This is my story...

Well shoot, I had a rough first match on Friday. It all started with my YMCA workout Thursday in Orange Park, or perhaps the sleep on the floor of a friend's room the night before. Anyway, I somehow got a pinched nerve in my back from one or the other and had rough sleep the night before my match. I had the trainer massage it out twice, but it only got temporarily worse. He said it wouldn't be until Saturday that it would start to feel better. So my match was rough, as my serve was a pain, literally. I wouldn't default, as that is my one claim to fame - I have never defaulted a match in my life, not even when I was cramping all over in my legs... never. So, I got beat in a pretty bad match, but I didn't default at least. I had a good day of training yesterday and I got to teach a couples clinic with a fellow tour player named Roby to end the night for a few bucks. I took it relatively easy today, as I usually designate Sundays as my days off. Tomorrow I'll be hitting it hard again. In the evening the club is putting on a pro-am for any of the players who wanna play with some locals, another chance to make a few bucks, and I'll be doing that as well. Tuesday I'll be playing in the doubles main draw with John Valenti (aka Johnny Blazed) I think.

So Orange Park is one of the only tournaments on the US Futures Circuit that offers housing to its players. The housing is provided by a slew of volunteer host families who are also members of the club where the tournament is located. I have been very fortunate to get to stay with the Knights, a family of four (w/ two boys) in a very nice home only about a mile and a half from the tournament site. I can honestly say I feel spoiled here... and I love it. They let me have the entire upstairs area, which consists of a large bedroom with a TV with cable, a fridge, a big bed, and a full bathroom. They even took me out to eat today at Carabbas... ahhh life is good! I played my pipes for a good while this evening for them and they really enjoyed that... thank God for those pipes!

Speaking of pipes, I also played them for a small all-black Baptist Church that I found this morning when I went out searching for a church. The people there were as sweet and welcoming as I have ever seen or felt. Once I told an elder, Mr. McNeil, in the morning Sunday School service that I play the pipes he did not hesitate to ask me to go and get them to play for the church service. It was literally like something out of a movie...
If you ever get a chance to go to a traditional all-black (I only say this because it is much different from a 'white run' church, all-the-while in a wonderful way) you should definitely go. Some of the most warm-hearted, enthusiastic, and vocal Christians I ever met were right there in this very small, old white one-room church house. I was tempted to keep driving by when I saw it at first as it almost looked abandoned with only one car in the lot, but then I remembered I had told myself that I would stop at the first church I saw and that was the one. Boy am I thankful I went. Oh, did I mention how they were vocal? They sang old hymns throughout the service, everyone in the church, and it was a sweet sound... boy I wish I could have recorded some of it. Mom, I think your favorite hymn is Blessed Assurance - we sung that one too. It was a great voice lesson!

This is my story... this is my song.

Signing off...

~ Nate