Leave it to Seavers

Meet Cameron Seavers a.k.a. Sweet Cam, Cam Man, Yes Man, Cam the Golden Retriever, etc. Cam is honestly one of the genuinely nicest people that I know. When Cam and I first started becoming friends was a few years ago when I was looking for someone to go to Indiana with me for a short weekend trip. It’s about a 9 hour car ride from Virginia to Indiana. Cam barely knew me and had never met my family, so this was quite a shock that he actually agreed. On the car ride to Indy, it consisted of Cam and I belting out 80’s rock with Cam hitting some of the sweetest high harmony parts that would put Michael Bolton to shame. But when our friendship really started was on the car ride back from Indy. We had been driving for a few hours, and I received a text from my mother saying, “Keanu Reeves died in a skiing accident.” We, both, sat in a moment of silence thinking about how Keanu had impacted our lives from Neo to Shane Falco. After a couple of minutes, Cam looks out the passenger side window and nonchalantly says, “Well. Death waits for no man.” I laughed hysterically for a solid 10 minutes causing Cam to laugh with me. Another testimonial to who cam is: he has taken me to the airport at 5 in the morning more times than I can count. One time, I paid him back with a $5 Footlong in which he didn’t complain. Better man than I Cam; better man than I.

A few weekends ago, Cam was getting married. Not only was I looking forward to him getting married, but I, more importantly, was looking forward to the college reunion that was about to take place. The wedding took place in Pennsylvania. Cam warned us that we would be out in the country. I didn’t know that we would be out of the country. I had better cell service in Japan than I did in Pennsylvania. It was like a summer camp with less counselors and more beer. All 9 guys stayed in a tiny log cabin about 2 miles back in the woods. We had an ATV, a lake, boat, fishing poles, corn hole, etc. The closest civilization was about 20 minutes away, and I wasn’t mad about it.

Cam, Cam’s brothers, Cam’s dad, and Cam’s grandfather pretty much built everything for the wedding with the help of others. I tried to help but I wouldn’t say I’m the handiest person in the world, but I’m trying. When we first got there, the Seavers were building the dance floor for the wedding. My friend, Addison, and I went to help. Background on Addison: he finished his entire basement on his own. My background: I lived in my parents’ basement for a period of my life. Once we got to the dance floor project, Addi jumped right in and saved the day, while I was asked to retrieve the tools which consisted of me googling the tool names and coming up short due to the poor cell service. Regardless, we completed the dance floor, and I was there for it.

I love wedding festivities, but weddings are the WORST…when you’re single. Weddings are just a reminder that you can’t convince a girl that you’re an alright guy. Out of the 9 groomsmen my 2 friends, Trav and Zach, and I were the only single ones. We were taking a group picture with all of us guys and their wives. One lady obnoxiously yelled, “Singles in front!”  A married girl went up to Trav and this phrase actually came out of her mouth, “Always a groomsmen; never a groom.” Trav kept his mouth shut even though he had a lot to say. Better man than I Trav. Better man than I.

The reception rolls around, and they put the 3 singles, Zach, Trav, and I, at the same table. Segregation man. Now, the father of the bride is dancing with the bride, Leah a.k.a. Sweet Leah, Leah Woman, Yes Woman, Leah the Golden Retriever, etc. I’m pretty sure that’s how that works. Anyway, as they’re dancing, all of the bridesmaids are crying which all of the groomsmen are thinking, “Here we go.” Then, Cam goes to dance with his mother to the song Place in this World by Michael W. Smith. It has such a nice 80’s ring to it, which was fitting. Cam sang the whole first verse to his mother as loud as the song, which I was so proud of him for. Then, the chorus came around and Cam changed to the higher octave and started crying. At least I’m pretty sure he started crying, but I’ve never seen Cam cry before. Since I had just got done judging the bridesmaids, crying was not an option, so I had to think of any Eminem song that I could. It worked, but obviously the rest of the crowd did not have Slim Shady going through their mind. The wedding weekend was a blast. Congrats Cam and Leah. I’m happy for you guys.

People not mentioned that we're involved: Brock Nardozzi, Charlie Waters, Jordan Whitehurst, Cullen Seavers, and Chase Seavers. You guys are cool.

Bóstoñ

This past weekend my friends, Matt and Jordan, and I went to Boston and Rhode Island. I’ve never been to either place but I love Good Will Hunting, so I thought I’d check it out. Actually, I’ve always wanted to go to a Red Sox game at Fenway. Since this is Derek Jeter’s last year, I thought that this would be the perfect time to see one of the best athletes of all time play in one of the best sports rivalries of all time in one of the most historical venues of all time. That’s a lot of “all times.” I beat you to it.

The first couple of days we stayed in a suburb of Boston known as Everett. I don’t know if “the ghetto” is considered a suburb. Maybe it should be labeled as “the streets.” Let’s start over. The first couple of days we stayed on the streets of Boston. Or is it “in the streets?” You get the point. The first night, Matt, Jordan, and I hung out with our Irish friend named Jameson. We left Jameson at our place, and headed down the street to see if there was any type of night life. There was one place that had insanely loud Spanish music with a strobe light, so obviously, we had to see what this place was all about.

Right when I walked in the doors, the kind security guard followed standard procedure…and checked me for blades. As he’s checking me, I was all like. That’s the last time I use that, I promise. I’m not Mexican, nor am I a part of any sort of gang, so I felt a little out of place. Anytime I would talk to a girl I could always see a guy just staring at me with rage. All I wanted the DJ to play was Gas Pedal. The language barrier was pretty tough to break there, so I had to get the waitress to take me up to the DJ where I had spelled out the song “Gas Pedal” in a note on my phone. After about 20 minutes of waiting for the song, Gas Pedal finally comes on, but the DJ put a Mexican beat to it, and only played the first verse. I, immediately, became frustrated, then terrified as all of the men in the club looked like they wanted to hurt me, so I decided that it would be best to round up the troops and head home before we get mugged by the guy from Machete.

The next day, we went to the Red Sox game. Fenway Park is really cool and our seats were awesome. I sat in the middle of all Red Sox fans which was good since I had my Red Sox hat with me and left my Yankees hat at home. We sat next to one Red Sox fan that had so many one-liners that I started to write them down in the “Notes” application on my phone right after the “Gas Pedal” note. This guy called THE Derek Jeter a “pile of goober” in the thickest Boston accent you can possibly think of. The fans in Boston are ruthless. Jacoby Ellsbury is a Yankees player who used to play for the Red Sox. Every time he stepped up to the plate, everyone booed him in typical Boston fashion. After about his third at-bat, and everyone booing him, I kind of felt bad for the guy. I thought to myself, “Hey guys. Take it easy on him. He was probably making the best financial decision for him and his family,” as I booed the sh@t out of him. We had one Yankee fan in our section who he stood up as one of the most beloved Red Sox of all time, David Ortiz, came to the plate, and he started to chant, “O-Ver-Ra-Ted (clap) (clap) (clap) (clap) (clap) O-Ver-Ra-Ted! Everyone!” The Red Sox fan I referred to earlier immediately chants, “Shut-The-Hell-Up!” Boston fans in general are second to none. The Red Sox lost, but we got to see Derek Jeter play and David Ortiz hit a home run, so I would consider that a good night.

The whole New England area is really cool. Rhode Island and Boston are night and day, but I really enjoyed the differences. If you’re looking for a cool weekend trip, New England is a great place to go.