Indianapolis Will Host Super Bowl XLVI in 2012! Why You Should Care.

If you live in Indianapolis or the surrounding area, this is a huge day for you. By now the entire city is buzzing with the news that we will finally get to host a Super Bowl. You should be excited.

After getting screwed in our bid last year (see here), the Indianapolis Bid Committee somehow put together an even better presentation this year and won the bid to host the 2012 Super Bowl. This is so awesomely exciting that I shouldn't even have to say it.

Let's take a closer look at why hosting a Super Bowl is such a huge thing for Indianapolis.

1) Colts at home in the Super Bowl?
The mere thought of maybe, possibly, seeing Peyton Manning play for a Super Bowl in... you know what? I'm not even going to say it. You folks should be excited enough.

2) Hometown Pride
So you say you could care less about football and a bunch of grown men getting paid millions to play a child's game? Well first of all, shame on you. However, if you have any sense of pride about where you come from, this is a big deal. The Super Bowl is a big deal whether you care about it or not and it will bring lots of attention (and some money) to the city. I don't care about dressing up like a Vulcan and hanging out with Storm Troopers, but I'm still proud of GenCon.

3) Economic Stimulus Package
Sure, you may read articles that say the economic benefits of hosting a Super Bowl aren't as great as many people think. Numbers get inflated and much of the money is spent hosting the event, but I guarantee you it's a better way of getting money into our local economy than say, oh I don't know... randomly handing out $600 to every citizen in the hopes that this will somehow benefit society.

4) Lasting Community Benefits
One of the best things about our bid was the proposal to build a big $9M dollar practice facility over by my old high school, Arsenal Tech. After the Super Bowl, it will be given back to the community to help the struggling east side. I have no idea how that will help, but it sure can't hurt.

5) Memories
How many memories do you have of hanging out in your hometown during a Super Bowl? You can't put a pricetag on that.

6) Justifying Lucas Oil Stadium
I don't know enough about politics and economics to know whether or not we should have built this new stadium. It's worth it to me just to make sure we'll still have the Colts around for a few more years. But at least now, I can argue that the new stadium will end up paying for itself since we're hosting a Super Bowl because of it. The LUKE!!!!


I could go on and maybe I will later. All I know is that this is an exciting day for Indianapolis. GO COLTS!!!!!

PS- Here's a few bloggers already getting excited about our Super Bowl. Let me know if you want your link added to the list.

By the Narrow Gate
The Gimcrack Miscellany
Back Home Again

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

First of all, make sure you have the sound on so you can relive the glory (hopefully it's working). Second of all, I shouldn't be at work today. Third of all, I don't think I've ever been this excited about a season opener for the Colts. Skip the next couple paragraphs if you don't want to hear idiotic ramblings about the upcoming game.

A few brief thoughts about the game: All excitement aside, this game really may be one of the least significant as far as our schedule goes. It's early in the season, against a non-division, non-conference opponent. It's going to feel like a playoff game, but without playoff ramifications.

The Colts will need to do all the normal things to win. Limit the big plays, contain the running game, no mistakes, yada yada yada. There are really only two ways the Colts can lose: Give up huge yardage and big plays on special teams (like if the Saints have +20-30 yards starting field position), lose the turnover battle by more than -1. It will be a tough game regardless, but the Colts should pull this one off.

The crowd is going to be ridiculous. We're hanging the banner tonight and having concerts and everyone's still buzzing from that last AFC Championship game. The Dome is going to be crazy loud. I don't think the Saints have much experience in the kind of atmosphere they're going to have in this season opener. The last time they experienced an angry mob of fans, they got spanked by Chicago. This should be a good learning experience for them. Having said all that, the Colts better show up and show up early, because if New Orleans gets a big lead, we're screwed. Anyways, it'll be a good game.

What I've already realized before we even have the pre-game festivities, is that Colts games will never be the same again. By winning the Super Bowl, these Colts have changed the city. They've turned non-fans into die-hards, and those of us who were die-hards before now have an extra sense of pride. To quote a certain tattoo artist after he completed his work, "That's something they can't never repo from your ass."

I've already spent the past few days looking back at the month of January and the first few weeks of February. Man, that was fun. If you've got the time, enjoy a little trip down memory lane:

Colts in the Super Bowl? A prediction of what I believe was the only scenario that could have gotten the Colts into the Super Bowl.

Colts vs. Bears: Super Bowl XLI. Our experience of the greatest game in Colts history.

Act Like You've Been There Before. A post-AFC Championship game encounter with a Pats fan downtown.

Super Bowl Celebration. A few pictures from our Super Bowl Party.

And the video from our Super Bowl Party. In case you haven't seen it. Man, it was awesome. I like how my wife plows through at the end.

Indianapolis to Host Super Bowl 2011!

That's what we're hoping to be able to say by the end of the day today. Right now, league owners are meeting in Nashville and will decide which city gets to host the 2011 Super Bowl.

The cities competing are Indianapolis, Phoenix and Dallas. Each city gets a fifteen minute presentation, then the owners will meet and come up with a decision. The presentations are given by certain leaders within the community. Our fate lies in the hands of Tony Dungy, Tony George (CEO of Indianapolis Motor Speedway), Tom Jernstedt (executive VP of NCAA), Fred Glass (head of Capitol Improvement Board), and Jeff Smulyan (CEO of Emmis Communications).

They are up against the likes of Roger Staubach (Hall of Fame QB with the Cowboys, representing Dallas) and the Geico Gecko (representing Phoenix). Dallas is presenting first, followed by Phoenix, and Indy gets to close.

Here is my guess of how each presentation will go:

Staubach: "Dallas has a long line of beautiful quarterbacks. From, well, myself (toothy grin...wink...pause for laughter) to Troy Aikman (cough), to Tony Romo; Dallas quarterbacks have become known for their grace and effeminate beauty. As a matter of fact, few people realize that the squad of Dallas Cowboy's Cheerleaders is made up entirely of former Dallas quarterbacks. The Super Bowl is a beautiful thing. So is everything that lives in Dallas. Especially the quarterbacks. Gentlemen, I rest my case.

Gecko: "Phoenix is damn hot! Only a gecko would want to live there. I have no idea why you would want to host a Super Bowl here, but I did save money by switching to Geico."

Dungy: "Hi, I'm Tony Dungy. My extreme humility prevents me from saying anything overly positive about my city. All I ask is that nobody mention how it was impossible to walk around downtown Indy prior to the AFC Championship Game, due to the city's inability to plow snow. I also want to take this opportunity to thank God for everything in the world. Thank you."

According to these presentations, I don't see how we won't host the 2011 Super Bowl. GO COLTS!

*UPDATE* We lost! Gosh darnit! That would've been awesome. Oh well. I'm sure everyone outside of Indy is happy they won't have to bring a coat to the Super Bowl. I'll be extra ticked in '11 if the Colts make it to the Super Bowl though.

Dr. George Bebawi Lectures on Islam

(photo used without permission)

Dr. George Bebawi gave a lecture last night on the Islamic faith and its relation to Christianity. Let me begin by saying that he provided a wealth of information and, even more importantly, inspired those in attendance to learn more about the topic.

In my last post about this lecture, an anonymous comment was left to inform us that Dr. George Bebawi has been excommunicated from the Coptic Orthodox Church. Before I address that, I have to say that in my limited understanding of the Orthodox faith, I heard nothing last night that contradicts any Orthodox views or doctrines. Also, I found the referenced Al-Ahram article, and thought I would share these excerpts:

Whereas the church clergy supported his expulsion on the grounds it would curb the spread of what one termed distorted thoughts, many secularist Coptic thinkers slammed the church decision as returning to the era of the inquisition.

Bebawi had told the press that the Synod's decision was illegitimate since he was not invited to a debate where he could discuss his views.

Zakher argued Bebawi was not given a chance to explain his views before being expelled, and wondered why he was expelled at this particular time when his teachings have been around since the 1970s.

So as far as his excommunication goes, I'm siding with Rab who said, "I don’t know all the details, but from what I’ve heard, it tells more about the heterodoxy of the Coptic patriarch than it does of Dr. George." That's all I have to say about that.

Hopefully we can get a copy of the lecture, because my thoughts on what he said are a jumbled mess and I'll never be able to adequately convey what he said. As far as lectures go, this was one of the best I've heard. The man knows how to speak (even with a thick accent). Add to it the fact that he is extremely educated on an interesting topic and you'll understand why it was such a great lecture.

I'm just going to throw out a few things that have stuck in my mind. Hopefully others who attended will write more and comment here and we can piece together what we learned.

Dr. George touched on some of the major differences between Islam and Christianity. One interesting point that he made is that Muslims follow the Law of God. They are told what is right and wrong and are rewarded for Good, and punished for Evil. Through this system, they will never come to know God. If you do good only for the sake of the reward, then your mind is always fixed on the reward and not on the actual good. Likewise, if you do good, only to avoid the punishment for evil, you learn nothing of goodness. I could go on for days trying to discuss this one, but I think that was the general idea.

Also, I should add that Dr. George emphatically stated that the English translation of the Qur'an cannot be trusted. Along those lines, he said that the phrase "God created man in his image and likeness" (loose translation) has been somehow removed from the Qur'an. This is huge, as it devalues humanity as a whole and each of us as individuals. It is also interesting to note that Christianity tells us to love our enemies. You won't find anything close to that in the Qur'an.

He also made mention of the 99 Names of God in the Qur'an, informing us that four of the names are actually demonic. I can't remember them all, but "The Accuser" and "The Avenger" come to mind. He also says that "Love" is not one of the names. Which is pretty much our definition of God.

One of the biggest differences that stood out to me was that we believe we will be made to be "like Christ." In essence, we will become like God. Saying that will probably get you killed in Islamic countries. This is so important to Christianity and to our belief in who we are and who God is. It is how we can love our neighbors as ourselves and do good for goodness sake. This is done for us through Christ, and not because we deserve it or earned it. I won't go into the obvious discussion that could be had here.

I wish I could have heard him speak more about the education of Islam. He pointed out five important aspects of education that Muslims are not allowed to do with their religion. I can't remember what they were, but it was very profound (somebody who was there help me out here). Basically, they have not learned to think for themselves and are not allowed to question the beliefs that have been passed down to them.

Near the end of the discussion, Dr. George touched on terrorism. I have a hunch that if he comes to speak to us again, this may be the focal point of the lecture. The interesting point that he made is that Muslims have no patriotism. They fight for religion, and a British Muslim has no less hatred for infidels than a Saudi Muslim.

There was so much more that was said and I wish I could remember it all. Hopefully he'll come to speak again; I have the feeling that he will.

DISCLAIMER: The above synopsis of the lecture comes from my memory, having taken no notes. Any misinformation provided is a result of my ignorance and should not be misconstrued with the actual information provided at the lecture by Dr. George. If any of the above is incorrect, please enlighten me.

Other posts about the lecture:

B: Dr. George Bebawi Speaks

A Whistling Train: Theosis and The Kingdom

An Orthodox Response to Islam

This Tuesday (May 15) at 7:30 PM, Dr. George Bebawi is going to be giving a lecture of sorts at St. John the Forerunner Orthodox Church in Indianapolis. Why should you care?

First of all, I'm actually surprised that there wasn't more hype about this at my parish and that I really haven't heard much talk about this at all. If my dad hadn't forwarded me an email that had a list of his credentials on it, I probably would have just blown this event off.

Not going to hear this man talk is the equivalent of walking past Joshua Bell as he plays in a New York subway. Even if you're not Orthodox and don't care about current events and having a deeper understanding of the Islamic faith and why so many Islamic fundamentalists are out to kill you; missing an opportunity like this would be a travesty.

I'm often embarrassed of myself for not taking advantage of things of this nature. I'm also often embarrassed that I live in a place where people would rather watch American Idol than go listen to a renowned scholar for free. It just boggles my mind what we will waste our time doing (myself included).

So anyways, if you have nothing better to do Tuesday night, you should go hear Dr. Bebawi speak. If you have something better to do, you're probably lying to yourself and you should reschedule those plans and make an effort to go to this. I'm like 90% sure you won't regret it.

Here's St. John's Church
Here's how to get there
And here's all you need to know to inspire you to attend:

We’re living each day with the threat of terrorism from Islamic Fundamentalists. There is so much information, false and inflammatory, floating around; I thought it might be good to invite an expert on the subject to come and speak to us. Dr. George Bebawi, a scholar and expert in the fields of Orthodoxy and Islam will come to address this topic with us on THIS Tuesday, May 15, 7:30pm. Please mark your calendars for this very informative meeting.

Dr. Bebawi was born in Cairo , Egypt in 1938 to an Egyptian Christian father and a Hungarian Jewish mother. He was adopted by his maternal grandmother at the age of five, who reared him as a Jew. He converted to Christianity in 1957 and joined the Coptic Orthodox Church which is the oldest church of Egypt . Dr. Bebawi studied theology, Bible, church history and more at the Coptic Orthodox Theological College and received his Bachelor's of Divinity in 1961. He was awarded a scholarship and studied at Cambridge University , where he received his M. Lit and Ph.D in 1970. He taught theology, Church History, Patristic Studies and Islam at Orthodox, Evangelical, and Catholic Seminaries in the Middle East, Europe and the United Sates from 1970-1984. Also during that time, he served as an advisor for Christian Affairs to Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat before his assassination in 1981. He returned to England in 1984 to lecture at various British Universities and to teach at St. John's College , at Nottingham University from 1985-2000. He served as the Director of Studies at the Institute for Christian Orthodox Studies, at Cambridge , England , and lectured on Islam and Judaism at for the Cambridge Federation of Theological Colleges, Cambridge University from 2000-2002. He is internationally recognized as one of the world's leading scholars on Eastern Christianity. He recently retired from Cambridge University and moved to the Indianapolis area and was joined in marriage to May. He is the father of three young adult men. He currently engages in public speaking and church ministry.

Indianapolis Mini-Marathon

Last Saturday I ran the Indianapolis Mini Marathon for the second year in a row. This is where I make up for a year's worth of inactivity in one single day. I have a serious "lack of discipline" problem, which prevented me from adequately training for this event. So, having trained up to two miles maybe twelve times in the previous year, I laced up Saturday morning to run the 13.1 mile, mini-marathon.

I'm not going to go into the details of the entire day, but it was a lot of fun. I'm very impressed with how well organized the whole event was and always seems to be. Lots of volunteers and fans and runners. The whole thing was a lot of fun.

Here are a few highlights from the day:

1) Before the race, hearing "Back Home Again in Indiana" over the loudspeakers. I love that song and never get to hear it. Apparently, there are verses to go with the chorus.

2) Running under the huge American flag on Washington Street. This is usually my favorite part of the race. Mostly because I still have energy.


(Photo from 500 Festival Gallery)

3) The little band from the West Indies. I have no idea what they called themselves, but they were the best band of the day. And as a side note, if you're ever going to bring your garage band and play during the mini, please play upbeat songs. For Pete's sake, we're trying to run a marathon here.

4) The Track. As much as I hate running the two and a half miles or so on the track, it is pretty cool to be out there. Somewhere there's a picture of the wife and I running across the brick finish line. That's just cool.

5) The Hi Neighbor Tavern. These guys are somewhere on 10th Street and they serve little cups of beer to all the runners. Although I didn't partake this year, my wife did and it's always nice to see that good ol' Hoosier hospitality.

6) The sack of goodies at the finish line. After running over 13 miles, there's nothing better than having your own personal trick-or-treating time. They hand you a sack and you get to walk around while people toss everything from apples and bananas, to cookies and chips, to Ben Gay.

Well, that's pretty much it. Not really, but that's all I'll say. I'm not sure if we'll be running it next year, but I'm sure it'll be worth it if we do. If you're thinking about doing it, make sure you register in time, because it sells out earlier and earlier every year.

Indianapolis Bids to Host 2011 Super Bowl

Today, Indianapolis will submit its bid to host the 2011 Super Bowl. Today is the deadline for cities to turn in their bids, and a decision will be made by May 23.

So, cross your fingers, cause this would be sweet for Indianapolis. I don't want to get too excited about anything yet, but nobody should have to tell you that this would be HUGE for our city. Especiallly if the Colts win the next three Super Bowls and then get a chance to play for five rings in a row at home. Yeah, that'd be awesome.

The full story can be read here from IndyStar. But here are a few highlights, as reported by Karen Eschbacher:

Decision is 7 weeks away
• Today: Allison Melangton, senior vice president of event management for the Indiana Sports Corp., flies to New York to hand-deliver the city's bid to the NFL offices.

• April 10: Representatives from Indianapolis 2011 Inc. will meet with NFL staff in Philadelphia to review the bid and discuss possible improvements. The city can continue refining its proposal until shortly before a location is chosen.

• May 21-23: NFL team owners will hold their spring meeting in Nashville, Tenn., and are expected to choose a location for the 2011 Super Bowl. Decision is 7 weeks away

The process
Each location hoping to host the Super Bowl will make a 10-minute presentation during the owners' spring meeting in Nashville, Tenn. The NFL says the schedule is being finalized, but representatives from Indianapolis said they have been told presentations will take place May 23.

NFL staff will provide the owners an analysis of each bid. The owners of the three teams competing to host the Super Bowl will make closing remarks.

Owners vote by secret ballot. A location needs 75 percent of the votes to win on the first ballot. If no location gets enough support, the lowest vote-getter will be eliminated and then only a simple majority of votes will be needed.

A decision is expected that day.

I Touched The Lombardi Trophy!

When I heard that I had already missed my chance to touch the Lombardi Trophy in Indianapolis, I knew there would be a road trip in my not-too-distant future. That expedition was realized last Saturday, as I drove to Linton, Indiana for my chance to "Make It Personal," and touch the Super Bowl Trophy.

I woke up at 4:30 Saturday AM and hit the dusty trail, as they say. Linton is a small town in rural Indiana (kind of a redundant statement). As I drove through it's two stoplights, I was reminded of the small towns you see in movies like "Children of the Corn," "Texas Chainsaw Massacre," and "Pet Cemetary." Before I had a chance to convince myself that I was safe in this quaint little town, I had already driven through it.

-As a side note, it's really cool when you're driving through snow at night and you put your brights on. It was like traveling through hyper-space on the Millenium Falcon. Or that screen saver that used to be so popular.-

I pulled over into the local Casey's General Store to find out where they were supposed to be bringing this trophy. I asked the cashier where the Humphrey's Park Community Center was located. Her response was, "You're here for the Colts trophy, ain't you?" She had amazing powers of perception. She went on to explain that it was just up the road and had a big red train in front of it. "You can't miss it," she assured me. Well, apparently I can, because I already did.

Sure enough, as I drove back through town, I noticed a large red train sitting in the midst of a park. I drove back to the Roy Clark Building and waited for the trophy.

I had arrived around 6:45 and was expecting to be in the back of the line. Apparently, touching the Lombardi Trophy was not as big of a deal to the folks in Linton as it was to me. Eventually, others started showing up and a line was formed...with me in the front.

It's hard to describe how proud I was to be the first in line. As people started showing up, I had reached celebrity status. "He got here at quarter-ta seven," they would exclaim as I ate from my sack lunch.

After standing in the cold for an hour, they let us inside the building to warm up until the trophy arrived. Unfortunately, this meant breaking up our current line. Many more people showed up, and soon people began to get nervous about where they would be when we reformed the line outside. There was only one person who didn't seem to care. Yeah, that's right. I could hear the whispers all around me..."All I know is, the fella standing there reading a book and eating that apple was first."

Yep, soon my face was recognizable to everyone who ever lived in Linton, Indiana. And they both knew my name too. I was more popular than the mayor.

Around 10:00, they began shuffling us outside again. Here is a picture of everyone moving outside from my vantage point. At the front of the line.



About 10:30, a Colts truck arrived and in about fifteen minutes, they had turned the Roy Clark Building into a virtual Hoosier Dome. About that time, the trophy arrived, accompanied by two very large black men. I wouldn't normally describe the color of their skin, except that these may have been the first two black men that this city had ever seen. "Check out the size of that negro, Jimmy! He could eat you for breakfast!"

Here's a picture of the trophy going right past the front of the line (that would be me) on it's way into the building.



After it was inside, I was the only one in position to take this sweet picture of the two large black men sealing the trophy in its bullet-proof casing.


(no, that's not a mirror. those are two different men.)

So after waking up at 4:30 and waiting in line for four hours, my fifteen seconds of glory was finally up. I was rushed to the trophy and told to pass my camera off to a girl who would take it for me. This was the result:



What! I was so disappointed. What a crappy picture. Of course she had to get Agent 00-douchebag in the background. Dangit! Then two cheerleaders ruined a cool poster by signing it. Then Blue the Colts Mascot wasn't there yet to sign something for me. Then I was given another poster and pushed out the door. Piece of crap! So I did what any reasonably-minded Colts fan would do. I took my posters to the car and got right back into the end of the line.

This time through I only had to stand for about an hour and a half. The time flew by as I listened to two pre-pubescent Linton Emo kids talk about how excited they were to see Colts cheerleaders. I made it back to the trophy and made sure the picture was how I wanted it. This one is much better.



I love how the big black guy is plastered to the wall. It's like he's scared just to be in my presence. This time through, I also got to see Blue. Man, I just feel sorry for whoever has that job.

The young men of Linton were way more excited to see the Colts cheerleaders than they were to see the trophy. They actually let these girls sign their clothing. I couldn't believe it. Good for them though. They gave these kids hope that there really are women out in the world with a full set of teeth and no babies.

All joking aside, I really am glad that I made the trip. And honestly, I almost wish I grew up in a town like Linton. Everyone seemed to know each other and the local football coach was like a hero. They were all really friendly and I'm glad to have shared this experience with them. Kudos to the Colts organization for taking this trophy out to everyone in Indiana. It's an experience I'll not soon forget.



See if the trophy is coming to a town near you

Indianapolis to Host Marathon

Most of you have heard of the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon, and many have probably participated before. Well, now we're going to get a full marathon as well. See article below:

New Indy Marathon

Register Here

Marriott vs. Intercontinental: Indianapolis Skyline at Risk?

I received an email this morning from Christopher, who is a part of On the Cusp (local art blog). He is asking us to bring some attention to an upcoming decision that our trusty Mayor Bart Peterson must make. Indianapolis is backing a mega-hotel that will change the Indianapolis skyline. Mayor Peterson must choose between Marriott:



or Intercontinental Hotels:




To help make this decision, he assembled a seven member "hotel selection committee." Apparently, this committee has recommended the 25 story box: the Marriott.

Now, I am way too ignorant on this subject to have anything slightly resembling an intelligent opinion. However, in the blogosphere, everyone's opinion matters and on this blog, mine matters most. So, assuming the cost is the same for both, the politics involved aren't fraudulent, and millions of other considerations that I'm ignorant about are not relevant, I think this is a poor decision. I'd much rather see the more aesthetically pleasing Intercontinental Hotel in our skyline.

At any rate, you are free to make your own opinion and I will try to give you a few places to learn more about this, if you are interested. I'm not sure what can be done at this point to change Peterson's mind, but we should at least make an effort to be informed about how these kinds of projects are done.

Bloggers Chime In:
On the Cusp: "Let the Brain Drain Continue"
Torpor Indy: "Indianapolis drops the ball"
Four Square No.266: "Update: Constant Change"
Advance Indiana: "Hotel Decision Shocker: It's The Marriott"
On the Cusp: "More Questions Fewer Answers"


News:
IndyStar article: "2 competing plans to build a city-backed mega-hotel carry political overtones"

WISH-TV: One Business Unhappy with Pan Am Plaza Hotel Proposal


Voice your opinion and see what other Indianapolis residents are saying:
IndyStar message board


Contact the Mayor to give him a piece of your mind, or a humble suggestion:
I'm Mayor Peterson and I screwed up.

Trash Day

So our church had a community trash pick up day on Saturday and I had some time in the morning, so I went on over to lend a hand. Our neighborhood has no shortage of trash to be picked up, so I figured whatever help I could give would be well received. I wish I spent more time just wandering through the neighborhood, because it's an adventure every time.

I started out with a group of four and we made our way through the streets picking up everything from beer bottles to Wendy's fries and a few losing lotto tickets. The strangest item I found was a tiny booklet about the size of a wallet photo that was entitled "How To Use a Condom." Unfortunately, a few feet from the booklet, I found that it was quite an informative little document and someone had made good use of its contents.

Another interesting thing I saw that morning were a couple of my fellow neighbors. One was a guy in his early thirties who was heading home from a late night out (heading home at 10:00 in the morning) and noticed me with a trash bag. "Doing some community service?" he asked. "Yeah," I answered, because it was a service and this was my community. "What they catch you with this time?" was his response. It's unfortunate that he could only imagine someone doing that kind of work as a punishment for some crime. So I told him I got caught building a meth lab and the two of us went inside and finished off the beer and grass he had from the night before.

The other encounter I had with a true West Indy resident was an older lady who had stepped outside for a morning smoke. This really was amazing. I can't remember what the conversation was, because I quickly became mezmerized by the cigarette she had hanging out of her mouth. I swear it was just an extension of her lip. She was somehow able to talk, laugh, smile and smoke without ever taking the thing out of her mouth. It bobbed up and down with her speech, always on the verge of popping out, but miraculously never left her lips. I swear it really was amazing. The very tip was all that she had hold of, but that thing wasn't going anywhere. You'd have to see it to truly admire what I'm trying to describe. Hopefully you witness it somewhere, because it's a rare treat to see.

Those were the highlights of my community service work, along with a stray dog that I fed dried lunchmeat and chicken broth, and a couple of kids running around barefoot amidst a huge pile of broken boards, glass, TVs, couches and an old dog house. It was a morning that once again made me question what the heck I'm doing here and at the same time made me wish I had the strength and courage to make a difference while I am here. Good ol' West Indianapolis.