Today, Hobert, MariBeth, and AD went to church with me. That was cool. When I walked into the church, Sis. Tony told me that the pastor wanted to see me. I was dreading that.

When I walked into Eld. Greedson's office he made a face at me. He said, "I am your pastor, and you didn't think to tell me about ole boy." I didn't even get to respond. He fussed at me for a little while. He asked, "When do I get to meet him?" I said, "Whenever you want to. He's out in the congregation." Eld. Greedson stood up and said, "Why didn't you bring him back here with you?" I said, "Sis. Tony said that you wanted to see me. She didn't say anything about anybody else." Eld. Greedson told me to go get Evg. Williams.

The meeting went fine, which was good.

After church, we went and got something to eat. After that, MariBeth and AD went to my place. I showed Hobert around Oxford.

I still can't believe that I showed him our family cemetery and the pecan tree. (That's another story for another time.) I have never taken anyone there, not even MariBeth. I must like him.

I showed him some of the family businesses. That was going good until we got to the grocery store that one of my cousins' is part owner of. Why was my cousin standing out there talking to my EX? They wouldn't have noticed us, but I have vanity license plates, so my car is easily recognized. My cousin flagged me down and made us stop. Hobert smiled and said that everything was going to be okay, but I didn't believe. I can't stand my EX. I use to hate him.

My cousin introduced Hobert to Parrish. Parrish had the nerve to ask me for a hug. I wouldn't hug his trifling behind for anything. Parrish said something evil to Hobert. Hobert politely answered him back. Parrish said something else. Hobert ended the whole conversation when he told Parrish that he was going to be around for a long time.

We left. Why did my cousin call everyone that he could think of and tell them what happened?

Hobert and I had been driving around for awhile before he asked me what happened with Parrish. I didn't even want to tell him about that. He told me that I could tell him whenever I felt like it. I love that about Hobert. He doesn't pressure or bug me about stuff. I can't stand it when people do that. Just leave me alone until I want to talk about things. When we got back to my apartment, I told Hobert about Parrish.

About Parrish

I met him my senior year in high school. His grandmother lives in Fontaine. He was visiting her for the summer before he went off to college. He was handsome, with long eyelashes, curly hair, and a million dollar smile. I fell head over heels in love with him the first time I met him. His voice was silky smooth, too. We dated that whole summer. It was fun. I am such an over achiever. I have to do everything better than everyone else, that included being in love. He went to school. He came back the next summer. We picked up where we left off, that next summer. My cousin was and is friends with Parrish. He had told me that Parrish had slept with a girl while he was at college. I asked Parrish. He told me that it wasn't true. My cousin had no proof, so I didn't believe my cousin. I still don't know if Parrish slept with someone else or not.

We dated the whole summer, again. We went to our separate schools, but vowed to be a couple while we were away at school. We came back to Fontaine that next summer. We dated again. This time things were getting serious. Parrish started talking about sex. In my family, you don't have sex until after your married. That's what we are taught. Some of us have not lived up to that. Knowing about the family motto on premarital sex didn't stop Parrish from bugging me about sex. He didn't do it the regular way, nope, he gave me flowers and gifts. I am not even into flowers. Never have been, but getting all that stuff from Parrish made me feel special.

During my junior year in college, when I was 20 years old, Parrish proposed to me without a ring. I said yes. He took me to a jewelry store and showed me the ring that he was going to buy me, when he got enough money. I never did get that ring. During the summer of 2000, let's just say that I gave into temptation. It was the most horrible experience I have ever had. Parrish was all talk. I gave into temptation again because Parrish asked for a second chance to show me that he wasn't as bad as he was the first time. The second time was even worst than the first time. Oddly enough, I never told anyone how bad Parrish was until like six months later.

Three months after the second encounter, Parrish told me that he didn't want to see me anymore. I was so heartbroken that I cried for like a week. My father and brothers wanted to go after Parrish, but I told them not to. It wasn't until three months later that I told them they could do whatever they wanted to with Parrish.

Parrish had been going around telling everyone that I was stalking him and calling him. Anyone that knows me knows when you tell me something is over, I get rid of every reminder of that person, place, or thing. I wasn't even thinking about his trifling behind. The stuff Parrish was saying kept on going and going. It got so bad that one of my mother's friends said something to her about it.

I am not sure what my father and brothers did to Parrish, but the rumors stopped and things quieted down.

I swore off men after that. I have only been on three or four dates since 2000. I went on those because MariBeth made me. I went and got some counseling to help me deal with how much I hated Parrish. I didn't want to project any of my issues stemming from dealing with him on anyone else.

****

Hobert didn't even trip when I told him the whole story about my EX. He didn't even trip on me when I cried. It felt good telling him about it, too. All Hobert said was, "All I ask is that you give me a chance to be me and not judge me based on what ole boy did to you. I am not him and I will never do anything like that to you."

We went on with our tour. I showed him the Bethel Street Baptist Church. That's the church that one of my ancestors started. The church has been around since the 1800s.

We went to dinner with AD and MariBeth. She almost fell out when she found out that I had told Hobert the whole story about Parrish and that I had cried.

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Today was cool. I showed Hobert (BKA "H") around Fontaine. I showed him a couple of the family businesses. I also showed him the office in Oxford. I had to go in and make those phone calls. He watched me talk on the phone. He and MariBeth kept making faces at me. I heard him say, "That girl is good at what she does. I bet she could charm the spots off a leopard." MariBeth laughed like crazy.

My uncle Terrance had arranged a BBQ on his farm in Fontaine for Saturday. How he got it arranged so quickly, I don't know? Evg. Williams was going to meet most of my family on his first day in Oxford. My family is crazy.

Evg. Williams met the members of m family that was at the BBQ. It was a whole bunch of them there. Everyone seemed to like him. It was going good until my cousin JC decided to mention my EX and have a long conversation about how he had mistreated me.

I'll have to talk about that later.

AD finally made it to the BBQ. MariBeth almost ran out to him until my Aunt-T (that's what we call her) told MariBeth to play hard to get. Aunt-T said, "Let him come in here and get you." My Aunt-T swears that she knows everything there is to know about men, how to get them, and how to keep them.

Hobert ended up playing dominoes with my cousins. My cousin DJ had claimed Hobert as his partner. They were whipping everyone that they played. Hobert was being a good winner. DJ was acting a fool and gloating. They played my father and my uncle Terrance. I can't believe it, but they beat my father and uncle. That's history right there. My father and uncle have never been beaten.

All in all, my family liked Hobert. My uncle even showed him around the farm. My uncle doesn't do that too often.

I have got to stop making friends that everyone in my family likes.

Labels: 2006

My father and mother were over my house forever. I had to tell them that I had to go to the office to get them to leave.

They were talking to MariBeth most of the time. Sometimes, I think they forget that I am their daughter and that MariBeth isn't. Oh well.

I spent most of the time sulking in my room because I was mad that I was missing Evg. Williams. That's why I didn't want to talk to him on the phone.

My daddy came in the room and asked what was wrong. I told him. My father said, "Well, get the boy a flight down here. We want to meet him anyway. He will probably be glad to come down here to be with you." I just shook my head.

****

MariBeth and I finally got to the office. I had a stack of papers on my desk. Apparently, the person I left in charge was having a hard time dealing with some of the vendors that we use. I gotta come in on Saturday and make some phone calls. Ugh.

I was going through the stacks of papers when MariBeth asked, "Are you going to get Hobert a flight down here?" I looked up at her like she was crazy. I said, "What sense does that make, to get him a flight down here for two days when we are going to be back in Noble Valley on Monday?" She laughed and said, "Love, don't make no sense." I threw a piece of paper at her and said, "Who said anything about love?" She laughed. I said, "I'll get him a flight down here, if you call AD and tell him to come down here, too." She gave me a crazy look and said, "Ok." I was hoping that she would say no.

She grabbed her cell phone and called AD so quickly, that my head was spinning. I called Evg. Williams. His voice was so happy when I told him that it was me. I asked him if I got him a flight, could he get to the airport. He sounded so excited that I thought he was going to come through the phone.

He's on his way down here. I even managed to get him a seat on the flight that MariBeth and I are on when we go back to Noble Valley.

Labels: 2006

Why was my father waiting at my house when I got home? I didn't even have time to get out of the car good before my father rolled up to the car and said, "Who is Hobert Williams? Why don't I know him? Why didn't you tell me you were involved in him?" Before I could answer my father, MariBeth started instigating. She gets on my nerves.

Well, when I got into the house, finally, my father went on a tangent for 9 minutes. The tangent ended with him telling me to call Evg. Williams on my cell phone. I didn't want to do it because I had said that I wasn't going to do that. Oh well.

Apparently, when Evg. Williams answered the phone, he said something like… "I thought we weren't going to call each other lovely." Because my father said, "My name isn't Lovely! It's Tommy White. Mr. White if you know what is good for you."

The two of them ended up talking on the phone for close to 30 minutes. That's all I need, is for my father to be best friends with my boyfriend. My father has always had good relationships with my friends. MariBeth talks to and sees my parents more than I do.

While my father was on the phone with Evg. Williams, my mother was grilling me. She was grilling me, but MariBeth was answering all the questions.

Is he handsome? He's cute, but he looks like a nerd in his glasses.

What does he do for a living? He's a school teacher. He teaches 4th grade.

Where are his people from? I don't know.

It went on and on like that for awhile. I never answered one question.

When my father got off the phone, he handed it to me and said, "He wants to talk to you." I made a face. I hadn't planned on thinking about Evg. Williams all weekend.

Him: Hey Lovely.
Me: Hey. We aren't supposed to be talking to each other.
Him: I know, but I'm glad that we are talking to each other.
Me: Uhh huh.
Him: I guess you are ready to get off the phone.
Me: Yes. See you on Monday.
Him: (Laughter.) Okay, unless I see you before then.

We both said bye and hung up.

Why do I miss him now?

Labels: 2006

We are leaving Noble Valley today. MariBeth and I are going to Oxford. Eld. Hayesforth is going to Quinton. It doesn't make any sense that MariBeth and I leave, we will just turn around and be back here on Monday.

I met with all of the hotel managers today. We met at the Chamber of Commerce. I know that Allen Washington at the COC is tired of me. The hotel managers were told about the number of people that will be coming into the city of Monday and Tuesday of next week. They promised to make things easy for the delegates. That's cool. Talking to the hotel managers in the city was my idea, too.

We had lunch with Evg. Williams and Eld. Hollings before we left. Out of all the times I have been to Noble Valley and left, this is the first time that I actually thought about missing Evg. Williams. I guess it is actually real because it is out in the open.

Get This...

I asked (ok told) Evg. Williams not to think about me on this weekend. I also told him not to call me. I said that I would do the same thing. I figure it will be easier on us if we don't communicate while I am in Oxford. At least I hope that's the case. I will be back in Noble Valley in 3 days.

Labels: 2006

Eld. Hayesforth and I had a conversation today. It left me feeling good and bad at the same time.

The Good Part:
Eld. Hayesforth said that I had done a good job on the Convocation. He even said that the convocation has been better every since I became the coordinator. He asked me to not quit. I don't know about that.

The Bad Part:
He also told me that he was disappointed in me because I didn't trust him enough to tell him that I was involved with Evg. Williams. I wasn't sure how to explain it to him. He said that I should have told him. I don't know about that either.

How do I get myself in these messes?

Labels: 2006

Early registration will end today. On tomorrow, the cost for registration will increase.

Get your registration forms in today.

Labels: 2006

I figured I might as well get this out of the way. It is probably going to get me killed by every important person in my life.

Evg. Hobert Williams and I are a couple. Although I got to know him during the course of coordinating the Convocation in Noble Valley, we had met before at other Convocations. I am usually so busy at the convocations that I never notice anyone, which was the case here.

I wanted to keep our relationship a secret until after the Convocation because of exactly what happened. Evg. Williams wanted to tell everyone, but I didn't. Blame me for that.

Anyway, I wouldn't have had to tell anyone, except that Evg. Williams told Eld. Hayesforth. MariBeth, Evg. Williams, Eld. Toby Hollings (a friend of Evg. Williams), and I were in the hotel room watching a movie. (Ya'll, please don't read anything into that.) Eld. Hayesforth kept coming to the room, knocking on the door. I have no idea why he was doing that. Eld. Hollings got upset and wanted to go say something to Eld. Hayesforth. I kept everyone not to worry about it. Finally, Evg. Williams got tired and went and talk to Eld Hayesforth. Evg. Williams told Eld. Hayesforth that we were in a relationship.

Eld Hayesforth called me out into the hallway and asked me if it was true. I told him that it was. That was that. Needless to say, Eld Hayesforth is mad at me. MariBeth is mad at me. I hadn't even told her and she is my bestfriend. She can't hold water sometimes.

I was mad at Evg. Williams for awhile because he took it upon himself to tell Eld Hayesforth about us. To which, Evg. Williams said, "We shouldn't have tried to keep things secret. Somebody would have found eventually. I am glad it's out now." He said something else, but I ain't telling ya'll what it was.

Hopefully, now, folk will leave me alone.

Labels: 2006

The Men's Ministry of the Lighthouse Church in Noble Valley will be hosting a 4th of July Picnic. More information can be found here.

They will be selling food, drinks, and more. There will be prizes given. They will also have games.

The picnic will go from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM.

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We (Eld. Hayesforth, MariBeth, and I) are in Noble Valley. MariBeth went to the zoo with one of Evg. Williams' friend. I got stuck in a suit and some high heels talking to business people. I don't like her right now. :)

The meeting at the Chamber of Commerce went well. After hearing some many of the delegates complain about there never being enough restaurants open after the convocations, I decided to meet with the business people of each city that we are in, so that they will know what is going on. It has been successful since I started doing it. A number of the other convocation coordinators started doing the same thing.

While we were driving back to the hotel, Evg. Williams and I were discussing the picnic that his church is hosting on the 4th of July for the delegates of the convocation. Some of the money will be donated to the GBF Youth Ministry. Well, I haggled with Evg. Williams until I had gotten a bigger percentage for the Youth Ministry. He said, "I can't believe you are gonna get your man in trouble with his pastor like that." I almost fell out. He was not supposed to say that. That's a whole other story.

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• Bishop told me that I couldn't quit until after the convocation was over.  He said that he expected me to do my best.  (I always do my best.)
• He told Eld. Hayesforth that they needed to meet with Sis. B to find out what her problem was with me.
• According to Eld. Hayesforth, Sis. B just doesn't like me.
• Eld. Hayesforth apologized to me.
• Bishop Adkins made me apologize to Eld. Hayesforth.  (I still don't think I had anything to apologize for.)

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Well, Evg. Williams emailed me today. I shouldn't even mention him anymore because I have probably gotten him into trouble. I started to email him and tell him about Sis. B, but I didn't. I feel like an idiot. I didn't know that keeping this blog would cause trouble.

Labels: 2006

Man, church was off the hook. Richard preached like he had lost his mind. His church choir sung like crazy. It was amazing. That Baptist church was rocking. It was good.

Dinner was good, too. We had a big spread at Aaron's church. It was all kinds of food there. It was cool seeing all my family members. Everybody was there. There were kids running all over the place. It was cool.

The day was going good until my phone rung. MariBeth was sitting next to me. She told me not to answer it. It was Eld. Hayesforth on the caller ID, so I answered it. I regret doing that. I got told off like crazy.

Apparently, Sis. B (that's what I will call her) read my blog and read about Evg. Williams driving me around and called Eld. Hayesforth and told him that I was in Noble Valley hooking up with some man instead of doing my job. I can't believe that Eld. Hayesforth even believed that bat. After all the lies she has told on me, since I got this position, I don't even know why he believed her. He didn't even ask me if what Sis. B said was true. He just lit into me. Which, that led me to crying after I got off the phone.

MariBeth had been watching me the whole time. When I got off the phone, she rushed over to me. She had a fit when I told her what happened. I had to stop her from going to get my father. He can't stand Sis. B. I went and sat in my car for a few minutes. I had to kick MariBeth out of the car because she kept fussing. I needed some quiet time.

I finally calmed down and went back to the church. I wasn't in a good mood for the rest of the day.

My father asked what was wrong. I didn't tell him. He would have had a fit.

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