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| Currently Listening: The Imaginary EP by By the End of Tonight And so ends another summer. I never got around to writing about our California trip, but it was a good one, despite it being shorter than usual and Grandma not making it to the reunion. Tomorrow morning I am setting out for Memphis with Sean, my new Irish navigator at my side (he was a birthday present from my parents). I am looking forward to getting back, but the end of summer always brings pangs of sadness. It is so easy to take it for granted when you're right in the middle of it, but it's at the beginning and the end that I appreciate it most. I had hoped to go hang out/assist in the studio with Sings tonight, but it being my last night and all, I think I'll have too much other stuff to do. This is unfortunate because their recordings will surely be awesome, and it's been too long since I've been in a studio.
And now back to packing. See you next time, Texas. | | |
| The entire second half of June consisted of nothing less than "sweet fields arrayed in living green, and rivers of delight." Metaphorically, of course. An actual river would have indeed been a "delight" beyond measure in the 110 degree heat of Walnut, Mississippi. Instead we had to be content with a stagnant, scummy mud-pond. Camp Moriah was a lot of fun, despite the heat, but even better was the previous week at Harmony Hill Singing School. This was my first year to go, but I know it will be a lifelong tradition. I think the most meaningful moments were the impromptu singings with small groups of friends who somehow hadn't gotten our fill after the four hours of class, three hours of assemblies, and one hour of Sacred Harp singing every day. Also, I am apparently a composer of hymns now. This happened the week before Harmony Hill, and the timing couldn't have been better. Singing and recording my pieces with a dozen amazing lifelong shape-noters was an awesome experience, and the singers sounded great. After camp I had the pleasure of staying at the Bruces' in Dallas for a couple of carefree days of ice cream, Wickles (not together, obviously), Little League Baseball, Settlers of Catan, book shopping, and Captain Blood. It was the most summery time I've had all summer. Unfortunately, my transportation situation dictated that I miss the Octopus Project show in Memphis. I am seeing them tonight in Austin as they open up for Explosions in the Sky's 10th anniversary show. I should be really, really, excited about this, but I'm just a little sad that I have to do it alone after more than a fortnight spent in such excellent company.
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| Man, I meant to write something in this all day and I never got around to it. Just a placeholder, really; something to mark out the approximate boundaries of the first phase of summer, which is now ending. Early in the morning I'm leaving for the Southeast Texas Annual Sacred Harp Singing, followed by a week at Harmony Hill, a week at Camp Moriah, and a necessary pit stop in Memphis to see my BFFs The Octopus Project finally play a show there. It is going to be so awesome. All of that stuff. Singing i thank You God for most this amazing day at Molly and Daniel's wedding a month ago was unforgettable. Not just that, but everything about the wedding. Weddings are great. Marriages aren't bad, either. In a year and a half I've gone from barely singing at all to being able to do something like that for my friends. I'm living in an undiscovered country.
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| Once again, the spring semester concludes with me finishing school while staggering through life in a daze of total exhaustion. Except for another week of work, it is summer for me. It's hard to appreciate right now because I'm still recovering from finals week. I skipped out on work early today because I couldn't stay awake, and came home and took a 4-hour nap. I'm still trying to figure out how to make this summer worthwhile. My latest idea is living with the Amish for a month or two. My trip to Arkansas last weekend was so great. My dad drove up from Houston and his parents flew in from California, and we all converged in the middle-of-nowhere mountains north of Russellville for the decoration service at the Old Smyrna cemetery. It rained the whole weekend and the sky had come down to meet us in a thick fog that never lifted. It felt like being in the sky. I kept thinking on the drives through those winding rural roads, This is real life. Due to the weather, the gathering mostly took place in the nearby one-room schoolhouse where my Grandpa Cleo got all of his education except for the last two years. The cemetery holds my great-grandpa Sebastian Bell and his father Jim Bell, as well as their wives. Most of the others buried there are probably also related to me, but their graves are only marked with rough, unmarked slabs of stone. The house where my grandpa did most of his growing up is nearby, currently empty, but owned by two of my dad's brothers. We stayed with my grandma's sister Mary Lou, and at the decoration service I met my grandpa's brother and four sisters, not to mention endless second cousins and distant friends-and-relations. I had never seen any of these places or met most of these relatives before, and it was all pretty overwhelming, in a good way. We had a huge meal and a blessed hymn singing in the schoolhouse, with a few unplanned sermon/speeches interjected by Grandpa. I've been asked to lead church singing before and declined, but I got my arm twisted into leading a hymn with my dad and grandpa, and I'm so glad I did. I can't escape it; it runs in my blood. Staring out the window of that schoolhouse into the wet woods beyond, I was so, so thankful. On top of everything, I was blessed to be able to hitch a ride with Bryce and his mom and aunt rather than having to make a long and boring drive by myself. It was good to spend the time with him before he leaves for the summer (tomorrow). Yesterday we had a going-away/graduation party at Julie's house, and his girlfriend Maggie from Fayetteville made a surprise appearance to meet all of us. It was great. I hate seeing my friends leave. Tomorrow, Mahler IX at the Memphis Symphony! I can't wait. | | |
| I had a great time tonight at Daniel Gooch's tool shower. In case you hadn't heard, a tool shower is the manly version of a wedding shower, when men get together to eat meat and bestow tools and only-slightly-sexist marriage advice upon the groom-to-be. Actually, everyone's advice was very thoughtful, and I got a lot from hearing it. I couldn't care less about the tools, but I hope I will have the same group of guys around when it's my turn to get married. Daniel is marrying Molly Green, a great friend and the sister of another great friend, Kathryn. I will be singing at their wedding with 19 other choir friends, and I can't wait. Nights like tonight remind me of the sense of wonder and thankfulness I was filled with when I first found my new life. Cursive and Of Montreal are both playing in Memphis this weekend, and I'm missing them both. My three years ago self would truly kill me for this. Treehouse tomorrow. Arkansas next weekend. And I bought a plane ticket to El Paso. | | |
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