Monday, January 26, 2009

Proud Moment in History!


So... I was there. And it was amazing! To see such a proud, hopeful and beautiful moment in American history was absolutely indescribable. Standing in on the Mall with 1.2 million other people changed my life. The feeling of renewal, the feeling of a fresh start and the feeling of an opportunity for an entire community that had felt apathetic towards our political system coming together and watching with great pride as they were finally able to relate to someone in the White House.

All political debates aside, all talk of past administrations and incoming administrations aside, here were a group of folks (1.2 million just on the mall alone) coming together to watch history before our very eyes, the energy was crazy amazing! Never before have I felt so much warmth from strangers. The city was alive with the excitement of a new day in American history.

I have never before visited our nations capital, which is strange because I am so involved in politics. The monuments were beautiful and breath taking. I got yelled at by the secret police!!! So much fun, I guess I should not have crossed that fence, eh?

Standing in the World War II memorial with the hush of those who sacrificed their lives around me was the most painful and beautiful moment in my life. Stepping out of the Holocaust museum and feeling so helpless and incapable in the face of such horror, gave me a sense of responsibility to my fellow human beings, not just in my country, not just on my continent, but all around my world. I pray that we do not have to face something so horrible in our lives, but should we be confronted with social injustice of any kind we need to stand up and stop such things.

I do not know what my role in the story of our country or our earth will be, but I do know that it starts today, tomorrow and every morning that I am blessed to wake up. Living in a free country we do NOT realize just how incredibly blessed we are. Let us not forget that there are others who are not given the opportunities that we are given, let us always remember that given a simple geographical shift, we could find ourselves in that same boat.

Well that is awfully depressing reading! But there is always Hope, Hope that we can build a better future, and that Hope begins in your and my heart.

Take Care,
B-Involved...
Ed.

PS... there is a new feature to the blog... in an effort to support thankfulness in my own life, I have decided to include in every blog, a random thank you for simple acts of kindness that I see through out my journeys.
So

BE THANKFUL
- Thank you to Alicia, a waitress at Cracker Barrel who was patient with my mother as she took her time figuring out what to order a week ago Friday, also thank you for all the lemons!

I leave you with a picture shot just before I got chastised by the Secret Police... Enjoy!

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Exciting News Below!!!!


Audrey is engaged to someone she met here!!!

Names / Ages / Occupations:
Audrey Besey: Age 20 // Student at MSU // Barista at Biggby Coffee & Receptionist at Personal Images Salon, in Jackson, MI

Benjamin Schultz: Age 24 // Department Manager atMenards in Toledo, OH // Has Finance degree from Central Mich. University.

Short story about how you met and your first date? (who asked who out, where did you go):
We met at Biggby coffee, where I worked. He was in having lunch with his sister and nieces (who I knew previously from working there). As he was leaving, I made a comment about how good looking I thought he was, so the girl I was working with ran over to his sister, Sarah to tell her what I had said. She came over and was very excited that I was interested in her brother who she said was “new in town.” So she told him to come in the next day to meet me. When he did, we were both too nervous to talk to each other. He just ordered a coffee and as he was turning to leave, my boss Matt (who also knew Ben) called him back and got his number for me. I called him the next day and we decided to go out to dinner.

He picked me up and we went to Olive Garden, then to Cascade’s park, where we walked around talking. There, we stumbled upon a Jazz concert, which made the night even more special. As we were walking to the car to leave, his sister called him to ask if he would drive a group of her friends around Lansing for one of their bachlorette parties. He asked me if I’d like to come and keep him company and I agreed. I eventually got home at 3am after our 9hour long date. We hit it off immediately and spent the entire 9 hours talking and laughing. It was a perfect match from the start. We’ve now been dating for 1½ years.


What is the thing that makes you love them?

I am constantly laughing when we’re together. Ben is always doing something silly or telling jokes to make me laugh (whether they’re funny or not). But seriously, one of the best qualities he has is selflessness. He always puts everyone else before himself, which shows me what a good husband and someday father he will be.

What are the little things that make you smile that the other person does?
Everything. I don’t know if I ever stop smiling while we’re together. One of my favorite things is when he leaves me little notes just telling me how much he loves me. Once I was at work and went to get something out of my purse and found a folded up piece of paper that just said, “ I love you – hope you have a great day at work – I can’t wait to see you again!” That just made my day!

Tell me about when you got engaged?
He started by asking my parents permission. He thought about asking me at Biggby where we met, but when he came in, he decided it just wasn’t the right moment (in other words, he chickened out). So he asked me later that night at his sister’s house. We were sitting in the living room watching House, MD (our favorite show). We were laughing and talking about how in love we were when he got down on one knee and stumbled through the words, “will you marry me?” and I managed to squeak out a, “yeah.” Then we stayed up half the night sharing our excitement and looking at my ring!


What are your wedding plans?

Not sure yet. I’m still in school so it will have to be this summer break, x-mas break, or next summer after I graduate. I’m hoping for a Lake MI ceremony! But we’ll have to wait and see.