I woke up around 7:45 to the sound of heavy rain beating on the roof. It was not expected to start falling until noon, so this was a very unwelcome surprise. Still feeling beat up, I played "Whipping Post" on the stereo. I headed over to the gym and since I could not access the weight room, I shot baskets. I think Jerome James has a higher shooting percentage than I do. I then spent a half hour reading my Kentucky trip journal before heading back to Cambodia for devotion time. Wax paper and honey. After about a half-hour of indecision, we all went to the gym, where we played volleyball and basketball for a while. For volleyball, Frank and Strait just would not pass. I think in three games, we had maybe one respectable volley where teamwork was involved. After trying some set passes, and realizing there would not be a lot of spiking, I realized hitting back and forth was the safest way to go. Matt, Carl, and I spent about 10 minutes trying to sink half-court shots, before I finally banked one in.
Strait and I became fans of the matching La-Z-Boys recliners in the living room. We spent a few hours on those chairs talking about everything from food to work to history. And we broke out into many random songs like "You Never Even Called Me By My Name" and Lukenbach, Texas". Not sure anyone else in Cambodia knew what we were singing about. For lunch, we rain-grilled. Very good chicken breasts, along with the worst frozen burgers I have ever had. I think we talked about bacon for 10-15 minutes too. And it came up several more times that day. At the end of the day, almost every topic in the world could probably be traced back to bacon. Kinda like the six steps to Kevin Bacon.
J-Schu's 2 pm sun theory was absolutely dashed. Even though the rain had stopped by 1:30, it was gray clouds as far as we could see. I don't think any blue sky was spotted all day. Nevertheless, while the latecomers went touring, Chris, Carl, Strait, and I played mini-golf on a course that had not exactly drained. Eight of the nine holes were not holes, they were puddles. We sank a bunch of aces, including Strait who drained one on the long hole #7, following which he did this weird one-legged twirl hop-around. It was quite a cool moment. Chris won the first round and I won the second.
By 5 pm, we were not too hungry, so we headed straight to the prayer tower for some devotion town. It's almost like a treehouse; all wood, a few benches inside with some Bibles. No frills, just simple. The views were cool, I just wish we had some sunshine. Who knows how far into the distance we could have seen? Matt talked about re-charging. On the way back, Frank, Chris, Carl, and I took a different path. Somehow, we wound up back on the same path, so I guess we made a big semi-circle. Grabbed my only shower after getting back and it felt very refreshing. But with one bathroom for seven guys, I'm glad I brought my shower sandals. Meanwhile, the four ladies had two bathrooms. Dang, it's hard being a guy...
Dinner was mostacciolli with salad and garlic bread. I still don't know the difference between the mostaccioli noodle and the penne noodle. The former probably costs more because it's a much longer word. Anyway, I played Blokus for the first time and was not happy with my initial performance though I did do better the second time around. I think I went from 29 squares left down to 12. I bet I could have won with one or two more games. Moreso, I think Dad would have really liked playing that game. Then came a wild session of Catchphrase, which our group had not played in quite a few months. We played three rounds and now that I have watched the videos back, I realize Frank and I would just burst out laughing, sometimes for no reason. And Carl was sitting right between us, very stoic and poised. It was so cool. I could have stayed up for hours, but instead a few of us remained awake, and watched videos we'd shot and examined a few photos. I think it was myself, Strait, Dec, Christine, and A-Wall.
I woke up on Sunday around 8:20, giving me about 90 minutes before we were leaving for Unity Reformed Church. Thankfully, we woke up to sun, a moderate breeze, and a temperature around 65 degrees. Without time to hit the gym, I walked across the road, over the bridge, and down the hill to the bank of the river. I sat there and basically prayed for about 20 minutes.
We arrived at church and were reminded just how welcoming that group is. It's not too small, certainly not large, but there are events going on, and everyone seems to know everyone. I think I shook hands with 20 people, it really was very good. I wish more non-believers would somehow find their way into a church like this one. The pastor, who is originally from the Hinsdale, IL area, spoke about different kinds of pride. And the cookies tasted excellent too.
Then we headed to Logan's, where I took over the free jukebox. Played some Fogerty, some Croce, some Allman Brothers Band, some Marshall Tucker, some Kenny Rogers. Somehow, I found myself talking music with Danny Boy. Admittedly, I ribbed him a little bit during the weekend and he had snapped at me the previous night, but our common interest in older music did get us talking. The fact that he knew the story of the genesis of the Buffalo Springfield With Stephen Stills spotting Neil Young's hearse in LA really impressed me. I enjoyed my 16 oz ribeye, mashed potatoes, and broccoli quite a bit. Logan's does serve some good food, though the nearest one to me is located about 3 hours away.
We got back and Carl and I snuck in 10 quick minutes of tennis in our church clothes. It was a little silly, but we enjoyed it. I guess we left the site around 2:30. Though I was Matt's co-pilot, I yawned at least eight times and fell asleep for about 45 minutes or so. I guess I was pretty anxious to get home. I had left my car in Glendale Heights, so I drove Jenny and A-Wall back before finally heading home. I guess I got back in the door around 6 p.m., counting the hour we gained going back to CST.
One week later, it seems like a pretty distant memory. I guess life still tries to remain hectic even when I determine to slow down for a few hours or a few days.
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