Sunday Wrapup 5/20/2013

We've survived the second day of dire weather predictions without having been impacted severely by wind, hail, or tornadoes.  What we've had instead are two little rains of about a third of an inch each, with lots of thunder. Things were more exciting elsewhere in the state and region, and right now I'm pretty sure that, in this department, boring is better than exciting.

A number of the people driving home today from having been at Marcus Wagler's wedding in Missouri drove through some of the active weather events.  A few of them spent time in a tornado shelter near Augusta and others were in a cooler at the Flying J rest area near Emporia.  A few ____________? (choose your own adjective) souls continued driving right through it all.

Yesterday I pondered what would happen to cattle on this place if we really did get baseball-sized hail with 70 mph winds.  They can't get in under roof anywhere.  I remember when the old tin-roofed barn was still standing during a hail storm like this in the sixties--minus the high winds.  We stood on the porch and watched as the cattle ran in and out of the barn in a panic.  The noise inside freaked them out and the hailstone bonks on the outside did the same.

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My dad had colostomy reversal surgery last Wednesday and is still at Wesley Hospital in Wichita.  He will likely come home as soon as he is able to eat solid foods and handle them well.  In general, he is doing quite well, but it's obvious that he sometimes needs an advocate to help see that he gets what he needs (and avoids getting what he does not need).

From his 8th-floor room with a view to the west, he likely had a good view of the recent storms blowing in.

I think they must have had a real party in his room this evening.  Marvin and Lois, Ronald and Brenda, and Shane and Dorcas were all there at the same time.  Shane's family had spent Sat. night and Sun. morning at Ronald's place and they drove together to Wichita.

One strange incident during Dad's hospital stay was the disappearance of his cellphone.  The only two ways anyone could think of it having left the room were either via the meal tray or the bedding, and neither the dining room or the laundry area had found the phone.

Last night I got a call from Clarence Stutzman from Ohio--Dad's friend and age-mate, who had been trying to call him over the past few days.  No one ever answered--until last night, when a stranger finally answered and said they were at Wesley Hospital but they didn't know who the phone belonged to.  Clarence told them it was David Miller's phone, and then he called Uncle Paul, who suggested he call me.

I had just gotten home from having visited Dad, so I sent word to the hospital that the phone was somewhere there, although Clarence had not been able to give me much information, except that he assumed it was in the hospital's "lost and found." Lowell was the one at the hospital with Dad, so he was the one to receive the phone when a lady walked in with it while still talking to Marvin, who was the one I had notified, since he was staying with Dad when we left.  Marvin told her the owner was in room 831.

While she was there, someone mentioned having a problem with Dad's bed.  She reached confidently into a certain spot and flipped a lever that fixed things immediately.  She left promptly then before anyone had a chance to ask any more questions.  It's still not clear how she happened to be in possession of the phone.

People who were praying for Dad probably didn't know that their prayers might result in a conscience attack for someone else, and I'm sure they weren't praying specifically for that.  It's a good thing God can interpret and answer our prayers any way He chooses.

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The crowd at church was smaller than at any time in recent memory.  There were actually some empty sections on some benches.

Several families were gone to Faith Builders' graduation.  Jewel Y., John M., Holli N., and Kenneth S. all graduated this year.  Others had gone to Marcus Wagler's wedding, and still others went to a volleyball tournament in MO.  (I probably shouldn't tell you what I think of interstate travel for volleyball.)

Seven of our eight ministers were elsewhere today.  Oren, LaVerne, and Gary were somewhere between PA and home.  Gary had spent the night in Chicago, presumably because of weather-related flight cancellations.  Julian was in Mexico, Arlyn in OK, David at Arlington, and dad in the hospital.  Dwight was the lone minister present.

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When my sister  Clara's family moved to Columbus, OH, they moved in next to Bob and Marla Spencer.    They became almost as close as family.  Bob and Marla took the children under their wing, shared a room in their house when the Schrocks had overnight guests, and did many other things families would do for each other.  Bob died today or yesterday.

Bob had suffered a tragedy as young man.  When he retrieved a stray ball from the edge of someone else’s property, the resident shot him, and permanently paralyzed his lower extremities.

As an adult, Bob made his living by serving others who were handicapped.

I’m sure that those who were closer to Bob could share a great deal about his life that I don’t know.  I do know that he lived an amazingly bitter-free and productive life.

Stories like Bob’s have influenced my views on gun rights, as well.

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In Shane’s absence, Hiromi and I went to Farmer’s Market on Saturday.  The weather was nice and it was a pleasant day, although the crowd was a bit more sparse than a week earlier.  I think graduations must have affected the crowd.

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On Tuesday of this week, the Spanish class plans to leave for Guatemala, with two couples going as sponsors.  A total of 21 people will travel together.

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We found summer homes for all the hanging baskets at school–just ahead of the church cleaning, when one of the plants got a severe haircut last year.  A year later it is no longer painful to look at, but it still has less than half of the foliage it had earlier.

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I spent my first week out of school mostly in working on getting the garden planted at the Trail West place.  The only crops are warm weather crops, since it’s too late to plant cool weather crops.  I didn’t start my own seeds this year, but bought the plants at Stutzmans instead.  When I paid for them I had a sharp reminder of why I usually start my own seeds.

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I’m pretty sure that my priorities in getting ready to move are different from other people’s.  I won’t defend mine.  I just know what feels manageable and what doesn’t right now, so getting the garden ready is happening before getting the boxes packed.