Friday Night on the Coast

I started out my day by finishing painting a table that will go in our living room. I got it many years ago when Paul Franks and I would load up in an old yellow bread truck and make trips across the state collecting items for the Magnolia Bible College auction. This used to be one of the big fund raisers for MBC. Although they made us students work, and we grumbled about it, it really was fun. On one of those trips we picked up this table. It's nothing, as tables go. It is simple, the top has gaps between the boards so there's always some lint or something in there. It was white and had mud-dobber nests on it. And somehow it didn't make it to the auction. I had nothing to do with that, I promise. At the end of the auctions, we are so glad to see things GONE, that there is no desire at all to deal with the leftover items. So I asked someone, and was told I could have the table. Now Paul doesn't seem to remember that I asked anyone for the table. One of us is wrong. I'm not sure who ... it was, after all, almost 20 years ago. I painted that table a nice medium blue color, and that's the only coat it's had for all these years. So today I painted it the color of the wall with the fireplace. It will sit by that fireplace with our television on it. Now why did I tell you all about that table? I don't know. Nostalgia? Boredom? Maybe I thought Garrison Keillor would re-tell it in some imaginative way on The Prairie Home Companion? A bright spot in my day was when one of our deacons, Gary Boswell, called me to meet him at Dough Joe's, our local coffee house. Fortunately for me, Margaret and I were only a block away. She had some errands, so she just dropped me off. I'm sure she would rather have had me go with her, but she didn't say anything. I should surprise her one day and do the opposite of what she expects, but after all these years she knows me too well. Anyway, Joel Jordan and friend Jeff were there, too. So it was a great time talking and drinking coffee and having a moment of fellowship. There are very few relief workers here at this time, and not many scheduled for a while. This always concerns me. We really do need all of the skilled labor that can make it down here to help people. We have materials, and tools, and piles of paperwork relating to homes that need wiring, sheet rock work, plumbing, carpentry, painting, and cleaning up. If you have been considering a mission to the Coast, now is the time you are needed. The church here was blessed by a couple of checks that arrived from churches this week. This kind of support has almost totally disappeared. With Hurricane Season 2006 six weeks away, and so many people yet to get back into their homes, this kind of support continues to be vital. Overall, our needs have not changed much since August 29th. We need manpower and money. There are some work groups coming down in the next few weeks that have not been in touch with us in quite a while. That always makes me think they are not going to come. If you are one of those groups listed HERE that have question marks by your name, let me hear from you please! Dee commented about the geotracker in the sidebar. It is very easy to get and install. Click on the GEOTRACKER link on the bottom of the list, and it should explain everything to you! I love seeing all the places from which people are reading. One night I had about five countries represented there. Someone from Crawford, Texas reads the blog, and also someone from Washington D.C. (Hello, George - why don't you leave a comment?) I'm fascinated by that list ... and for each reader I'm very thankful. I know someone is interested in what is happening on the Coast. And of course there's my mother, who has only recently become an avid reader of the blog. Yes, I told her about it a long time ago ... but you know how old people are, they just don't adjust to change very easily. (I'm going to hear about that one!) I don't think my brother reads the blog. I don't talk about hunting, fishing, taxedermy, or wilderness trips, so he's out. Some of Maggy's family read every day. I'm rambling a lot tonight. I enjoy the comments when you leave them. Of course, there's no charge for reading and not commenting. I hope you have a great weekend. I'll do my best to post again tomorrow. For now, I have a container of Blue Bunny Peanut Butter Panic ice cream that is calling out to me. Does my Weight Watcher leader read this blog? Shiver.