Real Crazy

"I hate fake people." He said.

"Well, I may be crazy, but I'm REAL crazy."

I think I coined that.

I leave tomorrow to go on the spiritual retreat. I'm looking forward to it, though more because of who's going with me than anything I know about the actual retreat. I don't trust the weather enough to put much faith in the plans that were made. I know Chap has a direct line- but that doesn't mean Big Guy doesn't have other plans. He knows what He's doing, but it may not involve me getting to take any pretty outdoor pictures.

Two of my company's new guys are going, and one of my buddies is going, too. One of our new guys is from Romania, the other from Haiti. They both have relatively strong accents, and it's hilarious to me that they understand one another better than the rest of us understand either of them half the time. I'm not sure if they've noticed that yet or not, but it's keeping me entertained. They're both really good guys, and I get along with both of them quite well. To be honest, I wish I were going to see more of their experiences in Korea. I won't miss most of this unit, though.

I saw Fred Shafer play tonight, and he was fantastic. His band ("The Minions", we proclaimed them) were absolutely stellar. It's amazing to see a band come here and play and actually WANT to be here. Trapt was amongst the most stuck up, irritating, self-righteous bands I have ever seen in my life. Rob, one of the guitarists, was a good guy, but the rest of them... No, I just didn't want anything to do with people like that, no matter how rich and famous they might be. The guys tonight, though, played for a very small crowd, but they were just SO into it, it blew me away. Music, if used correctly, especially live music, is a truly religious experience. Tonight was like something out of a movie. I was lying on my bed half-dressed in my ACU's trying to convince myself to GET UP and my phone rang. Lady DJ was calling.

"What are you doing?" she asked

"Being lazy." Honest answer.

"Come to hilltop. Great band, and there's no crowd."

"Showering, changing and on my way, I'll post it." I told her, and that was the end of the convo.

Women can be amazingly efficient-and brief- communicators when we need to be.

It was amazing. They were glad to be there, repeatedly thanked US for letting them play for us, and thanked us for our service. It was heartfelt. They were having a great time playing. Fred was dancing, jumping, climbing, wiggling, and almost rolling around the stage. He was awesome. Not a bad looking dude, either. (Just sayin'!)

I sat there, at the front table, surrounded by people I knew (mostly), and we were all singing right along. When they played the Beatles' song "Helter Skelter"... Oh lord. We were all singing at the top of our lungs- especially Lady DJ. Hell, she didn't even wait til Fred was singing it- she was belting it out like it was her show! (Good job, Lady.) :-)

We were all singing that, then they played 'I Get By (With A Little Help From My Friends)' and we were all into that one. It really, truly felt like a movie... It was something else.

All in all, great night, even if I am staying up late to do laundry and pack.

SO WORTH IT!

Oh yeah, going bungee jumping next weekend!