What a day

Some of you might have seen or read that yesterday and today President George W. Bush, Condoleezza Rice, and Donald Rumsfeld are in Salt Lake City. Actually, Bush gets here in about two hours, but all three have had or will have speaking engagements in Salt Lake.

As you can imagine, there is much security downtown and outside of the hotel where they are staying. I went by a little earlier and there was a lot of Secret Service detail for blocks.

As you can also imagine there is much hype in the city because of these visitors. In all, there were/will be 7 official rallies taking place today.

The rallies are as follows :

1. Support the Troops Freedom Rally - a rally that is supporting the troops but protesting the war.
2. A Presidential welcoming party and appreciation rally - a group of about 3,000 people meeting the president at the airport to say "Thanks, and Welcome!"
3. A war protest in Washington Park - a war protest in the heart of downtown at the City/County building (yes, the same building where I saw the Pro-Polygamy Rally! speaking of, has anyone looked at all of the comments I got from that post lately...crazy, and one guy seems a little belligerent...) OH - a note about this rally - the Mayor of Salt Lake City spoke at this rally. Last year he introduced George Bush at one event, then went across town and spoke at an anti-war rally. Kinda weird and somewhat humorous.
4. A Call for Immigration Reform Rally - self explanatory...though, I guess the others have been too
5. An anti-Israel demonstration - I think some Anti-Semites heard the city was giving out a lot of demonstration permits so they pounced...I see little relevance to the government officials being here and "Death to Israel" (as the protest is officially titled), well, I guess I see some relevance in the last couple months, but I still think it's a stupid, intolerant rally. And I hate intolerance - that and the Dutch. Ha! (I don't really hate the Dutch. I can't hate a people when I have no idea where they hail from.)
6. A rock concert/ protest of war. - There is a cover band doing U2 songs and other old protest/rally cries.
7. Another Pro-Bush rally - to show support to our leader.

I know everyone has their own opinion about the administration, I do, but I won't say it aloud and I definitely didn't go to any rallies. I just found it interesting that by tomorrow, over 12000 people will have been at one of the rallies today.



The above picture is of one of the rallies, I don't know which one...I took it from the Salt Lake Tribune's website.

Sorry my posts have been really long here lately...I hope people are getting through them!

"Bus People"

I have a new segment in my blogdam (you think it should be blogdom like blog+kingdom, since I am royally awesome at blogging, but I opted for the more humble blog+adam=blogdam). As you could guess I encounter many characters throughout my day working in a place where over 100 people looking for some sort of assistance come through the doors each day. But, the most colorful encounters thus far in my time in Salt Lake City take place on the bus, or in some cases, at bus stops.

Today's installment of "Bus People" (read this in a very light manner, like a child would, or perhaps a gentle lamb if a gentle lamb could speak) is inspired by a man I met at the corner of 400 East and 500 South right here in the heart of Salt Lake City. We will call my new friend John, as that is what he told me his name was.

First let me describe John. John was wearing a white, button up shirt and navy slacks. His shoes were clogs that you would normally see on asian women (not to stereotype, but some things just seem stereotypical). His hat was one of those hats with a mesh backing and a puffy, nylonish top which was very colorful. John was wearing sunglasses that only blind people or very old people can get away with. Luckily, John was old, like, super old.

I made a little small talk with John as I approached because he was nice enough to ask me which bus I was taking, then told me the time it would be there. We talked a little about the weather, then about the town in general, then I told him I was new and from Nashville. He immediately told me that he loved Dolly Parton, Minnie Pearl and some of the older stars. I then told him (as I do everyone the least bit interested in country music) that I used to work at the Grand Ole Opry (because it always gets a rise from people and allows me to feel superior to them). However, John didn't ask the standby question that I always get after this statement "Did you meet anyone famous?" John just went ahead in the conversation and told me all of the Country stars he liked and when their birthdays were. He went on to say "My hobby is knowing everything there is to know about celebities. I laughed, then realized he was serious.

Did you know Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, and a couple other people all turn 70 either this year or next year and that out of all of them, Warren Beatty is the oldest by several days? I did...er, do now. For ten minutes, until the bus came, John told me probably 50 celebrity's birthdays. Then where they grew up and other things I could never have known and gone on living. But, John was a nice guy so I'm not going to make fun of him. I won't. I will, however, say that John likes to talk. That's why I was relieved when there was really only one seat open on the bus and I, being the gentleman, young, and able, chose to stand as far away from that open seat as humanly possible and still be on the bus.

In the comments of my grocery shopping mishaps my friend kind of reminded that it isn't always beneficial to talk to strangers. But, my life would be so dull...

Story Time 3

Editors Note: Earlier in the day before the following narrative, Adam mentioned to his father that he was upset that nothing had happened to him lately that was really worth blogging about. Apparently since Adam had gone to church that same day, God smiled upon Adam and sent the angel that you will read about in the following story.

Once upon a time a boy walked to the grocery store. Upon arriving at said grocery store the boy went to the counter and asked for a preferred customer savings card so he could save money. He was given a preferred savings card and was gracious to the store for preferring him enough to allow him to save money as he shopped.

While in Aisle two, the one with the bread and snack cakes, the boy was browsing the various breads and realized he was in front of a fellow shopper. "Oh, excuse me," the boy said. The fellow shopper replied "Oh you're all right. Can I help you find something? You look lost." The boy answered "Well, I am kinda lost. This is only the second time I've been grocery shopping on my own and the first time I had someone with me who knew what she was doing," just to make friendly conversation. The fellow shopper said "Oh, I would love to help you!" The boy thought that the fellow shopper was a little too enthusiastic in their reply and said "Thanks, but I think I'll be okay." Fellow shopper said, "No, I insist. Follow me around and I will help you."

The boy contemlated running out of the stor because he felt trapped. There was no way to be polite and turn down the fellow shopper's offer. Being a little scared and unsure of the fellow shopper's speed, the boy figured that he ought to obey the fellow shopper.

Things went smoothly for the boy the first couple of rows as he did not intend on getting much as he walked to the grocery store that evening. The fellow shopper was suggesting things that the boy should buy, but he was politely telling the fellow shopper that he already had or didn't need said items. The boy noticed that the fellow shopper had a habit of saying "I see" after the boy would give such a reply.

When the pair came to the canned vegetable aisle the fellow shopper said, "You just have to get some spaghetti sauce, it is always good to have spaghetti sauce on hand." The boy answered "Oh, I already have two cans of spaghetti sauce at my apartment." The fellow shopper said "I see. Well, maybe you should buy another just in case of an emergency." The boy looked at the fellow shopper dumbfoundedly, then said "That's a great idea!" as he put a can of spaghetti sauce in his cart.

The fellow shopper did not pick up on the sarcasm and said "I know."

Several more aisles went by with some things being put in the boy's cart, some things not being put in the boy's cart, and the fellow shopper saying "I see" quite often. After 45 minutes of shopping and counting the boy realized he made a mistake by not running.

When the pair came to the "Chips and Snacks" aisle, the boy's favorite, he picked up a jar of Salsa. The fellow shopper noticed the GIANT YELLOW SIGN right in front of the boy's face that said "Pace Picante Sauce, 2 for $4" and told the boy "get the Pace Picante Sauce, it's on sale." The boy replied "Oh, I see that it is, I just like this kind of salsa better than Pace. I'm not a real big Pace fan." The fellow shopper answered "But the Pace is on sale." The boy, really not wanting Pace Picante Sauce, said "Yeah, but I don't really want it." The fellow shopper, being relentless, said "But you are paying too much for that other salsa. I don't see why anyone would pass up this deal." The boy, feeling frustrated said "It is a great deal, I just don't want Pace. I want this."

Then the boy put the other salsa in his cart and said "I'm going to go find tostitos." He walked away from his cart and the fellow shopper so he could analyze what just happened while he went to retrieve the tostitos. When he walked back, guess what had been replaced in the boy's cart?

Quick post

Salt Lake City is growing more and more on me every day. I am really starting to like working at Crossroads and the city in general is really cool I'm learning. There are a couple of people who have taken me around and told me some the the things that you probably wouldn't read in a visitors guide. There are lots of little quirks about the city that make it unique and fascinating. I would write about them, but I don't really want to right now. Like I said...this is a quick post.

Who get's to wake up at 5 am tomorrow to go work? I do! I do!

Goodbye Pluto...

So, I am not sure if there have been more recent developments, but the last I heard the status of Pluto as a planet is in limbo. In honor, or possibly memory, of Pluto, I have developed a list of my favorite memories of Pluto.

1. Learning about it in 6th and 7th grade.

2. Thats all...no memories...



But, since my new work title does have the word "advocate" in it I will use all of my authority to advocate for Pluto. We need Pluto as a planet in our solar system - if not for reasons of diversity (it is the dwarf planet) - then for balance. There is power in the number nine - as in nine planets (for now), the nine monks in Buddhist ritual, nine being the highest single-digit number and thus symbolizing completeness in the Bahai faith, the nine powerful muses in Greek mythology, nine innings in baseball, and a hit television show that has nine deep spaces...though I forget the name of the show...Anyways, we need this power that the number nine offers and symbolizes in our solar system. We need nine planets!

Perhaps the most important, powerful reason for needing nine planets is because of the completeness of the old saying we all learned in 6th or 7th grade.

My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas

With that sentence, and my eyes are watering just a little, all of my favorite memories of Pluto come flooding back. My eyes are also watering a little thinking about the possibility of my excellent mother not knowing what she is serving us nine of. Without Pluto my very excellent mother would just be serving us nine. That is tragic...

How will kids learn the order of the planets from the sun out using an incomplete sentence?

As an advocate, I urge you all to write your local International Astronomical Union and ask them to keep Pluto a planet. Do it for the children...

Getting to work

The last two days at work have been my first at Crossroads Urban Center. So far I think I like it, though I need to sit down and process all that I have learned...

A lot of work goes on at Crossroads that tries to help people in general, but especially those who would be considered the least of these. Today there was a demonstration at the City and County building which is downtown. This wasn't a very confrontational demonstration, rather it was simply an informational thing to show how much Utah needs a state or federal supported healthcare program.


I, along with several other Crossroads staff members, board members, advocates, and team members drew 132 chalk outlines on the sidewalks of the building (with their permission of course). Many of the local politicians came out an had their bodies outlined, several of whom I got a chance to talk to. One of those, Pete Ashdown - who is running for US Senator in the coming election, gave me a ticket to the local AAA baseball game on Thursday night. That was pretty sweet. He was a nice guy, though I think he might be anorexic. Actually, I take that back because his "people" might read this and take offense. He is just really skinny - not even relative to me - just really skinny period.

There were many press people from different newspapers and television stations there too, so a picture of me might show up in some paper or I may be roaming around in the background of a television interview. Also, I guess I am destined to be on Univision, as they were there too (with a really, really good looking camerawoman). I can still see me in Time's Square "Viva la Univision." If only I didn't chicken out...

All in all I was pretty worried about today's events when I heard about them, and particularly my involvement in them, last week. I was worried because it seemed much more confrontational than anything I had done in my life thus far. However, it wasn't confrontational at all. Everyone was very supportive of the demonstration, even the politicians, as it brought to attention an issue that needs attention - healthcare. Or lack thereof...

Haha...Yes!

So yesterday (Saturday) I went out on a voyage to discover things about downtown Salt Lake...like, where I could purchase a Nalgene bottle and things of that nature. I had originally planned to go to the library to use wireless internet, get a few dvds to watch (as I don't have a tv yet, the computer and dvds are my entertainment) and maybe check out a couple books. When I arrived to the library I figured since I was downtown already and had nothing but time, I would walk around and try to find a mall or a camping store at least.

Right next to the Library is a Government building and as I was walking by it I noticed that there was something going on at the building's steps. As I approached I heard a band playing and saw picket signs. I guessed that it was some sort of political rally or protest so I decided to further investigate. When I arrived I saw a man with a couple cameras and, figuring he was with one of the newspapers, asked him what was taking place. Do you know what his answer was? The rally that was taking place was a PRO-POLYGAMY RALLY!!!



My reply to this was hahaha....yes! This reply drew an awkward reaction from the journalist. To ease the tension I simply turned around and walked away, pulling out my camera so I could prove to everyone that this is a true story. I took about 25 pictures and I think some people thought I was with the press.

At the rally there were two bands. Each band was a family band - where all of the members shared a father but not a mother. Instead of saying they were from the same family, they always said they were from the same community. I didn't get any good pictures of the bands though...

Also, they had between 10 and 15 young people, ranging from ages 12 to 23 talking about what it meant for them to grow up in a polygamous household/community. All of them were very positive and a couple mentioned that they couldn't wait to start a polygamous family of their own.



All in all there were probably 200 people there, so I am guessing there were 4 families there (pause for laughter), as I saw way more young people than parental looking people. However, I don't know how young people in this realm of society are accustomed to marrying. There were also several 15 passenger vans that families were scurrying to at the conclusion of the rally. Ha!

So...before I came to Salt Lake I joked, you joked, everyone joked about me coming back with 10 wives. However, I was not aware that there were people who still practiced polygamy. Apparently there are, and apparently they are ballsy enough to have a rally outside of a governmental building even though their lifestyle is not condoned. One thing I learned at the rally is that I no longer want to be a polygamist, er, even joking that is (I never really wanted to). You wanna know why? Because I'm afraid that all of my wifes will look similar - like this guy's:



Well, yesterday was my first Saturday in Salt Lake City and I'm sure one of the more interesting ones that I will have here in my two years. I did eventually find a water bottle, check out books and dvds, and return home to watch said dvds and read said books. The best part of the day, though, was the free snow cone I was given at the polygamist rally!

I'm Here!

After a loooong day of traveling, getting acquainted with people/my apartment, and unpacking some of my things, I am finally here in Salt Lake. I'm actually in the Main City Library - which is amazing - using the wireless this morning after a good night of much needed sleep.

I don't know what I think of everything yet but I'm sure that I will grow into it all. I enjoyed taking the bus this morning and having to walk a little. Utah is the healthiest state in the union according to research so I will be doing my part to keep it that way.

As of right now, my internet access is restricted to work and when I am here at the Library. There is a wireless port in the house where I live but I will have to see if I can get a password to use it.

Expect some posts about my apartment, workplace, and Salt Lake in general in the next few days.

last day in nashville...

It has been great getting around to see everyone before I head out...tomorrow in the early am. At this time tomorrow I will be in Utah, but it will be an hour later there. I think the anxiety is still there but there is a definite excitement in the air...

I can't think of a better way to ring in my last night at home than give my second segment of a many-part series, Ode number 2. This ode has been very special to me over the last few years...it seems like it has always been there when I have needed it.

Ode number 2 goes out to one of the greatest things in the history of the world and without further ado:

Cue the (boink) (boink)



Law and Order, how I love thee. I can remember many nights/days/weekends when I watched the show four hours or more. I think my record was one saturday where I watched 7 episodes. That was a great saturday.

I say I will miss the show because I don't plan on having cable. Thus, I will only get to watch the new episodes - which is something that I have never done. So, I won't get to break my record in the next two years. Instead I'll probably do a push-up, 4 sit-ups, and a couple jumping jacks on saturdays - you know, to get sexy (sexier?) and improve my odds of getting picked to be an extra for one of the Law and Order's that will be shooting while I am back in New York for US-2 midterm and endterm.

The best part about Law and Order is that everyone at some point has watched it, and a lot of people watch the reruns as regularly as I do. In a training session in New York L&O came up and it turned out the majority of the room had seen that particular episode. Law and Order is it's own language, a club for the people who have the time and desire to watch an hour of pure geniusness (is this a word?) whenever one feels like turning the tv on - because it is always on.

I could go on all night talking about Law and Order, but, I won't. My closing remarks ( which probably will not be as convincing as ADA Jack McCoy's usually are - the man's brilliant) consist of the fact that every Law and Order, with the exceptions of the 'to be continued episodes' and the 2 hour specials, are roughly 45 minutes. This is half of a normal movie. They do this at least like 26 times a year, roughly equating into 13 movie lengths a year. I have seen many stinker movies that cost fortunes...never have seen a stinker episode of Law and Order. Actually, I don't know where I'm going with this. I bet Jack McCoy could turn it into a conviction though.

(Just for fun, type Jack McCoy's name into Wikipedia - it gives a bio pieced together from many episodes of Law and Order...crazy and kinda funny in a sad way, the sad part being that some people have enough time to piece together a bio of a fictional character and the funny part being that some people have no life and have thus pieced together a fictional character's life...actually, type any detective's name into wikipedia and get their "bio's": Eddie Briscoe, Joe Fontana, Ed Green, Mike Logan, Elliot Stabler, Olivia Benson - ok, I apparently have too much time on my hands and am a loser...

My South

For a large part I have tried to downplay the fact that I am from the South. When someone asks where I am from I make sure to mention Nashville - as if it isn't really part of the south. My drawl/accent/ twang isn't too strong (through practice and will), and I shun anything that might be the least redneck. When taking a test to see how redneck you are, I was 51 percent yankee and 49 percent redneck...something like that(I don't remember the exact numbers). I remember being kind of happy that I was less redneck than yankee...i'm not sure why.

However, since I am about to leave the south for an extended period of time, and since I did just spend a month away from the south, I know there are several things that I shall miss greatly. These are things that I probably won't have in Utah and definitely didn't have in New York. If your name isn't on here please notice that nobody's name is on here...this is a list of things and ideals.



1. Sweet Tea - this is a biggie as I am lazy and will not sweeten my own tea in restaurants. Luckily, I will be so poor that I'll order water whenever I go out.



2. The ability to be able to call every soft drink "coke". This was a hot topic of debate between the US-2's, some of who said "pop," others who said "soda," and us correct people who said "coke." I have been told that Utah uses the term "pop." I refuse to say "pop."

3. SEC football. It's the best - though I won't really miss the poor coverage that Jefferson Pilot provides.

4. Ya'll. I will continue to use it until I get beat up enough I am broken of the habit.

5. My southern food. My food doesn't have to be pretty...but there sure needs to be a lot of it.

I'm sure there are a lot of other things I will miss but these are the five that I can remember easily. I hope I can hold on to some of them...

Worst...Book....Ever....

So, I just finished reading James Patterson's book The Lake House and shoowee, it stinks. More correctly, I had about 50 pages of the novel left and gave up. I write gave up because I decided that it was a crappy book within the first 50 pages, but kept reading to try to find some redeeming value...there was none, thus I gave up.









<--- Incorrectly titled The Lake House. It should be called The Outhouse

Man, I'm funny...




Let me paint you a picture of how ridiculous (Is that the right spelling? My dad told me how to spell this word but I forgot and I refuse to speel chekk) the book actually is. 6 of the 9 main characters are bird/human hybrids. Yes, you read right, little kids ranging from 4 to 12 who have wings, super good sight and hearing, and other birdlike qualities; not to mention their genius level IQs and super-human strength. Well, they apparently are being chased by some mad-scientist type super-hunk doctor who created his wife...really...he has a remote control where he can control what his wife does - he decides if she cooks, cleans, just sits in suspended animation, or performs other wifely duties. The doctor wants to kill the kids because they know too much about his experiments at The Hospital

I'm not sure how the book turns out but I'm sure the kids/birds end up safe in the end. The most ludicrous parts of the book that I can remember include the kids running away and building a nest, eating grubs, and collecting nuts they spot from half a mile in the air, a ten year old and a twelve year old making love - rather graphically described too, - the doctor working on a project that would trade human organs from a young healthy person to a dying person for the price of $100 Million Dollars, the doctor turning his wife off upon his arrival home after she tells him that dinner is ready - then turns her power back on before bedtime, and oh so many more...

I guess I should be fair and mention that this was the second book about the kid/birds. I can only be thankful that I didn't read the first book in the series. Actually, if I had read the first (or attempted to) I would have saved myself the pain of reading (most of) this book.

The real question if why James Patterson wrote the second one...

Feelings...sorry

Well I've long said that I wish I would either get super excited about moving to Salt Lake, super nervous, or somewhere in between. I am leaning towards the super nervous end of the spectrum right now - though I am excited.

I'ma miss lots of people when I leave too...

I head out on Thursday early in the morning. I am working on getting everything ready so I can leave. I've been slowly packing, getting things together, and saying my farewells. Monday I head down to Pulaski to say goodbye to everyone down there for the second time...I wasn't sure that I would make it back so I did it once already.

I'm working on a couple social commentary's right now about issues that really anger me...maybe I will post them on here when I finish them - at least summarize them on here...

I'm rambling... ( I also use the ... more than anyone I know)

Story Time 2!

Once upon a time a boy went out to eat with his family. When they arrive at the restaurant, the dining party waits for the host to seat them. After a couple of minutes, the host asks how many people would be eating. The Boy's mother answers "3." A Random Old Lady (referred to henceforth as ROL because ROLWISOTSHTSOABWWTSTBS is too long - that stands for Random Old Lady Who Is So Old That She Had To Sit On A Bench While Waiting Two Seconds To Be Seated - you'll understand the hostility in a second) says "that looks like a party of four to me!"

The Boy is perplexed and looks around to see if another random person is in the midst of his family trying to be part of their dinner party. Said random person does not exist. The Boy wonders what the ROL was talking about. The boys mother obviously realizes the ROL's train of thought and says "well, he is a pretty big boy."

The Boy then realizes what is going on and shoots the ROL a glance of death, to which she mistakes for a smile and politely smiles back. The boy makes a mental note to work on his glance of death in the mirror upon his return home. It was during this exchange of "smiles" that the boy contemplates drop kicking the ROL in the forehead. The boy does realize that ROL is seated so it should be easier to reach ROL's forehead. Then, losing focus the boy contemplates the definition of a drop kick - second guessing himself if this will be the most effective kick to perform on the ROL. Would a Roundhouse make his point better? What about the crane kick - it worked for the Karate Kid...

The Host says "please follow me," which interrupts the boys inner struggle. He follows the host and his family to the table with his tail between his legs, slightly embarrassed but slightly more regretful that he didn't point out ROL's own weight issues.

The End

For the record: I don't mind jokes about being big - I make many myself. From family and friends it's cool, funny, all that. From random strangers...not cool...Fat Old Lady...

Weekend Update

So I had an awesome time this weekend...

Friday and Saturday I was at Beersheba Springs for Summer Sizzler - a youth retreat sponsored by the TN Conference UMC. It is always the end of summer retreat so it's special for everyone, especially the seniors who graduated because this is their last retreat. It was pretty cool for me since it will be my last retreat with the TN Conference - at least for a couple of years. This year was great, as always. The speaker was great, my small group was awesome and it was super to get to see some of my peeps again before I head off. TN Conference youth events is gonna be one of the things I miss a lot over the next two years.

Sunday I left Beersheba early to get back home for my going away party with my family (and some extended family/friends). It was great to see everyone here too. I love my family and really am grateful for all of their support in whatever I do. It seemed like everyone is happy to see me leave since everyone showed up and some even brought presents to entice me to leave more regularly. Thanks to everyone who came! It was great!

Now, I want to give a shout out to something that made this weekend possible. As mentioned, the retreat was called Summer Sizzler, and boy did it sizzle. It was riddiculously hot for most of the weekend. Also, the party got a little warm with so many bodies and the door being opened regularly by comers and goers. So, this shout out is to a special something - a loyal friend if you will - that has been with me throughout the last several months. Many of you whom I encountered might not have noticed that this friend was even with me, but it was - both at Sizzler and at the party.

So, without further ado I will make the first part in a multi-part series of odes to my deodorant, BAN:



This is a big deal to me because before I found BAN (and yes I know it's a ladies deodorant) many deodorants would work for a month, maybe two, but only to start failing me when I needed it most. BAN (yes I know, made for ladies) has been effective for almost four months now...actually it's been more than effective. I can sometimes wake up the next morning after putting it on at 8am the previous day and I still smell powder fresh. BAN (haha, you're funny - no I'm not a girl) will be the first deodorant I haven't had to rotate around ever. This is why my first ode is to my deodorant. BAN (for the last time I don't care if it's designed for women) is my savior, my loyal friend, my trustworthy companion, and my integrity filled partner - I hope it continues to work now that I have bragged so much...

Link

I will be away this weekend for my last TN Conference youth event - at least for a couple of years...

I read this column off of CBS Sportsline's SPIN site and thought I would share it.

Clay Travis is one of my favorite writers (and he's from Nashville!) and this column describes many of the reasons why I don't like mega churches (and most evangelical churches).

Click this to link to the page!

There is wireless in Beersheba, so I will try to update there...

New York? Check

While in New York it seemed like everyone had a list of things that they wanted to do while in New York. These lists had things like "buy a hot dog from a street vendor" and "order chinese delivery at 4 in the morning." Other lists were more simple like: "go to a broadway show" or "visit museums."

I went to New York with no such list...however, I have created a list of things I should have done, and how close I came to completing them.

1. Go to FAO Schwartz and show off my newly discovered piano skills by playing Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" on the BIG Piano.

Outcome: Sadly, I did not make it to FAO Schwartz to play Journey on the BIG piano. I did, however, go to the life size Barbie house in the Time's Square Toys 'R Us and look at almost every Barbie there. I was the only guy that night...

2. Get on a hit television show.

Outcome: I was oh so close. One night while in Time's Square, we saw what we thought was some kind of tv show or commercial or something about to be shot. We hung around this area for a little while and talked about the guys who we thought were paparazzi. Eventually we got tired of waiting so I walked across the street (I was the only one brave enough to ask!) to ask the "paparazzi" who they were keeping their cameras on for. It turned out that they were all just freelance photographers taking pictures of Time's Square. (does time's square have an apostrophe? I have been putting one there) Then one of the girls told me to ask the video camera "paparazzi." I obliged and he didn't know of any celebrity in the area either, he was simply getting shots of the night too. I then asked him what tv station he worked for and this dialogue took place:

ADAM: What tv station do you work for?
UNIVISION: Univision
ADAM: I want to be on Univision!
UNIVISION: Do you speak Spanish?
ADAM: Un poco
UNIVISION: Really? Ask that guy then (pointing at the man holding the microphone
ADAM: No thanks

I was oh so close to being a Spanish Icon! If I didn't get scared and bail...

3. Meet a famous movie star and have her fall in love with me.

Outcome: Once again, I was oh so close. On the next to last night we were there, on the way back from dinner, one of the other US-2s, Emily, and I saw Liv Tyler.

Let me preface this by saying that Liv Tyler lives about 5 brownstones from Alma Matthew's House, so I halfway expected to see her at some point. On this fateless night she was getting out of an Escalade in front of her house and Emily and I were between the car and her house. We (accidentally) cut her off while she was trying to get to her house and promptly sped up to get out of her way. While getting out of her way Emily and I made eye contact to confirm that it was in fact Liv Tyler. I should also say that Liv and I made eye contact.

However, since it was dark, Liv did not drown in my eyes and fall in love with me. Had it been daylight and she had the chance to fall in love with my eyes we would be on the cover of next week's People magazine talking about the love that caused her to divorce her husband, give up her career, and move to Salt Lake.

Well, it looks as if I accomplished very little of my made up list...I shall do better next time.

Good ole' Alma

So I am super happy to be back in Nashville for a short period of time but I do have a few residual New York posts...

While in NYC, the US-2s were housed at Alma Matthews House - which is a private residence owned by the United Methodist Church. It is used mainly by the GBGM, UMCOR, and Woman's Divisions as a place to house visitors -guests, and staff persons who don't live in New York - on a temporary basis.

Here is a picture of Alma Matthews:



Alma (Ma for short) bequested the double brownstone to the United Methodist Church when she passed. She originally opened the house as a sort of halfway house for woman immigrants many years ago. Ma was a good lady who wanted to help these newcomers to America adjust better to the changes of culture, including dress, hygiene, job training, etc. I think this is all correct.

It is a really nice place to live for a month. I'm sure if put on the market today it would cost a pretty penny.

One of the craziest things about Ma's house was the picture you just saw. Her eye would follow you if you were near that picture. One day someone broke a chair and Ma was grimacing at him just as if it were her chair. I'm certain that the picture is really just like the pictures in Hogwarts, only Ma can't let us Muggles see any of the actual movement. Well, I guess I should say she shouldn't let us see..

One day, while minding my own business, I was sitting in the room where the picture was reading. All of a sudden, Alma was nearly on top of me trying to make out with me! I don't know if she cared that I was a muggle or what but obviously I was too much temptation to keep her little secret any longer.

I have a security camera still-shot as proof since I knew no one would believe me:



See! I told you!