Wow

Today I nearly cried in class. Curt (Ami's grandfather and one of our teachers) was telling us about how we can't make God prove anything and how we can't challenge Him. But then he told us of how his very young son died of a brain tumor and I was shocked to realize that he's the author of Dinosaur Journal: Making Sense of a Young Son's Death!!! He told us of how, soon after his son Benji's death, he went to where they had buried him and kicked the stone in anger, telling God that he could have taken care of him and that He better be taking good care of him. He then told God that if his son was doing well that there would be a quarter in the phone booth in front of the Dairy Queen down the road (Benji always looked in all of the slots looking for change). When Curt looked he found 13 quarters.
I got really chocked up listening to this story and watching Curt struggling to talk with tears in his eyes. I can't believe that all this time I had no idea that this is the man who wrote the book of poems my mom loves and from which I got a poem for my Senior English Project! Wow!
And a few weeks ago, in John Trott's class, he started talking about a discussion he had with someone about tattoos and I got all excited because I had read the whole discussion in an old Cornerstone Magazine a few years ago! In fact, most of the articles that I've read from the many Cornerstone Magazines that my parents have were written by John Trott (which I knew already before I came here).
It makes it so exciting being taught by men whose writings I love and really respect =)

Last night's swing dance was a lot of fun :-) Cha and Michael are usually the two guys that I end up dancing the most with which is good because they're at my dancing level and they're the right hight for me (guys who are really tall make me feel like they're about to rip my arms off!). Plus, I always end up laughing A LOT while dancing with them. During last night's dance I also ended up dancing with almost all the kids that were there. I also danced with Nate (one of our teachers) and a man from outside. Both of them are better at dancing than me which was cool, but sometimes they expected me to do something and I had no idea what they wanted me to do!
Here's Nate's review:

Girl Scout's Autumn Swing A Hit!!

Review by Nathan Cameron

I've been to many dances and venues for Swing in the past 2 or 3 years that have all been enjoyable social experiences that have broadened my social network and introduced me to a larger understanding of dance. I don't think though that I have ever been to a dance that was simply this fun. The all ages dance was hosted by a local Girl Scout Troop at 920 W Wilson, The Friendly Towers Ballroom, to raise money for a trip to Peru where they would volunteer at an orphanage. Many of the attendees were the troop, their families and friends, but a few swing fanatics looking for anywhere to dance showed up as well. My partner and I, Jesse Phillips, were asked to come and teach a short class before hand and help out during the dance. The dance however took on a life of its own. Many of the dancers there were beginners but they didn't let that stop them from having a good time. The lively music spun by DJ Lampshades Marty, Jesse's husband, spurred the dancers into a frenzy of swinging arms and legs that spiraled around the dance floor. I danced with many of the girls from the troop and as I danced I saw the simple joy of the dance in them. They weren't out there to impress, they weren't out there to attract a guy, they were reveling in the spin, laughing in the twirl, singing with the music bringing to mind Mark Twain's famous quote "Dance like nobody's watching; love like you've never been hurt. Sing like nobody's listening; live like it's heaven on earth." To seasoned dancers who may have peered in, the floor may have looked like chaos that pretended the sophistication and art of dance but to me it was a truer dance that basked in the innocence of youth.

(The Girl Scouts were all girls that live in the community and the Friendly Towers is the name of this building.)
Someone is making a video of the dance and Jesse wants to put it up on myspace. When that happens, I'll put the pics and video up, too. I think I messed up every time I would see the video camera though. That happens to me all the time haha.