Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Anniversary Time...Again!

Today is our 10th wedding anniversary. Gosh, we have just sort of chugged along, and here we are. I can remember the misadventures of that day 10 years ago. It was on a Friday, and I took the day off from work for the last minute preparations. On his way out the door to head to work, Marvin casually mentions that "Oh, yeah, by the way, my suit pants need to be taken out three inches. And while you're out today, see if you can find me one of those button extenders for my dress shirt" That totally struck terror in my heart. So, before I could do anything, I had to run to Dyersburg and find a cleaners that could do rush jobs. Thank God for Paul's Cleaners! They had a seamstress in-house that was able to do the alterations requested. I was able to take them there, and Marvin would pick them up later that afternoon.

Then my sister Carol and nephew Steven had ridden with me to my hairstylist appointment. I was in a big hurry to find the button extender, and they were nowhere to be found when my hair was ready. So, I drove over to Dyersburg Mall and found the button extender at Peebles. By the time I got back to the mall where I had left them, they were outside and pretty freaked out about being in a town they didn't know without a ride. But, as I told them, we had stuff to do and I didn't have time to be looking for them all over the place. It all worked out though.

My next major heart attack happened that afternoon when I drove over to Wal-Mart to pick up the cake that my friend (and matron of honor) Cindy Kerby decorated. I was driving our Dodge Caravan and our Chocolate Lab was in the back. It was just a short trip, but the van overheated when I was about 2 miles away from the church. I had my bag phone with me and called Marvin to rescue me. He told me to add some water to the radiator and just drive it slow over there. For Lady Leadfoot that was a real challenge! Anyway, he met me at the church and made sure that all was okay.

Then it was back to the house where we got our clothes and headed back to the church to get dressed. He got ready on one side of the church and I got ready on the other side of the church. He brought his handheld Yahtzee game and was playing it while waiting, because I could hear it through the vents. I made sure that everything was ready, punch and cake and etc. while simultaneously putting on my makeup and white dress and shoes. I had this garter that played "Here Comes the Bride." Pretty cheesy, but fun.

We heard people coming in and then piano music as Aunt Barbara began her repetoire of songs. Of course, I was able to work in a Beatles song that she played after the ceremony was over, "In My Life." The song that the groom walked out on was "The Love Theme from The Godfather." When I heard that song, I walked around to the front of the church and got ready for the bride's usual theme song. John Fred gave me away, and of course I shed a few tears when he suggested that Dad & Mom were probably looking down on us from Heaven.

I didn't realize it, but I was extremely nervous during the whole ceremony. As the wedding videos attest, I blinked the entire time I was doing the vows. Note to self, don't wear contacts during your wedding. I'll try to remember that in my next life. Another funny thing that happened was that my friend who was doing the wedding videos did was try to interview people. But, she had the "Record" button mixed up. She would walk up to people and record "Do you have anything to say to the bride & groom?" and then accidentally turn the recorder off, mixing things up every time. So you see the people standing there, and after her question, they disappeared until the next person was asked the question. Wonder if I can win $10,000 on America's Funniest Videos for that tape?

Anyway, somehow we muddled through and even made it to the train station on time to have a honeymoon in New Orleans. It was at the same time as the New Orleans Jazzfest and a fun time was had by all. I even still have the champagne bottle to prove it!

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Missouri Skies Photo Gallery

Here's a beautiful website to check out. There are also photos of beautiful sunsets as well as tornadoes of past years. Plan on seeing lots of beautiful scenery.

http://www.missouriskies.org/

Monday, April 10, 2006

Tornado FAQ

This website has some very cool information on tornadoes. Anything you would like to know, including how to become a storm spotter can be found in the FAQS listed. Excellent work by Roger Edwards of the Storm Prediction Center.

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/#spotter1

Friday, April 07, 2006

Dyer Emergency

Wow! This entire week has been extremely tough for everyone around here. On Sunday night, three F-3 tornadoes arrived in our area, mainly striking Dyer County, TN and Pemiscot County, MO. The death toll for Tennessee is 24 , the biggest tragedy ever for this area. I have been astounded with the survivor stories that I have heard. I've lost friends, friends have lost everything, so many tragic stories.

At our house in Halls (Lauderdale County), the lights went out for a few minutes. In the other areas it wasn't even raining, so quite a few people disregarded the weather report and tornado sirens. That was a common factor in a lot of the retelling of the events surrounding this sad event. One man just barely had time to hop into a bathtub at his house before a tornado went behind it. Entire house trailers just evaporated into thin air. Some of my friend's son's belonging were found in Rutherford, TN, about 50 miles away. One family, dubbed the "Miracle 6" survived in a basement bathroom of a house that only had cinder blocks standing. Another young family (father, boy 3, girl 5, and 6 months pregnant wife) crowded into a broom closet. The children's beds and boxsprings were swept out of the window, and two barns tore completely apart. Most people report hearing a train noise and some sort of whooshing sound against their house, maybe a little bit of backdraft from the tornado. That's an interesting question...do tornadoes have backdrafts? I guess I need to ask our resident meterorologist that one.

Some elderly people were killed. One woman tearfully reported that she tried to call this friend to warn her, but got no answer. She later found out that her friend's house had been hit and her body found underneath a pile of rubble. One woman's body was found quickly, but only because she died with a flashlight in her hand.

The funeral homes were full, and a temporary morgue had to be set up at Dyersburg Regional Medical Center. I was told that one of the small funeral homes had 10 bodies there all at once. Funerals are even being held at night, something that I have never heard of before.

My friends at Dyersburg Avionics of Caruthersville, MO had quite a bit of damage to the Caruthersville Airport. They have some pictures of damage to the airplanes on their website:

www.dyersburgavionics.com

Another great source for photos is from the National Weather Service website:

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/meg/events/April2006/index.htm

One other website that has actual video footage is a TV station in Missouri website:

www.kfvs12.com


It will take a while for our area to recover, but the teamwork in rebuilding has been phenomenal. A barbeque team from Huish Detergents (manufacturer of Sun Detergents) raised over $15,000 in two days, and Huish Detergents matched the $15,000. The barbeque team ran out of food, and people still stood in line to donate money to the Red Cross. That's the awesome spirit of our Dyer County people.

These tornadoes have not happened to just the Newbern and surrounding areas. They have happened to all of us. Everything is connected. The Katrina disaster of last fall has actually made the work related to our newest tornado disaster just a little easier in some ways. People know how to react and understand that it is in giving from the heart that eases the pain of our hurts.

As a side note, 10 tornadoes also struck the Nashville area this afternoon, one flying over Jonathan and Keri's house. They are fine, but a cousin was killed in these storms when a building he was working on collapsed in the storms. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his young family.

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