Stoop so low... to reach so high

Where do I start?

Where did I leave off?
(By the way, you can leave comments right here on the blog. Below the entry it says 'Leave Comment'. I love comments!)

Rob and I have now been together for about three weeks in Anna (the Van) and we're still getting along great... imagine that!!! Rob's been great company and a huge help, and I don't think the stories I'm about to tell you would be so good if it weren't for this punk. He's done everything from cook to clean, from drive to train, from brewing coffee to rubbing my feet (no, just joking), from delivering and picking up racquets for me to string to stringing some himself (by the way, we've strung about 40 racquets so far...), and he's done all this while keeping a good attitude. So Rob's last day on the tour will be Sunday, the 2nd, in which I fly back to Greensboro, North Carolina to pipe for a Wedding on the 7th and spend the 4th with my friends and brother Peter in Charlotte.
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So, what has happened in the past week and a half? Tons. As you know Rob and I have been in Northern California while I've been playing in the ITF Tournaments here. Right now we're in Shingle Springs (in the western foothills of Lake Tahoe) and I played in the tournament here. I lost in a very tough first round match of the qualifier to a player that will be playing today in the first round of the main draw. Since then I have been stringing racquets, playing bagpiping gigs, and meeting tons of awesome locals. I don't think I've felt so welcomed as I do here anywhere else I've been.

Rob and I have been camped in the Gold Country Baptist Church parking lot ever since we arrived here on Tuesday the 19th. The church is located right across the street from the club and they let us use their outlet to plug in, hose for water, and wireless internet which I'm using right now. They have been nothing but a blessing to us ever since we arrived here. We've met all three pastors, several church families (whom we now have contact info for) and have been invited over to two homes for a meal, each a story in itself.

Backtracking to my loss on the tennis court. I have been training tough with Rob over the last few weeks and it had nothing to do with my training why I lost. It was the mistake of business. They say that you've gotta take the money when it comes, or the business when it comes, for that matter. Well, Rob and I racked up 9 racquets to string and have finished before the first matches were to start on Saturday morning. Obviously, the day before the first round matches is the busiest for a racquet stringer. Then I was offered to do a pro-am doubles round robin the evening before for a few more extra bucks and a good relaxing time to meet some locals, which I also couldn't turn down. So after that was over it was just shy of 8pm and I had 9 frames that needed to be finished by 9am the following morning. Hence I got to bed late, got up early and just never got off my feet. This made for a rough day on the court for this mann. Yet, when all was said and done, I couldn't have any regrets, because I had to take the business when it comes. Down the road, I know it will all pay off, just not yet.

So after losing I figured 'heck, I might as well get a gig for tonight since I won't be playing tomorrow', so I called a few suggested local joints and struck gold with Marco's Cafe in Coloma (where gold was first discovered in California.) I invited Barbara (see pic of me playing with two girls in the background - blue top), the really sweet front desk lady with the beautiful smile, to come out. So Marco's was a hit (see video!) and Rob and I had a great time chatting it up with Barbara and Brittany afterward.



So then came Sunday morning, more racquets to string, Gold Country Bagptist church service at 11, and Rob and I are still recovering from the night before. Yet, all racquets were finished and we got to church just after 11. It was a very good service, which Pastor Dale just happened to be basing off the same scripture I read to Rob two days before, I Timothy Chapter 6. Coincidence??? What do you think?

After the service we were invited by a grand couple, Mack and Ronnie DeWaters. Ronnie, Mack's wife of over 50 years even got to take a ride in our van on the way back to their home while Mack ran an errand. Ronnie cooked us an incredible meal, let us do our laundry, and gave us a dozen eggs that Rob got to hand pick from there very own hens(Check out the pics!) They also had rabbits and a big fat cat.

One more thing from that experience, even before lunch I got the chance to surprise there grandson Tyler on his 18th birthday with 'Happy Birthday' on the bagpipes. (see video below - Rob on narration/video coverage again!)



So then that evening we were invited to a younger couple's home, Craig & Jen, for dinner on Monday night. This is another family from the church here. 'Man, this trip just keeps getting better and better' I'm thinking and by now I just can't stop smiling. So fast forward to Monday night, we had an awesome dinner with Craig, Jen, their 21 month year old Noah, and there dog, which I'm blanking on the name right now. It was an awesome 4 course dinner which included some awesome salmon and strawberry shortcake for desert - man life is good! I played the pipes afterward for them outside and seemed to attract everyone in the townhome complex to come out and listen, imagine that... no volume control on the pipes.

So then came Tuesday, a great day of training and tennis, among other things. I was told by the local newspaper reporter, Jerry Heinzer of the Mountain Democrat that he wanted to do a full column on me in the paper, as he had already interviewed me briefly once as a player in the tournament and thought my story was interesting. So the column should come out on Friday, the day before Rob and I finally head out of this town. I'll keep you posted on that...

So Rob and I were planning to go to Lake Tahoe today and stay until Friday, but God had other plans. A wildfire which started about a week ago in Lake Tahoe has closed down the whole highway along the way to Lake Tahoe and burned down over 200 homes and the local high school there. Pray that they get it under control soon.

For us, this means three more days in Shingle Springs, which I don't mind, and you can see why...

Signing off...

~ Nate

P.S. The headline is from an old U2 song, Red Hill Mining Town.