Anyone catch last night’s 112th CFL Grey Cup between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the Montreal Alouettes? The score at the end of the first quarter was 7-1.
How do you score a single point in the CFL?
Yesterday was one of the better days that I’ve had in a while. Since my church wasn’t having Sunday school, which is what I enjoy most about it, and was having a special chili-cookoff event instead, I thought I’d drive to Mineral Wells to hear a childhood friend preach at a church he’s served for about 25 years. Not to mention, the Cowboys weren’t playing. For the longest time, I told myself I would never step foot in a Baptist church again. I’m glad I’ve let go of much of that pride and bitterness and worked on my brokenness. But I still have protective boundaries.
The drive out there was great. In a way, it was a spiritual journey of sorts, especially when I started to see the “mountains” around Mineral Wells. I was able to stream and listen to CBS Sunday Morning and then found a great playlist. Interestingly, the YouTube Music playlist I set to random played a Jars of Clay song popular during my late teens, which added something as I approached his church.
I arrived four minutes before the service started and chose to sit in the far back. It’s hard to kill the backrow-Baptist in me. I like to try to support my friends in their endeavors, and I didn’t want to be a distraction. However, his wife saw me when I walked in. So during the first song, I saw him walking all around trying to find me. He gave me a big ‘ol bear hug and invited me to sit next to his family. But I told him my intent on being supportive and not a distraction, and I just wanted to sit back and be a fly on the wall.
I remember being there for his very first sermon as a college student in the tiny town of Albany, near Abilene. It’s been close to 20 years since I last heard him preach. I remember writing him a handwritten letter about how proud I was of him the last time I visited, and how far he’s progressed, and how little distractions like preteens walking past him to use the restroom fazed him. This time, it was much the same, minus any disruptions. He’s even more polished and almost a mirror of his father, who was our pastor. Again, I am incredibly proud of how he’s followed a calling and succeeded at it, with a lot of humbleness. So much nostalgia hit me that, at times, I thought I was a high school kid back at his dad’s church.
His church is doing a ministry very similar to one that my church is doing. On Tuesdays, my church will pay for the laundry and help at the local laundromat. What got my attention when I heard the ministry leader speak about it was how much it meant to her to “give people the dignity of having clean clothes.” Dignity. That really stood out, and I think overlooked.
At the end of the service and as the crowd thinned, I tried to slip out, but he playfully called me out. I’m not sure the exact words he used, but he introduced me to someone as his best friend or a childhood best friend. Dude, that touched me; it really pulled at my heartstrings. I’ve always wondered if someone considered me a best friend. It’s one of those things I was too scared to ask because I didn’t know if I could handle the truth. Also, when you get blindsided by a brutal divorce after 17 years of marriage, you find out that a lot of the things you thought you were certain of turned out not to be, and you’ve been nothing but placated or lied to. That stuff gets to you, and you start to question everyone’s sincerity because you don’t want to feel like a fool again or have the rug pulled out under you. Because you carry that hurt, and it’s hard to let go. So, to hear some unprompted validation of your worth to somebody means the world. Not to mention, he graduated and got married right around the time my father died. He was transitioning into this new phase of life, and I thought he wasn’t there for me when I was mourning the loss of my first parent at twenty-two. But let me tell you this, the way he supported me through my divorce and three spinal surgeries, he’s more than redeemed himself. Again, I’m so proud of the man he has become. I also made sure to let his wife know that I’m proud of the man she helped mold him into.
He and his wife drove me into town and paid for my lunch. We had a great time, sharing all sorts of stories. And, it was amusing to hear how one of their sons went on a date with the daughter of one of our closest friends and how he totally crashed and burned when he tried to hold her hand. Long lunches in which you can take your time and not feel rushed while talking are underrated.
The drive home was also great. There are times I miss driving. I got a chance to stop by and buy some childhood comfort food in Weatherford that my folks would always buy me as they drove back and forth to Fort Worth, shopping at Carswell AFB. I introduced it to my kids years ago and made sure to pick up some for them. So, my day ended with time with my daughter, surprising her with some of her favorite food, then picking up my son to spend the week with me.
Oh, then my son was in a talkative mood before bedtime. Teens don’t often open up to parents, so you have to take advantage of it when they are willing. One thing he shared was that he was thankful that I got him into “classic” cartoons like He-Man and Voltron.
Hopefully, I can finally land a job this week.
Jimmy Kimmel had a touching monologue eulogizing his childhood best friend and his show’s band leader. Of all the things that stood out was a reference he made to Miller’s Outpost. Man, I haven’t heard of a Miller’s Outpost reference in forever.
Whatever happened to them? The company was sold in 1980 and, in the late 1990s, changed its name to Anchor Blue to reflect its own clothing brand. Following the name change and poor sales, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2009 and closed its doors permanently in early 2011.
The Cowboys haven’t played on Sunday in NFL weeks 11, 12, or 13 (this week). As a matter of fact, of the eight games they have left, only four are on a Sunday.
It feels like I can’t escape Kristi Noem commercials on the radio or television.
Firm Tied to Kristi Noem Secretly Got Money From $220 Million DHS Ad Contracts
The company is run by the husband of Noem’s chief DHS spokesperson and has personal and business ties to Noem and her aides. DHS invoked the “emergency” at the border to skirt competitive bidding rules for the taxpayer-funded campaign.
For those looking for investment property in the UK, here you go.
