The Egg and I Again

Last night was the second and final performance of The Egg and I. Since this time I was sitting in the second row instead of the very back of the room, I videotaped Phillip's small part again.

The Egg and I

Tonight, Blackhawk Christian School put on its fall play, The Egg and I. It's a pretty old and dated play but they went ahead and set it in the '50s so it worked fairly well.

Phillip had a small role in the final scene . . . a half minute or less. I would classify this as his first "real" play, not because there wasn't drama at his previous school but because a larger student body and greater resources result in a more professional--though clearly still a high school--production. By the time the last scene rolled around, I was definitely laughing out loud at much of what was happening on stage.






Jordan was a member of the "tech crew," running lights for the play. I asked him to pose for a picture afterwards . . . he actually was up in a sound booth during the play, not down at this sound board.

Here he is with the rest of the tech crew . . .


The guys put in some long, long days recently. Since Phillip's part was confined to just one scene, he got off the hook on a lot of the work in early rehearsals, but he still had some days in the last week and a half where he was working on the production from 3:30 in the afternoon until after 10:00 PM. Jordan would finish basketball work-outs at around 5:00 and go straight to play practice until late.

Fall Hits Fort Wayne

Quote of the Week

This week's quote is going to strike you as odd probably. As we were preparing to sing "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name," the student who was leading singing in chapel today talked about the fact that the name of Jesus Christ has great power. It was something I had not thought about really. The power of the person of Jesus is something that most Christians grasp, but the very name itself? Anyway, it was a thought provoking remark and, for some reason, it brought to mind something I read from Sam Kinison years ago in the Wittenberg Door. It's a little bit strange . . . but true.

“When your car swerves out of control, you don’t yell, ‘Oh Satan, save me!’ You yell, ‘Oh God! Help me Jesus!’ I don’t care who you are, that’s what comes out of your mouth.”

- Sam Kinison

Rachael Ray Has Some Competition

Years from now, you'll be able to say you read it here first . . . Rachael Ray may be on top of the TV world of cooking, travel and restaurant reviews but MelodyJoy Marie is hot on her trail.






Whenever Jeannette starts to bake or cook, there's a good chance that Melody will insist on joining right in. This also goes for many aspects of house cleaning as well . . . which explains why Jeannette refuses to clean toilets unless she's first locked the door or put Melody down for a nap.

Jordan and Phillip's Band Performance

Tonight was the first concert of the year at Blackhawk Christian School. The junior high and senior high choirs and bands all played. What follows probably qualifies as video that only grandparents will care about . . .

This first one is of the high school concert band, playing The Incredibles. The video quality isn't very good since it's shot just with our little Kodak digital camera and I was a ways away from the stage. You should be able to see Phillip to the right side but Jordan and his tuba are pretty hard to spot, toward the center of the screen.



The second clip is the junior and senior high bands together playing some of the pep band music they're working on for the upcoming basketball season.



If you saw Phillip play percussion in Klamath Falls several years ago and if you watched either of these videos here, it's hard to believe that it's the same guy. I never could have conceived two years ago of a time when he'd be playing a drum kit and doing it so well.

By the way, the concert was held in the auditorium of our church, Blackhawk Ministries.

Quote of the Week

“I wonder what would happen if we collected the offering on Sunday morning, set the plates on the altar, and then tossed in a match, burning up everyone’s money.”

- Mark Alan Powell
in Giving to God: The Bible’s Good News about Living a Generous Life (2006)

Swingin' in the Autumn

MelodyJoy learned how to swing herself--on her belly--this week. You can see that autumn has arrived, belatedly, here. Like many other places, we have had near record temperatures most of the time lately.

Hayride!

We had a nice time this evening at Gene and Sharon Merkle's home. Sharon works in Enrollment Services at TUFW and she invited the entire staff over for a hotdog roast, hayride and s'mores. It was MelodyJoy's first hayride.






I've only done about four hayrides in my life and I must admit that the romance of them has eluded me. However, this was a pleasant ride. The others I've been on just had bales of hay to sit on and it was nice to have loose hay tossed around the wagon instead.

Congratulations, Kelly and Michelle!

When we were at Asbury College, Kelly VanDellen and Michelle Sherrill were in the "Abiding Class," the class of 2007 that we served as advisors. I was just looking at their Facebook pages and saw this photo from their recent wedding . . .

Could they look any happier? Michelle and Kelly are a great example of the benefits of starting out as good friends and then letting a romance grow from there. Congratulations! Many happy years to you!

Quote of the Week

“To love what you do and feel that it matters--how could anything be more fun?”

- Katharine Graham

19:18 - A New PR at Sectionals

Jordan finished his cross country season with a new personal record in today's race, 19 minutes 18 seconds. I only got to see the first few minutes of the meet before I had to leave for a college fair, but while I drove there, Jeannette gave me an update on the phone. He ran a more aggressive race than sometimes--partly because it was ideal running weather--and finished just steps behind Mark, who has been Blackhawk's top runner all year.

Groovin' Melody

Happy Trails to Austin

I spent half of last week in Austin, Texas, for the annual conference of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). I've now attended seven years in a row, plus twice previously. Some musings and observations, in no particular order or priority . . .

• Airplanes out here don't seem to be as nice as the ones I was used to in the West. When I flew to Oregon in July on United and last week on American, I was surprised at how old and unattractive the planes were. I guess Alaska Air spoiled me.
• Customer service in flight continues to erode. On a two hour flight from Fort Wayne to Dallas, there were no snacks of any kind, though they graciously offered to sell us some trail mix for $3. A blanket only cost $5. Such a deal.
• I went to a pre-conference workshop on how to write a strategic recruitment plan. It was an okay presentation. The bad news is that I didn't really get what I was looking for. The good news is that, after listening to the experts, I guess the plans I've been writing have already been on the money, though I need to do more data-driven planning and analysis.
• Over the last 3+ years, I've been privileged to get to know Beverly Henry Wheeler. She has just finished her term of service on the board of directors for NACAC, having been president the year before last. During her presidential year, she was a keynoter at the PNACAC conference I helped put together. She has been an inspiration to me as she works to encourage people, seeks to do what's right and lives out her faith consistently. If God opens the door for me to serve in leadership again, I hope I can do it half as well as Beverly.
• Austin, particularly Sixth Street, reminded me of New Orleans. This is not necessarily a compliment.
• Austin has 1.5 million bats that live under a bridge and take off each night at dusk. Many of my colleagues made a point of venturing to the bridge to watch this happen. This proves that you can turn anything into a tourist attraction.
• Really, though, it doesn't matter where a conference is held . . . you're probably only going to see about a five square block area around the convention center and your hotel. So long as there are a good variety of restaurants close by, there's not much difference between meetings in Tampa and those in Kansas City.
• This was my first conference since moving to Indiana. It was a bit strange to walk into the Indiana association's meeting and know only three people in the room. When we did introductions, though, the president and past-president were gracious in starting a round of applause for me, so that was a nice welcome. I did really enjoy connecting with my friends from the Northwest and from some of the Christian colleges around the country.
• I was able to spend time again with Mark Kormann, a friend from Bethel University in Minnesota. Mark uses a wheelchair, which is pretty unusual in the world of admissions. He is an extraordinary individual in terms of what he has overcome and his patience in the face of obstacles. When I walked with him and two of his colleagues from an extremely good dinner to their hotel, through a city that is supposed to be pretty progressive and up-to-date, there were roadblocks at every turn, culminating with a sidewalk that was completely impassible due to a light post or power line right in the center of the walkway. So many hindrances that I don't even consider as I move around day-to-day.
• As usual, the ecumenical service was very meaningful. It, along with the Christian Fellowship meeting, are like an oasis. It's especially cool to encounter fellow believers who work on secular campuses.
• I sure wish I'd had some more free time during the day so that I could visit the LBJ Presidential Library.
• While our conference was going on, the convention center also hosted the 2007 Women's Flat Track Derby Association's championship tournament, The Texas Shootout. I have to say that I have seldom seen such a frightening group of women and I don't think I've ever seen such a vast collection of tattoos. In fact, the Rat City Rollergirls squad's website actually has a feature titled "Tattoo Who?" with various close-ups of tattoos and the question, "How well do you know the Rat City Rollergirls? Can you identify the rollergirl above by her tattoo alone?" I have since learned that the Kansas City Roller Warriors won the prestigious event and are 2007 champions.

See? I told you the notes were in no particular order or priority!

Quote of the Week

Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.

- John Wesley