Summer of 2006, pt.1

Now that I have been done with exams for a couple of weeks, and finished the journal competition last week, it is a good feeling to reclaim things which I had put on hold around when things got busy down in Columbus. I am at home in Akron now, and it is great to see my family and friends again. I will have a couple weeks off to talk about things besides exams, papers, and all of the trappings of school, even though I know everyone will miss those kind of posts.

Yesterday, I went to a carnival up in Chagrin Falls, near Cleveland, with a couple of friends from Akron U. Most of the things there were geared toward kids, but we got to watch a concert by a really good band that covered the Beatles. They played basically any song you can think of, ending on "Hey Jude." It was really crowded, though-wall to wall people, and at some times the crowd was so big that you couldn't even turn around or go in another direction. I think the entire town was there, at one point or another.

It was a beautiful night, though-hot, but sunny, and we sat in the shade, since the concert was held under a big tent. I walked down the fairway for a while, and I was hungry enough to get a sausage sandwich or piece of pizza, but I didn't want to pay $6, so I ended up with peanuts and water at the gas station later. I guess cutting down on eating kind of got forced upon me. I did have some corn on the cob, though-I can't pass up good corn.

I thought it was funny to go by the tents where all the political candidates were camped out-we went by the Republican Party tent and got "Blackwell for Governor" stickers. I noticed that there was a huge crowd near the Republican tent, but no one was even sitting in the Democrats' booth. I wonder if that means anything about whether we'll be talking about Governor Ted Strickland or Senator Sherrod Brown (that's a whole other post and a lot of angry comments).

By the way, Chagrin Falls is a nice little town. I had never been there before yesterday, and it was the kind of place I hope to settle down in someday, maybe after I retire. I'll go wherever my work leads me, but I have always been a small-town kind of person.

After we left, I went over to my friend Kristin's house and watched "Walk the Line", the movie about the life of Johnny Cash, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, and then drove home.

So it sounds like a pretty normal day, except for the first time probably since I moved to Columbus, I didn't even think about law school. Not for one minute, for several hours. I am thinking a lot about the Blackstone these days-I have a feeling this summer is going to change, shape, and redefine the focus and direction of my life for many years to come. No, for once I stopped thinking about the pressure I have been under, whether I am going to get on to the Ohio State Law Journal, whether I am going to have the grades for on-campus interviewing in the fall, and all the other things I need to learn to let go of and trust God on.

And it was a great feeling.

I have two weeks left before I pack my suitcase and travel to Phoenix for Phase I of the Blackstone Fellowship. I will be posting throughout the summer, as always, but it may get sporadic after the 11th, depending on Internet access and time constraints while I am gone. For the next two weeks, I plan to get my assigned reading done, go swimming at my brother's house, get a sun tan, and basically relax for what will probably be the last time until after I take the bar exam about 26 months from now. I say, bring it on.