Tonight I was up in the gazebo at BJU, sending email. Moments ago, while listening to music, I heard some rustling behind me. I thought it was Public Safety, but I couldn’t see anybody behind me. The rustling appeared to be coming from a trashcan, and my suspicion proved correct: it was a raccoon. He soon looked out and didn’t seem fazed at all to see me. He watched me for a minute, then went back into the trashcan.
At that point, I remembered that I had my camera. When he came out again, I took some pictures while he sauntered over to the next trashcan in search of a second course. The raccoon didn’t seem the least disturbed by a human, six floodlights, and a flashbulb. Remembering Old Yeller and other rabid animals, I did the brave thing. I walked over to the nearby construction site, picked up three rocks, walked back, and heaved the aforementioned rocks at the coon. He quickly disappeared.
On Tuesday Abby Garland, her family, and I went to Turner Field in Atlanta to see the Braves play the Toronto Blue Jays. I had heard rumors that all the Garlands, especially Abby, were tremendous Braves fans, so I had the opportunity to see it first hand.
Turner Field is beautiful; it was built for the 1996 Olympics with the Braves in mind. We arrived early enough to wander around the stadium and get some different views. Behind center field there is a moderately sized plaza where one can stand and watch the game. We sat in the upperdeck behind homeplate, slightly towards third base. The view was perfect; we could see everything well. You can see photos in the gallery.
The Braves had been on a bit of a losing streak and managed to keep it alive. They played well though, and they kept the score close until nearly the end. Andruw Jones hit a home run, but the highlight of the game were the two plays at the plate.
Actually, the real highlight was observing the fans. The Braves have a “tomahawk chop” cheer, and Abby, Anthony, Auria, and Mrs. Garland chopped with vigor. I have video. By the end of the night, they had me doing it too. The Braves might have lost, but that wasn’t really the whole point of the trip.
Kellen would like me to inform you that he just purchased the complete works of T. S. Eliot, completely without annotation or commentary. You ask, why no notes? According to him, he needs no notes because of his intellectual prowess. To quote Kellen: “That’s right—without a word of commentary—that shows I’m an intellectual heavyweight—and you can put that on your blog!”
Be sure to check out John Barnett’s posts and photos from Israel. These are the latest, but he’ll probably post more.
Also check out his posts and photos earlier this summer from Europe.
Yesterday was the first anniversary of ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ. I started this blog last summer for several purposes: (1) to keep in touch with family and friends, (2) to learn web-publishing skills, (3) to establish a presence on the Internet, (4) to publish whatever information was worth publishing. Have I succeeded? (1) The blog is in many respect my primary means of communication with distant friends and people from church. I ought to communicate with you all more and in a more personal way, but this blog at least provides at least a minimal of keeping in touch. (2) I have learned how to maintain a website, and the web space has given me opportunity to experiment with technology. Hopefully, I’ll be able to put those skills to use for others (e.g., First Baptist Church of Groton, family). (3) I guess I have a presence on the Internet. This goal wasn’t all that important anyway. (4) ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ is far from achieving the goal of publishing worthwhile information. As I glanced over the titles of the 156 posts (and 358 comments) to date, I had trouble figuring out what the unifying theme was. When I did figure it out, I was disturbed: the theme was me. Whatever has been written on this blog is there because it is about me, by me, or interests me. This ought not so to be. I’m not sure how to balance the goal of keeping in touch with friends and family (which requires writing about myself) and with the goal of writing about matters that are more substantial, but that shall be my aim for the next year. Not a tremendous number by any means, but quite a few people visit ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ. (See chart below.) Any audience and any message is a responsibility.
And so, gentle reader, thank you for visiting ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ. If you’d like, feel free to comment and let me know (1) what you liked best about the first year of posts and (2) what you want to read next year.
Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated. I apologize to my faithful readers whom I have been neglecting.
Since graduation, I’ve had plenty to keep my busy, though I feel like I haven’t been very productive. At BJU Press, I’ve begun editing A Handbook for New Testament Greek: Forms and Syntax and A Workbook for New Testament Greek. I have also started working in the evenings atIHOP as a waiter. At my church, I’ve been working on the children’s Bible club, canvassing for vacation Bible school, and cleaning the church (a little bit). I also preached one Wednesday night, and I’m scheduled to preach every Wednesday in July. Along the way, I’m trying to read as much of the secondary literature as possible first on Puritanism and second on religious and church history. I’ve had good intentions about learning French and German and working on some writing. I’ve also done some fun things along the way with some of my friends.
The one-year anniversary of ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ is coming up in few days, so I hope to post about the year-in-review then. It will be a big occasion; you won’t want to miss it. I also hope to write about these topics:
- Hearing Ravi Zacharias speak in Atlanta
- Last adventures with Scott and John
- Work at BJU Press
- Work at IHOP
- My church in North Carolina
- Various books I’ve read
- Fun things I’ve done or am doing throughout the summer
Greetings. My name is Doctor Marsden the Owl. I am an assistant proofreader in the employ of Lincoln Mullen. Sometimes I am unflatteringly referred to as a “desk pet,†but I assure you that he and I are on much better terms. I came to work for Lincoln through the good graces of one Abby Garland. Many of you have wondered when Lincoln intends to post again. I spoke to him about the matter, and he assures me that he will post sometime this evening. Thank you for your patience.
