The Feast 5: Saying Goodbye & The Feast 6: Going Home

(You thought I wouldn't finish it? Ha! I say. And Ha! again. Like certain other people, I am too stubborn.)

(This used to be two posts, but I combined them into one long one.)

Friday at The Feast was bittersweet. Of course, it was wonderful to see all the MH people one last time, but it was that one last time bit that was the killer. Aaron had to leave in the morning, which sucked, but I caught up with him (or his alter ego) before breakfast, and he (or his alter ego) gave me a post card, which was cool. Nathan sat next to me for half of the confessional service, so before he left I was able to give him my priceless piece of Modern Art, and he proved to be surprisingly reliable in passing it on. ;)

Pastor Bender's conclusion was awesome, of course. Pastor Preus's conclusion was actually similar to Pastor Borghardt's, in that the former was talking about vocation, the latter's about what to do with the rest of your life, which is largely tied in with vocation.

At lunch, Heidi and I concluded that, Herr Luther's objections aside, we need to build a monastery for all the MHers to move into. It will have to be out in the country somewhere, or our music and noise will bother the neighbors.

The closing service was beautiful. There was moisture in my eyes, which may or may not have been due to the fact that it was hot in the church. Afterward everyone was running around saying goodbye. I hate saying goodbye and am no good at it, and I hated this as much as anything. But at the same time it was great to know you had all these friends and that they felt the same way you did.

People scattered to vans and cars and buses, and I hoped I hadn't said anything stupid in my haze of exhaustion and undersleep and trying to keep my eyes dry. Paul and Andrew and I walked back to our dorm to get our stuff. Not being them, I don't know how they were feeling, but I was sad. We saw Heidi and Tarja across a lawn and waved at them, and they waved back, which made me cheer up, for no reason I can explain simply.

I think of that as the official end of The Feast. It wasn't the end of the trip, however. The group who had chartered the bus we went on was staying an extra day and night to go river rafting. We had opted to save the money and stay in the city. One of the kids from the group who had broken his wrist and could not raft stayed with us.

We cleared out of our rooms and waited in the Worner Center for the rental car to supposedly be dropped off. We discovered that our Feast-issued passwords still worked in the computer center, so I signed on to the HT Forums and wrote to my parents (something I was supposed to do days earlier), and read the blogs of people I already missed. I left my lightsaber up with Mrs. Gehlbach and whatever kids were there gaurding the luggage, and I could hear it starting and turning off and hitting things, even though I was across the building and down a set of stairs. :D

After we had waited for over an hour, one of the women from HT who helping clean up drove Mrs. Gehlbach down to the rental car place. The brakes on said car squealed terribly, and since we planned to go up Pike's Peak next day, Mrs. Gehlbach went back and exchanged it. We spent the evening walking about the streets of Colorado City, looking in some very interesting shops and shop windows. Apparently before it was Evangelical Capital of the World, it was a hang-out for hippie types, which accounted for some of the weird shops.

We went to our somewhat small, but nice and clean hotel room, and played Apples to Apples, and then went to bed.

We checked out next morning. I can't remember the chronology of events exactly, so I'll put things in a firm order which may be completely wrong. We went up Pike's Peak, and I would like to mention that we prove the posted sign wrong--it recommended half a tank of gas, and we got up and down again on less than a quarter. :D We went to a grocery store then, and bought a lunch to eat at Garden of the Gods. It was fun to create out-of-place items to show to Paul, who would out of habit put them back in place. (I stopped just barely before he hit me.)

We had lunch at Garden of the Gods, and hiked around there for a while. After that we met the bus in a Wal-Mart parking lot. Then we started out for home. I found it much easier to sleep on the bus this time than coming down. Got in Gehlbachs' car there, who brought me back to their house, and from there my dad brought me home.

For postscript, I can come up with nothing better than what I wrote in a haze of sleeplessness that very night. (Now slightly revised and with good spelling! :D)

And, for future reference (and for anybody who cares) I will put links to the rest of the Feast posts below.

The Feast 1

The Feast 2

The Feast 3

The Feast 4

The Leprechauns Did It!

Erin go bragh!

Yes, it's that time of year again, when you can put food coloring in your beer (if you're older than I am) and where all divides of race and creed are put aside, and everyone claims to be Irish. (As the full-blooded Irish lady who volunteers at the library when I work says, "If you have even a drop you're all right.)

In honor of the day, I donned my brilliant POG MO THOIN shirt, saw part of a local Celtic band's show, and wrote a short play about leprechauns for a magazine which never responded to my e-mail. Sigh. Well, I think I shall post the lyrics to one of my favorite Irish songs. Young men take note.

In a neat little town they call Belfast
Apprenticed to trade I was bound
And many an hour's sweet happiness
I spent in that neat little town.
Till bad misfortune came o'er me
That caused me to stray from the land
Far away from my friends and relations
To follow the black velvet band.

(Chorus)
Her eyes they shone like the diamonds
You'd think she was queen of the land
And her hair hung over her shoulder
Tied up with a black velvet band.


Well, I was out strolling one evening
Not meaning to go very far
When I met with a pretty young damsel
Who was selling her trade in the bar.
When I watched, she took from a customer
And slipped it right into my hand
Then the Watch came and put me in prison
Bad luck to the black velvet band.

(Chorus)

Next morning before judge and jury
For a trial I had to appear
And the judge, he said, "You young fellows...
The case against you is quite clear
And seven long years is your sentence
You're going to Van Dieman's Land
Far away from your friends and relations
To follow the black velvet band."

(Chorus)

So come all you jolly young fellows
I'd have you take warning by me
Whenever you're out on the liquor, me lads,
Beware of the pretty colleen.
She'll fill you with whiskey and porter
Until you're not able to stand
And the very next thing that you'll know, me lads,
You're landed in Van Dieman's Land.

-"Black Velvet Band," Irish Traditional