Sunday ~ April 11, 2010

Good afternoon!  It's nearly 5:30 PM as I'm getting a chance to add an entry....


I set my cell phone to alarm this morning at 6:15 AM and wake me up.  Well, I woke up a bit before that, but laid there till the cell phone actually went off.  Then it was up to start the day.  


I went and had breakfast; I read the newspaper - including a piece in the Metro/State section that my housemate had already found and pointed out to me.  It was entitled Ex-Yankee Richardson speaks today at church.  I found it quite interesting - since that's who was speaking today at my home church.  Here's the link to the article:


http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20100411/NEWS/4110351/1001/news/Ex-Yankee-Richardson-speaks-today-at-church


I found it to be quite interesting, although the article needed to be proofed a little better.  I feel I can crticize that as I know that recently at work I proofed some printed materials and didn't catch a mistake - so I could've done a better job with checking the work.  


My housemate informed me that she was not going to attend Sunday School and Church this morning.  All the cleaning work we got done yesterday had agitated her back (she has problems with it) and instead she would watch last week's service on TV.  She had been out of town for Easter, so this would give her an opportunity to see it.  


I went on to take a shower and get dressed and ready for church.  I finished getting ready and gathered my gear and headed out.  I carried my purse, my bag with my Bible and notebook in it; I had added my camera and a spare pair of batteries - in the small case that I used to carry it in.  I brought it out and used it so that I wouldn't have to carry the large camera bag.  I also had a bag from Sports & Co. with the 12 pack of baseballs in it.  I had decided not to open the package until I knew for sure that I would be able to get them signed - so that if it turned out to not work out, I would be able to return them for a refund.  


I put my gear in the car and got in and headed out.  I made my way Downtown and parked in the CLC garage and then gathered everything and headed across to the Sanctuary.  I claimed my usual seat in there; I saw Stan - the senior pastor - and had a chance to speak with him.  I asked him about the possibility of getting some balls signed and he said that Bobby Richardson would be down in front after the service and I could meet with him then.  


Well, he went and brought Bobby Richardson out and they took seats on the front row on the right side.  I decided to see if I could get pictures then; a small crowd - just a few people - so I took my camera and walked up to the area.  I was able to get a photo of Bobby with Stan; I was satisfied and was walking back towards my seat when a woman got my attention and I went over to see what she wanted.  She said that her husband was over there with them and asked if I would take a picture of him with them.  I said that she would need to point her husband out to me, so we went over there and she got his attention and he posed with Bobby.  I got the picture and she and I went back so she could give me her e-mail address so I could send her the picture.  Then, as I was heading back to my seat with the camera and the piece of paper with her e-mail address on it, another lady caught my attention.  


I learned that she was a visitor who was planning to join the church and that she is a big Yankees fan.  She asked me if she might be able to meet Bobby.  I told her to come with me.  We went back over there and she was able to meet and talk with Bobby; she was so enthusiastic that I finally tapped her on the shoulder to ask if she wanted her picture made with him.  She said yes, that would be great, so they posed together and I got the picture.  I also got her e-mail address to send her the picture.  


By the way, I managed to get my picture with Bobby and Stan, too.  Then the service started and eventually Stan went up to welcome everyone to the church and to introduce Bobby.  Later in the service, when Bobby went up to the platform and began speaking, I took a couple of photos of him up there, then put the camera away and began paying more attention to his message.


After the service was over, I went up to Bobby to get the baseballs signed.  He signed a few, then when he realized that I had 12 [I had opened the package] he asked me to leave them with him and he would sign them and I could pick them up after the 2nd service.  Well, that's what I did - I left the bag with the balls in it in the Sanctuary for him and headed on to Sunday School.


In Sunday School I showed one of my classmates the photos I had gotten and told her about having left the balls with Bobby and that I would go back after class and pick them up.  


We had a good class; then I went back up and retrieved the balls - I was told that they were all signed.  I left and went to meet my classmate to share the balls with her.  We discovered that 3 were missing; I gave her 3 and kept 6.  I went back to try to find out where the other 3 were.  


I didn't find them; no one seemed to know anything about them.  Then I took a picture of another person with Bobby.  I got her e-mail address to send her the picture.  


Then I left and came on home.  After putting my gear in my bedroom, I went out and fixed myself a plate of the leftovers from yesterday's grilling escapade.  My housemate came out and sat down at the table with me for a few minutes while I ate and we talked - I asked her about how she was feeling, did she watch the TV broadcast and what she thought.  She answered my questions and then asked me about the service and about whether I had gotten the balls signed.  I answered those questions.  


After cleaning up behind myself, I changed from dress pants to shorts and then went and laid down and took a nap.  Afterwards, I changed to a pair of sweatpants because I found it a bit chilly in here.  Well, then my housemate and I decided to go sit out on the patio for a little while.  We were out there with Rusty enjoying the serenity when my cell phone rang.  


It was my Sunday School classmate.  She was checking with me to see if I had located the 3 missing balls; I told her that I had went looking for them but couldn't find them.  I said that I thought perhaps that someone had - without being seen - gotten into the bag and taken 3 of the balls, though whether they were signed or unsigned, I had no idea.  I thought perhaps it might be some kids whose parents weren't monitoring them.  I hate to think of something like that going on in church but unfortunately it does happen.  


She wanted to give me a list of prayer requests for her upcoming mission trip; I had to get up and come inside and get my note sheet so I could write them down as I would never have remembered them by the time I go to write the class newsletter.  I got the notes made but haven't done the newsletter yet.


Later on my housemate got ready and went to church tonight - since she's an AWANA volunteer - but I opted to stay home.  Before she left, though, she came to my room and I showed her the photos I had taken of Bobby Richardson's appearance today.  I had taken the time and uploaded them from my camera, but haven't e-mailed them to the people involved yet.  


I've got a Dateline special, Apollo 13: The Real Story, on NBC now.  It was 40 years ago today that Apollo 13 landed back on earth.  Matt Lauer is hosting this special.  


I must stop here so I can begin working on some other things....