Hiding In Michigan

"I have come here to get high, to do more then just get by, I have come to test the timber of my heart" Joe Pug/"Hymn 101"

Sooooo it is July. I snuck out of the Lou a day early since the office was officially "closed". The Banks were open, my clients were still broke but the office was "closed" so I bullied my brother in law and sister to leave early and take me to Michigan. I could have waited at home for my daughter to get home. She was in Oklahoma on a servant event with our church and allegedly had not potable water and a bevy of scorpions and snakes. That sounded suspiciously like my job but who am I to call her a liar? Anyway, my wife could picker up and they could drive up Saturday. Me, I needed to go to Michigan NOW!

After all it is only three weeks since they tried to arrest me. As a post script to that I have to tell you that Manistee County had indeed screwed up and I had paid the ticket and the great news is that I now can drive in Michigan again. My privilege to do so was "unrevoked". Imagine my relief. So I got in the car with them and hauled ass up here. We had no incidents and ate lake perch in Holland Michigan. We hit town around 11:00 P.M. and I found my house full of kids (19-26) drinking my beer and celebrating my arrival...by drinking my beer. It was a minor party. The next day when my brother in law went to golf I had him drop me off in Pierport and walked a few miles on the beach back to camp. I got sunburned and my whole body still aches.

But why Michigan? Well there are a lot of reasons:
1. We have been going to family camp up here for 14 years
2. I know lots of people here
3. Most of them are Lutherans which makes them:
a. boring
b. generally non threatening; and
c. very comfortable around a cold beer
4. My son has been working up here the last three summers.
5. The weather is flawless and Lake Michigan looks like the Caribbean (a very cold caribbean).
6. We have a house there now
7. The dogs (which my wife loves more then me) can come along
8. A lot of the people I know here I consider friends (they might not but I have found that is ok)
9. There is still a bar in town called The Big Apple and often we are able to drink their kegs of La batts, Budweiser and Bud Light dry.
10. The Big Apple has an internet jukebox.
11. Cell phone reception in Arcadia sucks
12. My kids love it here
13. Their are always at least 5 vacationing pastors to take my confession
14. You can talk about God and contemplate your faith....but you do not have to.
15. The Camp has events planned every night which you can attend...or not.
16. About this time of year the berry crop comes in.
17. I feel better here
18. I am far away from most people
19. I could go on and on.
20. I can work on that beer can pyramid I never got around to in college.
21. When you take your cans back you get 10 cents

It is a nice place to hide. My wife came on Saturday with the dogs, my daughter and one of her friends. My brother showed up with his wife. When they came I was sitting at Pastor Tiemann's house drinking my 3rd Bud Light of the afternoon. We ate. It was the 4th of July and they all went to see fireworks. We went home and my wife and I talked and was able to talk her into not leaving me again.

I really love my country. I am grateful to live here. The 4th of July with it's forced rah-rah, yay us mentality leaves me cold. I didn't go see fireworks because I go up here to get away from crowds. Besides, one of my dogs (the mentally ill older one) goes nuts during storms and any loud noises so we had to stay around and comfort it. We drank beer and went to bed.

On Sunday up here you have the chance to get up and go to this little Lutheran Church in the center of town. From our house I can here the bells as they chime off each hour. The church is old and small and pretty and if you pack it with a bunch of Germans it can realluy rock the house for "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God". This is good stuff. John Nunes is up here this week as Dean (head spiritual guy) at the Camp and he is one of my favorite people. He makes me think big thoughts. It stretches me out in a non threatening way and is very different from being stretched out at work.

"I have come to be untroubled in my seeking.
I have come to see that nothing is for naught" Joe Pug/"Hymn 101"

Bottom lione for why I go to Michigan. I go to hide. Everyone should have a place to hide and if they can hide with friends then sometimes you get to recieve a little Grace (capital G Grace) right here on earth which....is sweet.

"Life is sweet, life is sweet, life is sweet, bittersweet, and days keep rolling along". Maria Mc Kee/"Life is Sweet"