This week’s shoutout goes out to my old cross country/basketball coach, Steve Bryant! (That’s right people, I played basketball AND walked cross country back in the day!) Coach, you were the standard to which all coaches should be held. Hope all is well in your world. Give Ty my best in the wake of his PT!
So I’m in the final stretch of this thing. I got less than 45 days left before I board a flight bound for the Fatherland, the good old USA. I know I’m supposed to “be present” and not think too much about it, but the fact is it’s fast approaching, and I just can’t help myself.
Honestly, I don’t know what I am going to do. I have options sure, but no definitive plan. I simply don’t know what the next step is for me, or how to go about getting there.
With that said, I know changes must be made. I love Christ now more than I ever have before, and I’ve grown too much to return to my old ways. Whatever these changes look like, I know God is in control of my life, and that He is good. I pray I will embrace the challenge of readjusting to life in the States, with full reliance and trust in my Savior. Yet while He is in control, there is something you, my family and friends back home, can do.
Below is a list of restaurants in the Abilene/Dallas areas I would like to visit upon my return. Being a poor missionary with no steady income, and having lost so much weight after this harrowing journey, I will be looking for some people to take me to breakfast, brunch, lunch, late lunch, and dinner in the immediate days after I return. Don’t think of it as buying me food, but rather as an investment in my future. Think of it as a donation toward my journey of reacclimatizing to American culture via culinary means.
Please note these are in no particular order:
Chili’s (For the steak, garlic toast, and grilled shrimp skewers)
Pizza Hut (For the Pan Pepperoni Lovers pizza and breadsticks with marinara sauce)
Banzai (For the entertainment of watching people toss sharp knives everywhere)
Cheesecake Factory (For a plain cheesecake and nothing else)
Golden Corral (For all of it- as long as we don’t go between 3-4 PM)
Cici’s Pizza (For the cinnamon rolls and the arcade)
Texas Roadhouse (For the steak and the rolls)
Wing Stop (For the lemon-pepper chicken wings)
Buffalo Wild Wings (For the lemon-pepper chicken wings . . . Yeah it’s on here twice!)
Lola’s Mexican Cafe (For the onion-less, extra large cheese enchilada)
Olive Garden (For the Lasagna, salad, and breadsticks)
Fazoli’s (For the breadsticks, melted garlic butter, and the lasagna)
Chick-Fil-A (For the lemonade, waffle fries, and good Christian values)
Jason’s Deli (For the plain vanilla ice cream, and the ginger mini-muffins that go with them).
I arrive home on August 28th. Feel free to comment times that are good for you to acquaint yourself with the post-race Matt (while also satisfying our appetites). Notice that I have included my preferred menu selections so that you can plan prices accordingly.
I get the feeling the friends I’ve asked to proofread this post find me gluttonous…Well it’s FOOD for thought anyway. (See what I did there?)
Lots of laughs,
Matt
