In the summer of 1999 I attended Missouri Boy's State. Basically it was nine days of mock state government (city mayors to the governor). 1000 of Missouri's "finest" high school senior boys attended with mild to moderate levels of enthusiasm. By the end of the week, it was commonly known across campus that the theme had changed from "A Week To Change A Lifetime" to "A Week That Lasts A Lifetime".
One of the more memorable daily events (aside from morning Reveille) was the speaker each night. We heard speeches from known politicians such as Mel Carnahan, Jim Talent, and John Ashcroft. They all said the same thing. And I remember Ashcroft saying it specifically, "In life (dramatic pause) you will face many challenges...". They would then go on to list said challenges and present various "life solutions" such as education, hard work, etc.
Now, I've experienced ten years of life since that week that lasted a lifetime, and I've been through a lot. I've graduated from high school, attended, endured, and graduated from Truman; dated, become engaged, gotten my first job, traveled the country, gotten married, moved ten times, gotten a second job, and I've bought a house—which leads me at long last to the banister.
It is possible that I have learned more about life through the long and arduous installation of our balcony banister (see below) than I did through all of the a fore-mentioned life events combined. Truman prepared me for a lot, but they sure as heck didn't tell me how incredibly frustrating newel posts can be.
I am pleased with the finished product, but just pleased. I now have two more railings to go, and will tackle them as soon as I feel sufficient levels of sanity are at hand.
So, Mr. Ashcroft, whether it be the Bush Administration or balusters and newel posts, you were right. We will face many challenges. Thanks for the inspiration to push through.
If you couldn't tell from the tone...this was posted by Jason.
