Taste the Fear for the Devil's Drawin' Near

What a great weekend so far, and it is not even over yet. Ask anyone who was at the 9:00 showing of "A Shark's Tale" in Cullen about the fine show that was put on in the middle walkway and stage. The best part was when Katie walked out, looked at me, and said "I thought that was you." I love it when your sister can identify your torso, even with your face obscured by a wolf mask.

Today has been so much fun. The United Way of Abilene decided to ride on the coattails of the hit movie "Dodgeball" and held the 1st Annual Dodgeball Tournament at Lincoln Middle School. Anyone could enter, and trust me, anyone did. There was a very diverse talent pool out there today. We witnessed the great tournament run of a team called "The Beast." The Beast's roster was composed of baby-faced 13-14 year olds from around Abilene, but if you judged the books by their covers you would be overlooking Dodgeball Assassins. These kids were amazing. In consecutive rounds, they beat a team from Dyess Air Force Base (yes, that is right, the US Military lost to some middle-schoolers), a team composed of Lance Agan, Luke Reeves, Aldon Wickliffe, Jake Wardell, and Dave "Hot Face" Sessions, and then Troop 68, whose membership included Mike Hicks, Justin Briscoe, Clete Ross, Bo Mechinus, and David Stonecki. I heard someone behind me say, "this is like a Disney movie", and it was. These kids kept rolling through with improbable breaks until they reached the championship. There they lost a valiant battle to the Carnivores, but the people had chosen their champions.

I have been so thankful lately for my friends, especially the guys that I am club with. Guys like Cole Griffith, Jeff McCain, John Bruner, Jim Kizer, Patrick Vincent, Kevin Stone, Joey Halbert,Brandon Maenius, Lance Agan, Jake Wardell, and Jeramie Hanson. They have taught me so much already about community and support, and I think those lessons are only going to get better as my friendship grows with all of them. I have seen the light at the end of the tunnel, and sometimes as I walk into the light, it hurts my eyes, but I know it is better out here in the day than in the catacombs of fear and doubt.