september

september. a month filled with anticipation for the life of a certain 20 something arkansan. holding with the tradition of the south, september is a time when young men venture out onto 12 luscious fields scattered across the southern landscape and battle each other in a sport we like to call “footbawl.” from athens to oxford, knoxville to columbia, sec football comes to the forefront. trying to describe the anticipation from spring practice until the first kickoff is nearly impossible. after memorizing all 12 depth charts and strength of schedules, it’s nothing short of complete utopia when september finally comes. however, this september, the september of 2008, holds a different sort of anticipation.

it was a cold october thursday afternoon in louisville, kentucky. the year was 2005 and i was enrolled at southern seminary taking a full load of classes while also working at american eagle outfitters. my friend del had convinced me earlier in the day that we should venture to bloomington, indiana to hear this band from his home state of south carolina called the working title. i was told they were really good and that the bands touring with them weren’t bad either. the three other bands were mae, circa survive, and mute math. while i was excited about the possibility of a road trip, i was a little skeptical when i found out bloomington was nearly 2 hours away and the show didn’t begin until 9 pm. i eventually gave in and since del owned a gas guzzling jeep, we decided to take the infiniti. we drove through southern indiana passing through towns called knaw bone, among others. as we arrived in bloomington, we drove around the IU campus until we happened upon the venue. what we saw next was not very pleasant to two guys who had just driven quite some distance. the line was stretching out across the street with approximately 400-500 people waiting to enter. judging by the size of the building, it was going to be a stretch to fit anymore than 300 inside. also, the temperature was in the very low 40’s with a fierce wind and neither of us thought to pack a jacket. after a few minutes of talking to a couple of girls near the end of the line, a man from inside came out and informed us that we were wasting our time by standing this far back in line because we had no hope of getting in. del, never one to panic, told me to wait in line while he went to try something. after about 10 minutes passed, he came rushing back and told me to follow him. we tracked around the side of the building and he introduces me to one of the members of the working title. we enjoyed small talk for a minute, then del informs him of our situation. i wish i could remember the guy’s name, because i am eternally grateful for the decision he made after our explination.  he said, “you can just come in with us and pretend like your with our band.” i had no idea at that very moment that my life would change forever.

*(come back tomorrow to read the conclusion of our amazing journey)