A Tribute to Christine Eggers

This is a picture of Christine from Shack on the Rocks '05. It's one of my favorite pictures of her.
Christine has got to be one of the wisest people I know. She's also one of the friendliest (as opposed to all those wise people that live on top of mountains). And despite being one of the busiest people I've ever known, she does her best to try and make time for other people. We didn't get to hang out as much as I would have like to (due to her busy schedule), but when we did, it was always worth the wait.
I don't remember talking much to Christine before Shack on the Rocks. It wasn't even until a hiking trip on the last day that I suddenly saw Christine in a different light. Not that I thought badly of her before or anything like that, I just never thought we would have had much to talk about (outside of some church stuff). But at one point during the hike, she turned to me and asked, "Have you ever heard of a band called At The Drive-In?" I wouldn't call At The Drive-In (now broken up) a small time band, but I'm constantly amazed by the amount of people that have never heard of them. Back in the day, I had a month long period where I listened to nothing but At The Drive-In. If ever I listen to a band a month straight, you can bet they're on a list of bands I really, really like. So when Christine asked me if I've heard of them, I have to admit I was a bit stunned. And I began wondering who this person was and how come we'd never spent much time talking before.
It turned out Christine has a pretty good taste in music all around as well. She's also insanely talented at just about anything she seems to try out. And while I know there is no perfect person on Earth, if anyone comes close, it's Christine. And if she ever ran for world dictator, she'd definitely get my vote. Unless she was running against me. There's not much more I can say about her. I mean, what else is there to say? I do apologize that this post seems shorter than it should be though. I'm sure someday there will be biographies written about her and we can all read all about her in long detail.
EDIT: I can't believe I forgot to originally post about the letters and emails Christine sends me. Anyways, she sends me email on like a monthly basis along with some written letters probably about bi-monthly. They are some of the best letters and emails I ever get (and they don't even have money in them!). Any day I get an email from her, and especially a letter, is a good day. No matter what else seems to be going on.
I think anyone that meets this wonderful woman should consider themselves extremely blessed. I sure do.
[And in other news... I deploy (for the non-military, I'm going to a "war-zone") on Monday, Sep. 18th. I don't know if I'll get the chance to post on here. I would think so, but probably not with pictures (so much for posting photos of all the sand I'll get to see). I'll try and get at least one more post up before I go.]

A Tribute to Ben Larrew

This is my buddy from South Carolina, Ben. Obviously, he's on a motorcycle. I tried to steal it from him, but it didn't work out as I planned. Anyways...
Ben rocks!
I have this habit of saying something incredibly stupid only to follow it up with something even worse. It's a gift. And no one knows this better than Ben. Yet the guy still talks to me. Not the kind of talking of someone humoring someone else because they're not sure how to be rude enough to tell the person they don't want to talk. We actually exchange thoughts and ideas, on just about everything. But it's not all philosophy and the like. Sometimes we just talk about normal things as well, like music and girls.
But it's not just the fact that we can talk that makes him cool, but the fact that we can not talk as well. Like if we were on a long drive and no one was saying anything, the silence wasn't uncomfortable or anything. It was just each man letting the other process his own thoughts and what-not. (Though sometime I may have ruined the silence, but only for the fact my thoughts were going nowhere).
Another great thing about Ben is that he's not worried about the perception others may have of him. If he feels like being goofy, then he's gonna start acting goofy and he's not worried who's watching or what they think.
Other great qualities of Ben include that he's insanely intelligent, has a good sense of humor, can think outside the box, is an amazing musician, a good writer, is a bit of a geek, is more than a bit artistic, and is full of many other talents. And he does all this without ever coming out as being more than human. You can still talk to the guy like just about anyone else. Sometimes he even talks back! :)
Anyways, if nothing else were to come of my joining the military than meeting Ben (in which more definitely has, usually in the forms of many other wonderful people), it would be entirely worth it. Everyone should have a Ben Larrew in their life.
[On another note, about the book thing, people can feel free to make suggestions, but I make no guarantees to read them. Right now I'm trying to finish a book I'd started long ago and I'm not counting it towards my six for the year. After this will be A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens and I know two other books I'll definitely be getting to, tut the rest is in the air.]