End of an Era

So, this week, 3 things ended this week that meant a lot to me. This is my chance to reflect on those things in a place where people can read it. First off is the first season of Glee. Now I know that really shouldn't mean that much to me. It's a tv show. But it truly is the best show I've EVER seen. It seriously has something for everybody. Attractive cast, singing, all different kinds of music, good stories and lessons to learn. Everybody I've talked to that has seen it loves it. The only people who straight up won't watch it are the people I know personally that are possibly closet cases. I know that Glee has already been signed upto 3 seasons, but I'm really not looking forward to a whole summer without it. I seriously want to be friends with everybody on that show. Especially Kurt, Puck and Brittany. Kurt is just awesome. I think everybody needs at least one really good gay friend. I never get to talk to Mitchell, so I think Kurt could fit the bill. Puck is a jock, but he throws losers in dumpsters and knows how to play guitar and sing. You can't really beat that. It one episode, he and Finn went around slashing tires. That's my kind of friend. And Brittany, well, she once said "Did you know dolphins are just gay sharks"? She's apparently dumb as bricks, but she dances awesomely, sings and says gems like that. That'd be a fun person to have around even if it was just for immature laughs. But, really Summer without Glee is gonna leave my Tuesdays painfully boring.
Another that eneded was my niece's first year at Painted Rock. Seeing Ava as a kindergartner was just awesome. She seems so big and yet so little at the same time. I remember when she was born. I was in my 2nd period class and had to rush to the hospital and saw my newest little friend. But now she's SO big and going to be a first grader. It's kinda sad to see her grow up, but I'm so proud of her. Every Wednesday I'd read with her class. They'd call me "Uncle Buncle" because that's what Ava has always called me. I got to see each kid grow a little bit and learn and accomplish different things. They'd write stories and read them to me and it was just the cutest thing ever. I wish that Ava would have the same classmates every year just so I could watch them all grow up and be friends together. I'm definitely going to miss those kids. One of the feelings I'm going to miss the most is the way it felt when various kids would bring up their reading folder to me and ask me to read with them. I guess since I was only there once a week, they wanted to get in some reading time with "Uncle Buncle", but it was such a flattering feeling to have kids want to read with me even if they are only 6.
And lastly Handbells. I know most people don't even know what handbells are, but I've been around them my entire life. That's not an exaggeration either. My parents would bring me when I was a baby and then I started ringing when I was 4. Most Wednesdays out of the year for 20 years would be spent at my church ringing, sometimes singing. I've made a lot of friends and had a lot of people only know who I am because I was the "bass ringer" in the handbell choir. I remember this one time we played at a Mormon church and afterwards people actually wanted their picture taken with me. It was a pretty awesome feeling. We've had BBQ's and gone to baseball games and done weddings together and even lost somebody super close (my cousin Carrie Fipps), but the bell choir was always there for each other. I've always loved playing handbells in front of people and getting compliments after. I've had old people tell me they want me to play at their funeral. A little morbid but still meaningful. However the last year of handbells is exactly why I'm leaving. It's been a huge ordeal to put the bells in the church (they're heavy) and they make us play like on the side of the church. Like we're not important. Our church doesn't respect us at all. There's this lady named Pam that complained about our bells being kept in the chapel area that we never use. She said it made our chapel look like a storage area. But then we had a food drive and kept food in there and it seriously looked like a hobo-nest and apparently she was okay with it. Pam is such a bitch. And then in the choir itself there has been a lot of drama amongst the choir. Everybody is pissing each other off and some people are just bitching about shit that's none of their business. Like one person would try to correct everybody's playing even though it's not their part at all and said person wasn't a director in any way. I'm truly glad I won't have to put up with it anymore, but I'm sad the choir isn't good enough to leave on a good note with a good concert. 20 years of handbells is over and it truly is an end of an era.
-HBK