The first half of last week was pretty warm but we had a front to roll in Wednesday night and things sure changed. Doppler radar estimated winds reaching 70 mph in our area and from what I saw looking out the door I don’t doubt it. We had a couple of cars take refuge in our driveway until the squall passed by. Then, in the space of an hour, the temperature dropped over 20°. By this weekend things had warmed up enough to feel like spring was on its way.
ROLLER COASTER WEATHER. What’s bad about having these big temperature swings is the potential for severe storms. While many of you were watching the Super Tuesday election results last night we were glued to the TV as three different storm cells spawned tornados across the state.
Robertson County was fortunate that it was never threatened by any tornados last night but many other communities suffered lots of damage. Union University’s campus in Jackson, Tennessee, took a direct hit. All but one building was damaged and many are probably beyond repair. From the sound of it the dorms were some of the hardest hit. This is where Morgan Swann goes to school (as well as two other kids from our church). She was taking refuge in a first floor bathroom when the twister hit. I understand they were able to look up and see the sky when it was over. Union is fortunate that only 9 of over 1000 students on campus had injuries requiring hospitalization, and those were not life threatening.
Kenny went to get Morgan today. None of the students were allowed back in their dorms to retrieve anything due to building stability issues so she came home with just the clothes on her back. They figure her car is totaled too. Personally, I think it will be a miracle if Union reopens this spring.
UPDATE ON AUNT MAR. I am glad to say that Aunt Mar is doing well now. One thing that was going against her was the medication she was taking to fight infection (sulfur) which had her stomach all out of sorts. That prescription has run its course which has gone a long way in making her feel better. She goes to therapy every morning where they are helping her get back on her feet. We figure it is a positive sign that she is feeling good when she is back to worrying about everyone else and how they are doing. I think she has set her sights on coming home by next Wednesday.
PLENTY FOR AUNT MAR TO WORRY ABOUT. This has been one of those weeks for us where some nasty little virus has run through almost all of our family. Nate caught it first last Monday but rebounded pretty quickly. Jenna came down with it last Tuesday, I caught it last Wednesday, and Ben succumbed on Thursday. Only Vicki has escaped unscathed. I don’t know what this thing was but it felt a lot like the flu. I started feeling bad about an hour before quitting time Wednesday and just came on home and went straight to bed. I hardly stirred from there until late Saturday. Aunt Linda and Uncle Bob drove up Wednesday to see Aunt Mar and I almost didn’t get well enough to see them before they returned home on Monday.
EARLY VALENTINES DATE. Since Nate’s birthday is the 14th Vicki and I had planned our Valentine’s date for Monday night. All last week I was scared I’d be too sick to go. We went to see Ladysmith Black Mambazo in concert. Mambazo is a men’s choir from South Africa. They were featured on Paul Simon’s Graceland album where they sang Homeless. They struck a chord with me and I have enjoyed their work ever since. I was glad to see them as their founder and lead singer, Joseph Shabalala, has announced he will retire later this year after 47 years with the group.
Joe
