Last Wednesday (drat this backblog!) Mer and I were invited to a bonfire and prayer session by one of CVCA’s seniors who is a member of my improv group. Moops (his nickname) is a great kid, and his mom is a music teacher at CVCA as well. I very much wanted to support Moops in his desire to lead a prayer gathering, AND there was going to be food, so off we went. Turns out Moops lives out near where we used to live – it was a good 45-minute drive.
Moops and his family live out in the country, and he has an enormous back yard. We let ourselves in to the house (the front door was open), and met with Moops’s mom, who promptly encouraged us to go out to the back for food. We were greeted by the sight of several students, and Moops’s dad, whom I had never met.
The group was small, but I am pleased to say many of them were affiliated with me in some way. I had one Fool/Ceili Club member, another Fool, and two more Ceili Club dancers show up before the night was out. Not too bad, for me to know four people out of about ten.
The food was simple pizza, but BOY, did it hit the spot. Then, Moops’s mom brought out warm brownies which were made by Moops’s sister. Yum!
We ate and chatted until it started to get dark (probably about 7:00). We all headed to the back of the property where there was a really big pile of tree limbs and brush that had been soaked in gasoline. We pulled up chairs that were set out, and Moops talked a little about the wonder of God and encouraged us to look up at the stars while remembering that God still cares for us. We then sang several songs and hymns a cappella (Moops’s mom IS a music teacher, after all!). It was beautiful.
Some of the students had to leave around 8:15, so Moops set off the bonfire. It was enormous! The flames must have been shooting 30 feet in the air, and the heat was pretty intense even 10 or 15 feet away. The ash from the fire fell downwind and looked like snow. The students put on a little music and danced a couple of line dances, of which I tried one and stank. I’ll stick to ceili dancing, thank you.
Mer and I stayed and talked and laughed with folks until after 9:00. Yes, that means we were out until about 10:00 on a school night! We are such wild things!