Update for Saturday evening, Sunday and Monday, April 24 - 26, 2010

Saturday (4/24)

The Jackson Metro area escaped - dodged a bullet here yesterday.  We were under the gun for severe weather.  However, nothing happened in our neighborhood.  Instead the worst of it was to the west and north of us.  To the west - in Warren County, outside of Vicksburg, there was a tornado and it went to the northeast and stayed on the ground for some 200 miles and 2 hours or more and was about a mile wide.  It did some major destruction in Yazoo City - which is the hometown of Governor Haley Barbour.  He held a press conference there and a TV news anchor noted that the Governor was about to cry near the end of the press conference.

The tennis tournament finally began late yesterday afternoon - once the severe weather had cleared the area and the skies cleared out and the sun returned.  My housemate's grandson's  match was rescheduled for around 4:30-5:00 PM.  His Mom took him over to a nearby court to warm up; they returned for a while, then they went back to get ready for his match. My housemate settled down for a while and waited - her daughter was going to call her when he was about to take the court for his match.  The court is only about 7 minutes from us.

She came back around 6:30 PM - I was eating supper at that time.  I asked if the match was over and she said yes.  he won his match, so he will be playing again today.  We watched some TV and she prepared supper for herself.  Finally, around 9:00 PM we both went on to bed.  Her grandson had wanted to go eat dinner with some of his tennis buddies; his Mom was going to try to arrange for some of the other parents to drop him off at the house when they were done, but apparently that didn't happen and she had to go with all of them.  I have no idea what time they got in last night.

Sunday - 4/25

The newspaper this morning is full of pictures and stories concerning the destruction and aftermath of what happened yesterday.  One picture that caught both mine and my housemate's eye was a photo of a muddy puppy laying on a bunch of boards that used to be part of his family's home.  It was destroyed in the tornado.  At least he survived and was only muddy - he can be given a bath.  At last report the death toll was 10 people and the damage is widespread - homes destroyed or otherwise uninhabitable.  This makes us feel thankful and grateful that our area was spared - even though we may not understand why.

This morning I woke up ahead of my alarm clock - actually in my cell phone - and shut it off and got up.  I heard someone stirring - I went out to the kitchen and it was my housemate.  She let Rusty in for a bit; I prepared my breakfast and was heading to the table with it when her daughter came through the door.

She got a cup of coffee and settled down with us for a few minutes, then she had to go rouse her  son so he could get ready.  She was taking him over to that nearby court to warm up for his match this morning [9:00 AM].  They left while I headed to my bathroom for a shower and were gone by the time I was done and dressed.

My housemate was in the process of getting ready for church; she came and told me that I should go on to church and not wait on her - she would be there at some point.  She said that her daughter and grandson are on their own for lunch; she said she's going to cook some chicken she got so I can eat here with her if I want to.  I guess that I'll do that - I may stop  and pick up a 6 pack of Coca Cola Zero, though, on the way home.

Well, I'll pause here and continue at a later time - I need to head out so I don't have to rush once I get on the church campus.  Later....

Monday (4/26)

Good morning!  I'm back at work today - although it's a state holiday - Confederate Memorial Day.  Yep - that's a state holiday here in Mississippi.  However, we never shuts down - regardless.  It's because of what we do.  

Allow me to back up and pull forward....

I left the house about 8:30 AM and headed into Downtown and pulled into the church garage and parked my car.  Then it was over to the Sanctuary.  I attended the 9:00 AM service; then it was down to  Sunday School.

Our teacher shared with us that our classmate had called him on Friday and let him know that they had reached Casablanca, Morocco.  She said that the airline (Royal Air Morocco) had made a mistake and had put them on the wrong flight.  They were supposed to fly from Casablanca to Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.  Well, they wound up flying to somewhere else [he said that she told him, but he couldn't remember the name and couldn't pronounce it if he could] and when they got there and the mistake was discovered, they were put on a return flight to Casablanca.  He said that Debbie told him that they had accounted for 5 of their checked bags and that they were hoping to leave Casablance on Sunday to fly to Ougadougou.

I don't know when I'm likely to get an update on my classmate and her ministry partner.  She had shared with me prior to leaving  that our teacher is going to be out for the first 3 Sundays in May; she may try to call me in order to pass along an update - if she's able to call from Ougadougou, that is.

He taught from Acts 21.  We finished a few minutes early.  On my way out, another classmate caught me and asked for my cell phone number.  She said that daughter  is nearing her due date and so she may be heading to Florida at any time to be with her as she delivers her baby.  She said that she would either call or text me so I can alert the class to pray for her as she travels and for them.  Then she will let me know when the baby arrives so I can share that as well.

I headed on home as Linda had said she was going to cook; no point in stopping for lunch.  When I got there, the garage door was up and my housemate's car was inside.  I pulled in, gathered my stuff and went inside.  I found her in the kitchen - she was both cooking and doing laundry.  I said "so you didn't go to church today" and she confirmed that she had stayed home.

I found that her grandson was in the den watching TV; his Mom was gone.  I went and put my stuff up, then came back out a few minutes later.  I asked where she was and my housemate said that she had gone to Pinelake Baptist Church.  She has some friends who go there so she likes to attend with them.

Eventaully my housemate had lunch ready - I helped her finish up.  She asked her grandson if he wanted to eat with us, but he declined.  So, she and I ate, then cleaned up and put the leftovers away.  I went on and changed to shorts and a tee shirt.  His Mom came in and she informed us about Pinelake's service.

He was to play a match at 3:00 PM at Jackson Prep's tennis facility.  They headed out, We followed them [yeah, my housemate asked me to go] and we got out there and watched the match. He  had won his match earlier that morning, so he was 2-0 in the tournament; unfortunately, he lost this match, but we were told that there was a chance he could still play again.

I sat in my housemate's car with the windows down and watched, while she and her daughter sat in the stands.  By the time she returned to the car, I had a sinus headache.  I told her; we headed on home and a little while later Barri and Austin came in.  She got ready and went to church for the evening service - the AWANA program.  I went and got in bed and talked with an aunt for a bit, then took a 30-45 minute nap and when I woke up and got back up, she was back, but her daughter had left.

She asked how I was feeling and I told her.  She insisted on driving me to the store to pick up something to take for the sinus/allergy issue.  I went in while she drove through the parking lot.  I found that they had a "generic Claritin" and that I could take it and it wouldn't interfere with my regular prescription medications.  I read the package carefully and a couple of times - and there was absolutely no mention of not taking it if you have certain issues.  So, I purchased it and a 6 pack of Coca Cola Zero.

I went out and she saw me and pulled up and picked me up and we headed home.  I put the Coca Cola Zero with the other drinks and we went inside.  I opened the box of "Claritin" and took one of the tablets.  It's good for 24 hours and is non drowsy.

I ate a snack to balance it in my stomach.  Then soon after, we both opted to head on to our bedrooms, leaving her grandson in the den and waiting for his Mom to come in.  I have no idea when she got in.

The alarm went off this morning and I kicked off my regular workday routine - but I was trying to be quiet as I expected that they were still there.  I still had a bit of a headache, so I took 2 ES Tylenol before getting in the shower, then went on to shower and dress.  When I went out to the kitchen, I went and got the newspaper and came back with it.

Soon after, my housemate was up; she asked how I was feeling and I told her.  I went on to prepare and take my breakfast to the table.  She got Rusty's breakfast ready, but went back to her bedroom - probably for just a minute and got distracted.  When I finished with my breakfast and cleaned up after myself, I went and gave Rusty his food and water.

Then I went on to gather up the garbage and take it out and put the can on the curb.  I finished getting ready; by the time I was ready to leave, her daughter was up but my housemate was still in her bedroom.  I told her that I had fed Rusty and put the garbage out.

I got finished up and headed out and in to work.  We've had to handle some issues; things are quiet for now.

It's almost time for me to head over to the Women's Luncheon at FBCJ.  I'll stop here for now....

Alright - I'm back from the Women's Luncheon.  Cyndi Grace finished up her series today.  We were told us who will be speaking for the first 2 weeks in May.  I'm still not sure I know who she was referring to, but if it's who I think it is, I'm not all that interested in going and hearing her speak.

I sent my housemate an e-mail this morning and told her that my headache was gone, but I could take more Tylenol or Excedrin if I needed to.  I also mentioned that I had told her daughter about feeding Rusty and putting the garbage out and asked if she had let her know and she responded and said that she did tell her and she was glad I was feeling better.

I will pause here for the present time....