Archive — Mike Blackaby
26 Aug
Goldfish in a Sea of Sharks
I believe there is one day that stands out as the scariest day of my life: the first day of high school. The first day separates the men from the boys; and on that day, we are all boys.
20 Aug
Behind Door Number One
I am a task-driven person. My brother and cousin are much different. They represent the attitude of “It will get done eventually, so why worry about it now?” When we recently took a forty hour road trip, conflict was inevitable.
11 Aug
Say Cheese
Grandmas are great for many reasons (especially their marvelous ability to bake pies that would make Willy Wonka proud), but they all share one thing in common: their ability to embarrass their grandchildren. My grandmother is not generally known for her reserved, introverted nature. She is famous for coming to my grandfather with 3 or 4 women she met in the airport bathroom who need his spiritual council. She has never met a stranger, and is constantly engaging in conversation with anyone who will listen (well, listening isn’t even required!).
30 Jul
Two-Face: Flaming Silver
I have a wild imagination, so a couple days after seeing The Dark Knight I remained a prime target for a scare. It was about 11:00 p.m. and I was in my apartment when something caught my eye. I dismissed it as a mind trick but the hairs stood a little straighter on the back of my neck. Out of curiosity, I decided to check my window (it is the perfect size for a psycho clown to enter!) when a figure jumped from the shadows and pounded the window, shrieking at the top of its lungs.
23 Jul
Mission Impossible 4: Lord of the Frosting
He stared at me from across the table, his eyes cold, his face expressionless. “Your mission,” he said, “should you choose to accept it, is to help the four of us eat this entire Black Forest cake.” The challenge was made, and four sets of eyes eagerly watched for my reaction. The suspense hung in the air like a cloud. “Waitress,” I called, “would you be so kind as to bring us five forks?” Five Friends…one cake…so it begins.
17 Jul
STEP UP 3: AFRICA
There is a common stereotype that white boys can’t dance. Some misinformed individuals obviously have never heard of Justin Timberlake, Vanilla Ice, or…did I say Justin Timberlake already? Sick and tired of the label stuck on our fellow Caucasians, my brother and I decided to set the record straight once and for all.
8 Jul
An Unpleasant Reunion
August 31, 2007. The day I look forward to all summer: the last day of my summer job. While driving home, I suddenly realized that in my haste I had neglected to pick up my insulated lunch bag from the refrigerator. The thought of going back to get it briefly occurred to me, but I dismissed the idea and continued on my way. I assumed I would never see that bag again. I was wrong.
28 Jun
ALL THE COLORS OF THE…HAIR?
In my attempt to be accepted and admired, I had made many changes in my life: I switched my clarinet for a set of drums; I replaced my mushroom haircut with a “spikier” one; I started buying jeans instead of sweat pants; and I traded in my Star Wars books for…uh…harder-to-read Star Wars books. I thought I had tried everything, but still the ladies took no notice of me! I thought I had run out of options when I got an idea…an awful idea…I got a wonderful, awful idea! I would dye my hair!
20 Jun
Wake Up
I am currently in a hotel in Malaysia, but I clearly remember the talk my father gave me the night before we left for the airport. Like most international flights, they know you have plenty of time to sleep on the airplane (despite being sandwiched between two extremely large people, having no leg room, and being assaulted by the sound of four crying babies), so they always make the departure time as early as possible. On this particular flight, that time was 6:45 a.m.
16 Jun
Into The Light…”
Being trapped in a dark room is a terrifying experience. The sensation of total blackness overwhelms you. You can’t tell which way is up and which is down, where you are going and where you have been, or even what lies just ahead of you. The less we see, the less we have control over. A dark room is filled with uncertainties, and it is not a place we want to find ourselves in.
