A Good Cry

"I wanna know where children would go
if they never learned to be cool
Cause nothin's achieved when pushed up a sleeve
so nobody thinks you're a fool" - Missy Higgins

I'm hoping the children go to the UWC in new mexico. I'm dreaming that they sacrifice self for knowledge and for the benefit of others. I'm honored that Kelley and I will get to be a part of that scene come August of 2008.

Last night K-time and I headed for Asheville for a Missy Higgins show at the Orange Peel. It was interesting because here's this HUGE artist in Australia that is made to open for some very good, but admittedly less popular artists...even here in America. Missy played about 7 or 8 songs...and I cried the whole time...seriously.

I think it was Art Garfunkel who once said that their goal (Simon and Garfunkel) was to make good music..and good music gives people goosebumps. Well last night my eyes had goosebumps. I don't know if the excitement of our move to New Mexico, now coupled with the possibility of a young one coming along next December for us, has gotten to me more than I realize or what, but I felt pure unadulterated catharsis last night through her songs. The whole venue...audience, room, and sound system combined truly provided an atmosphere where the sound stood a chance to cut deep into your heart and your mind. The lyrics came to life as Missy's crystal clear voice filled the room.

Kelley looked at me about half way through the show and noticed the tears. "Are you alright?", she asked and kind of laughed.

It was good to be affected in that way. To escape to such a hip town as Asheville on a Saturday night and to find yourself being reached at such a deep level.

There's nothing like a good cry.

Kel and the Fish

So yeah...it looks like the 4th year of our marriage has proven itself a year of amazing things to say the least...

Kelley truly learns how to sew and get great at it...
Jeff gets "teacher of the year" and then finds another job in New Mexico...talkabout a cosmic "peace out"!
...and then...Kelley gets pregnant!

That's right, you're looking at our new little 7-week-old...fish. It's funny because I always show this one picture (below) to my biology students during our unit on evolution. It's a 4-week-old human embryo compared to a fish embryo...the kids can never tell them apart. See for yourself....can you pick which one is the human? Evidently God was so satisfied with the early stages of embryological development that he made most "higher" organisms share developmental characteristics. He probably also figured: "One day, my humans will come up with a way to look inside a woman's belly and see the developing baby...I think I'll make them look like fish for a while just to make all those silly sheep-like humans have a good laugh!"




Anyway. It's WAY early into the whole process and we're definitely in that stage where miscarriage is possible. We even found out that there might be a little complication to the pregnancy with some genetic stuff going on with K-time. Nothing serious, but we're waiting on some tests to come back. So needless to say, we're extremely excited, but also a bit nervous at this point about everything coming out healthy for both Kel and the "fish".

God-willing, by December 17th of this year, we'll be the parents of a wonderful, healthy, and happy new baby...and we'll join the ranks of those trying desperately to bring new life into a world of turmoil...maybe our offspring will learn how to live peacefully with each other. :)

Looking to the west

So it's official.

Come August, Kelley, the dogs, and I will be heading for the southwest. We have had an amazing job offer at the United World College-USA in Montezuma, New Mexico.

The college is a 200-student boarding school that uses the International Baccalaureate Curriculum to unite students from all over the world under the umbrella of education, service, and experiential wilderness expeditions.

I'll keep this short as I'm sure there will be more posts to come concerning the issue, but essentially this is my dream job...come true!

Kelley and I will be living on campus with the dogs and the international students and enjoying some pretty rigorous biology, sweet trips into the New Mexico wilderness, and some great service opportunities as well.

Columbia has been amazing for the last 4 years since we've been married...but it's so cool to feel a pull towards the west.

Here are some pictures of the castle at the UWC and the New Mexico countryside.

In between

tangibly nervous

a fledgling pushed from the nest

catching wind at last

The Land of Enchantment

Over 3 and a half years ago, Kelley and I got married and spent our honeymoon in New Mexico (Santa Fe to be specific). This past week, we had an opportunity to head back out to the land of enchantment and were able to have some good reminiscent vibes from our honeymoon time as we explored some new places.

We hardly ever get to travel, so the trip came about at a good time and was really fun for the most part. I guess the only drawbacks were the short time we actually got to spend in NM and the long lay-overs due to delayed flights.

Early Friday morning we woke up from our hotel room in Albuquerque and drove north past Santa Fe on our way to Las Vegas, New Mexico. The arid climate and sparse vegetation made for such an amazing view that we both have come to love as we've spent time in the west. You can probably see for at least 40-50 miles out there....compared to 600-700 yards most places in South Carolina.

Anywho...not much of an "inspirational" blog at this point, but more of a documentation that we went out to New Mexico for some "covert operations" that are yet to be disclosed.

"How can you buy or sell the earth?" (a long blog)

I just returned from a wonderful weekend vacation with my in-laws in the mountains of North Carolina. My recent reunion with the hobby of fly fishing had me quivering with anticipation for the trout that were awaiting me in the Nantahala River. I literally felt a groaning within as we got closer to the mountains...a strange inexplicable magnetism to the stream somewhere in my gut that seemed to make the harsh lines that seperate man from wild soften and dissolve.

As soon as we arrived at the cabin and upacked, I put my gear in the car and headed for a local tackle shop to go about the legal process of fishing in NC (don't want to upset the people who "own the river"). I got my license and asked about a good public access point and fishing location on the Nantahala River. I was told of a place 5 miles down Wayah road between a bridge and a powerhouse". It sounded cryptic but I thought I could figure it out.

I found the bridge and figured, to be safe, I'd just fish in the river near the bridge since I wasn't sure where the powerhouse was.
I stepped in, tried to "listen to the river" a bit to get my fly choice right and then on cast #2 I caught a beautiful "brookie" (brook trout) that, up to that point, was the biggest of my life.

Then they pulled up. You know who I mean too.

Trout in one hand and fly rod under arm, I raised a friendly peace sign to the federal officers in their white ford SUV. "You guys came at just the right time" I said as the senior officer and his side-kick stepped towards the stream. "They're hittin' on the blue-wing olives today!" I said excitedly. "is 'at a fact!?" the older one said with a smile and followed his seemingly interested comment with "we'll need to see your license".

At this point, I thought the check was routine. They saw my SC plates, they knew I was an out-of-towner. No big deal. What I didn't realize is that I picked the wrong side of the bridge to fish on. Literally 20 yards in the other direction and I wouldn't have been sandbagged with a stiff $125 fine for fishing in federal waters.

When I realized that I was actually getting a ticket for being 20 yards in the wrong direction, my blood boiled. I stayed calm and polite so as not to make matters worse, but inside a tempest was brewing.

How can "we" (meaning the desk-anchored bureaucrats) draw imaginary lines to seperate what we consider to be our side of the sandbox from "the other guy's side". For a species of organisms that has such a blip of an existence on our planet, why do we feel like we as individuals, or as small organizations, are entitiled to what has been here long before us and will continue to be long after we're gone? As Christians, what kind of stewardship is that kind of thinking?

So with that...here is a quote from Dwamish Chief Sealth of Seatle in a letter written to President Franklin Pierce in 1854:

..."how can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?

Every part of this earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every clearing, and every humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of my people. The sap which courses through the trees carries the memories of the red man. So, when the Great Chief in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land, he asks much of us...

This we know: All things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself..."

- Chief Sealth, 1854

well said my friend.

therapy

Things have been pretty topsy turvey lately...not bad at all; I just seem to have a few loose ends up in the air that need to miraculously tie themselves together and float back down to earth to give me a crystal clear message of the path Kelley and I should take in the next year or so.

So in the meantime of unsettled in betweens, Kelley and I both have found shelter and guidance in our God, but therapy in Missy Higgins.

This girl is a lyrical gangsta from down under and I highly recommend a good listen to both of her albums. Check her out on iTunes.

peace out,
jeff