I know how late this is.
And I sincerely apologize for that. Blame stuff. Actually don't blame it, because it's really good stuff that has been distracting me. :P
OKAY. So I am a Roman Catholic. Which means I am SUPPOSED to go to church every Sunday. But I don't. I know how bad that is, but again, stuff (See tags for a hint). SO. In an effort to avoid that stuff and to have an experience, I went with my grandparents to the city of West, where the factory blew up. They were having a special mass to honor the five Knights of Columbus that died trying to help. My grandfather is a Knight, and he's a part of the color guard, so he was a very special part, but I don't think I'm allowed to say anything more than that, so...
I knew it meant an early morning (Yet I was still up late, which was a really stupid decision, I'm aware), And it was even earlier for me because I was told by my mother not to wear jeans, which meant I had to get up and shave my legs (Y'all know I love to give you TMI ;P ). Yet apparently she changed her mind but didn't bother to tell me. -_- Oh well. I finished about the time I would have been getting up anyways, so no big deal. And I made coffee. 8D Coffee is goood, coffee is your frieeeeend. xD So yeah, then it was car time.
It was about a two hour drive, with much confusion at the end because of construction and blocked off roads, and the GPS thing was rather annoying. :P But despite all that, we still managed to be about an hour early. My grandfather finished getting dressed (He was already half-way done when we left :P), and we went in to the gym of the church. It was in a building that was separate from the main church. It was interesting to see how many had already shown up, and there were still so many more that had yet to come. The final count of all the men was 110. Think about that for a minute.
110 men from all over Texas came to honor five men they didn't even know, to show support to their brothers, to honor them. Someone they didn't even know, yet they took the time out of their day to show up, and to be there as good citizens. Does that not say something? It just kind of surprised me, because I didn't think so many cared.
Anyways, back to the story here. The previous mass had let out, so the wives all filed in to the church to take their seats. The church was already filled most of the way. Now that I think about it though, maybe that was where the people who couldn't stay in their homes were living. :/ It wouldn't surprise me, because that's just what the church does; even those of a different faith, they help. they take them in when they are in need, help them. It's what Christ taught us, and what we should do. It's just... It's just what good people do.
The Bishop of the Diocese of central Texas said the mass. Church really wasn't that different from at my home parish. Then again is any mass really that different in any church aside from their choir and books? It was a beautiful mass. The service was taped, and apparently me and my grandmother were taped and we were on the news later that night. :P Not that it's really relevant to the story here, but just thought I should put that out there.
The end of mass the people were informed that a few of them living in certain areas were going to be let back in to get their belongings, and how to do so. They were also informed how a ladies chickens were doing just fine, they were all okay, over at the humane society. :P They needed that, they needed a good laugh. It will help them to heal, to find the small things to smile about. Mass ended at about noon. We met my grandfather and helped him take his uniform off, and we left. We saw how some of the areas were blocked off, we passed a lot of businesses, organizations, charities that had been set up, there to help, provide basic necessities, provide anything those people needed.
What exactly did I take away from it all? ......I don't really know. I know how pathetic that sounds but I didn't know these people, and like always I was too damn shy to try and say anything. But I was shown how close everyone in that town was. How everyone knew someone and was there for them. I was shown what a COMMUNITY looks like. Something so many cities lack, even small suburbs. So... yeah. I don't know what I was trying to do here, but...
Yeah. Sorry it's heavy, but heavy stuff just has to happen sometimes, kay? I'll make everything more upbeat tomorrow. :)
-Katie
And I sincerely apologize for that. Blame stuff. Actually don't blame it, because it's really good stuff that has been distracting me. :P
OKAY. So I am a Roman Catholic. Which means I am SUPPOSED to go to church every Sunday. But I don't. I know how bad that is, but again, stuff (See tags for a hint). SO. In an effort to avoid that stuff and to have an experience, I went with my grandparents to the city of West, where the factory blew up. They were having a special mass to honor the five Knights of Columbus that died trying to help. My grandfather is a Knight, and he's a part of the color guard, so he was a very special part, but I don't think I'm allowed to say anything more than that, so...
I knew it meant an early morning (Yet I was still up late, which was a really stupid decision, I'm aware), And it was even earlier for me because I was told by my mother not to wear jeans, which meant I had to get up and shave my legs (Y'all know I love to give you TMI ;P ). Yet apparently she changed her mind but didn't bother to tell me. -_- Oh well. I finished about the time I would have been getting up anyways, so no big deal. And I made coffee. 8D Coffee is goood, coffee is your frieeeeend. xD So yeah, then it was car time.
It was about a two hour drive, with much confusion at the end because of construction and blocked off roads, and the GPS thing was rather annoying. :P But despite all that, we still managed to be about an hour early. My grandfather finished getting dressed (He was already half-way done when we left :P), and we went in to the gym of the church. It was in a building that was separate from the main church. It was interesting to see how many had already shown up, and there were still so many more that had yet to come. The final count of all the men was 110. Think about that for a minute.
110 men from all over Texas came to honor five men they didn't even know, to show support to their brothers, to honor them. Someone they didn't even know, yet they took the time out of their day to show up, and to be there as good citizens. Does that not say something? It just kind of surprised me, because I didn't think so many cared.
Anyways, back to the story here. The previous mass had let out, so the wives all filed in to the church to take their seats. The church was already filled most of the way. Now that I think about it though, maybe that was where the people who couldn't stay in their homes were living. :/ It wouldn't surprise me, because that's just what the church does; even those of a different faith, they help. they take them in when they are in need, help them. It's what Christ taught us, and what we should do. It's just... It's just what good people do.
The Bishop of the Diocese of central Texas said the mass. Church really wasn't that different from at my home parish. Then again is any mass really that different in any church aside from their choir and books? It was a beautiful mass. The service was taped, and apparently me and my grandmother were taped and we were on the news later that night. :P Not that it's really relevant to the story here, but just thought I should put that out there.
The end of mass the people were informed that a few of them living in certain areas were going to be let back in to get their belongings, and how to do so. They were also informed how a ladies chickens were doing just fine, they were all okay, over at the humane society. :P They needed that, they needed a good laugh. It will help them to heal, to find the small things to smile about. Mass ended at about noon. We met my grandfather and helped him take his uniform off, and we left. We saw how some of the areas were blocked off, we passed a lot of businesses, organizations, charities that had been set up, there to help, provide basic necessities, provide anything those people needed.
What exactly did I take away from it all? ......I don't really know. I know how pathetic that sounds but I didn't know these people, and like always I was too damn shy to try and say anything. But I was shown how close everyone in that town was. How everyone knew someone and was there for them. I was shown what a COMMUNITY looks like. Something so many cities lack, even small suburbs. So... yeah. I don't know what I was trying to do here, but...
Yeah. Sorry it's heavy, but heavy stuff just has to happen sometimes, kay? I'll make everything more upbeat tomorrow. :)
-Katie
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