Say You're Leavin' on a 7:30 train and you're headin' out to Hollywood

The long weekend at home was relaxing and happened at the right time in the semester. I was even able to take a nap on Saturday afternoon. A rare occurrence indeed. It was fun to have Katie along for the ride. She and I have not been able to see each other a lot so far this semester, but we had a lot of travel time to talk about anything and everything. Everything seems to be going well at home, but each time I am there, I realize it is a place I can go and enjoy my stay, but I cannot live there. My life is beginning to develop somewhere else and that is ok. Everyone shouuld anticipate the release of my Dad's first album, tentatively entitled "Merle Haggard and John Prine are Actually Pretty Cool" sometime around Christmas. *Inside joke there for those who know my Dad's song selection*

Well, the Aggies might have just been looking ahead to that upcoming matchup with the Sooners, but they forgot about that team from Waco. Who knew that Baylor would stop College Gameday from coming to Aggieland?

In other news, preliminary odds from Vegas have the Evil Empire at 5-2 odds to take the Series next year with the Red Sox just behind at 4-1. The y have Ralph Nader in last place at 400-1. Oh sorry, wrong race.

Adios,

Justin

It's a Lifetime Commitment

When you come back to a football game and you realize that all of the people you were in High School with are about to be gone, it does something funny to you. The specter of life "out there" begins to rise in your field of vision, and you know that the stakes are getting higher. Everyone always looks so much younger than you thought you looked, and it seems funny that everyone takes life so seriously in High School, but we all did the same thing. You begin to call that place where you go to college "home" and you can see the pain on your parents' faces. You begin create a new sense of home with friends who become your family during your time at school. God provides the people and the situations to make you feel comfortable and to let you know he is present and active. It is hard to come back home, and see all the people you know and love for a short time, but it is blessing to head back to a place where you feel you belong and know that is where you are supposed to be.

When You're Back in Your Old Neighborhood

It is good to be back in the 903. Driving east on I-20, it always seems that the trees have grown 10 feet since I have seen them last. As Katie and I were driving through Tyler today to go eat lunch with Dad, it was funny how we were constantly comparing Tyler and Abilene. It seemed that on all fronts, Abilene lost to Tyler except for traffic. As Katie noted, the only traffic jams in Abilene occur on Sunday mornings.

I will be going to the Whitehouse Pep Rally this afternoon. Pep Rallies were always fun even though we knew we were probably going to lose that night. Seeing guys like John Calaway and Wes Hart play on the drum line was always a lot of fun. I guess everyone in the band enjoyed it because we felt like people appreciated the work that we put into what we did. The current Seniors were Freshmen when I graduated. I am sure that a few of them will see me, and make comments just as we did about "old people" that would come back to the Pep Rallies. I guess I am just a glutton for punishment. Everyone have a great Friday and GO CATS!!!

Justin

You Try to Convey What you Strive to Condone

Last night I had a great opportunity to speak at the Devo on College St. I started going to "Devo" (as it will hereafter be referred to) at the beginning of sophomore year at the urging of Jeff McCain and Sarah Carlson. The thing that I hear people say they enjoy about this devo time and again is the broad mix of people that attend. It would be very difficult to find the people at Devo together in any other circumstances or setting, but there it works. It is just a group of people that are hungry to worship God. I am very thankful that during these years of formation, I am surrounded by people who thirst for God's word and desire to honor him with their lives. What a blessing that is!

Oh, by the way, I woke up this morning and it is still true, The RED SOX won the World Series! I feel as though I am living in Bizarro World. (Seinfeld fans will understand)

Hasta luego,

Justin

Schilling for President

What a night! Tomorrow is the beginning of fall break, The BoSox won the series, and most importantly I have just been joined by 50 new brothers in Gamma Sigma Phi. It was great to sit and watch the video with them and remember my pledging days. I think in the most fearsome Master Sergeant contest Gibson wins hands down, but that is not to say that Sessions is a lightweight. As I have said, Sessions is a magnification of his character, but Gibson created an entirely new character for his time as Master Sergeant and then never became that person after pledging was over. Good times all around.

It will be good to head home tomorrow. I have not been home since school began, and that is too long to go without Mom's lasagna or Dad's virtuoso guitar playing. I have heard rumors that we will be attending the Whitehouse v. Nacogdoches game on Friday night, but I am not expecting anything great out of the Wildcats. On a night that the moon was blood red, I am thinking of conspiracies and one has to do with me eternally cheering for football teams named the Wildcats who stink, but that could just be reality.

Adios,

Justin

Manny-Fest Destiny

My friends, the apocalypse is nigh. The Boston Red Sox are one win away from the World Series Title and the sun is about to turn to blood. Thanks to a fantastic performance from Pedro last night, 86 years of pain and disappointment could be wiped away. Let's win it for Buckner, Grady Little, and the Yaz. One of my favorite writers is Bill Simmons, a.k.a. the Sports Guy, from ESPN.com is a Massachusetts native and a diehard Red Sox fan. Here is his column today about the current state of affairs in Red Sox nation:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/041027

If I have not talked to you lately, you might not know that I am running the Austin Marathon in February. It is on February 13, which all ACU folks know is the infamous "Moody Weekend." Sarah will be running the half-marathon and I will be running the full enchilada, all 26.2 miles. Sunday was my longest training yet, 16 miles. When you run for 2 hours and 5 minutes straight, you begin to learn things about yourself. You know where your mind goes when you experience pain. You know how hard you will push up hills and difficult spots. That is why running a marathon is more than just a 26.2 mile footrace. It is an exploration of the mind and body. It flies in the face of instant gratification and quick victories. You put in 16 weeks of training, and you run almost 700 miles in preparation for one race on one day. It teaches subordination in order to reach a goal. If you want something badly enough, you will alter the way you live to achieve it. Paul talks about this in 1 Corinthians Chapter 9 when he compares our Christian journey to athletic training.

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get a prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." I Corinthians 9:24-27

What are you in training for?

Adios,

Justin

The Children have spoken

Interesting tidbit of news that I thought everyone would enjoy. Sarah, Adam, Joey, and everyone else in Early Political Theory heard this, but Weekly Reader just released the results of their mock Presidential Election. I say mock, but the kids usually do a better job of calling the election than Zogby or Gallup. Since 1956, the winner of the Weekly Reader poll has also triumphed in the contest for the White House. Not a bad record at all. 327,000 children across America, ages 9 and up, voted in the poll and Bush received 65% of the vote and Kerry received 33%. The only state that Kerry won was Maryland. I am not sure what that says about the children in Massachusetts, but I am pretty sure they would pick Ortiz for Commander in Chief right now.

The Most Important Election in United States History

Isn't it interesting that every Presidential election is the most important one? I am pretty sure that they were not saying this when Millard Fillmore was elected. No matter who you will decide to vote for, you have had plenty of opportunities to see where each of the candidates stand on the issues, and if they did not tell you, there are numerous websites (ontheissues.org) that will tell you where they stand.
One of the topics I have been thinking about lately is the electoral college. Yes, that truly American institution, leaves me a bit puzzled at times. With the rising partisan nature of states like Texas and California, what is the worth of a Democratic vote in Texas or a Republican vote in California? Because Kerry knows he has the Golden State wrapped up and barring a major miracle Bush will win Texas easily, they do not visit these states on campaign stops. If you are simply casting your vote for an elector from your state what is the true worth of your vote? In the beginning of the electoral college, the Founding Fathers (I love using that phrase) did not trust the knowledge of the American people to choose their President, but with the advent of widespread mass-media, everyone knows everything that comes out of the mouth of Teresa Heinz-Kerry, much less JFK2 or Dubya. American people are not completely politically savvy, but the average American knows much more than they did when the 12th Amendment was added to the constitution. What do you guys think about a reliance on the popular vote? Or maybe the choice of electors by congressional districts, so that a primarily Republican district in California or Democratic district in Texas can feel as though their voice is heard. Tell me what you think.
I am not normally a scary movie guy, but everyone has been talking about The Grudge. It seems as though this movie has the ability to reduce even the most manly-man to a quivering mass of jello. I don't know how scary a movie with "Buffy" can be, but apparently this one made certain Gamma Sigs (coughJeffMcCainandLukeReevescough) huddle together like scared schoolgirls. If a movie has that kind of effect it might just be worth checking out. Have a good one everybody.

Vaya Con Dios,

Justin

Baseball is the one constant, Ray

It has been amazing how this postseason in baseball has everyone talking. I guess it was the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the Red Sox/Yankees series, or the fact that Houston made the NLCS, but people are talking about baseball. As I walked into Section C for chapel last Wednesday, I counted at least 4 Red Sox hats in our section. Now I could be wrong, but I don't think anyone in our section has been to a Red Sox game or might not even know what the Pesky Pole, but the dream of erasing 86 years of pain has galvanized a broad spectrum of people.
I guess I am starting to wax philosophical about baseball because I began reading Roger Kahn's The Boys of Summer on Sunday. Many regard it as the best book ever written about baseball, so we will see how it responds to those lofty accolades. The opening sentence of the prologue is very poetic. Kahn writes, "At a point in life when one is through with boyhood, but has not yet discovered how to be a man, it was my fortune to travel with the most marvelously appealing of teams." Kahn is a native of Brooklyn and followed the Dodgers during their heroic-tragic years of the early 1950's. The Dodgers finally won the Series in 1955 over the hated Yankees behind a 7th game 2-hit shutout from Johnnny Podres.
On a different subject, is anyone confused about the weather here in Abilene? I guess the one thing I have learned in my years here is that the unpredictability is the one predictable thing. I am thankful for the opportunity to go to bed with a rainstorm as a soundtrack.

Let's Get it Started

Hey everybody,

I guess I have fallen victim to the unavoidable tidal wave of blogging that is sweeping the nation. I, Justin Scott, solemnly pledge to post more frequently than Sarah B. Woodroof or that rapscallion Jeff McCain. In this space you will see my thoughts on school, life, marathon training, baseball, books, and other things. Feel free to post your thoughts and responses.

Adios,

Justin