Making Money/ Dougie

I want to start this off by saying we're not "sell-outs" and we haven't "given in to the man". Yeah, the rumors are true. We pulled a Sloop and are making money off of our internet masterpiece. Those ads that come up on the side of your screen every time you read a blog are slowly pouring money into our house. This money we have not yet decided what to do with, but we'll keep you informed. Additionally, and more importantly, this is Doug's last week in the house. He leaves Saturday to go into the wild blue yonder, and hike the Appalachian Trail. This has led me to want to write a little about the first time I met Doug....

Leader Weekend 2010 was a jubilant time in my life. All my buds and I headed down to Richmond to hang out and be refreshed. Every room in the hotel was split, two freshmen and two real people. So Mikey Lewis and myself were in a room with Alex "The Hop" Hopkins, and the wise man known as Doug Clelland.

Along with meeting Doug for the first time, this was my first encounter with Doug's sleeping habits (early to bed, early to rise). You see, we didn't know Hopkins and Doug were in the room with us. So when Mike and I got to the room (say around 12:30) there was a sleeping bag on the floor, completely covering a shape that looked like a man. However it was zipped up all the way, to the point we couldn't see any skin. After some quick investigating (I went into the pants laying on the ground and pulled out Doug's wallet) we realized who our sleeping com padre was. After this strange start to our relationship, Doug and I have been bffs ever since. Well not really, we still didn't know each other too well until we moved in together. THEN we became bffs.

Doug is the wisest man Ive ever met. He stares into the depths of your soul when you talk to him, and he is a great listener. We have shared great times together, long walks late at night, and I have learned a lot from living with Doug. He discipled me this past year, which has been great for my walk, and I hope good for his too. I'm gonna miss a lot of things about Doug. His responsibility. His Wisdom. His laugh. His beard. But most of all, I'm gonna miss his non-judgmental nature. You can literally tell Doug anything, and he won't judge you. He'll listen. Ask questions to further understanding (yours and his) and comment if appropriate. But never judging. So here's to you Doug, my house mate, friend, and brother. I love you Doug.

<3's
James Harris III