"This is my life" part 3

Time for the next segment of walking the path of reminiscing, "Living in Missouri". And we're off...

LIVING IN MISSOURI

* Rooming with Kevin and fitting two armchairs and the coolest coffee table ever in that room

* Playing KGB at CBC, chasing each other until security saw us then being chased by them

* Ricky Tyler and his 1 a.m. "sermons" on the evils of women

* The impromptu song "Oh adam, why didn't you give the arm"

* Meeting one of my best friends, Luke, who even though was only there a short time, will always be family

* Learning that I could sleep sitting up during chapel

* Being a proud staff member of the Boys and Girls club

* Meeting my wife there

* Meeting a long lost brother in Kevin Coldwell

* Agreeing to let Coldwell live with me without really knowing him

* Saturday 7 on 7 Flag football

* Float trips

* That weekend in Ha Ha Tonka

* Telling Joanna (Jenn's sister) that I spent two years at Lakeland and seeing her slowing inching away... then finding out that Lakeland is a mental institute in that area of Missouri (I meant the community college in Illinois)

* Coldwell and I putting all the photos of "Doog" (Jenn's sisters boyfriend at the time) face down cause we thought he was a jerk, haha... good times

* Almost getting arrested with Coldwell the first night he moved in by giving him a tour of Willard around 10 p.m. (We had just gotten off work) in his white explorer... not knowing that someone in a white explorer had robbed a bunch of businesses a few nights before. Kevin didn't even know our address yet, and I had an illinois license... man that was hilarious

* The biscuits and gravy fiasco

* Coldwell telling me I had no chance to date jennifer, she wasn't interested... then dating her a month later

* Meeting Garry and being sure he wouldn't last at the BGC... he's now a unit director. Shows what we knew.

* Working with Matt and Suzi Marquez... two of my favorite people ever.

* Evening hide and seek games with the teens at the BGC

* The "American Gladiators" lock-in with the teens... including the events "The Gauntlet", "Score or Drown" and my personal favorite "The Staff of Death"

* Rock climbing with Kev and Coldwell

* The house

* Freaking out on our last night in "the house" before moving as we watch the flood rise to less than an inch of flooding the living room.

* Watching Coldwell confidently get in his explorer to drive in the flood waters, back out, go about five feet, pull back in and sheepishly decide it's not gonna happen

* The late night games of NFL Xtreme

* Breaking 300 points in one game in NFL Xtreme (5 min. quarters if I remember right)

* The BGC teen trip to texas

* finding out Melanie was a cold, heartless German

* Being at a Texas Rangers game with the teens, having Ashley ask (honestly) if Alex Rodriguez was hispanic, and having the (hilarious) drunk guy behind us answer (with a scottish accent) "NOPE! He's scottish, his real name is Alex McRodriguez. He has 3 bat sizes, "wee", "not-so-wee" and "FRIGGIN' HUGE!!!" (the staff was crying we were laughing so hard)

* The game going 18 innings

* "If we actually win this thing I'm keying your car!" -said joyfully by hilarious drunk guy #2

* The BGC teen trip to Memphis

* Being the only white people in the wal-mart on the memphis trip

* Almost dying in that wal-mart because of one of the kids and an ill-timed use of "cracker"

* Almost losing another kid in that wal-mart and deciding we'd rather explain why we lost their son to his parents than search for him (he showed up as we were discussing, so I can claim we were kidding... I think we were kidding...)

* Playing blackjack in the guys room on that trip, using pillows, blankets, bed spots (2 beds 6 guys) and the all-important toilet paper as "winnings"

* Someone having 5 pillows at the end of the night and Kody only having a hand towel and washcloth to cover up with

* Involving the girls the second night and taking all their pillows by having Garry (the dealer) deal me off the bottom of the deck... so much fun

* KILLING the other clubs in the staff softball tournament

* Hitting a home run in said tournament

* Garry and I making fun of volleyball as a "non-sport" only to totally antagonize our respective girlfriends

* Riding in the back of a truck IN a refrigerator box... standing up

* the teen Tribe wars at the BGC

* Fight Club (not what you think)

* stickball

* The best Halo gaming at Hanh and Anthony's with the best group of guys

* Brian Rollins and his friend (who I cannot remember the name of for the life of me) having a personal vendetta against me in Halo, and me DESTROYING them every time

* Making smoothies at the apartment (they were terrible)

* the sandwich parties at the apartment (they were not terrible)

* The trip to Arkansas to see Jessica (who woulda thought that would actually end up working well)

* the texas road trip (Left springfield, mo at 2 a.m. Saturday, went to six flags and a rangers game got back 2 a.m. Monday)

* the infamous STD Flea Market joke (yes that's really what they are called)

* The Chris Highfill-Shelby-nose incident

* Every single one of the kids I met at the BGC

* The BGC staff

* getting Coldwell to bet that he could drink a gallon of milk in an hour

* Watching Coldwell try not to puke in a staff meeting during that hour... and trying not to bust up laughing

* Being told in a BGC training session we should respond with "that must be hard for you" instead of qualifying a statement... and Barry asking if "Sucks to be you" is non-qualifying enough

* Watching Jeff try to jump on an inflatable raft in the pool

* paintballing at Ozark paintball

* paintballing at that professor's farm

* my paintball gun breaking and going from semi-automatic to automatic and painting jeff from head to toe accidentally (oh so hilarious)

* Coldwell having a huge crush on Ashley, the hot teen intern... hahahahahahahahahaha

* Being known only as "Shrek" for 2 years at the BGC

* perfecting the white man dance in the teen center

* going to a royals game and a husker game in one weekend

* almost getting beat up at the husker game for wearing Illini colors (Nebraska was playing Iowa, and Illinois was playing michigan... but I didn't have a free ticket to the illini game... still wore orange and blue face paint though)

* All those trips to Lee's Summit

* My car being broken into and having my GLASSES stolen... dorks

* putting the sofa in the dumpster when we moved out (so much more involved, but I'm leaving it at that)

* being introduced and falling in love with Chinese restaurants

* all the awesome people I worked with at Kohl's

* helping security chase down shoplifters in the parking lot

* messing with the paging system with the help of Rob in men's

* messing with rude customers at customer service with the help of Kevin

* Trapping Hanh in customer service by holding the door shut (she was too short to see through the peep hole)

* scraping car windows in the parking lot when it snowed just for the fun of it

* late night runs to IHOP

* THE PALACE!!! ($2 movie theater... thx sound, stadium seats, 8 screens, the works)

* Cici's pizza

* Andy's frozen custard

* every moment dating/being engaged to/married to Jennifer

* but most specifically, asking her out, her saying no, later kissing me, then not speaking to me for a week or so (she will deny this account of the events, but it's my blog so it's my account that shall be posted, hee hee)

* The smoke alarm going off right before the wedding was supposed to begin, me being in the pastor's office having no idea what's happening and only hearing Garry announce "There's no fire!"

* Having Babe Ruth, Abraham Lincoln and other celebrities attend the wedding... or at least sign the guestbook (Thanks Marquez)

* Getting lost with all the groomsmen and an usher the day before the wedding (we were like 2 hours late... NOT a good idea... but again hilarious)

* the moldy biscuits that traveled with us each time we moved... then replaced with the brownie mix

* the little house in lebanon

* getting first dibs on red ticket items at kohl's (hello leather jacket for a buck.... hello 7 dollar reeboks, etc.)

* racquetball and making up our own rules :D

* Lambert's, home of the throwed rolls... nuff said

* Eddie's apartment....

* Eddie's parents

* the greatest restaurant with the greatest cheesecake ever, blackbeard's in Corpe Christi, TX

* the birth of "Namnoc"

* one day realizing that "Namnoc" is conman backwards... freudian slip perhaps???

* taking a picture of steak n shake in the middle of traffic (don't ask me to explain)

* playing ncaa football for micah's enjoyment

And that's the list for today... I do however have to add one to yesterday's list that I can't believe I forgot...

* water skating on the linoleum in the back room at Yoder's... and watching David about break his arm doing so

Ok, tomorrow will be the final chapter of this little trek down memory lane "Back in Arthur". Hope you are all well. God bless.

-Shrek