perhaps its bad form to point out the flaws, but you lose the strengths of doing anything only sparingly, and writing is no different. Grammatically incorrect and structurally derp, please forgive the way its presented and just take the message...
Today is an important day in the life of one d$. It was on this day in 1998 that I moved to Birmingham, Alabama. I knew no one, I had no church, I didn't know my way around... but I chose B'Ham.
Why, you ask? Well, my original intent was Mobile, a city that I still think is cool. My other options were Atlanta and Nashville, because I'm more of a city guy... or was when I was 23 anyway. But job offers had not come from Mobile, but I did get one job offer from Birmingham, at a little place called Designers International.
Now, if I could go back, there are a number of things I would tell 23 year old d$ to consider before shaking Rob Zuckert's hand and agreeing to work for this company.
First, what will I be doing? The answer ended up being going door to door, store to store, parking lot to parking lot, selling knock off perfume out of a box.
Next, ask what my starting salary would be... The perfume was $22 a bottle, so anything price I got beyond the $22 was mine to keep. My first week in Birmingham, I made $7. I wish I were kidding...
Finally, ask where the door was so I could leave... this was a disaster, but that's another post.
No, the main reason I moved to Birmingham was for a girl named Amy Wible, because I thought we'd go out. When the girl you dig says "Move here and we can see each other!", you move. Or I did. As it turns out, we actually didn't see each other for another 2 years, but that is also another story.
But, this day in history... my friends Allysong, Shelby, Eddie, Troy Mac, Claire and a few others helped me load my stuff into my car and into another, and we drove to Birmingham together to unload it into my new, $435 per month loft at Carousel Apartments on Lorna Road. My friends were so cool, in fact, that we drove back to Troy, loaded up the rest of it and came back... the guys spent the night with me, the girls with Allysong (who was from Alabaster, a Birmingham suburb), and early the next day, they drove back to Troy, Alabama. Without me. I was on my own.
My dream, besides working at Designer International, was to catch on a radio station and maybe be behind the mic... after all, I did it for 3 years in college, so this can't be hard, right? Or maybe work at a TV station, first in production and then perhaps, who knows, in front of the camera?
It's been 18 years since my dreams of my two years in Birmingham would surely spill into a great job in Nashville, TN, or maybe over in Atlanta, maybe with Amy, maybe not. Or maybe I'd just move to New York City for a year or so... but first, let me spend two years here, get settled, pay off some debt and then pack up and move on.
But a funny thing happened on the way to 2016.
I met a guy named Michael and ended up moving to Pinebrook Apartments with he and Shawn and Big Tom Johnson. Then we moved to Briarberry Circle and founded The Deuce.
I joined Valleydale Baptist Church, now known as Valleydale Church (an sbc fellowship), my first -- and only -- church membership. I'm still there, despite all the changes.
I met Stephanie Campbell in our college & career group at church, and thought she was the cutest thing ever.
I got a job as a temp at Parisian Corporate, which turned into a full time sales assistant job.
I worked at a radio station as a sales assistant, and realized I didn't want to do radio as a career.
I worked at the local NBC station, again as a sales assistant, and realized it was the worst job I'd ever had.
I worked at a movie theater and learned that many high school students are lazy. But many work hard.
I reconnected with Amy and realized she wasn't the one for me (and she knew I wasn't the one for her)
I worked at Starbucks because I decided I would pay off my debts and save up for a ring because I really, really liked that cute girl named Stephanie Campbell.
I worked at The Disney Store and it confirmed my love of all things Disney. And I realized that yes, you can have a complete broken heart when the job ends.
I worked at Starbucks again and realized, maybe years too late, it wasn't my life's goal.
I worked at Alabama Power, to help clear my head of Starbucks.
And then I became a full time travel planner.
I've been a ticket tearer, a perfume pimper, a make-salespeople-look-good'er, a barista, a shift supervisor, an assistant manager, a manager, a barista, a shift supervisor, an assistant manager, a shift supervisor, a Cast Member, an engineering contractor (!) and finally, a travel planner.
'
I helped start a podcast with some of my best friends, my Deucemates... I've been close to my Sunday Scho... er, Life Connec... uh, Life Gro... that group on Sunday mornings for over 10 years now... I've reconnected with my BFF Best Mate Wookiee after a few years apart... I've reconnected with my worst first date ever, Ginny Kochan... I've become friends with reality stars like Brooke from The Bachelor, now on NBC, and been put into the Million Dollar Hold by WWE Hall of Famer Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase... I joined the cult of Jon Acuff, and three years later, I can say names like "Clay Shaver" and "Rick TOOOOLIE" and "Debra Henessy" and "Liz Clark" as some of my favorite people on the planet, people that help push me to what I'm doing now...
In 18 years, I've written 1000+ blog posts... traveled the East Coast... watched 1000s of movies... read 100s of books... been to Disney World countless times, and even did the "four parks in one day" thing twice (while doing the water parks too, for a 6 parks in one day trip) and accomplished 50 attractions in 24 hours...
In 18 years, I got married to the cutest thing ever, The Lovely Steph Leann... we had Campbell Isaiah, who is the most amazing kid I know... lost both of the people who raised me, but gained a mom who'd let me go 36 years ago... we paid off debt, we bought a house, we bought a brand new car...
And if I had moved to Mobile... I would have never had The Deuce... I would have never found Valleydale, and thusly never met The Lovely Steph Leann... I might've never met Clay Shaver or Liz Clark... Wookiee may have never come to see me in Mobile, so we would have been another case of "best buds in college, but lost touch over the years"... my life would be different.
Maybe worse, maybe just a lateral move in quality (I mean, who's to say that I wouldn't be talking about my life in Mobile, wondering what life would have been like had I moved to Birmingham instead?) but...
but... I like it like this. For what was supposed to be a two year stop in Birmingham before moving to bigger and better... I somehow found my bigger and better right here.
Two years becomes 18, and 18 will likely become 25 and beyond.
Here's to the next 18.
Showing posts with label Amy Wible. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amy Wible. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Four Stories and a Crossing of Paths
To read The Encouragement Beginning, the intro to this series, click here.
“Four Stories...” is probably one of my top two or three favorites that I’ve written. My friend Amy had just come back into my life after our friendship had taken a year long hiatus, and I had no idea what God was up to. However, with our friendship being rekindled, it reminded me of God’s plan and purpose, His infinite tapestry that He weaves. So as a gift to her, I sat down and let God write the encouragement I’m sure He planned four thousand years ago to write on this day in 2000. (Introduction from "The Crucifixion Lifestyle: Random Emails of Encouragement Volume II")
FOUR STORIES & A CROSSING OF PATHS
I have a couple of stories to tell you, so bear with me.
Story #1
About three million years ago, God placed a rock on the side of a mountain. It wasn't a very big rock, about six or seven inches around, not very high. That rock stayed in place, half embedded in the Earth, half not, for millions of years, as houses, grass and settlements went up around it. The rock remained, until...
Story #2
A young man was cleaning out some thick brush by a small creek. The man who owned this land had hired the youngster to take his blade and cut the briars away. Wearing rags around his hands to prevent nicks and cuts, he picked up the briars to take them to his cart, where he would go on to haul them away to be burned later. He piled the brush high and then patted his donkey as a signal to begin pulling the cart away. About four miles down the road, the cart hit a rock embedded in the road, one that had been in the ground for millions of years. The cart jumped a little, but not enough for the man to be concerned to stop his donkey. It was, however, just enough to knock a couple of fresh briar stems and brush onto the grass. The fresh stem lay there on the grass, soon taking root. Years later, it grew into a thick patch of briars and brush, a patch that remained mostly untouched until...
Story #3
A rabbit sat beside a little spring, nibbling on leaves as rabbits do. The bunny had been relaxing most of the day, when to her surprise, a ram came into the clearing. Not knowing if the ram was friendly or foe, the rabbit decided it would be best to move to another dinner location. The ram saw the white rabbit taking off, and in an instant, decided to give playful chase. Over the spring and through a little patch of woods they went, until the rabbit came into another clearing, this one by a road. Coming down the road was a human, carrying what looked to be another human. Rather than run towards the human, the rabbit decided not to chance it, turning toward a briar patch that had grown quite large over the last few years. The ram entered the clearing, still giving playful chase, and charged at the rabbit. The rabbit darted into the brush, and the ram, suddenly realizing he couldn't stop fast enough, skidded into the briars. Puzzled at first, the ram tried to pull away, only to realize his horns were caught in the thick briars. Panicked and desperate, the more the ram fought the briars, the more tangled his horns became.
Story #4
Abraham carried his son to the altar. It pained him to do what he was about to do, and he didn't understand any of it. All he knew was that God was expecting a sacrifice, and He had asked that it be Abraham's son. As Abraham lifted his knife to kill his son, an angel appeared, stopping him. "Don't do it!" the angel cried. "Look in the clearing! There is a ram caught in the briars. There is your sacrifice."
I haven't a clue of the validity of the first 3 stories, I can only vouch for the 4th, as the Bible tells us its true. The Bible doesn't give us insight to the events leading the ram to be caught at that exact place and time, and it doesn't really have to. What I do know is that God controls everything, and He does it with unexplainable sovereignty. For everything that happens in His perfect will, He had a plan to make it happen. God could have just snapped his fingers and BOOM, there is a brush patch, and POW, there is a ram in the brushes, but I just don't think so. I think He had a plan to get that animal there at just the right time. Who knows, He could have very well placed a rock in the side of a mountain, knowing that millions of our years later He knew that in time, it would lead to a chain of events that would test a great Biblical leader and encourage millions of His children to follow.
This piece was inspired by a friend of mine who is going through a rough time of it right now, but through everything, she keeps telling herself--and reminding me--of the all knowing sovereignty of the Father.
I have come to recognize that He doesn't just say "this is going to happen" and then leave it to chance. He says, "This is going to happen and it will happen because I've been planning it since before you knew the concept of your human time." We forget so easily that He knows the numbers of hairs on your head and any God that knows that much about us must have a plan for our lives. And not only for our future, but for the present.
Just thinking about this makes me excited... its so important to realize that the Christ-Following Life isn't a chance happening, its God's Will in action! It's God's plan happening all around us as we speak, as you read, as I type this! Right now, there is something or someone God has set in motion before the beginning of time that will end up crossing your path tomorrow to help fulfill His will for you and for His Glory.
He knows who needs to cross your path at what time in your life, and He knows how to get that person there. He knows what paths you need to cross for someone else and He knows how to get you there. There is a book out there called "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff", and I agree. You shouldn't "sweat" the small stuff, because God has it taken care of... but taking that idea further, know that God is all in the small stuff. Big Guy is all about some details.
I look forward to some path finding.
--written October 18th, 2000, #37 in series.
“Four Stories...” is probably one of my top two or three favorites that I’ve written. My friend Amy had just come back into my life after our friendship had taken a year long hiatus, and I had no idea what God was up to. However, with our friendship being rekindled, it reminded me of God’s plan and purpose, His infinite tapestry that He weaves. So as a gift to her, I sat down and let God write the encouragement I’m sure He planned four thousand years ago to write on this day in 2000. (Introduction from "The Crucifixion Lifestyle: Random Emails of Encouragement Volume II")
FOUR STORIES & A CROSSING OF PATHS
I have a couple of stories to tell you, so bear with me.
Story #1
About three million years ago, God placed a rock on the side of a mountain. It wasn't a very big rock, about six or seven inches around, not very high. That rock stayed in place, half embedded in the Earth, half not, for millions of years, as houses, grass and settlements went up around it. The rock remained, until...
Story #2
A young man was cleaning out some thick brush by a small creek. The man who owned this land had hired the youngster to take his blade and cut the briars away. Wearing rags around his hands to prevent nicks and cuts, he picked up the briars to take them to his cart, where he would go on to haul them away to be burned later. He piled the brush high and then patted his donkey as a signal to begin pulling the cart away. About four miles down the road, the cart hit a rock embedded in the road, one that had been in the ground for millions of years. The cart jumped a little, but not enough for the man to be concerned to stop his donkey. It was, however, just enough to knock a couple of fresh briar stems and brush onto the grass. The fresh stem lay there on the grass, soon taking root. Years later, it grew into a thick patch of briars and brush, a patch that remained mostly untouched until...
Story #3
A rabbit sat beside a little spring, nibbling on leaves as rabbits do. The bunny had been relaxing most of the day, when to her surprise, a ram came into the clearing. Not knowing if the ram was friendly or foe, the rabbit decided it would be best to move to another dinner location. The ram saw the white rabbit taking off, and in an instant, decided to give playful chase. Over the spring and through a little patch of woods they went, until the rabbit came into another clearing, this one by a road. Coming down the road was a human, carrying what looked to be another human. Rather than run towards the human, the rabbit decided not to chance it, turning toward a briar patch that had grown quite large over the last few years. The ram entered the clearing, still giving playful chase, and charged at the rabbit. The rabbit darted into the brush, and the ram, suddenly realizing he couldn't stop fast enough, skidded into the briars. Puzzled at first, the ram tried to pull away, only to realize his horns were caught in the thick briars. Panicked and desperate, the more the ram fought the briars, the more tangled his horns became.
Story #4
Abraham carried his son to the altar. It pained him to do what he was about to do, and he didn't understand any of it. All he knew was that God was expecting a sacrifice, and He had asked that it be Abraham's son. As Abraham lifted his knife to kill his son, an angel appeared, stopping him. "Don't do it!" the angel cried. "Look in the clearing! There is a ram caught in the briars. There is your sacrifice."
I haven't a clue of the validity of the first 3 stories, I can only vouch for the 4th, as the Bible tells us its true. The Bible doesn't give us insight to the events leading the ram to be caught at that exact place and time, and it doesn't really have to. What I do know is that God controls everything, and He does it with unexplainable sovereignty. For everything that happens in His perfect will, He had a plan to make it happen. God could have just snapped his fingers and BOOM, there is a brush patch, and POW, there is a ram in the brushes, but I just don't think so. I think He had a plan to get that animal there at just the right time. Who knows, He could have very well placed a rock in the side of a mountain, knowing that millions of our years later He knew that in time, it would lead to a chain of events that would test a great Biblical leader and encourage millions of His children to follow.
This piece was inspired by a friend of mine who is going through a rough time of it right now, but through everything, she keeps telling herself--and reminding me--of the all knowing sovereignty of the Father.
I have come to recognize that He doesn't just say "this is going to happen" and then leave it to chance. He says, "This is going to happen and it will happen because I've been planning it since before you knew the concept of your human time." We forget so easily that He knows the numbers of hairs on your head and any God that knows that much about us must have a plan for our lives. And not only for our future, but for the present.
Just thinking about this makes me excited... its so important to realize that the Christ-Following Life isn't a chance happening, its God's Will in action! It's God's plan happening all around us as we speak, as you read, as I type this! Right now, there is something or someone God has set in motion before the beginning of time that will end up crossing your path tomorrow to help fulfill His will for you and for His Glory.
He knows who needs to cross your path at what time in your life, and He knows how to get that person there. He knows what paths you need to cross for someone else and He knows how to get you there. There is a book out there called "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff", and I agree. You shouldn't "sweat" the small stuff, because God has it taken care of... but taking that idea further, know that God is all in the small stuff. Big Guy is all about some details.
I look forward to some path finding.
--written October 18th, 2000, #37 in series.
The Encouragement Beginning
Way back in the day, I used to write stuff called "Dave's Random Emails of Encouragement". From 1999 to 2002, I wrote well over 100 essays, stories and short pieces about... well, things that happened in my life that gave me encouragement, and I wanted to pass those things along to other people. In its heyday, I had 125+ people on my email list, and over the course of those years, I would get tons of responses from people telling me they understood, or they felt the same way, or they needed to hear it, and yes, the occasional "dude... shut up."
I even semi-published... well, not really published, but printed out, gave small intros to each one, and put them in a 3 volume set that I gave copies to to a few people (I think McQ got a set, but beyond that, I have no clue).
Here's what I wrote at the beginning of Volume One:
Where is all this going? Well, I figure if I've got a blogsite, and its my words and writing, what a great way to share--actually, in September of 2005, when I was still unsure of what I was even doing (and sometimes I still don't know... ha!) I posted the first Email of Encouragement I'd ever written, as mentioned above.
Now, after all this time, I think its time to post them again, to let you, the Coffee Drinkers, read them, or re-read them, and maybe get a little encouragement of your own.
I even semi-published... well, not really published, but printed out, gave small intros to each one, and put them in a 3 volume set that I gave copies to to a few people (I think McQ got a set, but beyond that, I have no clue).
Here's what I wrote at the beginning of Volume One:
There was Allyson Guy, Amy Alexander, Amy Valdmanis and Amy Worthy. There was Beth Sentell, Daina Richards, Hillary Kelly and Rebecca Glassco. There was Lara Smith, Mary Ann Crittenden, Misty Estes, Nathan Tutor, Shelby Logan, Stephanie Nipp, Sybil Johnson and Tad Roose. There was Tom Johnson, Ty Coffey, Wendy Brobst, Sharon Dobbins, Julie Haynes, Meredith Brazzell and Melanie Jackson. Kay Nichols. Jeff Herring. Chris Fulaytar. Alyssa Guy. Season Chappell. Amy Wible. They were there in the beginning.
September 1999, I wrote up an email called “Stephen”, because I had heard a guy by the name of EJ Smith speak at this Bible Study I had been attending for about two months at this lady named Sybil Johnson’s house. I thought EJ’s lesson was cool, and I wanted to share it with some of my friends. I got lots of response to it, and a few weeks later, I wrote another essay and mailed it out, adding a few more names to the email list upon request. So, from then, every time I went to a Bible Study, retreat, conference, Church service, or if God just taught me something cool, I began to share it over email. The first several emails were adapted from other essays, I just transferred the message from the original author to you, but as God began to mature me in Him, suddenly I found my own words... well, words inspired from God, not from other authors. I used other works to base my essays on, particularly songs, but I love to do my own personal take on the meaning of those songs.
September 1999, I wrote up an email called “Stephen”, because I had heard a guy by the name of EJ Smith speak at this Bible Study I had been attending for about two months at this lady named Sybil Johnson’s house. I thought EJ’s lesson was cool, and I wanted to share it with some of my friends. I got lots of response to it, and a few weeks later, I wrote another essay and mailed it out, adding a few more names to the email list upon request. So, from then, every time I went to a Bible Study, retreat, conference, Church service, or if God just taught me something cool, I began to share it over email. The first several emails were adapted from other essays, I just transferred the message from the original author to you, but as God began to mature me in Him, suddenly I found my own words... well, words inspired from God, not from other authors. I used other works to base my essays on, particularly songs, but I love to do my own personal take on the meaning of those songs.
Where is all this going? Well, I figure if I've got a blogsite, and its my words and writing, what a great way to share--actually, in September of 2005, when I was still unsure of what I was even doing (and sometimes I still don't know... ha!) I posted the first Email of Encouragement I'd ever written, as mentioned above.
Now, after all this time, I think its time to post them again, to let you, the Coffee Drinkers, read them, or re-read them, and maybe get a little encouragement of your own.
Monday, December 15, 2008
A Very Deuce Christmas Story (parts 8 to 12)
Here's the next part of A Very Deuce Christmas Story, chronicling the events of Christmas week in 2000.
You can read Part One right here...
Then you can read Part Two right here...
8... CLEANING
Tommy stood on a hill.
He glanced down the slight incline where Amy Wible stood, staring off into the distance. He looked farther down the hill and saw Tom and Drew helping to pull down part of a wall from a house which had a large tree in its living room. Still farther down, Shawn and Wookiee were chopping up branches and timber, working with two other guys he didn't know. The tree was lying in the middle of the street, and was by this time in hundreds of pieces, pieces that Stephanie and Leslie were carrying to the large flatbed truck parked in the cul-de-sac. He noticed how the flatbed, empty upon their arrival several hours ago, was a lot more full now. "But where is Michael? Ty? Matt?" he thought for a second, doing a quick scan of the area.
He looked across the hill to his left, seeing Justin and Jennifer working together, both using small hatchets to take out small branches here and there. Tommy thought to himself randomly that he never knew she was so adept with a hatchet.
He glanced back at Amy, who hadn't moved. She once again looked at her watch, then appeared to stare up at the sky. Tommy looked in the same direction and saw the same dark gray clouds. He didn't move, however, as he his ears tuned in to a radio about ten feet away, next to a short guy in overalls who was using a shovel for something.
Amy stood still, and was in fact, worried. One p.m. and still no David, no Michael, no Matt, no Ty, no Ginger, and she was beginning to worry. Looking at those gray clouds, though she was no meteorologist, but she knew it wasn’t going to be a pleasant evening, weather wise.
“Amy, I think we might have a problem,” Tommy said as began walking towards her.
“What’s that?” she asked, not looking at him, still staring at the sky.
“I was just listening some guy’s radio, and the weather isn’t looking too good. That winter storm they were expecting for tonight is moving much faster than expected. If we are here past, say, four o’clock, we might be here all night.”
“Have you seen Michael, or David?”
Tommy paused for a second, surprised. “They still aren’t here yet?”
“No. I’m beginning to worry a bit.”
“I’m sure they are fine, Amy,” Tommy tried his best to sound reassuring, but he also was a bit concerned that an hour drive had lasted almost four hours.
“Alright," she sighed, looking at him finally. "Well, keep listening to the weather, and I’ll make sure we are all out of here by two-thirty or so. I don’t want anyone driving home in that storm.”
“Okay.” Tommy turned and headed back to towards the yard he had emerged from.
Amy sighed again. She put her gloves back on and picked up the branches and wood she had been carrying.
“Where are the others working?” Shawn yelled over the roar of the chainsaw as Amy approached, "Mikey and Dave and the rest?"
“They aren’t here yet, Shawn,” Amy replied, walking past him with her load in her arms.
“What do you mean they aren’t here yet? They were supposed to leave right after we did!” He quickly powered down the chainsaw engine.
“I mean they aren’t here, and no one has heard from them.”
Shawn looked over at Wookiee, who had not heard the conversation and was still continuing to cut the large tree that they had worked on for the last hour.
“Hey Chris!” Shawn yelled. He had to yell it two more times to get Chris’ attention.
“What?” Wookiee turned off his chainsaw. “Dude, man, I was in the zone! I was almost done cutting through this thing!”
“Is your cell phone in your truck?”
“Yeah, why?”
“I am going to try to call Michael. They haven’t gotten here yet.”
“Well, the truck is unlocked. They are probably just over the hill working somewhere else. If Michael was giving directions, they probably got lost or something.”
“I hope they are just lost,” Amy said, walking back, arms empty this time.
9... PREDICAMENT
“What’s the plan?” Michael yelled from the bottom of the hill.
“I don’t know yet. I have your jackets, I’m going to throw them down to you!” I yelled back.
“Good! I’m freezing!” Ginger yelled.
“Here is Ginger’s!” I wrapped it up tightly into a ball, tying it together with the arms. I threw the ball high into the air so it wouldn’t have a chance to hit the wet ground.
Remarkably, it fell close to Ginger, and she was able to snatch it off the ground a mere second or two after it hit. She untied the arms and put the jacket on, then snapped and zipped every button and zipper she could.
“Better?” Michael smiled.
“Not really, but it helps,” she replied.
“Michael! Here comes yours!” I repeated the procedure I had done with Ginger’s jacket, by rolling it up and tying it into a ball. Again, I threw it high, and again, it landed close to the designated person.
Michael grabbed it before it had a chance to soak up hardly any of the wet ground, and untied it.
“Your cell phone is in the pocket!” I yelled to Michael.
He perked up, and reached into the pocket. He put his jacket on quickly, and then began to dial numbers on the cell phone.
“No signal!” he gritted to no one in particular. “Son of a…” and then he mumbled something I couldn’t hear and Ginger couldn’t understand. “Freaking’ BellSouth!” Michael then kicked a nearby rock in anger.
“Settle down, Michael,” Ginger said. She looked up, thirty feet higher, at me. “Are we going to just stand here and wait for Matt to come back?”
“No!” I replied loudly. “We are going to walk back to that gas station we stopped at earlier. It’s going to be about a six or seven mile walk, but the walking will keep us warm.”
“Which way? That way?” Ginger asked, pointing west.
“Yes! You guys walk down there, and I’ll walk up here. This hill has to have a starting point, and we’ll meet up there.”
Ginger and Michael both nodded in agreement, and we began to walk. Suddenly, my face felt a bit colder than it had in the hours spent on top of the hill. I touched my cheek and it was wet. I looked up and around, and realized it had begun to snow.
10... LEAVING
“Alright guys, I don’t know what to do about the others, but it’s past 2:30. You need to get out of here,” Amy said, walking up to where Drew and Tom were still cutting wood.
“Yeah, that storm is coming fast. It’s going to get really cold in a little while,” Tommy added, pulling his gloves off.
“I don’t know about you guys, but its pretty darn cold now,” Justin responded, putting his hatchet into the ground.
“Still nothing from the other guys?” Jenn asked.
“No,” Amy replied. “Now I’m really kind of worried, but if you guys don’t leave in a few minutes, you’ll be here until tomorrow.”
Drew and Tom nodded in agreement, as they began to assemble their tools they had been using. Jenn and Justin both threw the rest of the debris they had gathered into the large flatbed trailer the entire community had been using for just that purpose.
Drew held his hand out and watched as a snowflake landed on his skin.
“Guys, it’s snowing,” he announced. “I would really like to leave now.”
“Oh come on, its just snow,” Jenn laughed. “You should try Chicago right about now.”
“Well, being from Birmingham, I am obliged to lose my ever-lovin’ mind at the thought of snow.”
Amy walked to where Wookiee and Shawn were still cutting the same tree. They had made remarkable progress but she knew they wouldn’t get finished in the next few minutes, as they had to cut the tree trunk into several more pieces before it could be moved. Leslie and Stephanie were working together to roll a rather large, but conveniently circular, piece of the trunk to the debris truck.
“Guys, we have quite a storm on our hands coming, and we need to get out of here,” Amy told Shawn and Wookiee. “There’s still no word on the others.”
“My brother’s not here yet?” Stephanie asked, walking up behind Amy.
“Not yet,” was the reply. “But we still have to get out of here, at least to some sort of warmer climate.”
“Alright,” Wookiee looked at Shawn, “how long do you think it would take for us to finish this trunk?”
“About twenty minutes,” Shawn guessed.
“Cool,” Wookiee revved his chainsaw and then yelled, “Give us ten minutes!” He then drove the blade deep in the wood, grunting with glee.
“Give a Wookiee a chainsaw, he’s happy all the live long day,” Leslie laughed.
“You mean you didn’t know that?” Steph replied.
Drew pulled right up behind where the girls were standing, and then rolled down the window.
Leslie walked over to the passenger side where Tom sat.
“We are outta here,” Tom said. “We are going back to The Deuce, Jenn said she would fix us some hot chocolate, and we’ll have some waiting for you guys when you get back.”
“Drew, you have my cell phone number, right?” Leslie asked, looking past Tom.
“Yeah,” he replied. “Call me when you find out where Dave, Mike, Ty, Matt and Ginger are.”
“Have you tried Ty’s or Michael’s cell phone?” Justin asked, peeking from the backseat.
“Shawn tried it earlier,” Steph answered. “Michael’s just rang and rang, and we got Ty’s voicemail. There was no response from Matt or Ginger’s.”
“Does Dave have one?” Jenn asked.
“Heck no,” Amy said as she walked up. “He always says he refuses to get one.”
“Well, they really aren’t doing much good now,” Tommy replied.
“We’ll keep trying their phones all the way home, and we’ll pay attention to the roadside in case Matt’s truck broke down on the side of the interstate,” Tom said. “We’ll call you if we find anything.”
“Cool,” Amy said. “Thank you guys so much for helping. Now get out of here, it’s starting to snow harder.”
“Your welcome!” was the general statement from Drew and his passengers. Tom rolled up the window as they began to drive away.
Amy turned back to Leslie and Steph, and the three walked back to where Wookiee and Shawn were working hard on the tree trunk they were tackling.
“I’m going to go call them again,” Leslie said, as she turned to Wookiee’s Explorer parked nearby. She opened the passenger side backseat door, and reached into her jacket. To her surprise, it was ringing.
“Hello?” Leslie answered out of more surprise than a greeting.
“Who is this?” asked the static filled voice on the other end. “Is this Leslie?”
“Matt?” Leslie exclaimed. She held the phone down for a second to yell to the others. “Matt’s calling! It’s Matt Latta!”
Steph and Amy both turned quickly towards Leslie. Shawn and Wookiee both noticed the girl’s quick movements, and shut their chainsaws off.
“Where are you?” Leslie asked.
On the other end, Matt stood in a hospital lobby. He tried to speak slowly because he heard the static between the two lines.
“Leslie! We were in an accident! Ty is hurt, David and Michael and Ginger are stranded about twenty miles outside of town!”
Leslie put one hand over her left ear and pressed the phone hard onto her right, so hard that it hurt. She could only catch bits and pieces of what Matt had said.
“You were in an accident? Where are you?”
“At the hospital!” Matt again tried to speak slowly.
“Wait there! We’ll be there in a minute!”
“But I have to go back for Ginger and the guys!” Matt replied. He was speaking so loudly that a nurse came around the corner to find out what the commotion was.
“No! Wait there! We’ll be there…” Leslie lost reception. “Crap! Stupid Bellsouth!”
She looked over at Amy, Steph, Shawn and Wookiee who all stood anxious at the results of the conversation.
“They were in an accident?” Amy asked.
“Are they okay?” Steph added, frantically.
“I don’t know,” Leslie sighed, “I just know they are at the hospital. We’ve got to get over there!”
“Get in!” Wookiee walked quickly to the driver side of the truck, starting it and ready to leave before Steph and Amy could pile in the backseat with Leslie.
Matt hung up the phone and put his head on the black phone box on the wall. His mind began racing, first to "Go after Ginger and the guys", followed by "What happens when Leslie and the others get here, and no one is here to explain whats happening?" then followed by "Wait for the others, get help" then finally, "And thats wasting valuable time..."
Finally, he just sat down on the end of a row of chairs, waiting for them to find him. He glanced at the clock. It was about ten after three. He decided he would give them until 3:40, thirty minutes, and then he was out of here.
He leaned over rested his forehead in his hands, his elbows on his knees. Silently, he prayed Ty, then for David and Michael, and then Ginger. Aloud, he said to no one in particular--no one tangible, at least--“Please God, let her be safe. Let them all be safe.”
11... DECISIONS
“Holy Slash, it’s snowing!” Drew exclaimed, holding tightly to the wheel as his car crept along the interstate, moving around 10 to 15 miles an hour.
“It’s like a blizzard here,” Justin added, looking out the windows all around him. The wipers on the car were running full speed, but the snow and sleet was piling up as fast as the wipers could knock it off the windshield. "I've never seen this, not here in Alabama."
“Drew,” Tom spoke up, “how long can you drive in this?”
“I dunno, Tom,” Drew answered. “If it doesn’t let up some, not much longer.”
“How far is Birmingham from Tuscaloosa?” Tommy asked.
“About 45 minutes in normal driving conditions. At this rate, it’ll take us about four or five hours to get there,” Drew said. “This is insane.”
“Do we need to pull off somewhere and wait it out?” Jenn suggested, though she had no clue where they would go and stay warm.
“If we pull off anywhere, we are there for the evening,” Justin responded. “The forecast is freezing temperatures when the snow passes, which means the roads will be just about undrivable.”
“Your call, Drew,” Jenn said. “I’d really like to go home tonight, but I don’t want to do it dead, or with hypothermia because we slide off the road into a ditch.”
“Drew, if you can’t drive in it, don’t risk it. We’ll get to an exit and pull off at a rest stop or gas station or something,” Tommy said.
“We could get a hotel or something,” Drew suggested, not really wanting that to be the final answer. Like Jenn, he really wanted to get home. "I mean, not that I have any idea where a motel might be."
“Don't think that matters. We have about 8 dollars between us,” Tom observed. “We’ll just do what Tommy said, and stop somewhere really soon. We’ll wait out the storm, maybe a few hours or so, and then go home. I don’t think the roads will be as bad as everyone says they are.”
“Fine,” Drew sighed. Through the snow, he could make out a large blue sign indicating an upcoming exit. “There is an exit up here. I think I saw a restaurant there, so we can hole up there for a little while.”
The car slowly rolled to the exit, and Drew carefully steered it onto the exit ramp. He had a tight grip on the wheel, as every few feet the car jerked a little due to the slick ice and snow that had built up in the last hour.
Justin looked around out the windows, amazed that they were the only ones on the road. That, he thought, or he just couldn’t see anyone because you couldn’t see very far ahead. He did, however, see a yellow sign that looked very, very familiar. Jennifer saw it too, as he saw her grinning.
12... CREEK
The snow was coming down in thicker flakes, and much more heavy than a mere thirty minutes ago. I was freezing. I made my hands into fists in my jacket pockets, moving my fingers every few seconds to make sure I still had some movement in them.
I kept watch over Michael and Ginger who were still walking below me, both tightly wrapped up in their jackets as well. Ginger had a hood on, but I kept mine off so that I could hear Michael in case he yelled.
As we were approaching a bridge, I breathed a sigh of relief. I remembered this bridge being close to the interstate, so I knew we were very close to I-59, which would put us only two miles or so from the gas station where we were supposed to meet up with Matt. I hoped he wasn’t there waiting on us, in the cold. And I hoped that Ty was all right.
I had started to walk across the bridge, when I looked down and saw water. I turned around and looked back, and saw Michael and Ginger standing on the bank, Michael with his hands out, giving me the “what do we do now?” signal.
I held my hand up, motioning for him to hold on. I peered out over the edge, studying the bridge. It was only about 15 yards long, with the water below it not more than 5 yards wide. On the other side of the bridge, the embankment rose up to the roadside. I knew if Michael and Ginger could get to the other side, they could come up to where I was, where it was safer and more level ground.
“I’m going to the other side of the bridge!” I yelled down to Michael. I quickly walked across the bridge, stepped over the low metal barricade and looked at the hill leading down to the water.
I began to work my way down the hill, one foot after the other, sideways. There were rocks embedded all the way down, so I had solid footing, but the ice and snow made the trek down very slow. Finally I stood on the other side of the creek, facing Michael and Ginger. We were about 15 feet apart, closer than we had been in about four hours.
“How are we going to come across this water?” Michael asked.
“I have no idea,” I replied, looking around. There were small sheets of ice beginning to form on top of the water along the sides of the bank, but nothing substantial that would hold up either Michael or Ginger.
“Hey!” Ginger exclaimed, pointing to a small sandbar jutting through the water down the creek. “We cross right over there.”
We walked down the bank about ten yards until the sandbar was directly between us. It was just a small patch of wet sand about four feet long and two feet wide, and I would guess five feet from me. That would put it about ten feet from them.
“What do we do, jump?” Michael looked at Ginger. She looked around at a small patch of ice formed from the bank, jutting out about four feet into the water. She looked around again, this time spotting a thick branch on the snow. She walked over and picked it up, then walked to the ice.
She speared the ice with the stick, and then was pleasantly smiled when the ice was only scraped and not cracked.
“Okay, Michael, here’s the deal,” Ginger instructed. “Jump on the ice, to the sandbar, then the sandbar to the other side.”
“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, Ginger,” he replied. “That ice won’t hold either one of us.”
“Don’t stand on it, silly. You use it like a… well, a launching pad.”
I watched Ginger carefully, not hearing their conversation, but as she took a few steps back and turned, I could guess what she was doing.
“Oh boy,” I sighed, putting myself in a position to catch her when, and if, she came across.
“Can’t we talk about this?” Michael asked, as Ginger readied herself to run.
“I’m cold. The sooner we get to that station, the sooner I can be in the warm arms of my boyfriend.”
“Fiancée.”
“Whatever. To do that, we have to cross this creek. And that’s what I’m going to do.” Ginger paused for a second and then added, “When you run, plant your heel with each step for traction. It’s slippery.”
She stepped quickly to the bank, being careful with each step as so not to slip. When she reached the end of the bank, she planted her right foot on the ice and leapt two feet onto the sandbar, then in one continuous motion, thrusted herself up with her left foot and over the remaining four feet of water.
I caught her as she hit the other side of the bank, and kept her from falling over.
“Nice jump,” I said.
“Thanks for the catch,” she smiled.
“Don’t tell Matt,” I replied, looking back across the creek. “Your turn, there, Mikey.”
“I know, I know,” he called back. “I’m harnessing my chi.”
“Shut up and jump,” I laughed. “It’s cold out here.”
Michael started where Ginger did, and then three steps later he planted his left foot on the ice. As he made the jump to the sandbar, the ice fell beneath the water, splashing water on his foot and in his shoe. He leapt again off of the sandbar, landing on the bank, catching himself before he fell over.
“Dude, how come you didn’t catch me?” he stammered, brushing himself off.
“Mikey in my arms, Ginger in my arms, which do I choose?” I mockingly moved my hands up and down as to weigh my options.
“Good point,” he said, as he looked down at the dark, damp stain on the cuff of his pants. “Crap! My left foot is wet, and its cold!”
“Come on, we are thirty minutes from Matt’s truck and a heater,” I said.
PARTS 13 - 15
You can read Part One right here...
Then you can read Part Two right here...
8... CLEANING
Tommy stood on a hill.
He glanced down the slight incline where Amy Wible stood, staring off into the distance. He looked farther down the hill and saw Tom and Drew helping to pull down part of a wall from a house which had a large tree in its living room. Still farther down, Shawn and Wookiee were chopping up branches and timber, working with two other guys he didn't know. The tree was lying in the middle of the street, and was by this time in hundreds of pieces, pieces that Stephanie and Leslie were carrying to the large flatbed truck parked in the cul-de-sac. He noticed how the flatbed, empty upon their arrival several hours ago, was a lot more full now. "But where is Michael? Ty? Matt?" he thought for a second, doing a quick scan of the area.
He looked across the hill to his left, seeing Justin and Jennifer working together, both using small hatchets to take out small branches here and there. Tommy thought to himself randomly that he never knew she was so adept with a hatchet.
He glanced back at Amy, who hadn't moved. She once again looked at her watch, then appeared to stare up at the sky. Tommy looked in the same direction and saw the same dark gray clouds. He didn't move, however, as he his ears tuned in to a radio about ten feet away, next to a short guy in overalls who was using a shovel for something.
Amy stood still, and was in fact, worried. One p.m. and still no David, no Michael, no Matt, no Ty, no Ginger, and she was beginning to worry. Looking at those gray clouds, though she was no meteorologist, but she knew it wasn’t going to be a pleasant evening, weather wise.
“Amy, I think we might have a problem,” Tommy said as began walking towards her.
“What’s that?” she asked, not looking at him, still staring at the sky.
“I was just listening some guy’s radio, and the weather isn’t looking too good. That winter storm they were expecting for tonight is moving much faster than expected. If we are here past, say, four o’clock, we might be here all night.”
“Have you seen Michael, or David?”
Tommy paused for a second, surprised. “They still aren’t here yet?”
“No. I’m beginning to worry a bit.”
“I’m sure they are fine, Amy,” Tommy tried his best to sound reassuring, but he also was a bit concerned that an hour drive had lasted almost four hours.
“Alright," she sighed, looking at him finally. "Well, keep listening to the weather, and I’ll make sure we are all out of here by two-thirty or so. I don’t want anyone driving home in that storm.”
“Okay.” Tommy turned and headed back to towards the yard he had emerged from.
Amy sighed again. She put her gloves back on and picked up the branches and wood she had been carrying.
“Where are the others working?” Shawn yelled over the roar of the chainsaw as Amy approached, "Mikey and Dave and the rest?"
“They aren’t here yet, Shawn,” Amy replied, walking past him with her load in her arms.
“What do you mean they aren’t here yet? They were supposed to leave right after we did!” He quickly powered down the chainsaw engine.
“I mean they aren’t here, and no one has heard from them.”
Shawn looked over at Wookiee, who had not heard the conversation and was still continuing to cut the large tree that they had worked on for the last hour.
“Hey Chris!” Shawn yelled. He had to yell it two more times to get Chris’ attention.
“What?” Wookiee turned off his chainsaw. “Dude, man, I was in the zone! I was almost done cutting through this thing!”
“Is your cell phone in your truck?”
“Yeah, why?”
“I am going to try to call Michael. They haven’t gotten here yet.”
“Well, the truck is unlocked. They are probably just over the hill working somewhere else. If Michael was giving directions, they probably got lost or something.”
“I hope they are just lost,” Amy said, walking back, arms empty this time.
9... PREDICAMENT
“What’s the plan?” Michael yelled from the bottom of the hill.
“I don’t know yet. I have your jackets, I’m going to throw them down to you!” I yelled back.
“Good! I’m freezing!” Ginger yelled.
“Here is Ginger’s!” I wrapped it up tightly into a ball, tying it together with the arms. I threw the ball high into the air so it wouldn’t have a chance to hit the wet ground.
Remarkably, it fell close to Ginger, and she was able to snatch it off the ground a mere second or two after it hit. She untied the arms and put the jacket on, then snapped and zipped every button and zipper she could.
“Better?” Michael smiled.
“Not really, but it helps,” she replied.
“Michael! Here comes yours!” I repeated the procedure I had done with Ginger’s jacket, by rolling it up and tying it into a ball. Again, I threw it high, and again, it landed close to the designated person.
Michael grabbed it before it had a chance to soak up hardly any of the wet ground, and untied it.
“Your cell phone is in the pocket!” I yelled to Michael.
He perked up, and reached into the pocket. He put his jacket on quickly, and then began to dial numbers on the cell phone.
“No signal!” he gritted to no one in particular. “Son of a…” and then he mumbled something I couldn’t hear and Ginger couldn’t understand. “Freaking’ BellSouth!” Michael then kicked a nearby rock in anger.
“Settle down, Michael,” Ginger said. She looked up, thirty feet higher, at me. “Are we going to just stand here and wait for Matt to come back?”
“No!” I replied loudly. “We are going to walk back to that gas station we stopped at earlier. It’s going to be about a six or seven mile walk, but the walking will keep us warm.”
“Which way? That way?” Ginger asked, pointing west.
“Yes! You guys walk down there, and I’ll walk up here. This hill has to have a starting point, and we’ll meet up there.”
Ginger and Michael both nodded in agreement, and we began to walk. Suddenly, my face felt a bit colder than it had in the hours spent on top of the hill. I touched my cheek and it was wet. I looked up and around, and realized it had begun to snow.
10... LEAVING
“Alright guys, I don’t know what to do about the others, but it’s past 2:30. You need to get out of here,” Amy said, walking up to where Drew and Tom were still cutting wood.
“Yeah, that storm is coming fast. It’s going to get really cold in a little while,” Tommy added, pulling his gloves off.
“I don’t know about you guys, but its pretty darn cold now,” Justin responded, putting his hatchet into the ground.
“Still nothing from the other guys?” Jenn asked.
“No,” Amy replied. “Now I’m really kind of worried, but if you guys don’t leave in a few minutes, you’ll be here until tomorrow.”
Drew and Tom nodded in agreement, as they began to assemble their tools they had been using. Jenn and Justin both threw the rest of the debris they had gathered into the large flatbed trailer the entire community had been using for just that purpose.
Drew held his hand out and watched as a snowflake landed on his skin.
“Guys, it’s snowing,” he announced. “I would really like to leave now.”
“Oh come on, its just snow,” Jenn laughed. “You should try Chicago right about now.”
“Well, being from Birmingham, I am obliged to lose my ever-lovin’ mind at the thought of snow.”
Amy walked to where Wookiee and Shawn were still cutting the same tree. They had made remarkable progress but she knew they wouldn’t get finished in the next few minutes, as they had to cut the tree trunk into several more pieces before it could be moved. Leslie and Stephanie were working together to roll a rather large, but conveniently circular, piece of the trunk to the debris truck.
“Guys, we have quite a storm on our hands coming, and we need to get out of here,” Amy told Shawn and Wookiee. “There’s still no word on the others.”
“My brother’s not here yet?” Stephanie asked, walking up behind Amy.
“Not yet,” was the reply. “But we still have to get out of here, at least to some sort of warmer climate.”
“Alright,” Wookiee looked at Shawn, “how long do you think it would take for us to finish this trunk?”
“About twenty minutes,” Shawn guessed.
“Cool,” Wookiee revved his chainsaw and then yelled, “Give us ten minutes!” He then drove the blade deep in the wood, grunting with glee.
“Give a Wookiee a chainsaw, he’s happy all the live long day,” Leslie laughed.
“You mean you didn’t know that?” Steph replied.
Drew pulled right up behind where the girls were standing, and then rolled down the window.
Leslie walked over to the passenger side where Tom sat.
“We are outta here,” Tom said. “We are going back to The Deuce, Jenn said she would fix us some hot chocolate, and we’ll have some waiting for you guys when you get back.”
“Drew, you have my cell phone number, right?” Leslie asked, looking past Tom.
“Yeah,” he replied. “Call me when you find out where Dave, Mike, Ty, Matt and Ginger are.”
“Have you tried Ty’s or Michael’s cell phone?” Justin asked, peeking from the backseat.
“Shawn tried it earlier,” Steph answered. “Michael’s just rang and rang, and we got Ty’s voicemail. There was no response from Matt or Ginger’s.”
“Does Dave have one?” Jenn asked.
“Heck no,” Amy said as she walked up. “He always says he refuses to get one.”
“Well, they really aren’t doing much good now,” Tommy replied.
“We’ll keep trying their phones all the way home, and we’ll pay attention to the roadside in case Matt’s truck broke down on the side of the interstate,” Tom said. “We’ll call you if we find anything.”
“Cool,” Amy said. “Thank you guys so much for helping. Now get out of here, it’s starting to snow harder.”
“Your welcome!” was the general statement from Drew and his passengers. Tom rolled up the window as they began to drive away.
Amy turned back to Leslie and Steph, and the three walked back to where Wookiee and Shawn were working hard on the tree trunk they were tackling.
“I’m going to go call them again,” Leslie said, as she turned to Wookiee’s Explorer parked nearby. She opened the passenger side backseat door, and reached into her jacket. To her surprise, it was ringing.
“Hello?” Leslie answered out of more surprise than a greeting.
“Who is this?” asked the static filled voice on the other end. “Is this Leslie?”
“Matt?” Leslie exclaimed. She held the phone down for a second to yell to the others. “Matt’s calling! It’s Matt Latta!”
Steph and Amy both turned quickly towards Leslie. Shawn and Wookiee both noticed the girl’s quick movements, and shut their chainsaws off.
“Where are you?” Leslie asked.
On the other end, Matt stood in a hospital lobby. He tried to speak slowly because he heard the static between the two lines.
“Leslie! We were in an accident! Ty is hurt, David and Michael and Ginger are stranded about twenty miles outside of town!”
Leslie put one hand over her left ear and pressed the phone hard onto her right, so hard that it hurt. She could only catch bits and pieces of what Matt had said.
“You were in an accident? Where are you?”
“At the hospital!” Matt again tried to speak slowly.
“Wait there! We’ll be there in a minute!”
“But I have to go back for Ginger and the guys!” Matt replied. He was speaking so loudly that a nurse came around the corner to find out what the commotion was.
“No! Wait there! We’ll be there…” Leslie lost reception. “Crap! Stupid Bellsouth!”
She looked over at Amy, Steph, Shawn and Wookiee who all stood anxious at the results of the conversation.
“They were in an accident?” Amy asked.
“Are they okay?” Steph added, frantically.
“I don’t know,” Leslie sighed, “I just know they are at the hospital. We’ve got to get over there!”
“Get in!” Wookiee walked quickly to the driver side of the truck, starting it and ready to leave before Steph and Amy could pile in the backseat with Leslie.
Matt hung up the phone and put his head on the black phone box on the wall. His mind began racing, first to "Go after Ginger and the guys", followed by "What happens when Leslie and the others get here, and no one is here to explain whats happening?" then followed by "Wait for the others, get help" then finally, "And thats wasting valuable time..."
Finally, he just sat down on the end of a row of chairs, waiting for them to find him. He glanced at the clock. It was about ten after three. He decided he would give them until 3:40, thirty minutes, and then he was out of here.
He leaned over rested his forehead in his hands, his elbows on his knees. Silently, he prayed Ty, then for David and Michael, and then Ginger. Aloud, he said to no one in particular--no one tangible, at least--“Please God, let her be safe. Let them all be safe.”
11... DECISIONS
“Holy Slash, it’s snowing!” Drew exclaimed, holding tightly to the wheel as his car crept along the interstate, moving around 10 to 15 miles an hour.
“It’s like a blizzard here,” Justin added, looking out the windows all around him. The wipers on the car were running full speed, but the snow and sleet was piling up as fast as the wipers could knock it off the windshield. "I've never seen this, not here in Alabama."
“Drew,” Tom spoke up, “how long can you drive in this?”
“I dunno, Tom,” Drew answered. “If it doesn’t let up some, not much longer.”
“How far is Birmingham from Tuscaloosa?” Tommy asked.
“About 45 minutes in normal driving conditions. At this rate, it’ll take us about four or five hours to get there,” Drew said. “This is insane.”
“Do we need to pull off somewhere and wait it out?” Jenn suggested, though she had no clue where they would go and stay warm.
“If we pull off anywhere, we are there for the evening,” Justin responded. “The forecast is freezing temperatures when the snow passes, which means the roads will be just about undrivable.”
“Your call, Drew,” Jenn said. “I’d really like to go home tonight, but I don’t want to do it dead, or with hypothermia because we slide off the road into a ditch.”
“Drew, if you can’t drive in it, don’t risk it. We’ll get to an exit and pull off at a rest stop or gas station or something,” Tommy said.
“We could get a hotel or something,” Drew suggested, not really wanting that to be the final answer. Like Jenn, he really wanted to get home. "I mean, not that I have any idea where a motel might be."
“Don't think that matters. We have about 8 dollars between us,” Tom observed. “We’ll just do what Tommy said, and stop somewhere really soon. We’ll wait out the storm, maybe a few hours or so, and then go home. I don’t think the roads will be as bad as everyone says they are.”
“Fine,” Drew sighed. Through the snow, he could make out a large blue sign indicating an upcoming exit. “There is an exit up here. I think I saw a restaurant there, so we can hole up there for a little while.”
The car slowly rolled to the exit, and Drew carefully steered it onto the exit ramp. He had a tight grip on the wheel, as every few feet the car jerked a little due to the slick ice and snow that had built up in the last hour.
Justin looked around out the windows, amazed that they were the only ones on the road. That, he thought, or he just couldn’t see anyone because you couldn’t see very far ahead. He did, however, see a yellow sign that looked very, very familiar. Jennifer saw it too, as he saw her grinning.
12... CREEK
The snow was coming down in thicker flakes, and much more heavy than a mere thirty minutes ago. I was freezing. I made my hands into fists in my jacket pockets, moving my fingers every few seconds to make sure I still had some movement in them.
I kept watch over Michael and Ginger who were still walking below me, both tightly wrapped up in their jackets as well. Ginger had a hood on, but I kept mine off so that I could hear Michael in case he yelled.
As we were approaching a bridge, I breathed a sigh of relief. I remembered this bridge being close to the interstate, so I knew we were very close to I-59, which would put us only two miles or so from the gas station where we were supposed to meet up with Matt. I hoped he wasn’t there waiting on us, in the cold. And I hoped that Ty was all right.
I had started to walk across the bridge, when I looked down and saw water. I turned around and looked back, and saw Michael and Ginger standing on the bank, Michael with his hands out, giving me the “what do we do now?” signal.
I held my hand up, motioning for him to hold on. I peered out over the edge, studying the bridge. It was only about 15 yards long, with the water below it not more than 5 yards wide. On the other side of the bridge, the embankment rose up to the roadside. I knew if Michael and Ginger could get to the other side, they could come up to where I was, where it was safer and more level ground.
“I’m going to the other side of the bridge!” I yelled down to Michael. I quickly walked across the bridge, stepped over the low metal barricade and looked at the hill leading down to the water.
I began to work my way down the hill, one foot after the other, sideways. There were rocks embedded all the way down, so I had solid footing, but the ice and snow made the trek down very slow. Finally I stood on the other side of the creek, facing Michael and Ginger. We were about 15 feet apart, closer than we had been in about four hours.
“How are we going to come across this water?” Michael asked.
“I have no idea,” I replied, looking around. There were small sheets of ice beginning to form on top of the water along the sides of the bank, but nothing substantial that would hold up either Michael or Ginger.
“Hey!” Ginger exclaimed, pointing to a small sandbar jutting through the water down the creek. “We cross right over there.”
We walked down the bank about ten yards until the sandbar was directly between us. It was just a small patch of wet sand about four feet long and two feet wide, and I would guess five feet from me. That would put it about ten feet from them.
“What do we do, jump?” Michael looked at Ginger. She looked around at a small patch of ice formed from the bank, jutting out about four feet into the water. She looked around again, this time spotting a thick branch on the snow. She walked over and picked it up, then walked to the ice.
She speared the ice with the stick, and then was pleasantly smiled when the ice was only scraped and not cracked.
“Okay, Michael, here’s the deal,” Ginger instructed. “Jump on the ice, to the sandbar, then the sandbar to the other side.”
“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard, Ginger,” he replied. “That ice won’t hold either one of us.”
“Don’t stand on it, silly. You use it like a… well, a launching pad.”
I watched Ginger carefully, not hearing their conversation, but as she took a few steps back and turned, I could guess what she was doing.
“Oh boy,” I sighed, putting myself in a position to catch her when, and if, she came across.
“Can’t we talk about this?” Michael asked, as Ginger readied herself to run.
“I’m cold. The sooner we get to that station, the sooner I can be in the warm arms of my boyfriend.”
“Fiancée.”
“Whatever. To do that, we have to cross this creek. And that’s what I’m going to do.” Ginger paused for a second and then added, “When you run, plant your heel with each step for traction. It’s slippery.”
She stepped quickly to the bank, being careful with each step as so not to slip. When she reached the end of the bank, she planted her right foot on the ice and leapt two feet onto the sandbar, then in one continuous motion, thrusted herself up with her left foot and over the remaining four feet of water.
I caught her as she hit the other side of the bank, and kept her from falling over.
“Nice jump,” I said.
“Thanks for the catch,” she smiled.
“Don’t tell Matt,” I replied, looking back across the creek. “Your turn, there, Mikey.”
“I know, I know,” he called back. “I’m harnessing my chi.”
“Shut up and jump,” I laughed. “It’s cold out here.”
Michael started where Ginger did, and then three steps later he planted his left foot on the ice. As he made the jump to the sandbar, the ice fell beneath the water, splashing water on his foot and in his shoe. He leapt again off of the sandbar, landing on the bank, catching himself before he fell over.
“Dude, how come you didn’t catch me?” he stammered, brushing himself off.
“Mikey in my arms, Ginger in my arms, which do I choose?” I mockingly moved my hands up and down as to weigh my options.
“Good point,” he said, as he looked down at the dark, damp stain on the cuff of his pants. “Crap! My left foot is wet, and its cold!”
“Come on, we are thirty minutes from Matt’s truck and a heater,” I said.
PARTS 13 - 15
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
All Things New II: Welcome to Delaware
A few days ago, I wrote "All Things New", a sort of different blog for Clouds in My Coffee. While I am a Christ Follower, and have never backed down from what I believe, at the same time, direct ministry has never been the aim of Clouds in My Coffee.
Having said that, I do want to make it clear that as Christ Followers, I think everything we do is a form of ministry, because with our salvation secure and our hearts a home for the Holy Spirit, we are, for lack of a better phrase, Christ Ambassadors... but here, its not just Biblical scripture, prayers, Jesus, The Messiah (no, not Obama, I mean the real one), God and so on... I've read sites like that. While inspiring, it can get a little tedious. I enjoy what I write here, and enjoy the comments I get on all sorts of things.
Now... having said THAT... I wanted you to know about a "sister" site I have created. Its called "Welcome to Delaware"... while I would love to drive as many people to Clouds as possible--and would love for you to do the same--I'll only mention Delaware in this post, and it will be listed among the Recommended Blogs in the links to the right.
I'm sure you have two questions... the first being, why did you create another site? What is it even about, and why should I care? (that's three questions, but I kinda condensed them into one inquisitive string). The second being, what is with that name??? Who gives a rip about Delaware?? (again, more than one, but you get the gist.)
I created another site because while I love to journal--hence, Clouds in My Coffee--I tire quickly of writing on paper. My brain works too fast, though I'm sure The Lovely Steph Leann might disagree, for me to write down what I want in a legible manner, and it ends up scribbled... however, I type pretty doggone fast. In Mrs. Rials typing class in 11th grade at Samson High School (go Tigers!) I was top in the class, reaching 75 perfect words per minute
So, if I'm going to continue on my journey that I call "30 Days of Him"...
(I got that catchy little name from the movie "30 Days of Night", though thats where the similarilies end, I think--never pictured God as a vampire zombie. Randomly, vampires have been prevelant around my life lately... not that I know any, but I just finished reading "Salem's Lot" by Stephen King, an excellent vamp novel, I talked to Amy McL today about reading vampire novels, and I somehow ended up watching "Twilight" this afternoon... bored to tears. Seriously. There is about 10 minutes of that movie that I thought was enjoyable and... where was I?)
...I figured it would be better to type it out than write it. Plus, it would give me an outlet to start reprinting some of the "Random Emails of Encouragment" I used to write, long long ago. And Delaware will be simply that. God stuff. That's why I wanted to keep it separate from Clouds...
Don't fret, though, Coffee Drinkers. This will be my main site.
Now, why should you care? You don't have to, actually. You can visit every day, you might never go there. Its okay. I might mention it from time to time, but over all, its not a big deal.
Now... the name...
You've probably heard me mention "Welcome to Delaware" as a song, or that it is the title of the d$ Life Soundtrack, the double disc edition... well, I guess I should explain. McQ asked me tonight the perfect question... what does it mean to you?
"Welcome to Delaware" is a song from the former Christian duo WaterMark. I say "former", though Nathan and Christy Nockel are still together. They performed for years as WaterMark, now do separate projects, he as a worship leader for Passion, a writer and producer, and she as a worship leader for Passion and a solo artist.
The song is the 7th track off their 1998 self titled debut (you'll see from the link its now out of print), and its one of those hidden gems that few people even know about. It just stuck with me. When I was working at WTBF in Troy (Go Trojans!) I interviewed Christy for Sunday Night Power, my Christian Music show on Sunday nights, and I asked her the meaning behind the title...
She said, and I'm paraphrasing, "We had a concert in Delaware upcoming at the time, and neither of us had ever been there. We were nervous about it, about the area, it was winter, it was cold, it was unfamiliar... and it just kind of became a prayer. Its about God taking us to places we have never seen, cold places, unfamiliar places. Places we are not comfortable with."
Such is my life. I moved to Birmingham in August of 1998... I didn't know a soul, Amy Wible had abandoned me, I had an apartment I couldn't afford, my job I moved for was kaput after a week... and God was saying, "All you really have here now... is Me".
Well, its bitter cold December, and the leaves are falling true, and I do believe I'm still in love with You. Yeah, my scenery keeps changing, and sometimes its hard to view, but You've let me see so much since I've known You. But I headed to what seemed like nowhere (Birmingham?) but You told me to come, You told me You'd meet me here.
You were here to say, "Welcome to Delaware, I know you've traveled far. And its a lot colder here than what you're used to. And I know that in the wintertime, things aren't what they used to be, all you really have here now... is Me. All you really have here now is Me.
(by the way, the next verse is one of the most beautiful, deepest, sweetest verses to me in all of Christian music... I'm not kidding... as I sit here and think about how it applies to my life, I just wiped a tear away... man, its dusty in here...)
So I settled here, and that is that. For You to show me who I am, You had to take me to a place I've never been. And all the things I've dreaded most about the things unseen have now become the sweetest part of me...
Though I headed to what seemed like nowhere, I knew you would come, I knew You would meet me here.
You were here to say, "Welcome to Delaware, I know you've traveled far, and its alot colder here than what you're used to. And I know that in the wintertime, things aren't what they used to be. All you really have here now is Me."
Though I headed to what seemed like nowhere, I knew You would come, I knew You would meet me here. You were here to say "Welcome to Delaware... All you really have here now... is Me."
That song changed my life. No kidding.
That's why the site is called "Welcome to Delaware". Of course, it helps that its just offbeat enough to be memorable and quirky.
By the way, the line you see on the bottom of the title, "Thoughts of a Grace Abuser" comes from another song that changed my life. The song is called "Disappear", which was actually a consideration for the title of the site, from the band Out of the Grey, which was Christine and Scott Dente, another husband & wife duo.
The second verse--something about second verses and souls being stirred--says, "Given, I've been given so much freedom, Grace abounds and I'm the chief abuser..." That about sums it up.
Matter of fact, random Dave Trivia, years ago when I was about to leave AOL for good to get a Gmail email address, I was talking to Jessica Rogers about what my new screenname/email should be... GraceAbuser came up in the conversation, and she said, "That sounds cool, if you know what it means, but if you don't, it sounds like you are beating some girl named Grace." Touche. SuperDave it is.
Anyway, you can check the site out, or not, up to you. Bookmark it, or never look at it, its fine. I just did want to share, and let you know it was there.
But I'll expect you back here at least every few days.
Having said that, I do want to make it clear that as Christ Followers, I think everything we do is a form of ministry, because with our salvation secure and our hearts a home for the Holy Spirit, we are, for lack of a better phrase, Christ Ambassadors... but here, its not just Biblical scripture, prayers, Jesus, The Messiah (no, not Obama, I mean the real one), God and so on... I've read sites like that. While inspiring, it can get a little tedious. I enjoy what I write here, and enjoy the comments I get on all sorts of things.
Now... having said THAT... I wanted you to know about a "sister" site I have created. Its called "Welcome to Delaware"... while I would love to drive as many people to Clouds as possible--and would love for you to do the same--I'll only mention Delaware in this post, and it will be listed among the Recommended Blogs in the links to the right.
I'm sure you have two questions... the first being, why did you create another site? What is it even about, and why should I care? (that's three questions, but I kinda condensed them into one inquisitive string). The second being, what is with that name??? Who gives a rip about Delaware?? (again, more than one, but you get the gist.)
I created another site because while I love to journal--hence, Clouds in My Coffee--I tire quickly of writing on paper. My brain works too fast, though I'm sure The Lovely Steph Leann might disagree, for me to write down what I want in a legible manner, and it ends up scribbled... however, I type pretty doggone fast. In Mrs. Rials typing class in 11th grade at Samson High School (go Tigers!) I was top in the class, reaching 75 perfect words per minute
So, if I'm going to continue on my journey that I call "30 Days of Him"...
(I got that catchy little name from the movie "30 Days of Night", though thats where the similarilies end, I think--never pictured God as a vampire zombie. Randomly, vampires have been prevelant around my life lately... not that I know any, but I just finished reading "Salem's Lot" by Stephen King, an excellent vamp novel, I talked to Amy McL today about reading vampire novels, and I somehow ended up watching "Twilight" this afternoon... bored to tears. Seriously. There is about 10 minutes of that movie that I thought was enjoyable and... where was I?)
...I figured it would be better to type it out than write it. Plus, it would give me an outlet to start reprinting some of the "Random Emails of Encouragment" I used to write, long long ago. And Delaware will be simply that. God stuff. That's why I wanted to keep it separate from Clouds...
Don't fret, though, Coffee Drinkers. This will be my main site.
Now, why should you care? You don't have to, actually. You can visit every day, you might never go there. Its okay. I might mention it from time to time, but over all, its not a big deal.
Now... the name...
You've probably heard me mention "Welcome to Delaware" as a song, or that it is the title of the d$ Life Soundtrack, the double disc edition... well, I guess I should explain. McQ asked me tonight the perfect question... what does it mean to you?
"Welcome to Delaware" is a song from the former Christian duo WaterMark. I say "former", though Nathan and Christy Nockel are still together. They performed for years as WaterMark, now do separate projects, he as a worship leader for Passion, a writer and producer, and she as a worship leader for Passion and a solo artist.
The song is the 7th track off their 1998 self titled debut (you'll see from the link its now out of print), and its one of those hidden gems that few people even know about. It just stuck with me. When I was working at WTBF in Troy (Go Trojans!) I interviewed Christy for Sunday Night Power, my Christian Music show on Sunday nights, and I asked her the meaning behind the title...
She said, and I'm paraphrasing, "We had a concert in Delaware upcoming at the time, and neither of us had ever been there. We were nervous about it, about the area, it was winter, it was cold, it was unfamiliar... and it just kind of became a prayer. Its about God taking us to places we have never seen, cold places, unfamiliar places. Places we are not comfortable with."
Such is my life. I moved to Birmingham in August of 1998... I didn't know a soul, Amy Wible had abandoned me, I had an apartment I couldn't afford, my job I moved for was kaput after a week... and God was saying, "All you really have here now... is Me".
Well, its bitter cold December, and the leaves are falling true, and I do believe I'm still in love with You. Yeah, my scenery keeps changing, and sometimes its hard to view, but You've let me see so much since I've known You. But I headed to what seemed like nowhere (Birmingham?) but You told me to come, You told me You'd meet me here.
You were here to say, "Welcome to Delaware, I know you've traveled far. And its a lot colder here than what you're used to. And I know that in the wintertime, things aren't what they used to be, all you really have here now... is Me. All you really have here now is Me.
(by the way, the next verse is one of the most beautiful, deepest, sweetest verses to me in all of Christian music... I'm not kidding... as I sit here and think about how it applies to my life, I just wiped a tear away... man, its dusty in here...)
So I settled here, and that is that. For You to show me who I am, You had to take me to a place I've never been. And all the things I've dreaded most about the things unseen have now become the sweetest part of me...
Though I headed to what seemed like nowhere, I knew you would come, I knew You would meet me here.
You were here to say, "Welcome to Delaware, I know you've traveled far, and its alot colder here than what you're used to. And I know that in the wintertime, things aren't what they used to be. All you really have here now is Me."
Though I headed to what seemed like nowhere, I knew You would come, I knew You would meet me here. You were here to say "Welcome to Delaware... All you really have here now... is Me."
That song changed my life. No kidding.
That's why the site is called "Welcome to Delaware". Of course, it helps that its just offbeat enough to be memorable and quirky.
By the way, the line you see on the bottom of the title, "Thoughts of a Grace Abuser" comes from another song that changed my life. The song is called "Disappear", which was actually a consideration for the title of the site, from the band Out of the Grey, which was Christine and Scott Dente, another husband & wife duo.
The second verse--something about second verses and souls being stirred--says, "Given, I've been given so much freedom, Grace abounds and I'm the chief abuser..." That about sums it up.
Matter of fact, random Dave Trivia, years ago when I was about to leave AOL for good to get a Gmail email address, I was talking to Jessica Rogers about what my new screenname/email should be... GraceAbuser came up in the conversation, and she said, "That sounds cool, if you know what it means, but if you don't, it sounds like you are beating some girl named Grace." Touche. SuperDave it is.
Anyway, you can check the site out, or not, up to you. Bookmark it, or never look at it, its fine. I just did want to share, and let you know it was there.
But I'll expect you back here at least every few days.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
heading to the ham... '98 through '03
I wanted to go to Nashville. I wanted to go to Atlanta. I really wanted to go to Mobile. Perhaps I could go to Knoxville. Or maybe Savannah. Best laid plans work out, sometimes... and sometimes, they don't.
As much as I'd like to say that it was fate that led me here, or that it was chance, or a job, or something else, I really have to put the blame on two entities in my life... God and Amy Wible. I thought Birmingham was terrible. It was a big, convoluted city, comprised of about two dozen small towns crammed together to make one big metropolis. I didn't want to be here. But I kept feeling it. And finally, about a month before the move, I was driving down I-65... actually in Birmingham, for some reason, and it just clicked. I nodded my head, and said, "Okay, God. I'll do it. This is what You want, and I guess I'll have to comply."
Here's what I wrote, in an essay called "A Love Story In Three Acts", and this was Act Two, Scene Two. (for the whole thing from the beginning, you can click here... its quite a great story, methinks).
June passes and July is almost over. Though I really, really want to go to Mobile, I feel God is calling me to Birmingham. I'm fighting it in my prayerlife, not wanting to admit this is what God wants for me, even though it was pretty evident, since none of my interviews in Mobile was going to lead to anything. Through some random conversation with Amy, I mention a possible move to Birmingham, possibly working for this new Christian station starting up called Reality Radio 101.1. She tells me how great that would be, because with her in Tuscaloosa, I'd only be 45 minutes away, not two hours, and how great it would be dating the DJ for a Christian radio station. Much like God led me to Christian drama through Chrissy, God finally sealed the deal with me for Birmingham through Amy. --July 7, 2006
So, randomly, Claire Baldwin and I drove up to Birmingham to find me an apartment, and I managed to find a small, two bedroom loft apartment for only $475 per month. I'm imagining this apartment's rent has gone up slightly. Anyway, I paid the deposit, and was excited to finally move!
So, on August 17th, 1998, Shelby Logan, Eddie Hamner, Troy McConnell, Allyson Guy and a select few others helped me load up the vehicle(s), drive to Birmingham, unload the stuff, drive BACK to Troy, then drive back to Birmingham to unload the rest of it. My friends rocked. They still do. Allyson, I still miss you, friend...
Anyway, they stayed the night, Eddie and Troy at the Loft, the girls at Allyson's home in Alabaster, and they left early the next morning. And... I was alone. It was hard for the first few months... the job that I thought would be my ticket here in Birmingham ended up being a disaster, after a week....
And that led me to the Adecco Temp Agency, where I met a temp consultant named George Marling, who, after hearing I had just moved to Birmingham, said, "Have you found a church yet? (I nodded my head no) Well, here... (setting down a green pen in front of me)... this is my church. Valleydale Baptist. You should give them a call. You might like it."
I tried it a few times over the course of the next few months... and liked it. I was officially baptized in January of 1999, and for the first time in my life, I became a church member. Several of my closest friends--Troy, Allyson, Shelby, AmyAlex, Melanie, etc--were there, and it was amazing.
I still didnt have a lot of local friends, though, as I made frequent weekend trips to Troy, staying with Joey Hinton and Tad Roose (whom I know I annoyed after a while, crashing on their couch...), but I did have one friend that I grew close too... a chick in my singles class, Rebecca Jourdan.
I met her not only at Valleydale Baptist Church, but also figured out we worked together at Parisian Corporate, the job I took after being hired on through Adecco. She was five or six years older, but so darn good looking. In October of 1998, I had my wisdom teeth removed, and Rebecca volunteered to take me to the dentist, wait for me, and drive me home. It's important to note that I had quite a crush on Rebecca at that time, so when she took me, full of drugs and gauze, home, and helped me to my couch, I vaguely remember expressing my true devotion to her, and I vaguely remember her smiling.
Not too long after that, early 1999, I was hanging out with the high schoolers and Big Eddy Mac, and Downtown Jerry Brown at the house across from the church, when I met the high school intern, Tom Johnson. It felt like a "Anakin... this is Obi Wan Kenobi" kind of moment. Unbeknownst to the church, but beknowst to many of us, Tom was liking this chick named Stephanie Nipp.
It was at a party that I first heard about Michael Nipp, who went to school in North Alabama, and was managing a band called Soul Pilot. His parents told me that I should meet him, and not too long after that I did. And it was Michael who took me to Sybil Johnson's Bible Study, where I met Meredith Quintana, Shawn Sharp, Jill Berthon, Amy Valdmanis, Jennifer Pritchett, Ty Coffey and so many more, people who would add to the backbone of influence already given by Troy, AmyAlex, Shelby, Claire, the BCM, Cristie Wright, Chrissy and so many more.
Michael and Tom decided to move in together... they invited me along. I jumped at the chance. So for the summer, it was Michael in one room, Tom in the other, and me on the couch of our apartment in Pinebrook, on Little Valley Road. When September came, Tom moved to Samford, I moved into Tom's room, and Shawn Sharp moved into Michael's room, with Michael still there. When Christmas rolled around (and we had our first Apartment party, a precursor to big parties to come) Tom moved to the couch. It was here that I met Tommy McLeod, mostly because I came home one night and he was randomly sitting on our couch, watching tv. I'm not sure Mikey was even there, or if he was, he might have been asleep.
And then... one day in May, Michael came home and said, "Hey Dave... I found this four bedroom apartment not too far from here, over behind Ellis Piano. What do you think?" And so it was. The Deuce was born. The legend was made. Common Ground was born not too long after that.
Passion One Day was in May of 2000. Incredible event. Will never forget it, or the fact I spent a month going out with Jill Berthon.
My dad passed away in 2000... it was a devestating blow to me in so many ways. The hardest part was that I didn't cry at the funeral. I had so many mixed emotions. And I remember, a week later at Thursday night Bible study, when Nathan Tutor was teaching, we were in prayer... and I just fell apart. It was terrible, and yet, wonderful. I remember Ty Coffey putting his hands on my feet, and Amy Valdmanis and Meredith Quintana both leaning over and touching me while we prayed. It was beautiful.
Speaking of beautiful, Wookiee, Yours Truly, Michael, Shawn, Tom, Jennifer Hudson, Tommy, Brook DeRamus (our downstairs neighbor--he was an oceanographer who spent alot of time in Mobile, so we didn't see much of him), Matt Latta, David Mark Osborne and Daniel Powell started this football game... we called it The Deuce Football Championships, or The DFC, for short. We figured we'd do it this year, and just have fun... I mean, who expects this to go past a single football season?
I let go of Amy Wible in 2001. The closure wasn't there, at least all the way, but it was finally over. My heart begun to heal... and I had already been introduced to Stephanie Campbell. That was a saga over the next two years I won't recount fully, but during such time, The Deuce lived, survived, and stayed strong. I witnessed Stephanie Nipp break up with Tom, which was rough on all of us. We watched Ginger and Matt get married, which was blessed on all of us.
I started a new job in May of 2001, hired away from Parisian to Cox Radio, to work with 106.9 Oldies, WZZK and Rock 97.3. I met Michelle Carr, who would quickly become one of my heroes. Plus, she's a great chick.
WalkAbout was going strong too... started in 1999, it had begun to be a major part of my life, as it is now. And in 2001, the first ever WalkAbout dinner theater was presented, starring Meredith Osborne, Andrea Brobst and Katie Noland, among others. Sometime around 3 in the morning, on July 4th, I also had my first kiss with Stephanie Campbell. She was, and still is, fantastic.
September 11th happened. It was tough on everyone, as we all sat mesmorized by the footage. I wrote about it here (part one) and here (part two), and then again in 2006, here and here.
In 2002, we knew The Deuce was bigger than itself when I came home to find Mikey sitting on the couch, watching tv... nothing unusual here, except for the five or six Samford students sitting around the kitchen table, playing cards. "Dude, who are they?" I whispered to Mikey, sitting down beside him. "I dunno... I thought you knew them..." he replied.
I went out with Amy Vos once, on a single date. Seriously, she was just so awesome. I was quite disappointed, at that time, that things didnt lead to a second date, though I look back and see all the things going on at that time in both of our lives was truly God making sure she would end up with Tommy... a relationship I saw born in and around The Deuce, just like I had seen Justin and Jennifer's relationship born in a conversation on The Deuce floor.
My friendship with Melanie Dill grew, and then, over the course of the summer, faded, just like my friendship with Allyson had done a few years go. My friendship with Stephanie was still there, though. I went on the toughest mission trip ever, to NYC, with Melanie, Alex, Fish, Liz, Chad, Mark and several others. And when I came back, my head was spinning. I sat down with the guys during our weekly Bible study, and said, "Um... I think I'm going to go out with Stephanie Campbell. Like, seriously, chase her. This is what I'm supposed to do."
Once the meeting was over, I was in my room, and Michael came in, closing the door behind him. He told me how happy he was about me and Stephanie. He told me that he had been praying for us, how he had--and all the other guys--had been hoping that something like this would happen. And it did. Tom had already started dating Jill Berthon, Tommy and Amy were together, Michael had already met Ashley O'Neal, Justin and Jennifer were going to be together forever by now, and somehow, it was my turn.
Our final Deuce Christmas bash was in December 2002... it was a grand gala, complete with performances by Ben Caver and Joel Blount, and we had an attendance of over 70 people. This success was truly why we never planned a DeuceFest Eye Vee (IV) or a Christmas bash in 2003... I actually didn't want to face the idea that we might not have that many people come. The Deuce was beginning its slow decline, a graceful, gentle drop. We knew when to stop, and we did.
February of 2003 is when the Challenger exploded. It was also my very first day on the job at Starbucks. I was hanging out with Katy Scott, one of my favorite people ever, and a possible first ballot Dave Hall of Famer (when I finally open the doors) and we were at Starbucks in Mountain Brook. Her friend Kerry Walls was working, and being d$, I had to admire that Kerry was really quite cute. Kerry says, "You should apply for the new store... in Vestavia!" So I did.
I worked four nights per week, for over a year, earning money for debt, comic books, a possible proposal, and more. April 2003 found me in kinda hot water, though... I had an expired license. And a ticket from 2000 that I somehow forgot about. No, I'm serious, I actually forgot about it... and the officer who pulled me over for the tag reminded me.
Mind you, I am headed to work at Starbucks. I get pulled over, then quickly arrested and put into the back of a police car. Randomly, Ty, Mikey, Wookiee and Tom are leaving together, and pass by, only to see me on the side of the road in the backseat of a police car. No kidding, the officer looked like Eddie George, and I told him so. For the next twenty minutes, I sat in the back of a car, handcuffed, talking through an open window to the arresting officer about the Titans chances that fall.
Yes, yes, I was taken to the station, fingerprinted, and booked. I never saw the inside of the cell, though, as the Dolla' Posse, made up of several of the guys, bailed me out quickly. Laughing. I went to work, ink still on my hands. Boy, I learned alot from my time in prison. Don't drop the soap.
Summer came, and I was able to save up enough for a ring, to which I quietly and unceremoniously gave to The Lovely Steph Leann. And now we planned for a wedding, while attending Tommy's and Amy's in the fall. Wookiee was now engaged. Tom was now engaged as well. Mikey and Ashley were heading that way.
And this is where we'll leave it... a quick recap of the first five years in Birmingham, with the next five to come later... Sunday, August 17th, 2008 celebrates 10 years in the city, after a plan of only being here 1 to 3 years somehow doesn't work out like I planned.
As much as I'd like to say that it was fate that led me here, or that it was chance, or a job, or something else, I really have to put the blame on two entities in my life... God and Amy Wible. I thought Birmingham was terrible. It was a big, convoluted city, comprised of about two dozen small towns crammed together to make one big metropolis. I didn't want to be here. But I kept feeling it. And finally, about a month before the move, I was driving down I-65... actually in Birmingham, for some reason, and it just clicked. I nodded my head, and said, "Okay, God. I'll do it. This is what You want, and I guess I'll have to comply."
Here's what I wrote, in an essay called "A Love Story In Three Acts", and this was Act Two, Scene Two. (for the whole thing from the beginning, you can click here... its quite a great story, methinks).
June passes and July is almost over. Though I really, really want to go to Mobile, I feel God is calling me to Birmingham. I'm fighting it in my prayerlife, not wanting to admit this is what God wants for me, even though it was pretty evident, since none of my interviews in Mobile was going to lead to anything. Through some random conversation with Amy, I mention a possible move to Birmingham, possibly working for this new Christian station starting up called Reality Radio 101.1. She tells me how great that would be, because with her in Tuscaloosa, I'd only be 45 minutes away, not two hours, and how great it would be dating the DJ for a Christian radio station. Much like God led me to Christian drama through Chrissy, God finally sealed the deal with me for Birmingham through Amy. --July 7, 2006
So, randomly, Claire Baldwin and I drove up to Birmingham to find me an apartment, and I managed to find a small, two bedroom loft apartment for only $475 per month. I'm imagining this apartment's rent has gone up slightly. Anyway, I paid the deposit, and was excited to finally move!
So, on August 17th, 1998, Shelby Logan, Eddie Hamner, Troy McConnell, Allyson Guy and a select few others helped me load up the vehicle(s), drive to Birmingham, unload the stuff, drive BACK to Troy, then drive back to Birmingham to unload the rest of it. My friends rocked. They still do. Allyson, I still miss you, friend...
Anyway, they stayed the night, Eddie and Troy at the Loft, the girls at Allyson's home in Alabaster, and they left early the next morning. And... I was alone. It was hard for the first few months... the job that I thought would be my ticket here in Birmingham ended up being a disaster, after a week....
And that led me to the Adecco Temp Agency, where I met a temp consultant named George Marling, who, after hearing I had just moved to Birmingham, said, "Have you found a church yet? (I nodded my head no) Well, here... (setting down a green pen in front of me)... this is my church. Valleydale Baptist. You should give them a call. You might like it."
I tried it a few times over the course of the next few months... and liked it. I was officially baptized in January of 1999, and for the first time in my life, I became a church member. Several of my closest friends--Troy, Allyson, Shelby, AmyAlex, Melanie, etc--were there, and it was amazing.
I still didnt have a lot of local friends, though, as I made frequent weekend trips to Troy, staying with Joey Hinton and Tad Roose (whom I know I annoyed after a while, crashing on their couch...), but I did have one friend that I grew close too... a chick in my singles class, Rebecca Jourdan.
I met her not only at Valleydale Baptist Church, but also figured out we worked together at Parisian Corporate, the job I took after being hired on through Adecco. She was five or six years older, but so darn good looking. In October of 1998, I had my wisdom teeth removed, and Rebecca volunteered to take me to the dentist, wait for me, and drive me home. It's important to note that I had quite a crush on Rebecca at that time, so when she took me, full of drugs and gauze, home, and helped me to my couch, I vaguely remember expressing my true devotion to her, and I vaguely remember her smiling.
Not too long after that, early 1999, I was hanging out with the high schoolers and Big Eddy Mac, and Downtown Jerry Brown at the house across from the church, when I met the high school intern, Tom Johnson. It felt like a "Anakin... this is Obi Wan Kenobi" kind of moment. Unbeknownst to the church, but beknowst to many of us, Tom was liking this chick named Stephanie Nipp.
It was at a party that I first heard about Michael Nipp, who went to school in North Alabama, and was managing a band called Soul Pilot. His parents told me that I should meet him, and not too long after that I did. And it was Michael who took me to Sybil Johnson's Bible Study, where I met Meredith Quintana, Shawn Sharp, Jill Berthon, Amy Valdmanis, Jennifer Pritchett, Ty Coffey and so many more, people who would add to the backbone of influence already given by Troy, AmyAlex, Shelby, Claire, the BCM, Cristie Wright, Chrissy and so many more.
Michael and Tom decided to move in together... they invited me along. I jumped at the chance. So for the summer, it was Michael in one room, Tom in the other, and me on the couch of our apartment in Pinebrook, on Little Valley Road. When September came, Tom moved to Samford, I moved into Tom's room, and Shawn Sharp moved into Michael's room, with Michael still there. When Christmas rolled around (and we had our first Apartment party, a precursor to big parties to come) Tom moved to the couch. It was here that I met Tommy McLeod, mostly because I came home one night and he was randomly sitting on our couch, watching tv. I'm not sure Mikey was even there, or if he was, he might have been asleep.
And then... one day in May, Michael came home and said, "Hey Dave... I found this four bedroom apartment not too far from here, over behind Ellis Piano. What do you think?" And so it was. The Deuce was born. The legend was made. Common Ground was born not too long after that.
Passion One Day was in May of 2000. Incredible event. Will never forget it, or the fact I spent a month going out with Jill Berthon.
My dad passed away in 2000... it was a devestating blow to me in so many ways. The hardest part was that I didn't cry at the funeral. I had so many mixed emotions. And I remember, a week later at Thursday night Bible study, when Nathan Tutor was teaching, we were in prayer... and I just fell apart. It was terrible, and yet, wonderful. I remember Ty Coffey putting his hands on my feet, and Amy Valdmanis and Meredith Quintana both leaning over and touching me while we prayed. It was beautiful.
Speaking of beautiful, Wookiee, Yours Truly, Michael, Shawn, Tom, Jennifer Hudson, Tommy, Brook DeRamus (our downstairs neighbor--he was an oceanographer who spent alot of time in Mobile, so we didn't see much of him), Matt Latta, David Mark Osborne and Daniel Powell started this football game... we called it The Deuce Football Championships, or The DFC, for short. We figured we'd do it this year, and just have fun... I mean, who expects this to go past a single football season?
I let go of Amy Wible in 2001. The closure wasn't there, at least all the way, but it was finally over. My heart begun to heal... and I had already been introduced to Stephanie Campbell. That was a saga over the next two years I won't recount fully, but during such time, The Deuce lived, survived, and stayed strong. I witnessed Stephanie Nipp break up with Tom, which was rough on all of us. We watched Ginger and Matt get married, which was blessed on all of us.
I started a new job in May of 2001, hired away from Parisian to Cox Radio, to work with 106.9 Oldies, WZZK and Rock 97.3. I met Michelle Carr, who would quickly become one of my heroes. Plus, she's a great chick.
WalkAbout was going strong too... started in 1999, it had begun to be a major part of my life, as it is now. And in 2001, the first ever WalkAbout dinner theater was presented, starring Meredith Osborne, Andrea Brobst and Katie Noland, among others. Sometime around 3 in the morning, on July 4th, I also had my first kiss with Stephanie Campbell. She was, and still is, fantastic.
September 11th happened. It was tough on everyone, as we all sat mesmorized by the footage. I wrote about it here (part one) and here (part two), and then again in 2006, here and here.
In 2002, we knew The Deuce was bigger than itself when I came home to find Mikey sitting on the couch, watching tv... nothing unusual here, except for the five or six Samford students sitting around the kitchen table, playing cards. "Dude, who are they?" I whispered to Mikey, sitting down beside him. "I dunno... I thought you knew them..." he replied.
I went out with Amy Vos once, on a single date. Seriously, she was just so awesome. I was quite disappointed, at that time, that things didnt lead to a second date, though I look back and see all the things going on at that time in both of our lives was truly God making sure she would end up with Tommy... a relationship I saw born in and around The Deuce, just like I had seen Justin and Jennifer's relationship born in a conversation on The Deuce floor.
My friendship with Melanie Dill grew, and then, over the course of the summer, faded, just like my friendship with Allyson had done a few years go. My friendship with Stephanie was still there, though. I went on the toughest mission trip ever, to NYC, with Melanie, Alex, Fish, Liz, Chad, Mark and several others. And when I came back, my head was spinning. I sat down with the guys during our weekly Bible study, and said, "Um... I think I'm going to go out with Stephanie Campbell. Like, seriously, chase her. This is what I'm supposed to do."
Once the meeting was over, I was in my room, and Michael came in, closing the door behind him. He told me how happy he was about me and Stephanie. He told me that he had been praying for us, how he had--and all the other guys--had been hoping that something like this would happen. And it did. Tom had already started dating Jill Berthon, Tommy and Amy were together, Michael had already met Ashley O'Neal, Justin and Jennifer were going to be together forever by now, and somehow, it was my turn.
Our final Deuce Christmas bash was in December 2002... it was a grand gala, complete with performances by Ben Caver and Joel Blount, and we had an attendance of over 70 people. This success was truly why we never planned a DeuceFest Eye Vee (IV) or a Christmas bash in 2003... I actually didn't want to face the idea that we might not have that many people come. The Deuce was beginning its slow decline, a graceful, gentle drop. We knew when to stop, and we did.
February of 2003 is when the Challenger exploded. It was also my very first day on the job at Starbucks. I was hanging out with Katy Scott, one of my favorite people ever, and a possible first ballot Dave Hall of Famer (when I finally open the doors) and we were at Starbucks in Mountain Brook. Her friend Kerry Walls was working, and being d$, I had to admire that Kerry was really quite cute. Kerry says, "You should apply for the new store... in Vestavia!" So I did.
I worked four nights per week, for over a year, earning money for debt, comic books, a possible proposal, and more. April 2003 found me in kinda hot water, though... I had an expired license. And a ticket from 2000 that I somehow forgot about. No, I'm serious, I actually forgot about it... and the officer who pulled me over for the tag reminded me.
Mind you, I am headed to work at Starbucks. I get pulled over, then quickly arrested and put into the back of a police car. Randomly, Ty, Mikey, Wookiee and Tom are leaving together, and pass by, only to see me on the side of the road in the backseat of a police car. No kidding, the officer looked like Eddie George, and I told him so. For the next twenty minutes, I sat in the back of a car, handcuffed, talking through an open window to the arresting officer about the Titans chances that fall.
Yes, yes, I was taken to the station, fingerprinted, and booked. I never saw the inside of the cell, though, as the Dolla' Posse, made up of several of the guys, bailed me out quickly. Laughing. I went to work, ink still on my hands. Boy, I learned alot from my time in prison. Don't drop the soap.
Summer came, and I was able to save up enough for a ring, to which I quietly and unceremoniously gave to The Lovely Steph Leann. And now we planned for a wedding, while attending Tommy's and Amy's in the fall. Wookiee was now engaged. Tom was now engaged as well. Mikey and Ashley were heading that way.
And this is where we'll leave it... a quick recap of the first five years in Birmingham, with the next five to come later... Sunday, August 17th, 2008 celebrates 10 years in the city, after a plan of only being here 1 to 3 years somehow doesn't work out like I planned.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
The Dave100... #89. Jerry Maguire
Jerry Maguire, 1996, Rated R. Stars a pre-Scientology-crazy Tom Cruise, Renee Zellweger in her breakout role, Cuba Gooding Jr before he started mailing in all his roles, Mrs. John Travolta, and the underappreciated Bonnie Hunt.
Plot... Jerry Maguire works for a sports agency, gets a conscience, and decides to write a memo addressing the dishonesty in the business. Though lauded, he's fired, with the firing carried out by former protege-turned-rival Bob Sugar. Racing back to the office, Jerry has decided to branch out on his own, and gets stuck on a lengthy conversation with Rod Tidwell, lengthy enough that Bob Sugar is able to grab all of Jerry's clients while Jerry is left only with Rod.
As he leaves, he asks who is daring enough to come with him, and only Dorothy Boyd stands up. While Jerry and Rod have a rocky relationship, as Rod proves hard to please, he and Dorothy eventually get close enough to fall for each other, though Jerry is more enamored with Dorothy's son, Ray.
"I LOOOOOVE BLACK PEOPLE!!!! YOUR MY MOFO!!!!"
Anyway, along the way you hear stuff like "Show me the money!", "I love black people!", "Quan" and of course, the final scene, which brings us, "You had me at hello". And the award winning actor Jonathan Lipnicki, who plays Ray, says, "Bees and dogs smell fear."
Why Its In the Dave100... I mean, I don't know. Should it be? Is it a sports movie? It can be. Is its a chick flick? It qualifies. I just genuinely love this movie. The performances are great all around, even Jerry O'Connell turns up pretty good as Brian "Cush" Cushman, a hot draft prospect that Jerry Maguire is trying to woo. Its just such a fun film, even though its been ruined by the repeated overkill of the now-famous catch phrases. Oh, and beware of "that scene" between Tom Cruise and Kelly Preston. You know it.
Tom Cruise had a string of hits back in the day, back when he made sense, wasn't hopping off couches and wasn't leaving the incomparable Nicole Kidman for the likes of butt-ugly Penelope Cruz. And Renee in this flick is just so darn cute. Seriously. It was also a good time for Cuba Gooding Jr (who won an Oscar for this film, and had a hilarious acceptance speech), before he started make crap, more crap, and even more crap (this link takes you to a film that landed on the Bottom 100 movies of all time on IMDB). And of course, I love Bonnie Hunt.
Oh, and Bruce Springsteen's song, "Secret Garden", is immaculate.
"Secret Garden" by Bruce Springsteen, intersparsed with some Jerry Maguire. See the video here too. This song was my Amy Wible song for a long time... until, of course, The Lovely Steph Leann came around.
Random Trivia... saw this movie on Christmas Day in 1996 with Heather Howell. Also, did you know that Tom Hanks was offered the lead role, and turned it down? John Travolta was also pursued, but really, this is one of those type flicks that was cast perfectly.
Monday, July 10, 2006
A Love Story in Three Acts: Act 2, Scene 4
Exposition
Act 1: Cindy
Act 2, Scene 1: A Chance Meeting
Act 2, Scene 2: Summer of Love
Act 2, Scene 3: "Tuesday's" Night
"Reunion"
The last time I saw Amy, it was January of 2000, which was 17 months from the last time I had seen her, that being August of 1998. So, with that in mind, lets skip ahead another 7 months to August of 2000.
By this time, I was rooming with Michael, Shawn and Tom in The Deuce. I had already kinda sorta gone out with Leslie Cordell (which Leslie, nor even Stephanie, doesn't know how God worked in that situation)...) earlier that year, and hadn't really done much on the dating scene. I had also been sending out what I called Random Emails of Encouragement, a little God-inspired essay I would write from time to time. Amy was on my Encouragement email list, don't ask me how, and in one particular one, I had mentioned Sybil Johnson's Bible Study...
Let me 'splain. Sybil Johnson is a lady here in town that has a deep heart for high school and college kids, and opens her home up once per week for a Bible study. I had been going for a while--Michael took me--and its where I had met the likes of Tommy McLeod, Amy Vos, Jill Berthon and Shawn Sharp, who eventually became one of my Deucemates.
...and drew the writing from whatever had happened that night. I'm sitting in my room at The Deuce, and randomly, the phone rings. Its Amy. I sit up, and smile, "Well, hey, how are you?" and she says "Hey" back. We chat for a moment, all the while I'm puzzled as to why she's called me now. This is not someone I expected to hear from, like, ever again. Of course, I laughingly ask the question that I ask all girls who have been dating awhile... "You married yet?"
Silence.
Suddenly, there is uncontrollable sobbing and crying on the other end of the phone. "Hey hey... calm down," I say softly. "Amy, what's wrong?" She tells me that she and Craig have broken up. My first question should have been "Why are you calling me?", but I knew the answer to this question already. I simply say, "Calm down... talk to me. Tell me what's going on."
She starts telling me the story of how she and Craig had split, and it wasn't pretty at all. I do remember details, but honestly, its not important here... I ask her if she is in Tuscaloosa, and she says yes, and then I ask her if she wants me to come to her. Initially, she says yes, and I'm already putting socks on, but then she stops and says, "No... don't do that. Its too late tonight. I just wanted an ear to cry into." I ask her if she's sure, and she says yes... then she asks me about Sybil's Bible study, and if we can bring guests. I told her, "Of course. Would you like to come?" She says she would, and we set it up for her to come to Birmingham in a few days for Bible study.
I hung up the phone and collapsed into my pillow. You have to be freakin' kidding me, God. You have to be kiddin' me.
I have butterflies the size of Hyundais when she pulls up in The Deuce parking lot. I watch her walk down the sidewalk and disappear in the doorway to our building... I take a deep breath and open the door before she can even knock. My heart melts and flies at the same time as the only girl, at the time, I'd ever loved stood before me.
We go to Bible study, have a good time, I mention in prayer requests that "I have a friend who's really having a hard time with her life right now" (to which Amy smiles and squeezes my hand--she knew I was referring to her) and we come back to The Deuce.
As I walk her out, we stand in the parking lot and she begins to open up about Craig. Finally, we sit on the curb, as we talk for about three hours, 'til early in the morning. I finally ask her two questions... first, why call me? She answered like I thought she would... "Because I knew of all the people in the world, you'd be there for me, David. Somehow I knew you would."
Then I ask the killer question... "Why did you drop me? Why, after all we had that summer, did you just leave me in 1998? Amy, you broke my heart."
She had a sad look in her eye, and simply said, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all of it. You were perfect. You were everything I needed, everything I wanted, but I was just stupid, and I didn't know how to handle it. I figured the best thing to do was just not talk to you anymore, and it would all go away. I'm so sorry I hurt you... I'm so, so sorry."
I looked at her. "I want to be your friend, Amy. I want to be here for you." She smiled and said, "I really need that. I really need you to be there for me, more than anything right now." The smile left my face and I continued, "But if you leave again, if you drop me again, if you decide that you don't want me anymore, even as your friend, don't ever come back. Don't call me anymore. I don't know that I could take it." (truthbeknown, at the time she could have dropped me and returned a year later, then repeated this process five times over and I still would have been there for her... again, at the time)
Yes, yes, this sounds like a script from a movie. Or a cheesy romance novel. But this is what transpired in The Deuce parking lot in September of 2000, right around the time my future wife Stephanie was about to turn 23.
I had never been to a real college football game, or at least one that didn't happen in Troy, so Amy decided to fix that. She took me to the Alabama-Ole Miss game, and I got to sit in the student section--and it was awesome. I was rooting for Alabama because I picked them in this football game we started that same fall, The DFC, though I didn't let her know thats why I was cheering them on.
All through the fall, we hung out several times, had phone conversations that lasted until early morning time, and generally, it was a good fall. While I wasn't dating Amy--I didn't feel right about moving in so quickly after Craig left her, so I was being patient--I didn't go out with anyone else either. There was this cute girl named Stephanie Campbell that came to Sunday School one Sunday, but she never came back. Mostly, it was just hanging out with Amy.
The 2000 Election was that November, and Amy was there with myself, Shawn, Tom, Mikey, Drew, Ty and a few other people, and I was about to pass out. Shawn had started talking to Amy in his room, and it kind of agitated me--she was my guest, darn it--so I just went to bed. About 2am, she knocked on my door and came in. "Sorry about that... Shawn was just talking away..." she smiled. I let my frustrations be known, how I understood that all the guys liked her here, and she liked all the guys... but I really wanted her time. She smiled and said, "Don't worry... you and I have a history. Nothing's going to come between that."
She also got us tickets to the Iron Bowl, my first one. Michael, Wookiee, Tom and Shawn all came for $50 per ticket, but Amy covered mine... hey, we had history. Auburn won a cold, miserable 9-0 game, and we cheered, even in the midst of the Bama student section. Looking back, its a wonder we didn't get shot. Amy was quite frustrated with all of us, especially me, for doing this... I couldn't help it.
Finally, in January, I was watching television. We were still recovering from the 50+ people we had in our apartment for the first Deuce Christmas Party, one which Amy couldn't make, so the place was still a mess. Amy had emailed me something, I don't remember what, but something snapped in me. This was it. I was tired of dealing with it, I was tired of thinking about it, so I just picked up the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hey Amy"
"Oh, hey Dave, whats up?"
"I gotta talk to you for a second"
"Is everything okay?"
"Yes, just listen."
And with that, with Shawn thumping the bass two rooms over and Mikey and Tommy watching tv in the next room, I said the following:
"Amy, I love you. I've been in love with you since that night we had dinner at Ruby Tuesday's. Maybe even before that, I dunno. I just know it broke my heart into a thousand pieces when you suddenly quit talking to me in Summer 98... (she started to say something, but I cut her off)... no, let me say this. It broke my heart, and I thought I was done with you, but when I saw you that night, I knew how I felt. And when you called me last September, it all came back. I almost don't care what you'll say to this... I actually want you to tell me its never going to happen, just so I can stop hoping and move on with my life, but there. I'm in love with you. I said it."
Silence.
"Wow... I don't know what to say...I..."
"Well, you can say that its never going to happen between us, for starters. Then, I can move on. Anything else, though perhaps welcome, would be really complicated."
"I... I, uh... you caught me off guard, David...."
Now, with that, the conversation ended pretty quickly. She was stunned. I was stunned that she didn't know any of this. Was she that blind?
I hung up the phone and smiled. I had said it. To me, it was over. If she loved me, she would have said so, right? I could move on, marry, make kids and live a happy life. She called me back a few days later.
And she said the following:
"David, I've been thinking about what you said, and I wanted to talk to you for a minute. (I started to say something, but she cut me off)... No, you said your piece, let me say mine. It makes me smile that you love me. You have been so amazing. You have loved me more unselfishly than anyone I've ever met. Not my friends, not my parents, certainly not Joel or Craig or any other guy. Even when I treated you like crap, you were there for me... that's true love, and I thank you for it... even love you for it... But... its not there. And its so hard to say that its not there, because I want it to be so badly... I've prayed to God that He would help me feel that way about you... I want to. I know you would treat me like a Godly husband should and be everything I could ever want or need... but its not there. I've thought about this, I've prayed about this, I've... I don't know. I don't think its going to happen, but not because I don't want it too... but because God doesn't want it too."
You would think that that statement would be a daggar into my heart, much like the one I had experienced years before... but it wasn't. It was a weight that sudenly fell off of my shoulders.
With that statement, I knew two things... yes, I loved Amy Wible, but I knew that I finally had total peace over the fact that it was not meant to be. And secondly, I knew that our friendship was close to running its course. After almost five years, the Season of David and Amy was over.
Though we spoke again on the phone, the calls became less frequent, until finally, they just went away. That February, she was my date to the first Deuce Date Party, and later on in summer, she did come to the WalkAbout Dinner Theater (middle school drama team) that I had directed... what was funny was that she and Stephanie Campbell sat at the same table, and later, with some other people, came to the Deuce. I had Amy and Stephanie in the same room for about half an hour... looking back, it was almost like Amy could have said "Hey, I've had him for five years... now its your time, Stephanie"
Amy did invite me to her going away party--she was headed to Texas to seminary, now that she had graduated Alabama. Both Shawn and I went. As the party wound down, I gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek--the first time I'd ever kissed her--and said goodbye. And that "goodbye" was not for the night... but for all.
And though I spoke to her a few times after that, that night was the last time I ever saw Amy Wible.
Next: Act 3, Scene 1... "The Campbell Connection"
Act 1: Cindy
Act 2, Scene 1: A Chance Meeting
Act 2, Scene 2: Summer of Love
Act 2, Scene 3: "Tuesday's" Night
"Reunion"
The last time I saw Amy, it was January of 2000, which was 17 months from the last time I had seen her, that being August of 1998. So, with that in mind, lets skip ahead another 7 months to August of 2000.
By this time, I was rooming with Michael, Shawn and Tom in The Deuce. I had already kinda sorta gone out with Leslie Cordell (which Leslie, nor even Stephanie, doesn't know how God worked in that situation)...) earlier that year, and hadn't really done much on the dating scene. I had also been sending out what I called Random Emails of Encouragement, a little God-inspired essay I would write from time to time. Amy was on my Encouragement email list, don't ask me how, and in one particular one, I had mentioned Sybil Johnson's Bible Study...
Let me 'splain. Sybil Johnson is a lady here in town that has a deep heart for high school and college kids, and opens her home up once per week for a Bible study. I had been going for a while--Michael took me--and its where I had met the likes of Tommy McLeod, Amy Vos, Jill Berthon and Shawn Sharp, who eventually became one of my Deucemates.
...and drew the writing from whatever had happened that night. I'm sitting in my room at The Deuce, and randomly, the phone rings. Its Amy. I sit up, and smile, "Well, hey, how are you?" and she says "Hey" back. We chat for a moment, all the while I'm puzzled as to why she's called me now. This is not someone I expected to hear from, like, ever again. Of course, I laughingly ask the question that I ask all girls who have been dating awhile... "You married yet?"
Silence.
Suddenly, there is uncontrollable sobbing and crying on the other end of the phone. "Hey hey... calm down," I say softly. "Amy, what's wrong?" She tells me that she and Craig have broken up. My first question should have been "Why are you calling me?", but I knew the answer to this question already. I simply say, "Calm down... talk to me. Tell me what's going on."
She starts telling me the story of how she and Craig had split, and it wasn't pretty at all. I do remember details, but honestly, its not important here... I ask her if she is in Tuscaloosa, and she says yes, and then I ask her if she wants me to come to her. Initially, she says yes, and I'm already putting socks on, but then she stops and says, "No... don't do that. Its too late tonight. I just wanted an ear to cry into." I ask her if she's sure, and she says yes... then she asks me about Sybil's Bible study, and if we can bring guests. I told her, "Of course. Would you like to come?" She says she would, and we set it up for her to come to Birmingham in a few days for Bible study.
I hung up the phone and collapsed into my pillow. You have to be freakin' kidding me, God. You have to be kiddin' me.
I have butterflies the size of Hyundais when she pulls up in The Deuce parking lot. I watch her walk down the sidewalk and disappear in the doorway to our building... I take a deep breath and open the door before she can even knock. My heart melts and flies at the same time as the only girl, at the time, I'd ever loved stood before me.
We go to Bible study, have a good time, I mention in prayer requests that "I have a friend who's really having a hard time with her life right now" (to which Amy smiles and squeezes my hand--she knew I was referring to her) and we come back to The Deuce.
As I walk her out, we stand in the parking lot and she begins to open up about Craig. Finally, we sit on the curb, as we talk for about three hours, 'til early in the morning. I finally ask her two questions... first, why call me? She answered like I thought she would... "Because I knew of all the people in the world, you'd be there for me, David. Somehow I knew you would."
Then I ask the killer question... "Why did you drop me? Why, after all we had that summer, did you just leave me in 1998? Amy, you broke my heart."
She had a sad look in her eye, and simply said, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all of it. You were perfect. You were everything I needed, everything I wanted, but I was just stupid, and I didn't know how to handle it. I figured the best thing to do was just not talk to you anymore, and it would all go away. I'm so sorry I hurt you... I'm so, so sorry."
I looked at her. "I want to be your friend, Amy. I want to be here for you." She smiled and said, "I really need that. I really need you to be there for me, more than anything right now." The smile left my face and I continued, "But if you leave again, if you drop me again, if you decide that you don't want me anymore, even as your friend, don't ever come back. Don't call me anymore. I don't know that I could take it." (truthbeknown, at the time she could have dropped me and returned a year later, then repeated this process five times over and I still would have been there for her... again, at the time)
Yes, yes, this sounds like a script from a movie. Or a cheesy romance novel. But this is what transpired in The Deuce parking lot in September of 2000, right around the time my future wife Stephanie was about to turn 23.
I had never been to a real college football game, or at least one that didn't happen in Troy, so Amy decided to fix that. She took me to the Alabama-Ole Miss game, and I got to sit in the student section--and it was awesome. I was rooting for Alabama because I picked them in this football game we started that same fall, The DFC, though I didn't let her know thats why I was cheering them on.
All through the fall, we hung out several times, had phone conversations that lasted until early morning time, and generally, it was a good fall. While I wasn't dating Amy--I didn't feel right about moving in so quickly after Craig left her, so I was being patient--I didn't go out with anyone else either. There was this cute girl named Stephanie Campbell that came to Sunday School one Sunday, but she never came back. Mostly, it was just hanging out with Amy.
The 2000 Election was that November, and Amy was there with myself, Shawn, Tom, Mikey, Drew, Ty and a few other people, and I was about to pass out. Shawn had started talking to Amy in his room, and it kind of agitated me--she was my guest, darn it--so I just went to bed. About 2am, she knocked on my door and came in. "Sorry about that... Shawn was just talking away..." she smiled. I let my frustrations be known, how I understood that all the guys liked her here, and she liked all the guys... but I really wanted her time. She smiled and said, "Don't worry... you and I have a history. Nothing's going to come between that."
She also got us tickets to the Iron Bowl, my first one. Michael, Wookiee, Tom and Shawn all came for $50 per ticket, but Amy covered mine... hey, we had history. Auburn won a cold, miserable 9-0 game, and we cheered, even in the midst of the Bama student section. Looking back, its a wonder we didn't get shot. Amy was quite frustrated with all of us, especially me, for doing this... I couldn't help it.
Finally, in January, I was watching television. We were still recovering from the 50+ people we had in our apartment for the first Deuce Christmas Party, one which Amy couldn't make, so the place was still a mess. Amy had emailed me something, I don't remember what, but something snapped in me. This was it. I was tired of dealing with it, I was tired of thinking about it, so I just picked up the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hey Amy"
"Oh, hey Dave, whats up?"
"I gotta talk to you for a second"
"Is everything okay?"
"Yes, just listen."
And with that, with Shawn thumping the bass two rooms over and Mikey and Tommy watching tv in the next room, I said the following:
"Amy, I love you. I've been in love with you since that night we had dinner at Ruby Tuesday's. Maybe even before that, I dunno. I just know it broke my heart into a thousand pieces when you suddenly quit talking to me in Summer 98... (she started to say something, but I cut her off)... no, let me say this. It broke my heart, and I thought I was done with you, but when I saw you that night, I knew how I felt. And when you called me last September, it all came back. I almost don't care what you'll say to this... I actually want you to tell me its never going to happen, just so I can stop hoping and move on with my life, but there. I'm in love with you. I said it."
Silence.
"Wow... I don't know what to say...I..."
"Well, you can say that its never going to happen between us, for starters. Then, I can move on. Anything else, though perhaps welcome, would be really complicated."
"I... I, uh... you caught me off guard, David...."
Now, with that, the conversation ended pretty quickly. She was stunned. I was stunned that she didn't know any of this. Was she that blind?
I hung up the phone and smiled. I had said it. To me, it was over. If she loved me, she would have said so, right? I could move on, marry, make kids and live a happy life. She called me back a few days later.
And she said the following:
"David, I've been thinking about what you said, and I wanted to talk to you for a minute. (I started to say something, but she cut me off)... No, you said your piece, let me say mine. It makes me smile that you love me. You have been so amazing. You have loved me more unselfishly than anyone I've ever met. Not my friends, not my parents, certainly not Joel or Craig or any other guy. Even when I treated you like crap, you were there for me... that's true love, and I thank you for it... even love you for it... But... its not there. And its so hard to say that its not there, because I want it to be so badly... I've prayed to God that He would help me feel that way about you... I want to. I know you would treat me like a Godly husband should and be everything I could ever want or need... but its not there. I've thought about this, I've prayed about this, I've... I don't know. I don't think its going to happen, but not because I don't want it too... but because God doesn't want it too."
You would think that that statement would be a daggar into my heart, much like the one I had experienced years before... but it wasn't. It was a weight that sudenly fell off of my shoulders.
With that statement, I knew two things... yes, I loved Amy Wible, but I knew that I finally had total peace over the fact that it was not meant to be. And secondly, I knew that our friendship was close to running its course. After almost five years, the Season of David and Amy was over.
Though we spoke again on the phone, the calls became less frequent, until finally, they just went away. That February, she was my date to the first Deuce Date Party, and later on in summer, she did come to the WalkAbout Dinner Theater (middle school drama team) that I had directed... what was funny was that she and Stephanie Campbell sat at the same table, and later, with some other people, came to the Deuce. I had Amy and Stephanie in the same room for about half an hour... looking back, it was almost like Amy could have said "Hey, I've had him for five years... now its your time, Stephanie"
Amy did invite me to her going away party--she was headed to Texas to seminary, now that she had graduated Alabama. Both Shawn and I went. As the party wound down, I gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek--the first time I'd ever kissed her--and said goodbye. And that "goodbye" was not for the night... but for all.
And though I spoke to her a few times after that, that night was the last time I ever saw Amy Wible.
Next: Act 3, Scene 1... "The Campbell Connection"
Sunday, July 09, 2006
A Love Story in Three Acts: Act 2, Scene 3
Exposition
Act 1: Cindy
Act 2, Scene 1: A Chance Meeting
Act 2, Scene 2: Summer of Love
"Tuesday's" Night
It's January of 1999. I've met some people at this new church I'm going to, Valleydale Baptist. Notably, I've been introduced to this guy, Michael, who lives in Huntsville, but is moving back to Birmingham. He was going to UNA, and was a manager of Soul Pilot, a Christian band, but apparently is leaving that gig.
I've also met Tom Johnson, who is interning at Valleydale, and Michael's sister, Stephanie. While I've now met some of the key players who would go on and form The Apartment, and then finally, The Deuce, at this point I'm still living in my townhome at 3079 Carousel Court by myself.
Don't ask me how it happened, don't ask me how we started talking (it wasn't over computer, because I didn't have one--my guess was, one of us had called the other for some reason) but somehow, Amy Wible and I had a conversation.
And that conversation led to a dinner invitation. She was dating Craig, I was single, but she said it would be fun to catch up and chat over dinner. So one evening I drove to Tuscaloosa, took the elevator up to whatever floor in Rose Towers and then stood at the end of her hallway. I hadn't seen this girl since August of 1998, nor had I spoken to her, save for the conversation recently that led me here.
I took a deep breath and started slowly walking to the door. What was I thinking? What would I say? What would happen? I was about to find out. I knocked. She answered. And my eyes widened and my jaw dropped a little. She was beautiful. Her hair was shorter, she lost a little weight, her smile was bright as ever and I knew this was bad.
Driving seperately, we met up at Ruby Tuesday's for dinner. We chatted about things, she told me of Craig, whom she loved deeply. He was a youth minister locally, and he was perfect for her. I smiled and nodded, all the while begging to ask the question "Why did you leave me last summer? Why did you just drop me? Why? Why?" but it never came out. It wasn't right. Here I was, having dinner with an old friend, a friend I probably would never see again because, heck, she's getting married soon enough, I'm sure. Why spoil it with questions that she doesn't want to answer, and that I probably don't want the answers to?
She saw a few of her friends nearby, so after dinner, we both went to sit with them. She introduced me, I shook hands, nibbled on a few appitizers that were offered, and finally, told Amy it was time for me to go. With a quick hug and a "drive safe", that was it. But it wasn't it. Not by a long shot.
Because I got back in the car and knew something had just happened. After going 18 months with neither seeing nor speaking to Amy, then suddenly feeling like I felt that one night, I knew one thing was certain. I didn't know what I was going to do about it, I didn't how God was going to deal with this.
I was discussing the word love once with a friend, and the concept of "being in love". I always thought you couldn't explain it with words, but when you were there, you just knew it. Somehow, someway, you just knew it.
I was in love with Amy.
Next: The Finale to Act 2... Scene 4 "Reunion"
Act 1: Cindy
Act 2, Scene 1: A Chance Meeting
Act 2, Scene 2: Summer of Love
"Tuesday's" Night
It's January of 1999. I've met some people at this new church I'm going to, Valleydale Baptist. Notably, I've been introduced to this guy, Michael, who lives in Huntsville, but is moving back to Birmingham. He was going to UNA, and was a manager of Soul Pilot, a Christian band, but apparently is leaving that gig.
I've also met Tom Johnson, who is interning at Valleydale, and Michael's sister, Stephanie. While I've now met some of the key players who would go on and form The Apartment, and then finally, The Deuce, at this point I'm still living in my townhome at 3079 Carousel Court by myself.
Don't ask me how it happened, don't ask me how we started talking (it wasn't over computer, because I didn't have one--my guess was, one of us had called the other for some reason) but somehow, Amy Wible and I had a conversation.
And that conversation led to a dinner invitation. She was dating Craig, I was single, but she said it would be fun to catch up and chat over dinner. So one evening I drove to Tuscaloosa, took the elevator up to whatever floor in Rose Towers and then stood at the end of her hallway. I hadn't seen this girl since August of 1998, nor had I spoken to her, save for the conversation recently that led me here.
I took a deep breath and started slowly walking to the door. What was I thinking? What would I say? What would happen? I was about to find out. I knocked. She answered. And my eyes widened and my jaw dropped a little. She was beautiful. Her hair was shorter, she lost a little weight, her smile was bright as ever and I knew this was bad.
Driving seperately, we met up at Ruby Tuesday's for dinner. We chatted about things, she told me of Craig, whom she loved deeply. He was a youth minister locally, and he was perfect for her. I smiled and nodded, all the while begging to ask the question "Why did you leave me last summer? Why did you just drop me? Why? Why?" but it never came out. It wasn't right. Here I was, having dinner with an old friend, a friend I probably would never see again because, heck, she's getting married soon enough, I'm sure. Why spoil it with questions that she doesn't want to answer, and that I probably don't want the answers to?
She saw a few of her friends nearby, so after dinner, we both went to sit with them. She introduced me, I shook hands, nibbled on a few appitizers that were offered, and finally, told Amy it was time for me to go. With a quick hug and a "drive safe", that was it. But it wasn't it. Not by a long shot.
Because I got back in the car and knew something had just happened. After going 18 months with neither seeing nor speaking to Amy, then suddenly feeling like I felt that one night, I knew one thing was certain. I didn't know what I was going to do about it, I didn't how God was going to deal with this.
I was discussing the word love once with a friend, and the concept of "being in love". I always thought you couldn't explain it with words, but when you were there, you just knew it. Somehow, someway, you just knew it.
I was in love with Amy.
Next: The Finale to Act 2... Scene 4 "Reunion"
Friday, July 07, 2006
A Love Story in Three Acts: Act 2, Scene 2
Exposition
Act 1: Cindy
Act 2, Scene 1: A Chance Meeting
"Summer of Love"
My senior year in college came along in the fall of 1997... actually, I was due to graduate at the end of fall quarter, but since they didn't have fall commencement at that time (they started that the following year, when they went to semesters in the fall of 1998), I couldn't officially graduate. So, I was simply a lame-duck student, done with school, but not able to graduate college until March. Many students moved away, and would come back for the ceremony, but I was in a lease at Willow Terrace, still living with Wookiee & and now Mike Brunson, until the summer of 98.
Instead of graduating, actually, I went on a mission trip to New York City in March of 1998, my first NYC trip. Somewhere on that Thursday, I was walking down 5th Avenue and I remember looking at my watch and seeing it was 3pm. I shouted "I'm a college graduate now!" really loudly. Incidentally, this is also the same trip where Chrissy Roe, the Spanish teacher from Spain Park, met her husband. More proof that God's plan revolves around me. That was a joke.
And in May of 1998, I heard from Amy Wible.
I was online again, this time, I think it was on AOL 3.0... she IM'ed me with a "Hi" and I just gave her a "hello". We talked for a long, long time. Understand that I was over her (after only one summer and a handful of afternoons spent together, I was never "under" her, to paraphrase Ross Geller) so talking to her wasn't that big of a deal. Through the course of the conversation, I found out she'd broken up with her boyfriend Joel and wanted to know how I was doing. I was fine, at that point. Graduated, summer missions, NYC, still praying about where I was going in the fall (Though Montgomery, Atlanta and Nashville were not out of the question, I had truly narrowed it down to Mobile and... ugh, Birmingham. Hated Birmingham. I was hoping the upcoming internship interviews in Mobile would work out)
I don't know how it happened again, but we agreed to go out again. Careful I was not falling into another Cindy Howell type trap, I prepared myself to pray about a guarded heart, and kept asking God to guide me in this rekindled friendship. So, we met again. And again. And again. And somehow, we started dating again within a few weeks.
One night, we had dinner and then went to the Shakespeare Festival grounds--for those of you who don't know what that is, its the area called The Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Its a huge park, with several small theaters and museums on the grounds, and a huge (man made) lake in the middle. Lots of picnic areas, plus a place where you can walk right up to the water and feed geese, which is what we did. That night, we sat together for about four hours, and Amy began to open up to me, to the point of tears. She told me of what her year had been like, her relationship and break up with Joel, what her fears were, what her hope for the future was and everything else. And I sat and listened... and my heart was melting. I opened up to her about my life, about things that I was dealing with, and there at close to midnight, we sat and prayed together for what seemed like forever. It was awesome.
June passes and July is almost over. Though I really, really want to go to Mobile, I feel God is calling me to Birmingham. I'm fighting it in my prayerlife, not wanting to admit this is what God wants for me, even though it was pretty evident, since none of my interviews in Mobile was going to lead to anything. Through some random conversation with Amy, I mention a possible move to Birmingham, possibly working for this new Christian station starting up called Reality Radio 101.1. She tells me how great that would be, because with her in Tuscaloosa, I'd only be 45 minutes away, not two hours, and how great it would be dating the DJ for a Christian radio station. Much like God led me to Christian drama through Chrissy, God finally sealed the deal with me for Birmingham through Amy.
My final time with Amy was unexpected. I was taking her to the beach for the day (Troy was only about 100 miles away from PCB) and that night, we were going to a party at Farmhouse, my fraternity. And we had agreed that we would slow dance for the first time during the band party. So we get to the beach, we have a great time, have lunch, walk, hang out and so forth. Make our way back that evening, get ready, go the party, but alas, the only slow song they played was "Sexual Healing", which I told Amy was not acceptable for two good people like us to dance to.
We left the party late, and I had made arrangements for her to stay at my apartment. Wookiee was already moved out (gone to Hazelhearst, GA), Mikey Brunson was gone (that's another story) and I was actually due to move out the next week. She was going to sleep in my room, I was going to sleep on the couch... perhaps not a perfect Christian arrangement, but we both agreed nothing below reproach was going to happen. We watched a movie, she passed out, she went to bed, I slept on the couch. The next morning, I made pancakes. I walked her out, she left. But something... something was different this morning. Something. I don't know what, but... something.
Whatever that something was, it was really something. I moved to Birmingham two weeks later. I didn't know a soul. I had hoped that Amy would come see me, if not as the girl I was dating, then just to give me some company... but she didn't return my calls. I guess we broke up by virtue of not talking anymore.I mean, I didn't understand it. After all we shared this summer, all the time we spent together, we were truly walking with God in our relationship--other than hand holding, that sleeping in separate rooms in the same apartment was the only thing that had even transpired between us.
And suddenly, here I was in Birmingham, a city I hated. Alone. No friends. Very little money. No church. No support. No Amy.
And in August 1998, for the first time in my life, I knew the feeling of having a heart that was broken into a million pieces.
Next: Act 2, Scene 3... "Tuesday's" Night
Act 1: Cindy
Act 2, Scene 1: A Chance Meeting
"Summer of Love"
My senior year in college came along in the fall of 1997... actually, I was due to graduate at the end of fall quarter, but since they didn't have fall commencement at that time (they started that the following year, when they went to semesters in the fall of 1998), I couldn't officially graduate. So, I was simply a lame-duck student, done with school, but not able to graduate college until March. Many students moved away, and would come back for the ceremony, but I was in a lease at Willow Terrace, still living with Wookiee & and now Mike Brunson, until the summer of 98.
Instead of graduating, actually, I went on a mission trip to New York City in March of 1998, my first NYC trip. Somewhere on that Thursday, I was walking down 5th Avenue and I remember looking at my watch and seeing it was 3pm. I shouted "I'm a college graduate now!" really loudly. Incidentally, this is also the same trip where Chrissy Roe, the Spanish teacher from Spain Park, met her husband. More proof that God's plan revolves around me. That was a joke.
And in May of 1998, I heard from Amy Wible.
I was online again, this time, I think it was on AOL 3.0... she IM'ed me with a "Hi" and I just gave her a "hello". We talked for a long, long time. Understand that I was over her (after only one summer and a handful of afternoons spent together, I was never "under" her, to paraphrase Ross Geller) so talking to her wasn't that big of a deal. Through the course of the conversation, I found out she'd broken up with her boyfriend Joel and wanted to know how I was doing. I was fine, at that point. Graduated, summer missions, NYC, still praying about where I was going in the fall (Though Montgomery, Atlanta and Nashville were not out of the question, I had truly narrowed it down to Mobile and... ugh, Birmingham. Hated Birmingham. I was hoping the upcoming internship interviews in Mobile would work out)
I don't know how it happened again, but we agreed to go out again. Careful I was not falling into another Cindy Howell type trap, I prepared myself to pray about a guarded heart, and kept asking God to guide me in this rekindled friendship. So, we met again. And again. And again. And somehow, we started dating again within a few weeks.
One night, we had dinner and then went to the Shakespeare Festival grounds--for those of you who don't know what that is, its the area called The Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Its a huge park, with several small theaters and museums on the grounds, and a huge (man made) lake in the middle. Lots of picnic areas, plus a place where you can walk right up to the water and feed geese, which is what we did. That night, we sat together for about four hours, and Amy began to open up to me, to the point of tears. She told me of what her year had been like, her relationship and break up with Joel, what her fears were, what her hope for the future was and everything else. And I sat and listened... and my heart was melting. I opened up to her about my life, about things that I was dealing with, and there at close to midnight, we sat and prayed together for what seemed like forever. It was awesome.
June passes and July is almost over. Though I really, really want to go to Mobile, I feel God is calling me to Birmingham. I'm fighting it in my prayerlife, not wanting to admit this is what God wants for me, even though it was pretty evident, since none of my interviews in Mobile was going to lead to anything. Through some random conversation with Amy, I mention a possible move to Birmingham, possibly working for this new Christian station starting up called Reality Radio 101.1. She tells me how great that would be, because with her in Tuscaloosa, I'd only be 45 minutes away, not two hours, and how great it would be dating the DJ for a Christian radio station. Much like God led me to Christian drama through Chrissy, God finally sealed the deal with me for Birmingham through Amy.
My final time with Amy was unexpected. I was taking her to the beach for the day (Troy was only about 100 miles away from PCB) and that night, we were going to a party at Farmhouse, my fraternity. And we had agreed that we would slow dance for the first time during the band party. So we get to the beach, we have a great time, have lunch, walk, hang out and so forth. Make our way back that evening, get ready, go the party, but alas, the only slow song they played was "Sexual Healing", which I told Amy was not acceptable for two good people like us to dance to.
We left the party late, and I had made arrangements for her to stay at my apartment. Wookiee was already moved out (gone to Hazelhearst, GA), Mikey Brunson was gone (that's another story) and I was actually due to move out the next week. She was going to sleep in my room, I was going to sleep on the couch... perhaps not a perfect Christian arrangement, but we both agreed nothing below reproach was going to happen. We watched a movie, she passed out, she went to bed, I slept on the couch. The next morning, I made pancakes. I walked her out, she left. But something... something was different this morning. Something. I don't know what, but... something.
Whatever that something was, it was really something. I moved to Birmingham two weeks later. I didn't know a soul. I had hoped that Amy would come see me, if not as the girl I was dating, then just to give me some company... but she didn't return my calls. I guess we broke up by virtue of not talking anymore.I mean, I didn't understand it. After all we shared this summer, all the time we spent together, we were truly walking with God in our relationship--other than hand holding, that sleeping in separate rooms in the same apartment was the only thing that had even transpired between us.
And suddenly, here I was in Birmingham, a city I hated. Alone. No friends. Very little money. No church. No support. No Amy.
And in August 1998, for the first time in my life, I knew the feeling of having a heart that was broken into a million pieces.
Next: Act 2, Scene 3... "Tuesday's" Night
A Love Story in Three Acts: Act 2, Scene 1
Read:
Exposition
Act One
"A Chance Meeting"
By 1997, I'd been out with the girl who is now the current Huntsville ABC station executive producer, the chick who is cousin to former Miss America Heather Whitestone, and even more. I dated alot. Not bragging... like I said, some of it, I wish I could take back.
I did go out with a girl named Chrissy... I just went to her webpage... its sublime. I remember when she was learning Spanish. I was actually on the NYC mission trip--my first of three to come--where Chrissy & her husband met, so hey, I was there from the beginning. I heard they recently became parents--good for them!
Incidentally, Chrissy was also part of the streak I had going where when the relationship ended, the girl married the next guy she dated after me. Chrissy (married Drew, a fraternity brother) Heather Howell (married Nathan Carroll, another fraternity brother), Melanie Jackson (married Tim Spooner a year or two later) and so on. The common joke around my female friends was "Hey Dave, date me. I want to get married later." Yeah, thanks.
Sidebar: It was God working through Chrissy that not only taught me about the Christian Walk, but it was God working through Chrissy that taught me a love of Christian drama. It was that love that God used to lead me to Valleydale Church (an sbc fellowship) and God used to help encourage the drama talents of Andrea Brobst, Scott Latta, Jaci Gresham, The Fine Girls, The Kelley Girls, Garrett & Paige Cheney, The Long Twins, The Noland Sisters and even more. So in short, I throw it all back to Chrissy. You'll never know the impact you had.
1997 was a good spring. I had been selected to go onto the mission field in Montgomery, and work with the Montgomery Baptist Association--and get this... it was PAID mission work. My supervisor, Debbie, was even nice enough to let me have an evening off, because I had tickets to see "Les Miserables" in Atlanta (I took Chrissy...). It was fun work, playing with kids, helping a youth group in Millbrook and so on...
Well, one day in July of 1997, I'm sitting in my Wookiee's room, because he owned the only computer in the cramped place at Thomas Circle Apartments. I'm on AOL 2.0, using my screen name The Tan Guy, and basically goofing off, looking for conversation online. It's late in the evening, I'm not even sure where Chris is, but I find this chick online named Amy. Find out she's from Montgomery. We talked online for about five hours, into the early, early hours of the morning. I think Chris actually came home, and when I asked him if I should get off the computer, he just grunted, which is Wookeese for "I don't care what you do, but if you wake me after I pass out, I'll eat you". For whatever reason, Amy and I agreed to meet the next day at the Eastdale Mall for a movie.
Remember, this is 1997... AOL is very young, I'm in Troy, Montgomery is 40 miles away, and meeting someone from the internet is still a very, very geeky thing to do. But hey, I'm single, so why not? The next morning, I wake up with a headache--I get that when I am awake too late, then don't get up early enough. I have Amy's phone number, and am supposed to call her and confirm the time we're meeting. Part of me is holding my head, thinking "I'm calling and canceling... what am I doing? What if she's a schnauzer?" But, I call her, set a time and we agree to go see "George of the Jungle". I tell her what I'm wearing, she shares the same so we can spot each other. On the way to Monkeytown, I make my shallow plan to sit and wait for her at the mall, and if she walks in and I don't like what I see, I walk. No muss, no fuss. Better to stand up this chick I barely know then to have to fake nice.
I sit on a bench near the Eastdale Mall theater and wait for her to come. I see a few people that I'm glad I'm not meeting, I imagine I'd seen one or two that made me think "Oh, if this is her, my life rocks!!!" Finally, she came in. About 5'5, probably tipping the scales at 120, brown hair and a big smile. It was Amy Wible. And I liked her from the first moment I saw her. We shook hands, talked for a minute, then went into the theater. Movies are always risky first dates, because it forces silence. This can be a good thing, if the date is awkward, but it can be a bad thing if the conversation is going well.
The conversation went well, the movie went well and we walked out together, still sizing each other up. She had just graduated from high school, I was two months away from 22. She was headed to the U of Alabama in the fall, was playing flute in the Million Dollar Band, and was a Christian. After the movie, we hopped in her truck (!) and she took me over to a friend of her's to hang out a little while... and we did. We talked, laughed and had fun, and at the end of the evening, she brought me back. She asked me to call her again, I told her I would.
Turns out, Debbie (the supervisor) and Amy went to the same church... when she heard that I was going out with Amy, Debbie approved. She even said once "Oh, yes, you're the one Amy's been talking about. She really likes you." I got to go to church with Amy once, to hear her sing Nicole C. Mullen's "Redeemer", of which she did just a slam bang job.
The next month or so is a blur. We went out a couple of times, though it was hard to get to Montgomery to see her...by late July, she was up in Tuscaloosa. Once, I went to my friend Allyson's house, living in Alabaster, and cooked dinner. I took it to Tuscaloosa, and Amy and I had a picnic at a park, which was great. Another time, myself, Wookiee & Allyson went up to T'town to visit Amy and her roommate Kristi (who, if I remember correctly, had a crush on me...). I would send Amy little verses and cards for encouragement and such, just for fun.
She told me in a phone call that her new Blessid Union of Souls cd had broken, so the next time (which turned out to be the last time) I went to see her that summer, I came to save the day. Here I was with a new copy of the newest Blessid Union of Souls cd (remember that song about racism, "I Believe", or that goofy song "She likes me for me!" that namedrops Leonardo deCaprio? Yeah, thats them.)
But somewhere in the middle of August, when school started, Amy stopped returning my calls. Kristi didn't tell me much when I talked to her on the phone, other than "I'm sorry... I wish she'd get her head together..." kind of stuff. Found out Amy had a boyfriend, or so I heard. I shrugged it off, picked up my hurt feelings and moved on. I mean, it happens, right? You like someone, they sort of like you, then you find out they don't, it stings for a day, or maybe a week, but life goes on. And for me, it did.
Until May of 1998.
Next: A Love Story in Three Acts, Act 2, Scene 2
Exposition
Act One
"A Chance Meeting"
By 1997, I'd been out with the girl who is now the current Huntsville ABC station executive producer, the chick who is cousin to former Miss America Heather Whitestone, and even more. I dated alot. Not bragging... like I said, some of it, I wish I could take back.
I did go out with a girl named Chrissy... I just went to her webpage... its sublime. I remember when she was learning Spanish. I was actually on the NYC mission trip--my first of three to come--where Chrissy & her husband met, so hey, I was there from the beginning. I heard they recently became parents--good for them!
Incidentally, Chrissy was also part of the streak I had going where when the relationship ended, the girl married the next guy she dated after me. Chrissy (married Drew, a fraternity brother) Heather Howell (married Nathan Carroll, another fraternity brother), Melanie Jackson (married Tim Spooner a year or two later) and so on. The common joke around my female friends was "Hey Dave, date me. I want to get married later." Yeah, thanks.
Sidebar: It was God working through Chrissy that not only taught me about the Christian Walk, but it was God working through Chrissy that taught me a love of Christian drama. It was that love that God used to lead me to Valleydale Church (an sbc fellowship) and God used to help encourage the drama talents of Andrea Brobst, Scott Latta, Jaci Gresham, The Fine Girls, The Kelley Girls, Garrett & Paige Cheney, The Long Twins, The Noland Sisters and even more. So in short, I throw it all back to Chrissy. You'll never know the impact you had.
1997 was a good spring. I had been selected to go onto the mission field in Montgomery, and work with the Montgomery Baptist Association--and get this... it was PAID mission work. My supervisor, Debbie, was even nice enough to let me have an evening off, because I had tickets to see "Les Miserables" in Atlanta (I took Chrissy...). It was fun work, playing with kids, helping a youth group in Millbrook and so on...
Well, one day in July of 1997, I'm sitting in my Wookiee's room, because he owned the only computer in the cramped place at Thomas Circle Apartments. I'm on AOL 2.0, using my screen name The Tan Guy, and basically goofing off, looking for conversation online. It's late in the evening, I'm not even sure where Chris is, but I find this chick online named Amy. Find out she's from Montgomery. We talked online for about five hours, into the early, early hours of the morning. I think Chris actually came home, and when I asked him if I should get off the computer, he just grunted, which is Wookeese for "I don't care what you do, but if you wake me after I pass out, I'll eat you". For whatever reason, Amy and I agreed to meet the next day at the Eastdale Mall for a movie.
Remember, this is 1997... AOL is very young, I'm in Troy, Montgomery is 40 miles away, and meeting someone from the internet is still a very, very geeky thing to do. But hey, I'm single, so why not? The next morning, I wake up with a headache--I get that when I am awake too late, then don't get up early enough. I have Amy's phone number, and am supposed to call her and confirm the time we're meeting. Part of me is holding my head, thinking "I'm calling and canceling... what am I doing? What if she's a schnauzer?" But, I call her, set a time and we agree to go see "George of the Jungle". I tell her what I'm wearing, she shares the same so we can spot each other. On the way to Monkeytown, I make my shallow plan to sit and wait for her at the mall, and if she walks in and I don't like what I see, I walk. No muss, no fuss. Better to stand up this chick I barely know then to have to fake nice.
I sit on a bench near the Eastdale Mall theater and wait for her to come. I see a few people that I'm glad I'm not meeting, I imagine I'd seen one or two that made me think "Oh, if this is her, my life rocks!!!" Finally, she came in. About 5'5, probably tipping the scales at 120, brown hair and a big smile. It was Amy Wible. And I liked her from the first moment I saw her. We shook hands, talked for a minute, then went into the theater. Movies are always risky first dates, because it forces silence. This can be a good thing, if the date is awkward, but it can be a bad thing if the conversation is going well.
The conversation went well, the movie went well and we walked out together, still sizing each other up. She had just graduated from high school, I was two months away from 22. She was headed to the U of Alabama in the fall, was playing flute in the Million Dollar Band, and was a Christian. After the movie, we hopped in her truck (!) and she took me over to a friend of her's to hang out a little while... and we did. We talked, laughed and had fun, and at the end of the evening, she brought me back. She asked me to call her again, I told her I would.
Turns out, Debbie (the supervisor) and Amy went to the same church... when she heard that I was going out with Amy, Debbie approved. She even said once "Oh, yes, you're the one Amy's been talking about. She really likes you." I got to go to church with Amy once, to hear her sing Nicole C. Mullen's "Redeemer", of which she did just a slam bang job.
The next month or so is a blur. We went out a couple of times, though it was hard to get to Montgomery to see her...by late July, she was up in Tuscaloosa. Once, I went to my friend Allyson's house, living in Alabaster, and cooked dinner. I took it to Tuscaloosa, and Amy and I had a picnic at a park, which was great. Another time, myself, Wookiee & Allyson went up to T'town to visit Amy and her roommate Kristi (who, if I remember correctly, had a crush on me...). I would send Amy little verses and cards for encouragement and such, just for fun.
She told me in a phone call that her new Blessid Union of Souls cd had broken, so the next time (which turned out to be the last time) I went to see her that summer, I came to save the day. Here I was with a new copy of the newest Blessid Union of Souls cd (remember that song about racism, "I Believe", or that goofy song "She likes me for me!" that namedrops Leonardo deCaprio? Yeah, thats them.)
But somewhere in the middle of August, when school started, Amy stopped returning my calls. Kristi didn't tell me much when I talked to her on the phone, other than "I'm sorry... I wish she'd get her head together..." kind of stuff. Found out Amy had a boyfriend, or so I heard. I shrugged it off, picked up my hurt feelings and moved on. I mean, it happens, right? You like someone, they sort of like you, then you find out they don't, it stings for a day, or maybe a week, but life goes on. And for me, it did.
Until May of 1998.
Next: A Love Story in Three Acts, Act 2, Scene 2
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