In
the spring of 1991 I was finishing my freshman year at Taylor, short of cash
and tugged by wanderlust. I saw a Lost
Valley Ranch flyer posted in Taylor’s library, fondly remembered my senior trip there, and applied. Bill Reynolds and
Steve Miller came out to interview me and I got the job.
My time at Lost Valley has been
one of my life’s highlights. I worked there summer / fall of ’91, spring /
summer ’92, summer ’93.
It is my favorite place on
earth; when I die, I want my ashes sprinkled in Goose Creek where it forms a
lake in the meadow.
Meadow lake – my favorite camping spot. In the background is the road leading to the dump where I killed the bear.
I
started this journal on the plane ride to Colorado.
June 2, 1991
The only
time one plane trip is different from another is when the plane crashes. Other than that they are all the same –
boring. There are a limited number of
options open to air travelers who are looking for a way to pass the time. You
can always attempt to sleep, an extremely viable option, provided you spent the
last two nights awake and are so tired you could sleep on a gravel driveway
comfortably. The problem with sleeping
is trying to maintain your dignity with the alert passengers around you while
you nod off to la-la land. One has very little control over his / her body
while one sleeps and some actions taken on unconsciously can be pretty
embarrassing. Take for example the
just-falling-asleep-then-jerking-your-limbs-involuntarily syndrome. Or leaning your head back on the head rest
and dropping off while your lower jaw, of its own accord, drops down to rest on
your chest, fully exposing your fillings and the back of your throat, from the
depths of which comes a resonant snore..
Meanwhile, a thin trickle of drool finds its way over your lower lip and
down onto your shirt. These are not the
sorts of things you would want to see dad doing in church and they’re not the
kind of things you want to do on an airplane.
The best way to sleep on a plane is tucking your chin into your chest,
pulling your hat down over your eyes and hope for the best.
Three
goals:
Spiritual:
Grow closer to God through – developing the habit of personal daily devotions,
spending time in the Bible, developing a prayer partner to pray with every
night (bunk-mate, roommate, etc.)
Financial:
To make enough to pay Mom & Dad for the plane tickets, Mattie for the
suit, the tax lady, and Randy for the cycle.
I need to start making regular payments on my Taylor bill. I need to be wise with my money and save
where I can.
Guests:
I would like to get to know 3 guests well enough to develop a writing
relationship with them for at least the rest of the summer. They should be from varying age groups and
have different interests. One of them
should be a non-Christian in whom I would like to plant a seed of interest in
Christ.
Hike to the top of Black Mountain with guests
Personal: I
would like to stay in good physical shape by eating right (small portions),
exercising regularly (running, climbing, swimming), learn more about horses,
get close enough to God to begin to hear the voice inside me, and to develop strong
discipline in the area of relationships, I would like to get to know everyone
who works on the ranch by their first and last name, and every guest by their
first name. I would like to take on the very nature of a servant, make people
laugh, make them enjoy their stay, and cook up the best damn flapjacks you ever
ate.
June 3
Roommate Ben Bloodworth
Had a staff meeting
last night, introduced myself. My
roommate’s name is Ben Bloodworth, from Atlanta, GA. He’s pretty cool. Eric Coffman is fun and he knows the ropes,
so he teaches me what to do.
Ben
& I went to work at 10:30 a.m. and worked until 1:30, when we all took
breaks and Ben & I climbed the hills a bit.
He watched nature while I practiced with my gun. Then we played ultimate Frisbee and my team
was winning 4-0 when Kevin, a guy in the kitchen, dislocated his toe and we all
went to the staff room till he got a ride to the hospital.
Standing L-R: Kevin, Dirk, Bill, Eric. Kneeling: Steve, Jeremy, Me,
Ben.
June 9
I lose
interest in writing in my journal quickly, it seems.
I am
now the head baker with three days of intense training by ‘Gordy’, a swell guy
who used to be the baker.
Me, Bill in the baker’s corner
I’ve been playing
ultimate Frisbee, lifting, and climbed Helen’s Rock once. But I’ve also been snacking up a storm. I like it a lot, and it’s really busy.
1 Cor.
3:9-11 – We are laborers together with God…
1 Peter
3 – Be completely devoted to Jesus Christ…
Matt.
10:16 – Sheep in the midst of wolves – Be wise as serpents, & harmless as
doves.
Mark
10:45
End of Journal
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