So in about three hours I will be at the airport, headed back on my way over to the ROK. That stands for Republic of Korea, for those who may be unsure of the meaning. Anyway, I've had a great weekend, though it was a little emotional at times as well.
First of all, my mom came up with this clever idea, that we should head up to Bowling Green, KY (my old college town), and clean out my storage facility. She also wanted some of the items in there for her pool house so I didn't mind so much. I ended up locating my huge collection of shot glasses as well. Note: I stopped collecting shot glasses before I left for Korea back in '07, or I would probably have close to 200 or 250 in my collection. Still, I do have an interesting collection of shot glasses. I also located a large assortment of cards from birthdays, and various holidays as well as graduation too. There were quite a few books also, and most of them got donated to Goodwill.
My good friend Ben Centers brought his Powerstroke Diesel, with the trailer hooked up to the back so we were able to deliver some chairs, a couch, and various other things to be donated to Goodwill. The rest is either in the storage room at Mom's or being used in some way, shape or form in her pool house.
I also got to spend some time with my friend Jessica, who had a stroke a few years ago, and has fought long hard to recover from that big event in her life. She's teaching these days at a local elementary school, and still struggles from time to time with seizures that result from the scar tissue (from the stroke). Mom and I stayed with my good friend Heather, who is one of the most active and involved people that I know. Heather has Spinal Bifida, but she keeps herself going and seems to be in a happy relationship with a gentleman that went to the same high school as she did.
Sunday was a difficult day of sorts. My choir director at the church in Bowling Green, David Paul Gibson, was stepping down after 15 glorious years of service. Back in my senior year, I started becoming involved with my church in BG (The Presbyterian Church). I decided I wanted to be a part of the choir, and as it turned out, the choir needed a college student in the bass section. In return I was given a "scholarship". This was the only scholarship I ever received in college, since I was too lazy to earn them in other ways. So I would wake up and sing every Sunday, during my senior year, at both 8:30 service, and 11:00 service as well. Talk about learning responsibility. It earned about $250 dollars a month, so I didn't complain too much. It made it really nice, since I lived maybe three minutes away, by foot.
Anyway, it was quite an emotional day. David was really good to me during my time in the choir. Just like Tom the organist, David treated as if I was his own son. He also helped open my eyes to a whole new world. I never really had any true "singing skills", but I was always able to learn the music by listening, so I could hit the right notes, most of the time. I really grew fond of the other members of the collegiate ensemble, because singing was something they had done for a long time, and they were really passionate about it. David was one of the most passionate people I know, when it comes to loving what you do. He would almost always plan a full year in advance. Since I have to be awake in two hours, and on the way to an airport, it's a little hard to get my thoughts straight for now.
I'll do this little bit here, and then call it a night. . . . . Gotta be at the airport in a few hours, and I haven't slept yet. Anyway, it was much harder today, seeing the other choir members getting so choked up during the services. At the end of the last anthem a few of the ladies did everything they could to not shed a few tears. As the song ended David himself had to stop and just let his emotions get the best of him. I don't know if my voice had ever sounded that good before, but I know I gave my all for the man, and I was so happy to be a part of his last services at the church. Thank goodness we all got to mingle together one last time at Miss Betty Jo's house, and eat some really good food as well.
one more thing -- the new blog will be at www.thetowerkeepsgoing.blogspot.com -- starting in two days.
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