#danagillian

#Whatilearnedinmiddleschoolwednesday On one particular day, I’m not sure exactly what I had done, but it had involved the game of sadists, dodgeball. During the game, the ball had hit Vader and ricocheted into a cheerleader’s head, and I knew there would be hell to pay later. I remember going as fast as I could toward the sidewalk, but not seeing my dad’s car. I was desperate, my chest was pounding- but luckily, something across the street had attracted everyone’s attention. The mean cheerleader (let’s call her Jessica Lee ) with her busted lip and bloodstained uniform was approaching with a flock of cheer supremacists, and I knew it was over....(Backstory- My brother and I were a obsessed with back to the future. I believe those trilogy of VHS tapes started by love or Einstein. )Annie had grabbed me and said “Dana, I think that’s you dad,” and then I realized what everyone was staring at. A stainless steel car, the letters DMC emblazoned in front, and the most beautiful sound of the side door rising up, the hydraulics going, and there was my dad in a DeLorean. I had forgotten he was going to borrow it from a friends car lot,one for the day and was planning on picking us up. I climbed in the car, and to my delight, I watched everyone standing there surprised as the door came down and closed behind me. I was safe. Unbeknownst to me, Dylan was over at the high school the whole time bragging that his father was going to be there any moment in a DeLorean; but I had taken so long to find my father, and only one person could ride at a time, so I had to be taken home first, and by the time my dad returned to pick up Dylan, all of his friends were gone. My brother, my hero, took the fall, his friends never believing his wild tales about a DeLorean, but his sister was safely untouched. Moral of the story...the DeLorean rode like a Pinto,sounded like a giant tin can- I did not see the beauty in it, but it meant so much to my brother, his sacrifice saved my ass, jesus on the cross and #Deloreans were greatly alike that day in 7th grade- #danagillian #john3:16 #grace #dmc #truth #sacrifice #darthvader #tomboy

#Whatilearnedinmiddleschoolwednesday #Deloreans #vader #sacrifice and #grace- I am starting a new series that I think will be traumatic for everyone, because it deals with middle school, I think everyone had insecurities in middle school; mine’s name was “Vader.” It was a steel, fiberglass, and foam spinal brace that was my best friend and primary source of torment, 24 hours a day. My parents, being the forward thinking analysts that they were, not only sent me to therapy for everything, and my New Age therapist said it needed a name, so I called it “Vader,” as in the dark lord. My hero was and has always been, and even more so at that time, my brother. In efforts to be cool, and to hide Vader, I wore his oversize shirts. I specifically remember Space Hog, #Beck, #Radiohead and Phil Keaggy adorning Vader and I. The worst part of the day in middle school was from 2:15-2:30, the walk across the green to be picked up by your parent. That’s when the sharks came out. Awkward kids like me that didn’t have library club that day, or Odyssey of the Mind, were the chum for a feeding frenzy of bullying. Because of my short hair and boy’s clothes, my gender was often called into question with bad slurs, boys would grab the arm of the giant sleeves I had on, and ask whether I wore a bra. These are the moments where you dream that you ran track, or played basketball, or anything that kept you from being here, any after school activity. Why do geeks and nerds do library club, or science club? It’s called hiding. On one particular day, I’m not sure exactly what I had done, but it had involved the game of sadists, dodgeball. During the game, the ball had hit Vader and ricocheted into a cheerleader’s head, and I knew there would be hell to pay later. I remember going as fast as I could toward the sidewalk, but not seeing my dad’s car. I was desperate, my chest was pounding- but luckily, something across the street had attracted everyone’s attention. The mean cheerleader (let’s call her Jessica Lee ) with her busted lip and bloodstained uniform was approaching with a flock of cheer supremacists, and I knew it was over. -....(to be continued)-#danagillian #95%truth #grace

#myhometownmonday #community #pizzainn There is a restaurant that has existed since I can remember living in Elizabethton. I honestly don’t have any real historical facts about this place, just memories of what it meant to my community. Pizza Inn was one of the first chain restaurants to come to my hometown, and it became a social focal point on Sundays after church and on game nights. Sunday nights after church, I remember as a child, sitting in booths covered in graffiti, running my hands over Cyclones emblems, statements of love and bible verses, and crude words carved with ink pens and pocketknives. I sat there dreaming of being in high school, and then finally, when I was in the youth group, the boys would play horrible pranks with pizza, and make the worst messes, and I’m sure we were such a pain in the ass- even with our parents in the next room. This was the 90’s equivalent of the malt shop- before cell phones, and texting, this was quite the gathering. I think in any business, church, school, or community, what brings people is the experience, and when I think of this place, my 2015 self doesn’t think of carbohydrates and gluten, it thinks of looking through the glass of the buffet bar, seeing orange and black colors fly by, warm and friendly faces, and me being such a shy, insecure girl. My hometown is built not just on good places, but good people, and I love to watch them gather. - #danagillian #pizza #pizzainn #elizabehton John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”-- (at Pizza Inn of Elizabethton, TN)