Football and Family

I know this is almost a week late in talking about Thanksgiving, but I was busy typing papers and such for the last few weeks of class and didn't have much time. I am constantly amazed by the sense of community and family in the military, especially the Navy. On Thanksgiving, my parents and I flew into Seattle for the weekend to visit my brother on Whidbey Island. When we arrived, he had arranged for us to have dinner with the family of another member of his squadron. We were welcomed with open arms and met that guy, his wife, his parents and two other P-3 types. There was no feeling of intrusion as it has been my experience that you truly look out for each other in the Navy. I remember hosting many open dinners on the holidays at my home when I was active duty and am glad that it is more than the submarine force that extends that kind of hospitality. It is something I have missed and am trying to model for others while here in seminary. The church seems to fail miserably in hospitality and is one thing of many they can learn from the military. (That might be a good dissertation topic for anyone interested in a PhD)

As for the football, it is nice to see my Yellow Jackets are going to a great bowl game this year. We finally benefited from the +/-1 win rule this year and got the best selection of the non-champions. Typically we fall all the way down and get stuck with some West Coast bowl game no one can get to. This time we are playing in Atlanta and I should be there rooting them on. I am assuming my ticket request gets through, especially seeing how I am tagging onto someone else's request who has higher priority than myself. Hopefully, they play fare better than the last few games, especially the narrow loss I witnessed in the Gator Bowl two seasons ago. It is nice to see them continually going to bowl games seeing how they went the two years before I attended, missed all four years of my school time and have not missed a bowl since I graduated. Coincidence? Probably.