surprise! i showed up at my family’s door in Lafayette on friday night.
so everyone who thought i was having adventures more than 700 miles away was utterly and totally surprised. desiree and i really got ‘em good.
it all started about three or four weeks ago… desiree wanted to go back to lafayette… to see someone very, very special… no, not those special people! heh. nope not those either. try again. not them. no. actually, you’re wrong. she wanted to see her DOG. that’s right. the original motive to traverse three states, 11 hours of driving, and an entire fall break spent and gone, was a four-legged furry friend (and people say the dogs are the faithful ones… HA!) So i was enlisted as the counterpart in this curious plot. des started planning EVERYTHING. i was skeptical. when the news came that we would be in town for STM’s homecoming, i was even more skeptical. how are we going to orchestrate the timing on this thing? Desiree’s parents were planning to leave before we got there, my mom was supposed to get on a plane for cincinatti, julie would be lost in the crowds of a football game, Danielle is staying in Baton Rouge for the LSU game, who would be left in town to surprise? and what are the odds that a half a day of driving would turn out to be an uneventful trip?
maybe it was good planning. maybe it was luck and circumstance. maybe it was desiree’s furious and fervent foot mashing the gas pedal, with one eye on the road, the other on the clock, one hand on the wheel, the other on the phone, attempting to intercept the departing parentals during the last stretch into town. Verily, i say to you, it had something to do with a divine being.
- we pull into des’s driveway SECONDS before her dad starts the car.
- my mother just happened to decide to leave on the plane on saturday instead.
- julie actually answers her cell phone.
- we get to drive on sunday to see danielle and justin.
rock on.
(imagine if we had stayed at a gas station for just 2 more minutes, or set the cruise control just .1 mph less than it was for 10 hours…)
Some other fun things that happened:
- i surprised Grandmere, and got some good shrimp po-boys and 2 lb. of boudin in the meantime!
- spent some time with the fam, including momma! poor julie had to do her homework. but i am rootin for her!
- Good ol’ uncle tony made his FANT-ABULOUS cheesecake, at my request, a raspberry-chocolate cheesecake with oreo crust. it is perfection. (i imported some with me back to Georgia!)
- got to talk to the best bud, and co-author of this website, Jon!
- got to see a Spectacular classical guitar concert with said best friend in the beautiful Cathedral on Sunday afternoon.
- played a little pool and catch-up with my good man Bradley
- drove to baton rouge and had a grand ole time at LSU with Danielle and Justin (with a little Paul thrown in there at the end)
- visited a few teachers at my demi alma mater.
- surprised Bennett Broussard on his BIRTHDAY! as well as a number of other seniors like daniel, katie, rachel, etc.
- Coach Taylor is awesome.
- drove around our very new, very clean Ford Explorer (we got rid of an old ford just to buy a new one… kinda weird.)
- And the number one cool thing that happened: i drove away with my electric guitar and amp. that’s right. i am rocking out (after my homework, mom) here in GA.
that about covers it. pretty incredible, i know. i have many more wonderful things that i got out of this trip, but i’d like to highlight a little detail.
Desiree misses her friends so much. coming back from LSU, it was apparent that she is having more and more of the urge to transfer back home. we talked about it, and there will be much more talk in the future, but there’s defintely an agreement on giving Mercer a chance. Retrospect bites, dosen’t it? (brooke says “Amen reverend!”)
speaking of brooke, one person that i sincerely wish i had seen was Brooke Cranfield. she made it in to town too! i saw mark and even brittany p. at the STM game, and they said she was spending some time at home. dang! missed a chance. oh well. another vacation is zooming nearer.
Next time it won’t be surprises so maybe we’ll be able to do even MORE!
coming up: poetry and hopefully some music updates.
David, You sure surprised your Daddy. The doorbell rang Friday evening, and I suspected a political pitch was coming, though it was kinda late for that. I almost didn’t open the door, but just yell through. However, I opened it, and saw a young man with his back to me. He said something vague, like “Pardon me sir, but could you kindly do something for me.” And then you turned around, and I saw your face, and said “Oh, it’s David.” And then my jaw dropped and said, “Oh, it’s DAVID.” And then my eyes kinda popped out and I said ‘IT’S DAVID, my SON!” You gave me a big hug, and then Des came around the corner, and gave me a big hug. Then your Mom looked out from the back of the house, and almost fell over onto the floor. Sure was a great surprise and a lot of fun.
Dave, your post about the trip was very interesting.
Suggestion:
1. Fix the first sentence of your post to “my family’s door”. It makes a bigger impact.
What a nice surprise! Made my weekend worth while. Not much to look forward to on the weekend. But word of caution. You might give an old lady a heart attack. In a way I am glad the door bell does not ring. I would have really been besides myself had I opened the door and there you were. Probably dropped my drawers. Phew! I just barely escaped that one. Love you bunches and waiting to see you Thanksgiving. Grandmere