Mississippi: Reflection

So, I'm back in Illinois now. I've been working on a few home improvement projects here and there, and i found an ultimate club that plays 3 times a week.

Anyhow, the other day I drove my grandma to the nursing home because one of her friends is sick there. Nursing home's are awfully depressing places with people in wheel chairs slumped over with blank looks on their faces waiting for death. It's hard to imagine behind all these people there are family's, loves come and gone, adventures, and stories. It's easy to pass the people there off as sub-human or already dead.

Getting old scares me, but working with the bro's in Mississippi was a really great experience. Most of the people i worked with on a day to day basis were older than 70. They were still happy and hard working. Many of them i could picture dying doing what they love. I guess General MacArthur said it best:

"Youth is not a period of time. It is a state of mind, a result of the will, a quality of the imagination, a victory of courage over timidity, of the taste for adventure over the love of comfort. A man doesn't grow old because he has lived a certain number of years. A man grows old when he deserts his ideal. The years may wrinkle his skin, but deserting his ideal wrinkles his soul. Preoccupations, fears, doubts, and despair are the enemies which slowly bow us toward earth and turn us into dust before death. You will remain young as long as you are open to was is beautiful, good, and great; receptive to the messages of other men and women, of nature, and of God. If one day you should become bitter, pessimistic, and gnawed by despair, may God have mercy on your old man's soul."

So here's to the bro's in Mississippi, my grandfather, and everybody else who may never grow old! I salute you!
-mike

The Deep South

Holler ya'll.

I've lived in south carolina for 10 years, and clemson is about as rural as you can get So you think that i'd be accustomed to southern culture, but man: Mississippi. It feels good sitting in a gas station-cafe talking about nascar or sitting in a tralior talking about problems with rattlers and coon's.

But seriously, It's done me good to be submersed in this southern baptist thing. I feel like I got snobby in clemson, thinking our sophisticated christianity with our books and fancy praise somehow got us a better grace than rednecks in mississippi got. But these people, they love Jesus, and they're not snobby about it. And God loves them back.

I'm currently reading this book called "the ragamuffin Gospel". I am enjoying it so far. It is all about christ's grace for people who don't have it together. and then showing us that we don't have it together. I just finished reading george orwells 1984, a weird book about the future and kurt vonneguts book "cats cradel" a weird (but very funny book) about the end of the world.

Anyhow, I'm in Mississippi till thursday. I wish I could stay longer, I've been really blessed here. But, thursday its on to Tennissee, then Illinois, then who knows, maybe back to colorado?

Joyfully yours
-mike

(p.s. gas prices are really crampin' my style)

(p.p.s. Does ANYBODY want to bike the whole blue ridge parkway or go on a 3 day sea kayaking adventure in flordia in late july? I'm game)

Clemson and Mississippi

I apologize for not updating this in more than almost a month. my bad.

As many of you know I came to Clemson for 2.5 weeks. That was really a good thing, I had a ton of fun mountain biking, Night Hiking (see the pictures!), floating in the ridge pool, and seeing everybody before we scatter our various directions for summer.

After about 2 weeks at Clemson, I got antsy and tired of feeling like a bum so I decided to make the move down to Mississippi to see if i could lend a hand to Katrina victims. You may not know that people are still living in FEMA camps, which are just rows of trailers in the parking lot of some destroyed store. The devastation here is still evident with mobile homes and trailers sitting on the foundations of what used to be middle class subdivisions. The big fear down here is that if another hurricane were to hit Mississippi all of the people still living in mobile homes would be, once again, homeless.

Its been good for the 2 days I've been here to work. I've been working mudding and painting a house for a father with 6 children that is still living in a very crowded 3 bedroom trailer. One of the really interesting things about being here is hanging out with southern baptist. It's a culture shock for sure. First off, I'm not baptist. The second big difference can be best summed up by Jay from GA: "I don't much care for 'em democrats' but I guess I'd better watch my mouth because you're probably one of em', bein' one of em' environmental types."

Well, I hope to get some pictures from down here up as soon as I get some.
Peace,
Mike