The Search Continues

SEARCH FOR MISSING STUDENT'S BODY CONTINUES IN BOONE

The search for missing student, Jeffrey Lazenby, continues in Boone this week. Finding blood evidence at the scene, Mr. Lazenby is presumed dead. The search area has been extended from the area around the LLC to the entire Appalachian campus.

The only evidence, a shoeprint and bullet, have been analyzed at local crime labs. A spokesman for the sheriff's department has released a statement regarding a suspect,
"The shoeprint found is believed to be that of a male. One of medium to large build. There was no match found in our database. The bullet found is from a Colt 9mm handgun, to which there is no match in our database. Blood found on the bullet is still being analyzed."

What seems to be stranger still are reports coming in of "Lazenby sightings". Classmates and friends claim to have seen Mr. Lazenby walking out of a convenience store, into a restaurant, and even driving in his car. The reports have not been proven to be true.

Mr. Lazenby's receiving of friends is set for tomorrow, with the funeral following on Monday.

Murder, Murder

What would you do if you saw this in tomorrow's paper?

STUDENT MURDERED ON THE STEPS OF HIS RESIDENCE HALL

Police are investigating what appears to be an unsettling homicide in Boone, NC. A large pool of blood was found was found early this morning by campus police just outside the Living Learning Center; a residence hall at Appalachian State University. The blood was found at the base of the outside stairs and was identified as that belonging to Jeffrey Michael Lazenby.

The medical examiner gave a statement in which she declared the amount of blood found to be enough to cause death. She believes the probable cause of death to be a gunshot wound to the upper torso, resulting in the student's fall to his death down the stairs. No suspects have been found, and the only evidence found at the scene was a shoeprint and a single bullet. The body has yet to be found. However, police are treating the case as a homicide and not a missing persons case.

Mr. Lazenby was set to be a drum major for the Marching Mountaineers this coming fall. A NC Teaching Fellow, Mr. Lazenby was also involved in several on-campus religious services. He was a music education major.

Mr. Lazenby is survived by his parents, Mike and Candy Lazenby and a brother, Bryan. Funeral arrangements were not set at the time this article was printed.

So, now what? You've found this article in the paper. What do you do now? Jeffrey Lazenby, has been murdered, and no one knows why....

"The symphony of his life was brought to an abrupt end with an unexpected cut off from another Conductor"

A Good Rainy Wednesday

Today was certainly an interesting day. It was rainy on the outside, but I felt like sunshine on the inside.

Aural Skills was actually decent. Trumpet methods met for only about 20 minutes. Psychology was interesting as usual (as love and emotion usually are). English was a breeze, and in global we just watched a video.

I've been noticing a change in the behavior of the females around me though. I can't quite figure it out yet, and I don't know that I will be able to. Maybe it has something to do with my newfound good-fortune.

I found out I'm going to be a student leader for the Teaching Fellows Discovery Trip this summer. That should be very exciting. I'm actually looking forward to the trip actually. Then I had an executive council meeting where I got to exercise my power as an LLC Committee Chair.

After the meeting I had a lovely dinner with a group of females. I have been dubbed their "after-exec" boy. How charming....

Then to top the evening off, I spent a wonderful time with the prettiest girl up here at Appalachian at the Brass Ensemble concert tonight. Then after getting back, I got to talk to my favorite East Carolina girl. I'm glad to find out that she's getting better from her wreck. I don't know what I'd do without either one of them!

Well. That's all I have for this evening. I guess it's time to turn in for the evening and catch up on some badly needed beauty rest. No seriously, I'm looking quite awful these days.....

May God keep you this and every night!

"The setting sun, and music at the close, As the last taste of sweets, is sweetest last, Writ in remembrance more than things long past."
~Shakespeare

In A Few Weeks

Found this today...thought you might like to read it.

A year has past and now we stand on the brink of returning to a world where we are surrounded by the paradox of everything yet nothing being the same. In a few weeks we will reluctantly give our hugs and, fighting the tears, say goodbye to the people who were once just names on a sheet of paper to return to people that we hugged and fought tears to say goodbye to before we ever left. We will leave our best friends to return to our best friends. We will go back to places we came from and go back to the same things we did last summer and every summer before. We will come into town on that same familiar road, and even thought it has been months, it will seem like only yesterday.

As you walk into your old bedroom, every emotion will pass through you as you reflect on the way your life has changed and the person you have become. You suddenly realize that the things that were most important to you a year ago don't seem to matter so much anymore, and the things you hold highest now, no one at home will completely understand. Who will you call first? Where are you going to work? Who will be at the party Saturday night? What has everyone been up to? Who from school will you keep in touch with? How long before you actually start missing people bargaining in without calling or knocking? Who will get breadsticks with you at three in the morning? How long until you adjust to sleeping in a room by yourself, or how long before you realize your three best friends aren't in the bed next to your room?

Then you realize how much things have changed, you realize the hardest part of college is balancing the two completely different worlds you now live in, trying desperately to hold on to everything all the while trying to figure out what you have to leave behind. In the matter of one day's traveling time, we will leave our world of living next door to our best friends, walking across campus to eat, instant messenger, 8:00 classes, and perpetual procrastination to a world that will seem foreign to us despite the fact that we have lived in it for nineteen years.

But it is different now... We now know the meaning of true friendship. We know whom we have kept in touch with over the past year and whom we hold dearest to our hearts. We've left our high school worlds to deal with the real world. We have had our hearts broken, we've fell in love, we've helped our best friends through the toughest times of their lives, something their even best friends at home couldn't be there for. We've stayed up all night just to be there for a friend. We've partied the night away, doing stupid stuff, but we were always there for each other afterwards. There have been times when we've felt so helpless being hours away from home when we know our families or friends needed us most, and there are times when we know we have made a difference.

A few weeks from now we will leave. A few weeks from now we take down our pictures, and pack up our clothes. No more going next door to do nothing for hours on end. We will leave our friends whose random emails and phone calls will bring us to laughter and tears this summer. We will take our memories and dreams and put them away for now, saving them for our return to this world. A few weeks from now from now we will arrive. A few weeks from now from now we will unpack our bags and have dinner with our families. We will drive over to our best friend's house and do nothing for hours on end. We will return to the same friends whose random emails and phone calls have brought us laughter and tears over the past year. We will unpack old memories and dreams that have been put away for the past year.

A few weeks from now we will dig deep inside to find the strength and conviction to adjust to change and still keep each other close. And somehow, in someway, we will find our place between these two worlds.

In a few weeks.... are you ready?

May God keep you this and every night!

"The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart."
~Elisabeth Foley

A New Dynasty Begins

A lot can happen over the course of a week.

During the past week, you may have noticed the absence of blog postings from me. I do apologize, but believe me, I did have other obligations to fulfill.

The most exciting news happened this past Saturday. We had drum major tryouts for the Marching Mountineers. This could possibly be the biggest thing of my college career. Of course, I tried out. Of course I believe I did well. The results came in just about 30 minutes after the trouts were over.

And the verdict is.....

I'm A Drum Major!!!

That's right. I did it! I am one of the new drum majors for Appalachian State Universtity. This coming fall, you can see me on the podium in Kidd Brewer Stadium. You must come see me direct!

Of course, I'm sure I'll need lots of back rubs and shoulder rubs if anyone would like to volunteer for that postition....

That's really all I have for now.

May God keep you this and every night!!