AHQ at BMA Update #2
2/1/03
Written by Tom, David, and Byran
Things are going well here in the Ohio arctic, despite this environment's
overwhelming frigidity. I do mean arctic. Earlier this week it
was 20 below, and last weekend we got around six inches of snow.
This morning we awoke to joyfully face another several fresh inches. It
never ends around here!
This is my bud Dwight Troyer. Like most of us Troyer males, he's not the best looking guy around. But then again there has to be some minor offset for the incredible advantage we have in bearing the elite and world-renown Troyer name!
Some of us students come from non-arctic environments. It is not
uncommon for life to occasionally reveal facts like this in a dramatic fashion.
Last Sunday afternoon I went home with my buddy Dwight in his car. Or
perhaps I should clarify and say we made a valiant effort at getting home. I
hop in the car in the church parking lot, he asks me "Are you ready?!"
I said "sure," then "No!" I fastened my seat belt and then gave the
go-ahead. We didn't make it very far down the road until certain laws of
nature and Newton kicked in. In far less time than it takes to read this
account, we found ourselves stationary, inserted in the ditch at an angle
frighteningly approaching vertical.
None the worse for the wear, we calmly discussed the situation and
methodically planned and executed our escape from the car. There was a
small amount of concern that the car's rotation would continue to a point of
complete inversion (due to the extreme angle at which we were resting), but due
to careful planning on our part we were able to keep that from happening.
That's Dwight again (right) in the aftermath of the incident, showing us all exactly how he feels.
Of course if we would have went off the road any other place along there it probably wouldn't have been so bad, but it just so happened that the only deep ditch/drop off along there was the place we would have to choose.
Notice how I kindly say "we." I wasn't driving.
Chorus rehearsal.
As all faithful subscribers undoubtedly recall, I offered a suggestion on how you could help the Editor be more punctual with the Updates. Quite frankly, I was disappointed in the response. Some even emailed me and said directly that they would not do it, and I had given up hope on getting any response at all. But today I was ecstatic to find that one very faithful subscriber had sent an email to my instructors petitioning them to ease up on my homework load!! Thank you for your kindness Lauren, you are a true friend!
My bud Reuben gave me a haircut last week. Though it is debatable as to which one of us needed it!
I've had several nagging questions since being in this land of frigidity and
frozenness. One of them was "Is it 'Ohio' or is it 'Uhiuh?'" I've been checking into that and an Ohio transplant offered
this perspective: To the natives it's "Uhiuh," but to the transplants it's
"Ohio." Just for your information.
Our band has continued to proficiently produce guitar-based music. Here Forrest and I and Scotty work at mixing down our latest single.
David --
Sunday the 26th brought something of a disruption to my regular schedule at BMABI. I received the news that my great aunt Clara had passed away early that evening. (She was also the grandmother of another of the students here, my second cousin, Jewel Miller.) Jewel and I packed up Sunday night so we would be ready to leave Monday morning, and Anita Gingerich and Justin Nice were kind enough to take us down to meet Jewel's parents at the interstate, and we were on our way to Greenwood, Delaware. I had a great trip, because as well as having a good service, I also was able to get reacquainted with my grandma's brothers and sisters.
Delaware is kind of a history trip in itself for me, because that's where my grandma grew up, where my mom was born, etc. The funeral was Wednesday afternoon, the 29th. Early Thursday morning (5:00 a.m.), we repacked and headed back to Ohio, where we met another classmate, Brian Eshleman, at the interstate to bring us back to the BI. I think I have a new appreciation for my extended family now.
Some of the band members in the studio. We are quite diverse, we have little tiny guitars (pictured in center), solid guitars (left), hollow guitars, guitars with a whole bunch of strings, guitars with holes, guitars without holes, round guitars, and regular guitars (right).
I've been doing fairly well emotionally, but it's still hard. By has
a story he would like to tell about me and my former fiancé, Emily.
An attempt at repairing the rift?
By --
Could it be a sign from God?
Last Saturday evening a group of us went to nearby Newark to eat. We ended up
finding a Chinese restaurant, and we had a very pleasant time. The food was even
good. I'm not a big fan of Chinese.
Near the end of our meal we were each given the standard fare--a fortune cookie.
These, of course, are highly accurate and insightful messages which speak to
each person individually and specifically. Tom was sitting at my end of the
table, Emily at the other. All at once, Emily did the
put-her-face-in-her-hands-and-weep/laugh thing and that end of the table
erupted. Sherri read the fortune. "A love interest has come into your life.
Pursue it." Everyone roared.
Tom hadn't gotten around to opening his yet (he was still eating). We urged him
too, however, and finally Beka did. It said: "A dream of a lifetime has
presented itself. Say yes."
Unbelievable.
In case you can't make it out, the chapter title Emily is displaying is "When Women Initiate."
I've received an inquiry or two on the status of my cell phone holder (see our last tour Update #4). It is coming along quite substantially. In fact, it's been advancing at an alarming rate, so much so that I've taken some drastic steps to curtail its development! I've been running a lot, last night I ran about 3 and a half miles.
The entire student body of BMA BI '03.
Special Editor's note: Any slanderous comments in this update were made solely in jest and with the permission of all involved parties!