On a recent trip I was able to take a few moments and drive through my hometown. I turned off the highway and down the main street only to find that it was blocked off. One of my traveling companions asked why the street was blocked off, and I told them it was because of the turtle race. I was given a very funny look after my answer. Apparently not everyone grew up having an annual turtle race.
The turtle race was a big deal when I was growing up. Several weeks before the race you would begin looking for turtles. When you found one you would go downtown to Hensen’s and register for the race. In the time leading up to the race we would feed our turtle, and walk our turtle, to make sure he was at his best for the race. The day of, or sometimes the day before, we would decorate our turtles (so we would know if our turtle was the winner). At race time you would take your turtle out to a wooden square area in the middle on the main intersection of the downtown area. The race began when the judges lifted up the wooden square, releasing the turtles to begin the race. The judges would “rush” to all four sides of the intersection so they could declare the winner.
Thinking about it now, it seems a little silly. But when I was younger for several weeks there was nothing more important. Every year we looked forward to the race day, because race day was really more than just race day. The Turtle Race was part of our communities 4th of July Celebration. There was a parade, a BBQ lunch on the courthouse lawn, crafts and other items for sale everywhere, fundraisers galore (from Cow Patty Bingo to the Cheerleader’s Dunking Booth). There was a rodeo that night, and a dance at the end of the day. It was a day to be with family and friends. It was a day to laugh, a day to remember, a day to enjoy the best of our community.
There are times I miss those times together with family and friends, not so much for myself but for my kids. That was the day we heard the “old stories” from Mom’s friends, stories about the “good ole days.” Those stories helped make sense of the world we lived in, why so and so didn’t get along with someone else, or why something happened…
But those are my memories. My kids would probably not enjoy my hometown’s celebration as much as I used to, but that just means I get to make different memories for my children. I get to find different ways of telling them “old stories,” to do different things to connect with friends and family, and the community we are trying to become a part of. What memories are you helping your kids make? Are they memories of connecting with others, of being a part of the larger community at its best? Or are the memories we are helping them make of isolation, of being disconnected, of being a part of a community at its lowest?
I hope that the memories I help my kids make are as vivid, as special, as important, and at times as emotion invoking as the memories my Mom and my Dad made for me.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
10 years....
My wife and I recently celebrated our 10th Wedding Anniversary. Looking back over the last ten years my life has definitely changed. Little did I know that decisions I made back then would lead me to where I am now. There are decisions I regret, things I would undo if I could, words I wish I had left unsaid. But, there are have many little surprises along the way that I never would have anticipated.
Ten years ago I was a Youth Director for a church in Lubbock, about to begin an internship ministering to college students. My wife was preparing to start her first year of teaching elementary school. We then moved to Kentucky where we both attended Seminary and each received a Masters Degree. We have lived in two states, 4 cities/towns, and 6 houses/apartments. We went from being a family of two, to being a family of six.
Life seemed so much easier back then. There were less meetings, more time with our friends, less talk about budgets, more time for spontaneity, less dirty diapers…
Looking back always makes me look forward. What goals should I have accomplished over the past 10 years? What do I regret doing? What do I rejoice over accomplishing? How can I make the next ten years better?
Recently our City Administrator said it is reasonable to project our cities population could double and almost triple over the next ten years. A 600 home development has been proposed for our community, and there is talk of a second development. There is talk of new businesses coming to Clyde. There has been work done to make our downtown area look more attractive.
We stand looking through a doorway of opportunities and possibilities for the next ten years. What will we do? Will we make a community we can take pride in, or will we be a loose affiliation of people who live in close proximity to each other. Will we make strides in being a place where our children will want to raise their children, or will we be like so many other communities who see their children leave only to return for holidays and a few special occasions?
I never could have imagined ten years ago the things I have done, the things I have been a part of, the blessings I have received. I look forward to the next ten years with my wife. I also look forward to the next ten years for this community. There are things I hope for, there are things I want to work towards, and I know that I will be amazed by the little surprises that pop up now and again.
In ten years as we look back at what we have accomplished, what will we say about the work done in our families, our neighborhoods, our businesses, our community?
Ten years ago I was a Youth Director for a church in Lubbock, about to begin an internship ministering to college students. My wife was preparing to start her first year of teaching elementary school. We then moved to Kentucky where we both attended Seminary and each received a Masters Degree. We have lived in two states, 4 cities/towns, and 6 houses/apartments. We went from being a family of two, to being a family of six.
Life seemed so much easier back then. There were less meetings, more time with our friends, less talk about budgets, more time for spontaneity, less dirty diapers…
Looking back always makes me look forward. What goals should I have accomplished over the past 10 years? What do I regret doing? What do I rejoice over accomplishing? How can I make the next ten years better?
Recently our City Administrator said it is reasonable to project our cities population could double and almost triple over the next ten years. A 600 home development has been proposed for our community, and there is talk of a second development. There is talk of new businesses coming to Clyde. There has been work done to make our downtown area look more attractive.
We stand looking through a doorway of opportunities and possibilities for the next ten years. What will we do? Will we make a community we can take pride in, or will we be a loose affiliation of people who live in close proximity to each other. Will we make strides in being a place where our children will want to raise their children, or will we be like so many other communities who see their children leave only to return for holidays and a few special occasions?
I never could have imagined ten years ago the things I have done, the things I have been a part of, the blessings I have received. I look forward to the next ten years with my wife. I also look forward to the next ten years for this community. There are things I hope for, there are things I want to work towards, and I know that I will be amazed by the little surprises that pop up now and again.
In ten years as we look back at what we have accomplished, what will we say about the work done in our families, our neighborhoods, our businesses, our community?
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Outsiders
Eight youth and 4 adults from our community spent last week in Wyoming. These 12 people spent a week with people from Lander Wyoming, from the Wind River Reservation, from Oregon, Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, and Illinois. In all there were 76 “outsiders” who had come to work on houses, and work with children for the week.
We left early on Saturday morning July 3. We stopped for lunch in Amarillo before continuing our journey, trying to make it to Longmont, CO before it was too dark. I drove our bus to Amarillo and I knew that we needed to fill up with gas before we continued on our journey. My plan was to drive to a gas station after lunch, fill up, and then let one of the other adult drivers get us further down the road. That was my plan…
After lunch we took a few photos, and I forgot what I had planned to do. So, I handed the keys to one of the other adults and found a place on the bus. I was lost in conversation when I remembered we needed gas, that was about the same time the driver asked, “Um, did we need to fill up before we left Amarillo?” I got a sick feeling in my stomach, I could just see us running out of gas between Amarillo and Channing, with no cell phone reception and no one coming by for hours. I do not know how our driver did it, but somehow she got us the 30 miles to Channing. We drove through Channing, I could have sworn that they had an Allsup’s or some type of convenience store with a gas station. We reached the edge of town and turned, somehow we had missed the gas station. On our second pass we found it. We pulled in and I went inside to ask them to turn the pump on so we could fill up. Before I could ask my question they told me they were out of gas and wouldn’t get any more until Monday. They thought the next town might still have some gas, but they weren’t sure.
The owner returned and siphoned some gas out of his truck. A pastor came by and brought a few more gallons to help us get to Dalhart (because the gas station in Hartley was closed for the weekend). The pastor keeps a few gallons handy, apparently we are not the first vehicle to run out of gas in Channing when the gas station is out of gas.
These two men went out of their way to help our group of “outsiders” in their community, people they had never met before, and more than likely would never come in contact with again. Their generosity, and their hospitality were overwhelming as we worried about getting not only to our destination for the evening, but also our final destination.
This experience left me wondering, Do those in our community offer hospitality to those who are only passing through? Are we generous to those who are only passing through? Sometimes it helps us to be “outsiders” in other places, so we can be more aware of how we treat the “outsiders” we come in contact with.
We left early on Saturday morning July 3. We stopped for lunch in Amarillo before continuing our journey, trying to make it to Longmont, CO before it was too dark. I drove our bus to Amarillo and I knew that we needed to fill up with gas before we continued on our journey. My plan was to drive to a gas station after lunch, fill up, and then let one of the other adult drivers get us further down the road. That was my plan…
After lunch we took a few photos, and I forgot what I had planned to do. So, I handed the keys to one of the other adults and found a place on the bus. I was lost in conversation when I remembered we needed gas, that was about the same time the driver asked, “Um, did we need to fill up before we left Amarillo?” I got a sick feeling in my stomach, I could just see us running out of gas between Amarillo and Channing, with no cell phone reception and no one coming by for hours. I do not know how our driver did it, but somehow she got us the 30 miles to Channing. We drove through Channing, I could have sworn that they had an Allsup’s or some type of convenience store with a gas station. We reached the edge of town and turned, somehow we had missed the gas station. On our second pass we found it. We pulled in and I went inside to ask them to turn the pump on so we could fill up. Before I could ask my question they told me they were out of gas and wouldn’t get any more until Monday. They thought the next town might still have some gas, but they weren’t sure.
The owner returned and siphoned some gas out of his truck. A pastor came by and brought a few more gallons to help us get to Dalhart (because the gas station in Hartley was closed for the weekend). The pastor keeps a few gallons handy, apparently we are not the first vehicle to run out of gas in Channing when the gas station is out of gas.
These two men went out of their way to help our group of “outsiders” in their community, people they had never met before, and more than likely would never come in contact with again. Their generosity, and their hospitality were overwhelming as we worried about getting not only to our destination for the evening, but also our final destination.
This experience left me wondering, Do those in our community offer hospitality to those who are only passing through? Are we generous to those who are only passing through? Sometimes it helps us to be “outsiders” in other places, so we can be more aware of how we treat the “outsiders” we come in contact with.
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