uncle–who has been running and coaching his entire life–and his kids. I, along with my brothers and my uncle decided to run the mile. I figured, "Ahh, if my forty something year old uncle can run this, so can I." I assumed that it would not be any problem since my brothers and I jog a couple of miles every morning anyway, well except Sunday. I quickly discovered that running a mile is a lot different than jogging two. I barely made it. Near the end of the mile run at the track meet, I felt like I was about to fall over and die. I think that my time was about six minutes and thirty seconds.