Wow . . .

It feels like it’s been months since the last time I posted, though I don’t think it has. Everything is roaring along at a breakneck pace right now, with me hanging on for dear life, but I’ll try to sum up the last several weeks, provided I can remember them!

So, without further ado, here goes:

Slightly over three weeks ago, Bethany’s graduation ceremony invitation turned up again, so I promptly attempted to convince my parents to take me. Being economically conservative, they refused to go out more than once, so I was in the awkward position of having to wrangle a ride from a fellow partygoer.

Fortunately, Alan and his family were kind enough to provide assistance in this matter, (and valuable aid it was, Alan) so I successfully sequestered myself into the rather overwhelming social occasion.

Everyone reading this was probably there, so I won’t go into detail on the ceremony itself. Suffice it to say that it was quite enjoyable, and properly formal! Unfortunately, Alan and I were unable to enjoy much of the picnic following the ceremony, due to the rather early arrival of his parents. It was fun while it lasted, though!

Continuing on through the week, I found myself subjected to more stress, in the form of the painfully urgent matter of my continuing progress towards acquiring the rank of Eagle Scout. I successfully passed my board of review for Second Class - many thanks to everyone whose prayers and encouragement continue to support me, and please, please, keep it up. I need it right now . . .

That Saturday was also the troop Pancake Dinner Fundraiser - a smashing success, by the way - with roughly four hundred dollars raised to counter the costs of our summer events. I cooked the scrambled eggs . . . but I didn’t tell anyone that I had secretly decided to spike them with garlic! Incidentally, after the dinner ended, an older lady was inquiring as to who had made the eggs, which she had particularly enjoyed. I still didn’t mention the garlic, though.

By this point it had come to my attention that another group graduation party for several friends had been planned for Saturday afternoon, which I had already promised not to miss, except under extreme circumstances. Again, I had to arrange a ride for myself, as my family wasn’t inclined to do it all themselves, and still doesn’t know the area so well. As it turned out, the Baker family was kind enough to transport me for the duration of the day, for which I shall someday repay them, if possible.

Saturday night I stayed awake a mite too long. Joseph and I ended up chatting more than was really necessary about coming events, including the aforementioned picnic. By midnight, we were trying to figure out how to acquire the needed information and directions, but lacked the sanity and ability to come up with anything realistic. What we did come up with, though, was ultimately quite bizarre and amusing.

Here are a few of the odder quotes from our plotting session:

“That’s a tuber launcher, not a tuber smasher.”

As the night wore on (and we got weirder and weirder), we eventually dedicated the chat to the graduating friends in question, and finally quit before passing out. It ended some time around 1:15, I think.

Of course, I can post a transcript of the entire bizarre, amusing, mildly insane, and embarrassing chat if anyone wants to read it. Just let me know if you do . . .

Fortunately, I did arrange that ride, and found myself waiting around at New Life on Sunday morning. It turned out that a wedding was being held that day . . . and since I happened to be standing nearby, I got drafted to be the door boy, which turned out to be a very short job.

After a brief stop by Costcos, we (myself and the Bakers) arrived at the Schafer’s farm, only to be greeted by the sight of absolutely nobody. Eventually we realized that the picnic was being held in the field down the road (of course). While there, I enjoyed many hours of volleyball, canoeing, and Ultimate Frisbee (during which my team was soundly trounced, and I was amusingly body-slammed by Mr. McKinney). I also met the Schafer family for what was in fact the first time, along with becoming far better acquainted with myriad other families I had not had the opportunity to meet before, and all of which I am now very pleased to know!

Then, of course, more BSA stuff on Monday. I was educated on the fine art of lashings, which mainly consists of using a rope to hold two or three logs together by the application of several utterly incomprehensible knots.

Not much happened after that until Friday. That evening my brother and dad headed off to Mecklenburg for yet another BSA camp, which turned out to be essential for my next promotion. And so it was that on Friday night I arrived at Wilderness Weekend. The campsites were amusingly - and appropriately - rustic. So much so, in fact, that the only facilities provided were several utterly dark and unpleasant latrines. These were dark to the point that it was impossible to tell exactly what it was that was crawling up your leg at the time . . . however, I am fairly sure I spotted a pseudoscorpion scooting around in there.

I woke up yesterday morning in a state of disorientation, having found myself in a grimy old tent. To add insult to injury, it was 6:00 when I woke up. Not fun.

Then came breakfast, of course. It turned out that Eli still doesn’t follow cooking directions . . . he’ll happily start throwing anything in a pot with water, then boil it and expect it to taste good. Again, I had to save our supposedly ‘instant’ grits from a bad ending, and again it turned out ok. Fortunately, this time someone else added the butter.

After breakfast was the shotgun/skeet class, which was very, very cool. I beat my dad’s score by one demolished skeet both rounds, which made me feel happy for never having used a shotgun before. The next class was riflery, involving a .22 range and a pair of black powder rifles. I did quite well with both, even though someone (Eli, I suspect) convinced the guy in charge to load my black powder rifle with a 120 load, compared to the normal powder load of 60. Thus, I was rather shocked by the power of the recoil, but did blow a sizable hole through the target, along with quite a bit of the attached board, too!

Soon after these events ended, we departed early, as I had a strong inclination to still make it to the civil war dance that evening, and still didn’t have another needed ride, and to make matters worse, the dance was at 5:00!

After returning home I began bombarding people all around Farmville with requests, and finally managed transportation with the Kings. Until last night, I had never had the opportunity to attend one of these famous galas, so I wasn’t going to miss this one for anything!

It would take a small book to go through everything that happened at that dance. I introduced myself to some unfamiliar individuals, socialized with more familiar ones, made some very cool new friends, and had an incredibly fun time! Surprisingly, I wasn’t an unknown, as I feared I would be - far more people knew me than I could have expected. All in all, I loved the experience, and anyone who hasn’t been to one yet, try it. You won’t regret it!

Today, I’m still in a great mood, thanks to all the fun I had yesterday. As of tomorrow morning, I will be departing for Kentucky, where I will spend most of a week caving, along with visiting my early childhood hometown of Louisville. I’ll be back on Monday next week, and might be at softball that Thursday, but no guarantees yet.

My love to everyone, and thanks for all your support, laughs, and, of course, rides. I need ‘em all!

~ Cassidy ~

A side note - due to a lack of a "Homeschooled" network on Facebook, I am currently disabled from their networks, pending an inquiry. Sorry for the inconvenience, if any.