Our school,
TCA, went to BJU several times for national competition. I only remember going
to one of these competitions. I went to several regional competitions during my
high school years and I thought it was funny because these were usually after
the national competitions. I was part of the choir and ensembles but I did not
participate in any of the preacher boy or other competitions at the national
competition like I did at local or regional competitions. To be honest, I wasn’t
very good and it was just kind of expected of us boys. Below are some of my
memories from that trip which happened in the spring of 1983.
The first
memory I have of that trip was our group packing into a couple of vans and we
had CB radios to communicate with each other and my sister being sick. There’s
more to this story but for the sake of my sister I will leave it there. By the
end of the trip we had given names to different kinds of smells and new words
had been created that were used months after the trip finished.
On our way
across the country, we stopped at a number of different churches. There was one
place we stopped at in OK and they had a special service and a banquet
afterwards. Based on some of the people we saw and us high school students
being shallow, we did not think or say very nice things about this place. I’m
sure they were nice but we were not and I’ve always felt bad about that. One
place we stopped at had arcade games that cost us a nickel to play or we’d play
basketball in the school gym.
This was the
trip that I was introduced to country music. I had a Walkman type radio with
headphones and the only thing we could pick up driving through the South was
country music radio stations. They kept saying, “Up next, Alabama.” I kept
waiting for this song about Alabama and I didn’t understand until later that
they were talking about the group Alabama. I remember hearing The Judds, Kenny
Rogers, Dolly Parton, Oak Ridge Boys, Alabama, and others. I took my headphones
apart and my friend and I would share and we’d listen to it as the vans went
down the road. I remember feeling guilty about the music and it was my first
taste of music outside of hymns, classical, and elevator music. I was quite the
rebel.
At the campus
of BJU, we were put in dorm rooms. I remember feeling uncomfortable. I was
always afraid I was going to break some rule, show up at the gym at the wrong
time, walk on the wrong sidewalk, or anything else that I couldn’t remember I
was not supposed to do. I remember eating at the dining common. It’s where I
was introduced to grits. Gross. I vaguely remember singing and I think we did
pretty well but I’m not sure if we placed or not. I remember checking out the
art gallery, dating parlor, the bridge, and other interesting places around the
campus.
I remember running
around BJU with my best friend taking pictures and his brother was a student
there and we met him and his fiancé. I remember sitting in the auditorium and
how big it was, especially the pulpit.
This is the
trip that I was introduced to southern style biscuits from Hardee’s and make
them with sausage, awesome!! I remember forgetting to order cheese for my
burger at Wendy’s. I think that pay phones cost $.10 and I’d call my parents occasionally.
This sticks out to me because I remember later in high school when it jumped to
a quarter and we thought that was a big deal.
To say the
least, this trip was quite an adventure.
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