Football Guy

July 28th is my anniversary. This year it will be four years...most of that time I have been lost in wonderment of how it's all going to work out!?

This past July 28th I sat in the Athletic Directors office interviewing for a basketball coaching job. As the AD and I toured the campus showing me the wonderful accomplishments and unfinished accomplishments, we approached the weight room, whereupon I met...football guy.

Football guy at a high school can be defined by simple observations...

-Football guy is never the head coach but the assistant defense coordinator

-Football guy manages to weave every conversation to 'the glory years' of when he played in college [most likely NCCAA division 3...the EXTRA C standing for Christian]

-upon introduction to football guy, football guy turns into handshake guy, in which he tries to crush your hand! The only redemption to him becoming handshake guy is the awkward moment of not knowing if I should of went for the pound or the double tap on the back bro hug!? The stress of knowing a proper handshake causes anxiety even to the most confident of men.

-Football guy is single and over forty.

-Football guy tells you how he runs 4 miles a day but looks like he countered the 4 mile run with 4 pizzas

-Football guy hates when you talk about the NFL being better than college football, and becomes extremely defensive when you call out his beloved SEC. So defensive that the only solution is to lift more weights.

-Football guy rocks the weight lifting gloves, back brace and Gatorade water bottle filled with a protein shake as he 'works out!'

Needless to say we all know football guy.

I love that on my anniversary I was graced with the presence and hilarity of football guy and handshake guy all in one magnificent person.

The eerie aspect about football guy?

If you change a few words and circumstances football guy begins to reflect basketball guy!

*This years record is 2-7 but we're fighting!

Gone quiet

Some wonderful things have been brewing in the mind I have been given. Although, I am not yet ready to share, I feel an obligation to write because it's the new year and with all things new, you make commitments that 'you' will inevitably not keep.

Since the last post, the experience of coaching high school basketball has consumed my time, and with high school comes high school problems.

This is a list of the 'high school problems' I have that coincide with postings I hope to write...

Problem 1
'God is up to something...In two weeks I'll ask you for $150 to buy Kindles for pastors'

Problem 2
Every wed. night 'Male B'Tenders'

Problem 3
Football guy


Looking forward to the writing.

For now I have to watch 'the hair vs. the feet' [aka. Tom Brady vs. Rex Ryan]

A moment

Recently I have been into podcasts. It's a way to find out crazy information about people, places and stuff!

Example - I now know who George Lawrence Price is. If that name doesn't sound familiar, try finding out who he is, without google-ing his name. Hint: ask older generations.

One podcast that I have been enjoying is Vinyl Cafe Stories. The best way to describe it- Prairie Home Company but for Canada.

I was listening to a fantastic story about a son who played the bag pipes for his father at the grave site of his father. [son-father-grandfather] Playing the pipes had been a tradition handed down through the generations and as a gift on a trip to the grandfathers grave site, the son decided the best way to honor the generations was to surprise his father by playing the bag pipes.

I am not making it sound as romantic as the way the story had been told but my point is simple- I had a moment.

As I was listening to the story I suddenly became aware of wanting to become 'new wine skin'. I felt deep within that in order for me to become the most beautiful full person I could become, I needed to crawl out of this old wine skin and become new. And as I sat there picturing myself crawling and becoming new I was struck with the sad realization that I could never do that. And that deep lump in the back of my throat that swells when I hear about tragedy, took its residence and never left. My gradual progression of thought was lost for a few minutes leading to the discovery of one simple truth in the form of hope.

My thought "I hope all of this is true?!"

Everything I have heard, taught and believe deep within...I hope that is true. Because if not, the tragic lump that sits in the back of my throat...I'm afraid will never leave.

*In all honesty this is my sleeve...tread lightly*

Hiding places

• explore
• books
• trivia
• quizzes
• people
• authors
• videos
• writing
• quotes
• events
• swap

"Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid."
-Frederick Buechner

I spent the better, or worse, part of the night watching the 'Friday the 13th' movies...I enjoy them because it reminds me of being a kid and going to my grandfathers house. He loved horror/slasher movies, and having good natured parents at the time, they tried to protect me, as much as possible, from the visual shock of seeing someone lose a head or limb or life. But every now and then my grandfather and I would sneak a movie in, and as I watched with fear, not from Jason or Freddy, but fear that my parents would punish me with the loss of head or limb or life for the treasonous act of defiance, I can't help but to remember the quality time spent with grandpa watching scary movies!

So needless to say, but I will anyway, that this time of year brings floods of memories.

I remember the fear and excitement that grips the dark of night watching the shadows change from lamps to headless horseman coming to kill and destroy.

I remember the anxious fear of saying 'candyman' in the mirror three times at a friends Halloween party and his older brother coming through the door at the exact moment.

I remember the secret hiding places I ran to when my nightmares would get the better parts of my sleep.

The fear was real, it was gripping!

Looking back I can laugh at the many great memories I have from being frightened as a kid. And somewhere within the laughter I have learned great lessons about being afraid.

The fear I have now is just as real as the fear I had as a kid. Obviously it manifest itself differently, I experience it from within, from a protective nature that desires to protect people, places, experiences, future and the unknown.

The hiding places I kept as a kid I keep in different untrue ways now. When fear strikes I grip to what I know best, the untruths about what either others have said or I say to myself- 'that things will be okay'- when in reality someone has to die in a horror film.

Magic words don't always work for good or bad. Words have a complexity of making lasting impressions on people, and to be wise, is to use words that give life and bring enjoyment to people, experiences and places. And maybe, just maybe, silence is the best way to stay alive.

Above the laughter and the noise, I hold tight to the fear of death. I have my reasons why death seems to consume when life still remains. Yet in the abyss of the unknown there are no truer words ever spoken then the words of the good thief on the cross next to Jesus, ""Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

The lesson I learned from my grandfather watching scary movies, is the no matter how real it would seem it was just a movie. The lesson I learned about life is that no matter how real it seems...it is real!

There are no quick escapes, no stop buttons, no turning on the lights, no hiding places, but there is comfort, there is peace in being frightened.

It's a fool who plays it cool

The view from outside the tent-Meriwether Lewis, TN
The view from inside the tent-Meriwether Lewis Park, TN
The morning view-Santa Rosa Beach, FL
Leah evading the sun-Santa Rosa Beach, FL
The evening view-Santa Rosa Beach, FL