Had a great show last night here at Second Reformed in Pella.
Every December they have an event called "High Tea" where all the women of the church are invited to dress in their Christmas best, enjoy a cultural show, and then eat a wonderful meal. Only women allowed!
Well, for whatever reason, they invited me to share my poems this year. They also invited our church organist, Kris DeWild, to play Christmas selections on her harp since she's a fantastic harpist. (Is harpist a word? It's surely not harpie . . . nope, just looked it up on dictionary.com. Harpie / Harpy is a winged death-spirit best known for constantly stealing all food from Phineas. Who Phineas is, I have no idea. But he must be fairly hungry at this point.)
Let me make this perfectly clear. As far as I've ever heard, this event is known for being a pretty fancy-smancy event. And this year they invited me to share my silly poems at it.
Just to be on the safe side, Kris and I decided to alternate between songs and poems just like Kyle and I do when we do a Morgan Valley Social Club show.
Well, my nervous fears proved worthless, because we had a great time. The crowd laughed at all the right places, Kris' harp playing brought a few to tears. And overall, I'd say it was one of my better poetry shows in a while. Plus, I got a great meal!
I have a few weeks off here before I do a couple benefits in January.
I'll be doing a poetry show as a fundraiser in Sully for the Christian school there. It looks like Jonah's Wale and I will also be doing a benefit for an old youth student of ours from Rock Valley, IA named Justin Bousema.
Justin is a fantastic guy, and we loved having him in youth. He went on to seminary up in Sioux Falls, and a while back was diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia. When they called the other night to see if we wanted to help out, I jumped at the chance, and Troy, being a Rock Valley guy himself, jumped on as well. So that show will be coming towards the end of January, I believe.
Have a great Christmas! Till next time,
Jason
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Friday, December 07, 2007
List of books I've read recently while traveling or at home. . .
H.M.S. Ulysses by Allistair MacLean
- Great book. The first one McLean every wrote. Unbelievably full of British technical jargon about military ships. The first in a long line of "heroic men brave unbelievable weather and traitorous actions to get the job done" stories.
Ice Station Zebra by Allistair Maclean
- (See the last sentence of the previous book description.) Falters a bit at the end as it turns into a Matlock wrapup. Very, very good up until then.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
- Inspired Lunacy. One of the funniest books ever written. Douglas Adams' gift for unique metaphors is unparalled.
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams
- Not quite as good as the first. But it comes close. A ton of great moments on it's own. Adams is so good at poking fun at religion without declaring which side he's on.
Life, the Universe, and Everything by Douglas Adams
- Good. But after reading it amidst the other three, I'm vague on what exactly happened. More searching for the meaning of life, I suppose. It must have been good, because I immediately wanted to go read the next one.
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams
- A strange diversion from the typical Adams' Hitchhiker book. This one is almost more of a character study of Arthur Dent as he finds the woman of his dreams. Very good. But very different. I still have to read the fifth book in the trilogy. (Not a misprint.)
The Innocent Man by John Grisham
- I didn't know this was non-fiction until I opened it and began to read. A bit slow in parts, as Grisham writes it like a typical non-fiction crime drama. So there's lots of repetition of evidence in court proceedings and witness recollections, but it was still a very good read, and made me very nervous about our justice system.
A Lion's Tale: Around the World in Spandex by Chris Jericho
- I've read nearly every wrestling autobiography that's come down the line. (I tend not to read the ones put out by the actual wrestling companies, as they tend to distort the facts a bit.) I enjoy wrestling, but that's not the main reason I read them. They're stories about guys who spend a lot of time in cars, vans, planes, and hotels, traveling around the country, and sometimes the world. They get out, do their show, and get back in the car again. They're about staying busy, happy, sane, and occupied while traveling and performing. A lot of them are good. A few have been lousy. This one I would put up near the top. Maybe even better than my all time favorite written by Mick Foley.
- Great book. The first one McLean every wrote. Unbelievably full of British technical jargon about military ships. The first in a long line of "heroic men brave unbelievable weather and traitorous actions to get the job done" stories.
Ice Station Zebra by Allistair Maclean
- (See the last sentence of the previous book description.) Falters a bit at the end as it turns into a Matlock wrapup. Very, very good up until then.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
- Inspired Lunacy. One of the funniest books ever written. Douglas Adams' gift for unique metaphors is unparalled.
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams
- Not quite as good as the first. But it comes close. A ton of great moments on it's own. Adams is so good at poking fun at religion without declaring which side he's on.
Life, the Universe, and Everything by Douglas Adams
- Good. But after reading it amidst the other three, I'm vague on what exactly happened. More searching for the meaning of life, I suppose. It must have been good, because I immediately wanted to go read the next one.
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams
- A strange diversion from the typical Adams' Hitchhiker book. This one is almost more of a character study of Arthur Dent as he finds the woman of his dreams. Very good. But very different. I still have to read the fifth book in the trilogy. (Not a misprint.)
The Innocent Man by John Grisham
- I didn't know this was non-fiction until I opened it and began to read. A bit slow in parts, as Grisham writes it like a typical non-fiction crime drama. So there's lots of repetition of evidence in court proceedings and witness recollections, but it was still a very good read, and made me very nervous about our justice system.
A Lion's Tale: Around the World in Spandex by Chris Jericho
- I've read nearly every wrestling autobiography that's come down the line. (I tend not to read the ones put out by the actual wrestling companies, as they tend to distort the facts a bit.) I enjoy wrestling, but that's not the main reason I read them. They're stories about guys who spend a lot of time in cars, vans, planes, and hotels, traveling around the country, and sometimes the world. They get out, do their show, and get back in the car again. They're about staying busy, happy, sane, and occupied while traveling and performing. A lot of them are good. A few have been lousy. This one I would put up near the top. Maybe even better than my all time favorite written by Mick Foley.
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