Stephanie called mid afternoon and asked if I wanted to do anything, since it was the last night I had in PHX before my birthday. She took me to a coffee shop because we were too early for our reservations. She ordered her hot chocolate, and I ordered my coffee. She was swirling her eyes at the guy behind the counter, and he agreed by swirling his eyes around too. These people are insane.

He slid a mug of dirt across the table. What is that? Stephanie quoted our favorite comedian, “It’s a cup with dirt in it.” I laughed so hard I almost hit my head on the counter. He slid an envelope across the table. I opened it up and pulled out a note and an eye-cover. “Order your coffee to go, and get ready for tonight’s adventure.”

I was trying to figure out where we were going because PHX is a mapped on a grid. But a song on the radio distracted me. After fifteen minutes of asphalt, we stopped. The blind man fumbled out of the car. I smelled fire…how nice she built a fire in a park. She lifts off my mask and I am standing in some stranger’s house. SURPRISE!

Every person should organize one surprise party in their lifetime. That way, almost everyone could experience what I did last night.

:::

So I am twenty-four years old…nearly a quarter of a century. In high school people wondered how I would ever enjoy being young without having sex. I wondered how they would ever enjoy being young when they dispense their dignity.; Now people wonder why I don’t build an American dream. I wonder why they’ve bought into such a shallow illusion of success.

I’ve spent a lifetime trying to be a good Christian. I’ve sacrificed and suffered, but I have loved and laughed. Why would I not serve God with the rest of my life?