Trip South, part 1

So here I am in Phoenix.

It's been a long trip, and I'm tired. Very tired. But it's been good.

First I headed down to Winnemucca to meet the family (minus J) one last time. We stayed in a rather plush hotel (okay, I thought it was plush... but then, I also sleep in my car sometimes, so...) and got a good, albeit short, night's rest.

Going our separate ways the next morning was tough, but we did it with smiles. I was headed to Las Vegas to meet my cousin for supper, which went well, I thought. He has a chip on his shoulder about organized religion, especially the Seventh Day Adventist faith, because he and my mom both went through the same psychological abuse at the hands of a supposedly religious SDA woman. He was in it for longer, though.

Honestly, I don't blame him for holding a grudge against the church. I think that I might as well, were I in his place. I'm surprised that I'm here sometimes, quite frankly... and that Mom is, too. Somehow, she's been able to forgive that, as well as the tearing apart of our family by the elder/interim pastor and the church school teacher. I still get mad about that... and the fact that he's still an elder in good standing in the church, even though he has proven by his actions that his character is not that of a man seeking after God, but that of a self-righteous Pharisee.

I digress.

It's always interesting to talk to people who don't share my same mind-set.

Right now, I'm at my friends house, and we're all traipsing over to see "Nana". I'll post more later.