Albuterol For The Soul – LittleCubeNews.com

Last week I went to a beer festival, one that pretends to be about costumes and bluegrass instead of getting drunk. I like to play along though and decided to bring the facial hair in full force. But of what design? A quick trip to www.beards.org and I decide to go with the “friendly muttonchops”. I assume its name was derived by the affable union of cheek hair the mustache provides. Here it is:

I have no explanation for the purple doo-rag other than I had a purple shirt and it seemed to match pretty well. While my full intention was to shave this thing after the beer festival , it became immediately clear some things are just too amazing to die.  Most reactions could be summarized by a girl at my school who was sprinting down a hallway. Before I could tell her to stop the running she haulted and stared at me for ten straight seconds with a look of bewilderment and confusion. She eventually managed to say, “Awesome beard!” before she scampered away. I feel like this scenario takes place in the head of everyone who sees me, including mine. It is very hard to walk by a mirror without pausing for an extended period of time.

I recently got an e-mail for another Nathan from some people that appear to be from a Christian camp in the Ozarks. Attached is their included picture. I am still waiting for a response.

Dear Britt & Gayle,

Thank you for thinking of me. It seems so long ago that I spent those blissful days in His mountains along with the MK Care Shepherding team! You asked for updates on specific aspects of my life so here goes:

1. Work – I have a job at a surf shop in La Jolla.  I have found it extremely surprising that full time Bible School did not really teach me any practical skills. Fishing and spreading His word – not in high demand out here. I feel like Lord kind of let me down on this one.
2. School – As you may remember my plan was to attend Notre Dame, but I wanted to spend some time in California first.  This dude who works at La Surfer King with me convinced me that school only teaches you to be submissive to authority… he also said this was a bad thing.  More importantly, I spent my entire savings I had budgeted for one year in two weeks.  So I don’t have money for school anymore.
3. Culture Shock – As you can imagine, California is much different than Missouri. All the things you warned us about exist and are plentiful: drugs, alcohol, homosexual sex, heterosexual sex, and the Devil’s music, just to name a few. Unfortunately, I have now experienced all of these first hand…  sometimes by force.
4. Family – They do not speak to me anymore.

I know it seems I am quite far away from my goals of being a minister and marrying a woman… sometimes I wonder if I have lost my way… or maybe I have finally found it?  I think about shit like that sometimes when I am up for 72 hours straight. I appreciate the offer of your home phone number and would like to call you about questions like these. I have so many questions… like, how do I know this isn’t all someone else’s dream?! Some dude asked me that at a bonfire and it blew my mind. Be warned, I do most of my thinking late at night.

Also, I would love to join you for Thanksgiving per your invitation. Is it alright if I bring some friends? The guy I work with I told you about has a bus that can hold about 36 people.

This last part is embarrassing, but could you tell me which one of you is Britt and which one is Gayle? I never really figured that out, or if I did, I’ve completely forgotten it.

Thanks,

Nathan