I'm a big fan of "Stuff Christians Like", a blog that started some years back, written by a Christ Follower named Jon Acuff who thinks a little outside of the box, is full of humor and can write a wicked serious column when he needs too... perhaps one day I can achieve his success and though we have slightly different writing styles, I would be more likely to adapt to his than he to mine. (he's also written a book which you can find here)
Let's be honest... I'm actually hoping that one day I will write something that someone else will read and post on their own site saying something like, "I read 'Clouds' alot, and its awesome and here's today's post which is awesome and d$ is awesome and awesome awesome awesome..." That would be awesome. Enough self-ego inflating...
Anyway, one particular post caught my attention, and I will copy and paste it here for your reading, though I want to be quick to point out that I didn't write it, add to or detract from it, and if you follow the above links you'll find not only this same column but his stellar site. You can also find it amongst the blogroll on the right side. I guess its also worthy of noting that Acuff didn't actually write this either, its just posted on his site (as I did on mine) from columnist blogger Rachel Held Evans.
Jon Acuff posts/Rachel Evans writes:
"SECRETLY BEING A LIBERAL"
(I don’t write about politics that often because it’s not a topic I can write about very well. There are so many good political blogs that I tend to avoid it. Plus, political comments usually get really ugly, really quickly. But my friend Rachel is going to change that. Today, she checks in with a funny look at the secret life of Christian liberals. Enjoy.)
Last month, Jon Acuff wrote a piece for CNN.com about Christians treating secular media like Satan’s newspaper. A faithful reader of both SCL and The New York Times, I laughed along until about midway through the article when Jon joked that Christians are “pretty sure Fox News is baptizing people in their lobby,” at which point I completely lost my sense of humor.
It is an unspoken rule among liberals that only one Jon is allowed to make us laugh about Fox News—and it’s Stewart, not Acuff. But how was Jon supposed to know? He’s an evangelical Christian, which means he is statistically obligated to have only one liberal friend.
So as a Christian and an occasional democrat…(yes, we do exist)…I’ve decided to be that friend, offering SCL a brief list of stuff liberal progressive Christians like:
1. Calling ourselves “progressive” instead of “liberal’
The word liberal (like evolution and sex) carries with it negative connotations in the Christian subculture, and is often used in the context of play-by-play accounts from a pastors or Sunday school teachers about the dangers of competitive slippery slope sliding. Progressive is better. People like Jesus and Donald Miller are considered progressive. Progressive communicates the fact that we’re not headed down, but forward…and just a little to the left.
2. Assuming our daily fair-trade latte from Starbucks makes us committed to social justice
I may drive a gas-guzzling clunker to Wal-mart to buy a trunk full of out-of season fruit, but I’m certain that the steam pouring off of my free trade Cinnamon Dolce Latte is a sweet aroma to God.
3. Agreeing with the Democratic Party on everything except abortion
I am one of many progressive Christians in the unhappy predicament of supporting things like health care reform and environmental stewardship, while remaining steadfastly pro-life. To compensate for our insecurity about this situation, we progressives like to try to one-up conservative pro-lifers by noting that we’re also against the death penalty and war. This does little to actually advance the conversation, which usually ends with people yelling at one another about who is being more judgmental. Sorry about that.
4. NPR
To borrow a metaphor from a friend, we progressives are pretty sure that Ira Glass is mystically distributing the Eucharist through the airwaves during “This American Life.”
So, what would you add to the list? What else do progressive Christians like? (Conservatives, please don’t say “going to hell,” as it kinda hurts our feelings and messes with the whole Christian unity thing.)
(Rachel Held Evans is a liberal progressive Christian from Dayton, Tennessee, home of the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925. Her first book, “Evolving in Monkey Town” officially releases with Zondervan in July, but is currently available on Amazon. She blogs at rachelheldevans.com.)
I did scan the comments, and found one in particular to be of interest, and by interest, I mean hilarious... "Justin" writes:
I'm somewhat more conservative than liberal, although I certainly listen to NPR (except Ira Glass, his voice is like a freshman at a college radio station) and am sick of the culture war politics and right-wing talk radio is only rivaled in annoyingness by Sojo ;)
Still, here's a few things I noticed Liberal Evangelicals like (and I like some of these too, I'll happily admit).
- Saying "God is not a Republican," conceding to add "nor a Democrat" if pushed.
- Begrudgingly admitting that Bush did a stellar job with his AIDS initiatives in Africa.
- Jim Wallis
- Watching Fox News, Complaining about Fox News
- Derek Webb
- Social Justice, endlessly arguing about exactly what "Social Justice" is.
- Begrudgingly admitting that Rick Warren's got a good sense of missions and social justice
- Thinking about being Catholic up until the point they talk about celibacy and birth control.
- Billy Graham (because he's a Democrat, and he seems to like all the Presidents equally)
- Portraying Mormon Glen Beck, Catholic Sean Hannity, and lapsed mainliner Rush Limbaugh as representatives of conservative Evangelicalism.
- Bono
- Francis Collins (me, too -- he rocks! Yay for Obama for nominating him.)
Okay, back to me again... hope you enjoyed it, and if you find your way to this site, Mr. Acuff, I hope its alright that I posted, giving you full credit...
Showing posts with label Dubya. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dubya. Show all posts
Live From Destin
Coming to you from the home of Mike & Susie Fitzharris, with Susie being one of the Lovely Steph Leann's high school Besties. We had to come down to Pensacola for The Lovely Steph Leann's job, as they send her down to the Pensacola location of her work once per month to do some work. All I can say is, she's good at her job.
Anyway, I'm sure I'll have more to report this weekend from our coupla'days away--which we just don't get many of, unless we're going to Disney World. Even then, we take people with us, so seldom is it just us.
But for now... here's some book stuff for you...
Three Books I Am Going To Read in a Row:
The story is, one day a town is suddenly cut off from the rest of the world by a huge dome that sets down over a small Maine town. And chaos ensues. Can't wait.
Actually, I'll probably wait until I can get this on audio. Hopefully, it will be read by the author. That, I can dig.
Palin also writes harshly of CBS anchor Katie Couric, whom she describes as "badgering" and biased. Palin's series of interviews with Couric were widely regarded as disastrous, leaving the impression of an ill-informed candidate who was unsuited for the job.
And, just a note on CNN, here's why they suck. Last night, Carrie Prejean was on Larry King Live, and when Larry asked her a legitimate question about her past, she said, "That's very inappropriate, Larry." They had a rough exchange, and she came off looking like an idiot. Which she might be--listen, I supported her at the beginning through the whole pageant mess, but now she's just annoying--she came off looking stupid and like a moron. And what did CNN do? They flash a graphic on the screen that says, "PREJEAN ON SARAH PALIN: I THINK SHE'D MAKE A GREAT PRESIDENT". Really, CNN? Was there a need for that? That, CNN'ers, is why you are continually in last place in the news network races.
By the way, on a random note, did anyone else completely miss the fact that Hurricane Ida came through already? I asked The Lovely Steph Leann a few days ago about Ida, and if it would impede our journey to the Florida Panhandle, and she said, "No." And then today, she mentioned how it rained for about 28 straight hours the other day--that was Ida. Had no clue. I was still thinking it was in the Gulf somewhere. I blame George W. Bush.
And finally, here's one I just finished. "Native Tongue" by Carl Hiaasen doesn't deviate, plot set-up anyway, from most of his other books. Hiaasen has lots of colorful characters he spreads out through the book, and you know somehow, someway, they are all going to cross paths at one point or another in a crucial plot point. And, like just about all of his other books (might be all of them--I have only read four), the story takes place in Florida.
Anyway, I'm sure I'll have more to report this weekend from our coupla'days away--which we just don't get many of, unless we're going to Disney World. Even then, we take people with us, so seldom is it just us.
But for now... here's some book stuff for you...
Three Books I Am Going To Read in a Row:
This is "The Big Book of Basketball" by Bill Simmons, also known as ESPN's The Sports Guy. I read his first one several years ago, that being "Now I Can Die In Peace: How the Sports Guy Found Salvation Thanks to the World Champion Red Sox"... I've got the hardcover, and I'm probably going to get the paperback, because its updated.
By the way, I love trade paperbacks. They are a little larger than regular paperbacks, they look good, and they aren't nearly as bulky as hardbacks. Many of the books I buy, especially by Stephen King, are in trade... but some books I want to read now.
And speaking of Stephen King, here's his latest, called "Under the Dome". This book looks fascinating, and apparently, some people are relating it to "The Simpsons Movie", with the whole dome-on-town concept. I mentioned this book to my friend MZ, and thats exactly what she said... "That sounds like 'The Simpsons Movie'!" I had to tell her that King had been writing this book off and on for over 30 years.
The story is, one day a town is suddenly cut off from the rest of the world by a huge dome that sets down over a small Maine town. And chaos ensues. Can't wait.Actually ordered this and above book on Amazon.com for $25.50. "The Big Book of Basketball" was $16.50 and the new King novel was $9 with a pre-order, which I did. Spend $25 and get free shipping. Of course, the downside to free shipping is that you have to wait forever to get the book--mine is due for delivery on November 17th.
Here comes Sarah Palin. I love Sarah Palin. Don't care what you say, I think she's smarter than most of the Republicans that are out there today, and those of you who say, "She's crazy!" just haven't been paying attention--or paying too much attention to CNN and Obama-TV MSNBC. And I'll end up reading her biography, "Going Rogue". And I'll probably enjoy it.
Actually, I'll probably wait until I can get this on audio. Hopefully, it will be read by the author. That, I can dig.According to an article on Fox News Online:
In Palin's "Going Rogue," Palin confirms reports of tension between her aides and those of the 2008 Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain. The vice presidential candidate confirms that she had wanted to speak on election night, but was denied the chance and says she was kept "bottled up" from reporters during the campaign.
Palin also writes harshly of CBS anchor Katie Couric, whom she describes as "badgering" and biased. Palin's series of interviews with Couric were widely regarded as disastrous, leaving the impression of an ill-informed candidate who was unsuited for the job.
And, just a note on CNN, here's why they suck. Last night, Carrie Prejean was on Larry King Live, and when Larry asked her a legitimate question about her past, she said, "That's very inappropriate, Larry." They had a rough exchange, and she came off looking like an idiot. Which she might be--listen, I supported her at the beginning through the whole pageant mess, but now she's just annoying--she came off looking stupid and like a moron. And what did CNN do? They flash a graphic on the screen that says, "PREJEAN ON SARAH PALIN: I THINK SHE'D MAKE A GREAT PRESIDENT". Really, CNN? Was there a need for that? That, CNN'ers, is why you are continually in last place in the news network races.
By the way, on a random note, did anyone else completely miss the fact that Hurricane Ida came through already? I asked The Lovely Steph Leann a few days ago about Ida, and if it would impede our journey to the Florida Panhandle, and she said, "No." And then today, she mentioned how it rained for about 28 straight hours the other day--that was Ida. Had no clue. I was still thinking it was in the Gulf somewhere. I blame George W. Bush.
And finally, here's one I just finished. "Native Tongue" by Carl Hiaasen doesn't deviate, plot set-up anyway, from most of his other books. Hiaasen has lots of colorful characters he spreads out through the book, and you know somehow, someway, they are all going to cross paths at one point or another in a crucial plot point. And, like just about all of his other books (might be all of them--I have only read four), the story takes place in Florida.This one actually takes place close to Key Largo, at a Disney rip-off called The Amazing Kingdom of Thrills, and it involves steroid taking security guards, gun shooting baboons, mafia witnesses, mob hits, a professional golfer, a chick who plays Robby Raccoon, a former governor of Florida living in the woods wearing a panther tracking color, a chick who writes poetry for a phone sex line, and a protagonist who was hired because he writes great press releases. Oh, and it centers around two rat-like creatures who may or may not be extinct, stolen by two burglers who may or may not be complete fools. The book is funny, its fast paced, it does have lots of language, and was a breezy read.
Alright, that's all I got for tonight. Time to get The Lovely Steph to bed--she's snoozing on the couch, otherwise I'm pretty sure that Jimmy Kimmel Live wouldn't be on. Not that I don't like Kimmel, but she has the remote. She's sleeping on it.
My Lesley Foley Impersonation (Reunion II)
One of the best (or worst, depending on who you are) parts about a class reunion, be it five, ten, fifteen or beyond, is seeing people that you hadn't seen in a long, long time. Friends you had, chicks you crushed on, people you didn't care for (but can't remember quite why), people you just knew and were used to seeing every day for years and years and suddenly, strangely, they are completely out of your life in every way possible.
When it comes to my own reunion back in 2002, for my 10th year anniversary of the Class of 1993, I saw some faces I welcomed like Chris McCall, Tonya Windham, Greg Avant, Stephanie Phillips, Tammy Thomas... now, with the except of Greg, I can keep up with them via Facebook. Some people, like my 4th grade crush Misty Kimble, I haven't actually seen since we walked off the football field around 8:30pm graduation night.
I think anyone who had been to a high school reunion will relate to some of this... just like The Lovely Steph Leann and DeLisa, who were attending their 15th anniversary of the Baker High School (Mobile, AL) Class of 1994.
After the treasure hunting that DeNick and I went on Saturday morning, as reported in my previous post, we all met back at the house for lunch at Baudean's Seafood. After lunch, I took a short nap, The Lovely Steph Leann took an unfortunately-for-her shorter nap, and DeLisa and DeNick did stuff there at DeLisa's DeParents house. He probably went fishing for a little while, and she just took it easy, being what, four months pregnant or something.
Around 445p or so, we were ready to leave. I won't be revealing any espionage type secrets in saying that DeNick wasn't thrilled about going, as he could care less about going to his own reunion, while I had mixed feelings about it myself. A whole room of people I had never seen nor heard of, in a class large enough to have people that DeLisa and The Lovely Steph Leann, actual members of this class, had never met or heard of.
Yours Truly and The Lovely Steph Leann at her high school reunion. Gosh, we're cute.
But, DeNick is a loving husband and supportive of his wonderful wife, who actually helped put it together, and was going for her. I had dragged The Close Friend Steph Campbell to my aforementioned reunion years and years ago, and like DeNick, was willing to support my wife in her ventures, so away the four of us went.
The reunion was held at The Blue Gill Restaurant over in nearby Spanish Fort, out on the patio. While DeLisa had scrounged around for her 1994 Senior Yearbook, "The Novis", The Lovely Steph Leann had dug in the archives to find a ton of pictures, spirit ribbons, buttons and all sorts of nostalgic memorabilia. We walked through the restaurant to find a girl named Lynn Sprouse (now Kilgore), who quickly became one of my favorites of the night. It seemed that DeLisa and Lynn were part of a larger committee to help plan this shindig, but over time, it became ONLY DeLisa and Lynn planning this shindig, so while friendly enough, Lynn was quick to point out the failings of some other people. And it made me laugh.
DeNick's expression tells of his joy at being at a high school reunion
We spread the memory junk on the table for all to see, along with a guest book for people to write their current information, plus a space to put "feedback for a possible 20th year reunion". To this, I later looked and found someone had simply written "yes".
The food was heavy hors d'oeurvres, which was veggies, chicken fingers and peel-n-eat shrimp. DeLisa had mentioned this earlier, so I was fairly excited because I'm not talented in very many areas, but one thing I can do very well is eat shrimp. Imagine my disappointment when a tray was brought out full of shrimp, covered in what looked like cajun spices. I am NOT a spice person... enough spice to make a young Dakota Fanning go, "Hmm, that is a little spicy" is probably enough to make me say, "Holy crap, that's friggin' hot!"
DeNick and I sat and chatted for a few, while The Lovely Steph Leann and DeLisa began making rounds with people as the Class of 94 slowly trickled in. We eventually ventured out of the patio, down a ramp and to the backside where a small boat and an air boat sat floating in dirty water next to the dock. We walked around for a moment, then shrugged and walked back to the covered patio with everyone.
The patio was really divided into two parts, the first under the cover was the reunion party, with a small bar in the corner and chick bartenders that looked barely old enough to drive, much less serve alcohol. There was a rope splitting the patio, with the other side being an open dining area for the regular patrons, and a small stage where a band called... "The DTs"? "The Deets"?... played. If you or your husband is 30+ and feels the need to play guitar on the weekends with some other dudes and sing cover songs at a bar for tips, then you could have been in the DTs. First song they played? "Hard to Handle" by The Black Crowes.
DeLisa was having trouble with the laptop she brought, as it was supposed to loop a long video showing high school pictures and such, so DeNick saved the day and got it working. Meanwhile, I sat at the table, free Coke in hand (soft drinks were free, beer was $3 a pop, mixed drinks were at least $5), when I looked over and saw The Lovely Steph Leann's camera. I looked around and saw her talking to someone I obviously didn't know, so I opened up her camera case and took a few shots. I put the camera strap around my neck, and took a few more.
And thus, it began.
Somehow, over the course of the evening, I unofficially became the official photographer. Heck, it occupied my time and kept me busy. I would take candid shots of people at tables, snapshots of people looking at the memorabilia, the food, the bar, the ramp to the dock which somehow became the smoker's paradise cancer ward of the reunion, people drinking, people hugging, people dancing and everything in between. I had on a name tag that said "d$" in large print, and under it, it said (The Lovely Stephanie Campbell), so everyone who know who I belonged to, so I didn't think anything about it.
That is, until DeLisa came up to me and told me people were asking about my photography. Nervous that perhaps I had invaded someone's space, I asked what she was talking about, and DeLisa laughed that some people thought that perhaps I was hired for the night, and many were wondering when and how they would get to see all the pictures I was taking. I kinda smiled, a little bewildered and... well, just kept on taking pictures.
Lynn came to me and asked me about a group shot, and if we should do it in the band's next break, or wait a little longer for more people to arrive (by now it was a good 90 minutes or more into the festivities).
"Well, I would do it the next band break. Most people are here already, and those who aren't should be--their loss. The big problem is, if you wait much later, you're going to lose people who will start leaving early." She asked me, as if I was a professional photographer, where we should take it. Really, I had no clue which area would be the best--do we take it with the sunset in the background, but run the risk of it washing out the faces? Or do we move it to the other side, and run the risk of being too dark? I mean, who am I, Lesley Foley of Lesley Foley Photography? Finally, I pointed out a clear area next to the railing, by the bar. "Move that table, and everyone can gather there."
The band took a break, and Lynn and I started gathering people up. We herded everyone together, and though significant others and spouses all had cameras ready to take group pictures, I stood atop a bar stool with the camera. DeNick and I shouted out instructions... "move in a little more!"... "you, in the blue shirt, move over a little bit"... "need the front row to kneel a little bit!"... "I'm going to take three pictures, starting on the count of three!"
Somehow, it worked.
The Baker High School Class of 1994... or some of them, anyway...
Later in the evening, I sat down for a small plate of cold chicken fingers and lukewarm ranch dressing, and not too long after, was Baker Class of 94 member Cameron Lee joining me, with his pretty--and very pregnant wife--Amanda (I think?). Cameron asked me, "You done taking pictures already?"
"Nah, I'll probably take a few more. Just taking them for my wife, figured she's too busy to do it." I replied.
"Well," Cameron said, "I call your bluff on that one. You've been busy with that camera all night. Aren't you a photographer?"
"Ha!" I laughed. "I mean, who am I, Lesley Foley of Foley Photography, serving the Florida Panhandle and Southern Alabama, contact 850-543-7407? No, I'm just taking them for my wife The Lovely Steph Leann."
We chatted for a little while longer, then I got up and did what I was doing best for the evening--took more pictures. I was in line getting The Lovely Steph Leann a drink, and two girls turned around and said, "Oh, get our picture!", so I took it. This sort of happened all evening, as I would lift the camera, some, if not all, of my intended targets would pose, or smile or whatever.
The Lovely Steph Leann, DeLisa and a few others laugh up the old days.
Met a guy named Shannon, later, as he talked to The Lovely Steph Leann. They were friends in high school, along with a chick named Tina, and I guess another girl named Raina, and Shannon told me he thought I was the photographer, and was surprised to find I was merely Stephanie's husband.
This chick gets the award for "Most Perky Beer Koozy of the Night"
Now, while all the photo-snapping was going on, lest you think I abandoned DeNick. Quite the opposite, actually... he was my go-to guy for one liners and cracks. We had developed a habit of observing people as they came in, and going to the yearbook and seeing how much they changed... the following is a few things we observed over the course of the night:
"Those aren't real."
"I checked her photo. She's pretty hot now, especially since she got her eyebrows under control."
"Time has not been good to him."
"Time has not been good to her."
"Wow... time has been that guy's friend, I think."
"Dude, time has been very, very good to her."
And my favorite exchange of the night:
DeNick: That chick's top... not many people can do a top like that, but she managed to pull it off.
Me: I'm sure a few more beers and thats exactly what she'll do
DeNick (leaning over, trying not to choke on his $3 brew)
A few more observations from the night...
**Christy Turner gets the "Most Improved Award", tied with Ashley Sossaman. Both went from cute in their yearbook pics to hot 15 years later.
**At least at the beginning, the group covered the room like this... the really attractive girls and guys were over on one side in a huddle. The not quite as attractive girls and guys were on the other side. The black couple sat alone at a table. Ahhh, just like high school.
**The lone black couple were very, very nice. They sat for the entire evening, just enjoying the food and conversing with whoever sat down with them for however long they were sitting, but they were really great to talk to.
**Talked to one girl--and I'll be vague--and she was telling me, "See this chick walking in right now? Let me tell you..." and she proceeded to tell me some of the unnice things that had happened. When the offending chick walked in, she and the girl hugged tightly, squealed each others names, and hugged again. When offensive chick walked away, the girl came back to me, and said, "...like I was saying...". I don't get you women.
**I was trying to take a picture through the crowd of a chick named Shelly. I had the perfect shot, and right as I snapped the button, she picked her fork up with a big chunk of food on it. The flash went off, she looked up and gave me the stink eye. I held my hands up and mouthed "sorry!" No more pictures of Shelly for the night.
**As in most reunions, there is at least one that didn't make it for other reasons than "didn't want to come". Such was the case with Chris Mason, who apparently lost his life in military service. They had a small table set up with his picture, a letter from Dubya and some other small items. Made me smile when DeNick looked at it, had a disgusted look on his face, then picked up an empty beer bottle from sitting on the table. "They can leave it next to the cake, but don't leave your trash on this table. That's not right."
**Random observation... no matter the length of time, sometimes bitterness doesn't die. Just sayin'.
**There was one guy not in the Class of 94 that made me grab DeNick and say, "Check this out! Ron Jeremy is here!" He wasn't Ron Jeremy, but he had a 70s porn fro' and a great 70s porn 'stache if I ever saw one... not that I really ever have, mind you, but the stereotype is there for a reason.
This pic doesn't do it justice.
We were set to leave, it was late, most had already gone and as we meandered out the door, I had a few people ask me how to find the pictures. I told them they needed to be The Lovely Steph Leann's friend on Facebook.
Mandy Blansett sat on a bench near the front of the restaurant, and as we were working our way through, she said, "Thank you for taking pictures tonight!" I had already been hugged for such activities by a girl named Raina, who was very pleased to also have met me, though I cannot remember at any time talking to her before she hugged me. I smiled at Mandy and said, "You're welcome. It was fun."
"How much are they paying you?" she asked.
I looked at The Lovely Steph Leann, who just smiled. "They didn't pay me," I replied. "I'm just taking pictures for Stephanie, because she was too busy to do it."
"Really? Wow! I thought surely they had hired someone like you to do it!"
"I mean, who am I, Lesley Foley of Foley Photography, who's website can be found here?" I asked. "Nope, just taking some pictures at will."
Then a discussion opened up between Mandy and The Lovely Steph Leann, who is a Creative Memories Consultant and can be found here online.
So that's the Baker High School Class of 94 Reunion in a nutshell. Met some fun people that won't remember me tomorrow, took some pictures, ate some cold chicken fingers and had a great weekend with The Lovely Steph Leann, hanging out with DeNick and DeLisa... two truly wonderful people that we don't see enough of.
FYI... Lesley Foley is a friend of The Lovely Steph Leann and DeLisa, and by extension, a friend of mine and DeNick's, and runs a very successful photography business, and I joked about how I was afraid for Lesley to see my pictures as I am not a good photographer, nor do I use a Nikon... so I thought I would throw some shout-outs to her and her business for fun. If you are in the panhandle, check her site out--she's pretty good.
Lesley the Photographer
FYII... If you are on Facebook and reading this, search "Clouds in My Coffee" and join the fanpage. I'm on my way to 100, and I want to see how many people I can get before The Lovely Steph Leann actually joins. DeLisa is a member, as is Lesley Foley of Foley Photography, which you can email at lesley@foleyphotography.com... and if you email her at the site, make sure you answer the question "how did you find me?" with "I had some dreams, they were Clouds In My Coffee, Clouds In My Coffee..." My advice is to stop the song there, though. Keep going and she might not call you back.
When it comes to my own reunion back in 2002, for my 10th year anniversary of the Class of 1993, I saw some faces I welcomed like Chris McCall, Tonya Windham, Greg Avant, Stephanie Phillips, Tammy Thomas... now, with the except of Greg, I can keep up with them via Facebook. Some people, like my 4th grade crush Misty Kimble, I haven't actually seen since we walked off the football field around 8:30pm graduation night.
I think anyone who had been to a high school reunion will relate to some of this... just like The Lovely Steph Leann and DeLisa, who were attending their 15th anniversary of the Baker High School (Mobile, AL) Class of 1994.
After the treasure hunting that DeNick and I went on Saturday morning, as reported in my previous post, we all met back at the house for lunch at Baudean's Seafood. After lunch, I took a short nap, The Lovely Steph Leann took an unfortunately-for-her shorter nap, and DeLisa and DeNick did stuff there at DeLisa's DeParents house. He probably went fishing for a little while, and she just took it easy, being what, four months pregnant or something.
Around 445p or so, we were ready to leave. I won't be revealing any espionage type secrets in saying that DeNick wasn't thrilled about going, as he could care less about going to his own reunion, while I had mixed feelings about it myself. A whole room of people I had never seen nor heard of, in a class large enough to have people that DeLisa and The Lovely Steph Leann, actual members of this class, had never met or heard of.
Yours Truly and The Lovely Steph Leann at her high school reunion. Gosh, we're cute.
But, DeNick is a loving husband and supportive of his wonderful wife, who actually helped put it together, and was going for her. I had dragged The Close Friend Steph Campbell to my aforementioned reunion years and years ago, and like DeNick, was willing to support my wife in her ventures, so away the four of us went.
The reunion was held at The Blue Gill Restaurant over in nearby Spanish Fort, out on the patio. While DeLisa had scrounged around for her 1994 Senior Yearbook, "The Novis", The Lovely Steph Leann had dug in the archives to find a ton of pictures, spirit ribbons, buttons and all sorts of nostalgic memorabilia. We walked through the restaurant to find a girl named Lynn Sprouse (now Kilgore), who quickly became one of my favorites of the night. It seemed that DeLisa and Lynn were part of a larger committee to help plan this shindig, but over time, it became ONLY DeLisa and Lynn planning this shindig, so while friendly enough, Lynn was quick to point out the failings of some other people. And it made me laugh.
DeNick's expression tells of his joy at being at a high school reunion
We spread the memory junk on the table for all to see, along with a guest book for people to write their current information, plus a space to put "feedback for a possible 20th year reunion". To this, I later looked and found someone had simply written "yes".
The food was heavy hors d'oeurvres, which was veggies, chicken fingers and peel-n-eat shrimp. DeLisa had mentioned this earlier, so I was fairly excited because I'm not talented in very many areas, but one thing I can do very well is eat shrimp. Imagine my disappointment when a tray was brought out full of shrimp, covered in what looked like cajun spices. I am NOT a spice person... enough spice to make a young Dakota Fanning go, "Hmm, that is a little spicy" is probably enough to make me say, "Holy crap, that's friggin' hot!"
DeNick and I sat and chatted for a few, while The Lovely Steph Leann and DeLisa began making rounds with people as the Class of 94 slowly trickled in. We eventually ventured out of the patio, down a ramp and to the backside where a small boat and an air boat sat floating in dirty water next to the dock. We walked around for a moment, then shrugged and walked back to the covered patio with everyone.
The patio was really divided into two parts, the first under the cover was the reunion party, with a small bar in the corner and chick bartenders that looked barely old enough to drive, much less serve alcohol. There was a rope splitting the patio, with the other side being an open dining area for the regular patrons, and a small stage where a band called... "The DTs"? "The Deets"?... played. If you or your husband is 30+ and feels the need to play guitar on the weekends with some other dudes and sing cover songs at a bar for tips, then you could have been in the DTs. First song they played? "Hard to Handle" by The Black Crowes.
DeLisa was having trouble with the laptop she brought, as it was supposed to loop a long video showing high school pictures and such, so DeNick saved the day and got it working. Meanwhile, I sat at the table, free Coke in hand (soft drinks were free, beer was $3 a pop, mixed drinks were at least $5), when I looked over and saw The Lovely Steph Leann's camera. I looked around and saw her talking to someone I obviously didn't know, so I opened up her camera case and took a few shots. I put the camera strap around my neck, and took a few more.
And thus, it began.
Somehow, over the course of the evening, I unofficially became the official photographer. Heck, it occupied my time and kept me busy. I would take candid shots of people at tables, snapshots of people looking at the memorabilia, the food, the bar, the ramp to the dock which somehow became the smoker's paradise cancer ward of the reunion, people drinking, people hugging, people dancing and everything in between. I had on a name tag that said "d$" in large print, and under it, it said (The Lovely Stephanie Campbell), so everyone who know who I belonged to, so I didn't think anything about it.
That is, until DeLisa came up to me and told me people were asking about my photography. Nervous that perhaps I had invaded someone's space, I asked what she was talking about, and DeLisa laughed that some people thought that perhaps I was hired for the night, and many were wondering when and how they would get to see all the pictures I was taking. I kinda smiled, a little bewildered and... well, just kept on taking pictures.
Lynn came to me and asked me about a group shot, and if we should do it in the band's next break, or wait a little longer for more people to arrive (by now it was a good 90 minutes or more into the festivities).
"Well, I would do it the next band break. Most people are here already, and those who aren't should be--their loss. The big problem is, if you wait much later, you're going to lose people who will start leaving early." She asked me, as if I was a professional photographer, where we should take it. Really, I had no clue which area would be the best--do we take it with the sunset in the background, but run the risk of it washing out the faces? Or do we move it to the other side, and run the risk of being too dark? I mean, who am I, Lesley Foley of Lesley Foley Photography? Finally, I pointed out a clear area next to the railing, by the bar. "Move that table, and everyone can gather there."
The band took a break, and Lynn and I started gathering people up. We herded everyone together, and though significant others and spouses all had cameras ready to take group pictures, I stood atop a bar stool with the camera. DeNick and I shouted out instructions... "move in a little more!"... "you, in the blue shirt, move over a little bit"... "need the front row to kneel a little bit!"... "I'm going to take three pictures, starting on the count of three!"
Somehow, it worked.
The Baker High School Class of 1994... or some of them, anyway...
Later in the evening, I sat down for a small plate of cold chicken fingers and lukewarm ranch dressing, and not too long after, was Baker Class of 94 member Cameron Lee joining me, with his pretty--and very pregnant wife--Amanda (I think?). Cameron asked me, "You done taking pictures already?"
"Nah, I'll probably take a few more. Just taking them for my wife, figured she's too busy to do it." I replied.
"Well," Cameron said, "I call your bluff on that one. You've been busy with that camera all night. Aren't you a photographer?"
"Ha!" I laughed. "I mean, who am I, Lesley Foley of Foley Photography, serving the Florida Panhandle and Southern Alabama, contact 850-543-7407? No, I'm just taking them for my wife The Lovely Steph Leann."
We chatted for a little while longer, then I got up and did what I was doing best for the evening--took more pictures. I was in line getting The Lovely Steph Leann a drink, and two girls turned around and said, "Oh, get our picture!", so I took it. This sort of happened all evening, as I would lift the camera, some, if not all, of my intended targets would pose, or smile or whatever.
The Lovely Steph Leann, DeLisa and a few others laugh up the old days.
Met a guy named Shannon, later, as he talked to The Lovely Steph Leann. They were friends in high school, along with a chick named Tina, and I guess another girl named Raina, and Shannon told me he thought I was the photographer, and was surprised to find I was merely Stephanie's husband.
This chick gets the award for "Most Perky Beer Koozy of the Night"
Now, while all the photo-snapping was going on, lest you think I abandoned DeNick. Quite the opposite, actually... he was my go-to guy for one liners and cracks. We had developed a habit of observing people as they came in, and going to the yearbook and seeing how much they changed... the following is a few things we observed over the course of the night:
"Those aren't real."
"I checked her photo. She's pretty hot now, especially since she got her eyebrows under control."
"Time has not been good to him."
"Time has not been good to her."
"Wow... time has been that guy's friend, I think."
"Dude, time has been very, very good to her."
And my favorite exchange of the night:
DeNick: That chick's top... not many people can do a top like that, but she managed to pull it off.
Me: I'm sure a few more beers and thats exactly what she'll do
DeNick (leaning over, trying not to choke on his $3 brew)
A few more observations from the night...
**Christy Turner gets the "Most Improved Award", tied with Ashley Sossaman. Both went from cute in their yearbook pics to hot 15 years later.
**At least at the beginning, the group covered the room like this... the really attractive girls and guys were over on one side in a huddle. The not quite as attractive girls and guys were on the other side. The black couple sat alone at a table. Ahhh, just like high school.
**The lone black couple were very, very nice. They sat for the entire evening, just enjoying the food and conversing with whoever sat down with them for however long they were sitting, but they were really great to talk to.
**Talked to one girl--and I'll be vague--and she was telling me, "See this chick walking in right now? Let me tell you..." and she proceeded to tell me some of the unnice things that had happened. When the offending chick walked in, she and the girl hugged tightly, squealed each others names, and hugged again. When offensive chick walked away, the girl came back to me, and said, "...like I was saying...". I don't get you women.
**I was trying to take a picture through the crowd of a chick named Shelly. I had the perfect shot, and right as I snapped the button, she picked her fork up with a big chunk of food on it. The flash went off, she looked up and gave me the stink eye. I held my hands up and mouthed "sorry!" No more pictures of Shelly for the night.
**As in most reunions, there is at least one that didn't make it for other reasons than "didn't want to come". Such was the case with Chris Mason, who apparently lost his life in military service. They had a small table set up with his picture, a letter from Dubya and some other small items. Made me smile when DeNick looked at it, had a disgusted look on his face, then picked up an empty beer bottle from sitting on the table. "They can leave it next to the cake, but don't leave your trash on this table. That's not right."
**Random observation... no matter the length of time, sometimes bitterness doesn't die. Just sayin'.
**There was one guy not in the Class of 94 that made me grab DeNick and say, "Check this out! Ron Jeremy is here!" He wasn't Ron Jeremy, but he had a 70s porn fro' and a great 70s porn 'stache if I ever saw one... not that I really ever have, mind you, but the stereotype is there for a reason.
This pic doesn't do it justice.
We were set to leave, it was late, most had already gone and as we meandered out the door, I had a few people ask me how to find the pictures. I told them they needed to be The Lovely Steph Leann's friend on Facebook.
Mandy Blansett sat on a bench near the front of the restaurant, and as we were working our way through, she said, "Thank you for taking pictures tonight!" I had already been hugged for such activities by a girl named Raina, who was very pleased to also have met me, though I cannot remember at any time talking to her before she hugged me. I smiled at Mandy and said, "You're welcome. It was fun."
"How much are they paying you?" she asked.
I looked at The Lovely Steph Leann, who just smiled. "They didn't pay me," I replied. "I'm just taking pictures for Stephanie, because she was too busy to do it."
"Really? Wow! I thought surely they had hired someone like you to do it!"
"I mean, who am I, Lesley Foley of Foley Photography, who's website can be found here?" I asked. "Nope, just taking some pictures at will."
Then a discussion opened up between Mandy and The Lovely Steph Leann, who is a Creative Memories Consultant and can be found here online.
So that's the Baker High School Class of 94 Reunion in a nutshell. Met some fun people that won't remember me tomorrow, took some pictures, ate some cold chicken fingers and had a great weekend with The Lovely Steph Leann, hanging out with DeNick and DeLisa... two truly wonderful people that we don't see enough of.
FYI... Lesley Foley is a friend of The Lovely Steph Leann and DeLisa, and by extension, a friend of mine and DeNick's, and runs a very successful photography business, and I joked about how I was afraid for Lesley to see my pictures as I am not a good photographer, nor do I use a Nikon... so I thought I would throw some shout-outs to her and her business for fun. If you are in the panhandle, check her site out--she's pretty good.
Lesley the Photographer
FYII... If you are on Facebook and reading this, search "Clouds in My Coffee" and join the fanpage. I'm on my way to 100, and I want to see how many people I can get before The Lovely Steph Leann actually joins. DeLisa is a member, as is Lesley Foley of Foley Photography, which you can email at lesley@foleyphotography.com... and if you email her at the site, make sure you answer the question "how did you find me?" with "I had some dreams, they were Clouds In My Coffee, Clouds In My Coffee..." My advice is to stop the song there, though. Keep going and she might not call you back.
Politically Cartoony
Pardon me, but I wanted to post this for quite a while. So I thought I would...
I think political cartoons are awesome, and truly, there is no finer example of the First Amendment... like these I found...
This was done by a guy named Alex Ross, appearing on the cover of The Village Voice on October 6, 2004... see, Dubya is sucking this country dry of liberty! Hilarious!
Oh, and this one that Shepard Fairey did in 2004, appearing on the cover of LA Weekly. Its fearless. Its one of the finest cartoons you find. Bush. Satan. Same thing, really. Hilarious!
Oh, and here's a great one of Justice Scalia "puppeting" Justice Thomas. Cause like, Clarance Thomas is really nothing more than a stupid brotha' from the streets, right? Just doing what "The Man" says to do, right? Just a mouthpiece! I be knowin' dat's right! Oh no he di'int! Hilarious!
And speaking of Uncle Toms, what about Aunt Toms?! Here's Condi Rice just bowing down to "The Big Man in Charge", you know, doing whateva' the good massah say to do, right? What you say massah, what you say! She ain't nothing but a stupid bird, doing whatever she told! Hilarious!
Kind of reminds me of when Harry Belafonte called then-Secretary of State Colin Powell a "House N*****". I'm sure glad there wasn't a media uproar about it, because our country has bigger issues than a legendary singer poking fun at someone.
This is a great example of freedom of speech... an actual movie was made about not just the assassination of a president, but the Assassination of George W. Bush! Wow! Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!
And for you literary people out there, a book was made about the assassination of the president! But not just any president, mind you, but the assassination of George W. Bush, even going into detail about how it could be done, if you so chose! Wow! Brilliant!
Artist Drew Friedman submitted this to Vanity Fair in 2007. Its called "No Joke". See, it depicts Dubya as an evil villain, a terrible person who is hellbent on the destruction of our country and its Constitution, which is nothing more than a "g****mn piece of paper". (warning--link has quotes using Non Emmy Turnbow Safe language) Wow! Hilarious and brilliant!
Oh, and this?
See, this just offends me. When are we going to stop this bigotry and vitriol? We have to realize that such racism is outdated, such hatred has no place in the unified society we are trying to build not only for ourselves, but our children, and even our children's children. You may not agree with him, but you owe him your support as he is your President, and the office of the Presidency MUST BE RESPECTED. Now I'm ticked off and saddened.
Just sayin'.
I think political cartoons are awesome, and truly, there is no finer example of the First Amendment... like these I found...
This was done by a guy named Alex Ross, appearing on the cover of The Village Voice on October 6, 2004... see, Dubya is sucking this country dry of liberty! Hilarious!
Oh, and this one that Shepard Fairey did in 2004, appearing on the cover of LA Weekly. Its fearless. Its one of the finest cartoons you find. Bush. Satan. Same thing, really. Hilarious!
Oh, and here's a great one of Justice Scalia "puppeting" Justice Thomas. Cause like, Clarance Thomas is really nothing more than a stupid brotha' from the streets, right? Just doing what "The Man" says to do, right? Just a mouthpiece! I be knowin' dat's right! Oh no he di'int! Hilarious!
And speaking of Uncle Toms, what about Aunt Toms?! Here's Condi Rice just bowing down to "The Big Man in Charge", you know, doing whateva' the good massah say to do, right? What you say massah, what you say! She ain't nothing but a stupid bird, doing whatever she told! Hilarious!
Kind of reminds me of when Harry Belafonte called then-Secretary of State Colin Powell a "House N*****". I'm sure glad there wasn't a media uproar about it, because our country has bigger issues than a legendary singer poking fun at someone.
This is a great example of freedom of speech... an actual movie was made about not just the assassination of a president, but the Assassination of George W. Bush! Wow! Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!
And for you literary people out there, a book was made about the assassination of the president! But not just any president, mind you, but the assassination of George W. Bush, even going into detail about how it could be done, if you so chose! Wow! Brilliant!
Artist Drew Friedman submitted this to Vanity Fair in 2007. Its called "No Joke". See, it depicts Dubya as an evil villain, a terrible person who is hellbent on the destruction of our country and its Constitution, which is nothing more than a "g****mn piece of paper". (warning--link has quotes using Non Emmy Turnbow Safe language) Wow! Hilarious and brilliant!
Oh, and this?
See, this just offends me. When are we going to stop this bigotry and vitriol? We have to realize that such racism is outdated, such hatred has no place in the unified society we are trying to build not only for ourselves, but our children, and even our children's children. You may not agree with him, but you owe him your support as he is your President, and the office of the Presidency MUST BE RESPECTED. Now I'm ticked off and saddened.
Just sayin'.