This place has been a special experience for me. It's not everyday you get to live on millions of dollars worth of real estate at a dirt cheap rate with two great people and a beautiful baby girl. It's actually a little depressing sitting here in the empty house, whose old wooden frame echoes when you move around in it because there is no furniture left to absorb the sound. Whether is was the summer BBQ's, the late night poker games on the porch, or the quick outings across the street to have a dip in the Pacific, this place has just provided some great, great memories.
But the greatest value of the place were the people I lived with, who too often went neglected because of my tendency to lock myself up in my room and bury my nose in books about the Bible. The times we did hang together certainly had a profound effect on me. It isn't too often you meet a better guy than John Luzzi, who is as laid back and humble as they come, and who has a true heart of a servant.
My other buddies asked me why I didn't try to stay here, get new roommates, and keep hold of this place as long as I could. I suppose I could've fought harder, but the truth is, besides the practical matters for leaving - closer to school, church, etc. - this place just wouldn't make sense without John and Holly. It wouldn't ever feel right without Remi the big black dog chasing skateboarders down the fence, or little Izzy giving those big smiles when you walked in the door. As the great theologian Dave Matthews rightly pointed out: "Turns out, not where but who you're with that really matters...."
And so from here I head East. Out to the blazing hot summer days with no A/C. Out to more city livin'. No more "good life" on the beach. But honestly, without the right people, this is just a building on the sand. I'll happily move to the heat to be in closer community with my other brothers in Christ and my lovely young lady.
Yep...hopefully I'm still singing that tune when I'm sweating in bed 20 miles from the ocean that used to be my backyard....
