Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living.
(Luke 15:13) ESV
1988 was a pivotal year in our life. We went from life in a small English seaside town to life in a sprawling metropolitan area with a University campus with a population larger than our home town.
Imagine that as life in a grey world of gale-force winds and driving sea spray, to life in a brightly lit oven where the trees buzz so loudly that it’s not always possible to carry on a conversation. It’s hard to not be impressed with the American way of life.
We arrived in Champaign, Illinois about 2 weeks before that start of classes so we had plenty of time to explore the town and occupy ourselves. We were under the supervision of the Study Abroad Office who had a fairly large group of exchange students. We were from the UK, Germany and Australia for the most part. The Brits and Aussies fell into a loose social group and we used to spend our days bowling in the basement of the Illini Union, eating Gutbuster Pizza at Garcias, drinking coffee at the Depresso Royale, and going to movies.
1988: The Year Donald Lost His Mind
Eerily prescient and remarkably apt.
This Is What Happened the First Time Joe Biden Ran for President
Tell me that the U.S.A. isn’t an oligarchy.
Sadly, politics hasn’t changed.
1988 was a reasonable year for movies and we looked at a list the years releases. A few things stood out as memorable, if nothing else because of the fresh youthfulness of the actors like Molly Ringwald, Robert Downey Jr. and Michael Anthony Hall.
- Johnny Be Good
- Beetlejuice
- Crocodile Dundee II
- Rambo III
- Red Heat
- Die Hard
- A Fish Called Wanda
- Young Guns
- Pumpkinhead
- Mystic Pizza
- The Good Mother
- Twins
- Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
- Rain Man
- Beaches
- Working Girl
We have a vivid memory of going to see Crocodile Dundee II with the other exchange students. Life was easy and care free. That would soon change.
Happy Anniversary! – Navigation
| Section | Title | Scripture |
| 1 | Happy Anniversary! | 1 Timothy 1:15 |
| 1988: The Year Donald Lost His Mind | Luke 15:13 | |
| Pumpkinhead | Matthew 21:33 | |
| 2 | Matthew 2000 | Isaiah 58:1 |
| 3 | Weaving the Cultural Fabric of Our Time | Matthew 28:19-20 |
| 4 | Matty’s Paradigm LLC | Hebrews 12:1 |
| Next Steps | Nehemiah 1:3 | |
| Salvation | Romans 10:9-10 |
August 15th – Happy Anniversary
We’re celebrating our anniversary today: in 1988 we arrived in the USA. We were 19, lost, and filled with zeal for the theory of evolution which we thought was the antidote to God.
Matty (Headwind) 