Grapefruits, Trucks and Bye-Bye Bama

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D+20

So, the restaurant that has been feeding us (very well) the last few days also made breakfast for us today. Just for the record, I officially don’t like grapefruit juice, or whatever dark juice was on the table today. But, I did drink a whole glass.

Two more school shows today. They went pretty well except at the first one, the projector power got pulled DURING the video. Oh well. But, we had all the kids in the show and feeling well enough to do so since the first time since probably Opelika! So, we loaded out of Talladega finally, dubbed by Anne, “the town that time forgot.” Ryan called me today at the beginning of load out because he hadn’t heard from me in two days!

I’ve noticed two interesting elements to traveling in the South right now. We’re close enough to New Orleans that everything is “post Katrina.” Articles in the paper and news still mention it from time to time. And the bigger one is that February is Black History Month. At church yesterday the students did sort of an element about it and the history, which was really cool. I’m learning a ton. Being that Spokane is so diverse (not!), there’s not a lot of that, so it’s true what they say about the South, it is a whole different world. The theater we were playing in was originally a cinema built in 1937. Our booth was set up in the balcony where there were no people and there were two staircases to get down. One went down to the lobby while the other went straight outside, the black staircase so they didn’t have African Americans walking through the lobby to see shows. Wow. Again, learning a ton.

For those of you following me on a map, check this one out. Woke up in Talladega, AL, then drove 1 ½ hours SOUTH to Montgomery, AL, and now going back NORTH to Birmingham, then on to Arkansas. Whoa! We had to trade out the truck for our old truck, which we dropped off in Opelika to be fixed, and they would only get it to Montgomery. So Kyle and Rachel would have had to drive all that way, then move EVERYTHING from the second truck back to the first truck on their own while we, in the van, went up to Birmingham. We, as a crew, decided that we should detour a few hours to help them, and it all worked out really well. On the way down, though, we hit a huge wild turkey. Whoa! We were going pretty fast, and I guess it was flying. I’ve never been in a car when it hit that big of an animal. Then to Birmingham to drop of Anne at a hotel so she can fly home to NY for the week.

The week off is much needed and anticipated. All of the crew will be helping with the kids so the regular chaperones can have some time off. Sharye asked what I could/was willing to do. I told her anything. She started listing off things that needed to be done, but as I have not been with this organization long, I didn’t know what most of it entailed. Then she got to one that was familiar. “Help with meals.” Woohoo! I know how to cook for groups! Let me help with that! So I get to help with some of the meals next week. It’s amazing the skills I learned at camp and other random jobs I’ve done that are coming in handy here.

The 12+ hour drive took quite the toll on us, although it was worth it for us in the van to drive down and help out the others, it just made for a super long day after 2 shows and a load out. We started in Talladega, then to Montgomery, Birmingham, through Mississippi (which I slept through mostly), a corner of Tennessee, and crossing the Mississippi River into Arkansas. We stopped in Birmingham for dinner and the GPS led us into a neighborhood, then, once we found some food, there was a big fire at some building that detained us from getting out of the city for a bit.

All I know about where we’re going is that we’ll be there for a week or so, with only church shows (and a JOH show at the church), but for time off. Sounds like we’re staying all together on cots somewhere. My mind’s eye keeps showing me the first year in Granite- all of us in the church, girls in the sanctuary, guys upstairs, 2 bathrooms, no showers… Good times, good times. I guess they stayed there last time and it’s a decent set up. Good for the kids, which is what is important. I don’t know if we’ll have internet there, so no promises on how often I can post.

Sarah looks exhausted. Rachel I guess is not feeling well. Kyle is still cheeky. Beth is nonresponsive. A week off sounds good right about now.

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Comments

[dave]

I smell cookies
Hey, getting to cook imagine that. I wondered when that would happen. Did you cook the turkey on the exhaust manifold of the van. Road Food, YUM! Time to name the van the "Gobbler". Miss ya Dave