Friends Lost After Cataan Game
The subject is an accurate fact but a bit sensational on my part. Actually, they moved away.
BC, SH, VA, TN, JB, MA had one last late night game of Cataan. MA almost walked away with the victory but beginners luck (and a little underhanded under-the-table trading between BC and SH) sent BC home as the new super power on the dinky island of Cataan.
No, they didn’t move as a result of losing the game :)
NJHSA Choir Performance at Pascack Bible Church
Friday the NJSHA Choir performed at Pascack Bible Church (PBC) in Hillsdale, NJ. They recently returned from a European tour. I heard them give a Christmas performance to raise money for their trip. I remember they were good but I had forgotten how good until I heard them again Friday night.
The performance was excellent, the young men and women were exceptionally talented. To say the performance was priceless would be and understatement. They sang with superb harmony, melody, and all the other musical terms that a critic can use to rate a performance. Most of all they sang with a joy and exuberance that made me smile.
Several of the songs really stood out to me. “Paru parong Bukid” was a song about a young girl in a new dress who was having trouble paying attention in church. The emphasis put into the music made me think about the conflict in her mind as she fought to not think about the dress but to focus on the church service. It brought to mind memories and thoughts that made me smile from ear to ear. Sort of like being at the office at 4PM on beautiful friday afternoon.
“I Sing the Mighty Power of God” is a favorite song of mine and the vigor and technical skill it was sung with added power and meaing to the words. It was a marvelous opening to the line up of songs.
The YouTube videos don’t do the songs justice but they are an excellent reminder of a wonderful performance and the emotions that they stirred up by hearing them. Thanks to jgreendyk for posting them. You can find the rest of the videos of the performance as PBC (Pascack Bible Church) on this YouTube channel
Protected: Life Caught In Time
There are lives caught in time. My life progresses when the life of those who have died are stopped in time. There are no memories to be added to their life and there are only memories to forget.
Friday evening was the performance of the New Jersey Home School Association choir performance at Pascack Bible Church. It wasn’t my plan to go but for some strange reason I put it into my phone calendar the week before after it was announced. Friday arrived and I was surprised to see it on the calendar. Without any better plans, I went.
The performance was excellent, the young men and women were exceptionally talented. To say the performance was priceless would be and understatement. They sang with superb harmony, melody, and all the other musical terms that rate a performance. Most of all they sang with a joy and exuberance that made me smile.
Several of the songs really stood out to me. “Paru parong Bukid” was about a young girl in a new dress who was having trouble paying attention in church. The emphasis put into the music made me think about the conflict in her mind as she fought to not think about the dress but to focus on the church service. It brought to mind memories and thoughts that made me smile from ear to ear. The YouTube video doesn’t do the song justice but it is a good reminder of the thoughts and emotions the song stirred up.
“I Sing the Mighty Power of God” was a favorite song. It was sung with vocal skill and excellence. It was a marvelous opening to the line up of songs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=PUE4tWrEscE
What does this have to do with Steve Lauzon? As I sat looking into the smiling faces of the young people performing I remembered how skilled and bright he was. He was about the age as most of those young performers before he cut short his own life. A life that remains in my mind but will never be any longer and will only fade as memories tend to fade.
Game day was all wet
Lamentably game day was canceled. WO left early and BE was busy with some fall projects. DA was off buying a guitar of some sort. JK, MR, and I were the only ones to show. The highlight of the week just swept under the carpet, how sad.
JK had a great idea, swimming at the verona open pit. Yaw! MR tagged along but wouldn’t put a suit on. We appreciated his company none-the-less and he was able to snap a few pictures.
The water was cold after the first jump, cool after the second jump, and swimable after the third. Perhaps it was because our skin was de-sensitized from hitting the water (or maybe our brains were a bit mixed up from the fall).
The evening was beautiful as the trees hinted of the fall colors that were about to abound. To my dismay the exotic teal green color of the clear water was gone and everything seemed so much darker as the sun poked in and out of the evening autumn clouds.
The Pit
My friends took me to a place I had never been. You might say it was a whole new level…. with steep rock walls and water at the bottom!
Just outside of Ramsay there is an open mine pit from days long ago. Its filled with water and perfect for diving. The walls are steep and almost vertical. I tried to swim down to the bottom where the water line meets the rock but its incredibly deep. I made it as far as to where the thermal layer was and the day light started to fade. It freaked me out to go any deeper.
The water is very still and clear with a slight tropical green color. Not a scummy inland lake green but a very exotic look. Coming up from a deep dive the surface of the water looks as if it is inches away even though it may be 10′ away. The pit was warm and refreshing. I didn’t jump from too high up but I got some good pics of the more daring folks diving/falling in.
