Bag of Randomness

  • WifeGeeding and I were married on June 21, 2003.  One week before that date, my best man, Micah, died from drowning while saving his girlfriend during a kayak accident.  The greatest honor of my life was when his mother asked that I speak at his funeral.  I had to bury my best friend on a Wednesday, and marry my best friend on a Saturday.   There was no replacing him, so on the alter I just saved a spot for him.
  • Driving to the funeral was a surreal experience, and was one heck of a long drive.  During that drive, my soon to be wife broke the silence and stated that she thought our first born should be named Micah.
  • Last Friday instead of partaking of the legendary Halloween festivities at work, I woke up early to make the three hour drive to Abilene to ask Micah’s mother her permission to name our son or daughter after her son.  It was something I felt that I just had to do in person.  We knew we could name our child anything without anyone’s permission, but for some reason I just felt I owed that to her.  Thankfully she said yes.
  • I find road-trips very therapeutic. It’s a great chance to clear one’s mind and embrace the beauty of solitude.  I’m not going to get much solitude pretty soon, so I’m enjoying it while I can.
  • A lot of the trip was spent listening to the audio book version of Outliners (Wiki).   Absolutely fascinating.
  • After I met with Micah’s mother I met an old friend for lunch at the world’s best BBQ joint (trust me, there’s not debate on this whatsoever).  He was kind enough to congratulate me and buy my lunch.  Going into lunch I expected for it to be brief and just a bunch of small talk, but it turned out to be one of the best times I ever spent with him.  As we started to talk, I realized I wasn’t on any sort of schedule and tossed time aside to embrace the moment.  We talked about a lot of substantive stuff, everything from fatherhood (he’s already a father of three girls), family, in-laws, how our past shaped our future, what kind of man we want to be.  As iron sharpens iron . . .
  • After lunch I mustered up enough courage to finally visit Micah’s grave.  Thank goodness for GPS on my Pre because the cemetery is out in the middle of nowhere.  I have to admit I was a little spooked when I finally found the cemetery after driving through the country side.  When I got out of my vehicle there wasn’t a hint of a person or building in sight, and it took me a few moments of walking around the cemetery to find my friend’s grave, but after six years when I helped lay him to rest I found the beautiful marker his mother picked out for him.  I tell ya, it was one emotional and surreal moment.
  • When I got back into my vehicle and collected my emotions I found that I could no longer get a signal for my GPS, but luckily I found my way back to I20.  As I approached the highway I saw a massive windfarm that was quite interesting to look at.  Earlier that morning as I drove into Abilene I saw a lot of windfarm tower materials, and always heard of the massive windfarm, but this was the first time actually seeing them.  You’ll be surprised at just how huge they are.
  • There was an abnormal amount of dead coyotes on the road that day.
  • My weekend ended by going to my old church to listen to one of my buddies give his testimony to his Sunday school class.  I really appreciate his courage to do such a thing, and it turns out there was a lot I really didn’t know about him.
  • I think this Christian has a great perspective about Halloween.
  • On Halloween night I turned on the Mavs game and saw Gina Miller dressed as Wonder Woman.  Here’s a pic.
  • Mick Jagger and U2 sing Stuck in a Moment.
  • A book about consumerism, Christmas, and Frisco, Texas
  • The Texas Giant at Six Flags Over Texas is going to be rebuilt, which mean the current one is now retired.
Posted in Personal | 10 Comments

Sleepy Hollow church: No Halloween-themed weddings

A church made famous by Washington Irving’s short story, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” has rejected a couple’s request to hold a Halloween-themed wedding.

Lisa Panensky and Jim Nieves signed a contract 13 months ago to get married on Halloween at the Old Dutch Church in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.

Church officials balked at the couple’s plans to wear costumes and include theme music from The Addams Family and The Munsters.

The Rev. Jeff Gargano said he only recently learned of the Halloween theme. He offered instead to marry them in the cemetery of the 17th-century church, but the couple declined.

Link

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Posted in Pop Culture, Spiritual | 1 Comment