I looked at my suitcases this morning, one was too big, and the other not quite big enough so went to Walmart to see how much they were. I bumped into my friend Carla as I was going in, she works there as the Methodist Church don't pay enough for their pastors to live on (my words, not hers) and she walked with me to the suitcases. We saw one I thought would be suitable, the price ticket on the shelf said $39, we agreed that was not a bad price, and I trundled off to the checkout. When scanned at the checkout the price came up as $74. I know better than to hold up the line and argue with the little girl at the checkout, so I paid up and made a beeline for Customer Services. They refunded the difference.
It's quite nice isn't it, I like the outside pockets too, and a feature of it is that it is lightweight. While I was swinging it around saying how light it was Carla reminded me it will be heavier when it's filled. So I guess you could say it was a bargain for $39, or £25.
The rest of the day has just been spent packing it and making sure I'm organised.
Yesterday I had a run out to Norman, to the Barnes & Noble bookshop, I wanted them to look at my C-Nook as I can't retrieve my e-mails, it's one of the best places in Oklahoma for customer service, but unfortunately they couldn't help me as I can't remember the password of my e-mail account. But never mind I didn't buy it for e-mails, I've got 68 books on it.
While there I went to their Starbucks in the middle of the store.
After Kiwanis and a rest I went to Communion at Emmanuel and out to lunch, with Fr Clark, Fr Bill, Bill and Jane, and a new person who has joined us. We went back to the new Bricktown Brewery, where I was very wary of not ordering anything spicy. It was very nice and Bill and Jane kindly picked up my bill as it was my birthday.
In the evening I went to see the movie '42' with Pattisue. She has been very anxious to see it since it came out, and we've been trying to negotiate a suitable day since last week. It was very good, a true story set in the 1940s of the first negro baseball player to play major league baseball with white men, and the difficulties and abuse he encountered. I still enjoyed it although I missed the finer points, Pattisue, who got all the finer points, absolutely loved it.
I heard that the dog in foster care has now got a home, I don't know yet who the new owner is, but I expect I will hear.
I didn't suggest to them when they were looking, that they contact Sharon because she has two dogs and a cat, however I saw her at the Senior Centre and she has just lost Sherlock, her black lab, so I wished I had, but it was too late.
She is obviously upset at losing Sherlock. She sent him out to play with a neighbour's dog (!!) and the other dog came home, but Sherlock just hasn't turned up. Sharon is convinced - because the dog she had before him was shot - that Sherlock has also been shot. She lives just outside the city limits where guns are going off all the time, and anything that moves is fair game.
Personally I think, because her lane leads off a very busy 4 lane highway that he is more likely to have been run over, trigger happy as they are over here. But I can understand her being in denial and not being able to face - because of the guilt it would entail - that reality.
This whole notion of dogs making friends, and going out to play, is obviously totally foreign to me. I wondered if they got together for sleepovers. They're always running across the street while I'm driving down Main Street which annoys me very much.
Am busy packing. I've got some of those bags where you put your clothes in and vacuum the air out, so they take up less room. I guess the clothes will be very creased when they come out, but I hope they shake out. I also bought today a laptop backpack, which will be my onboard hand baggage.
Am now, Friday lunchtime, just off to Barnes & Noble in Norman.
I stopped by the Senior Centre this morning and the little dog in foster care there still hasn't got a home. It is now thought she is either on heat, or pregnant, so will need an operation, which might be why everyone isn't falling over themselves to take her in. I would certainly be daunted by vets bills if I'd thought of having her. However she is getting a lot of affection from the Centre staff who take turns baby sitting her on their laps.
This morning I knocked up a couple of cakes for the dessert this evening. For me it is the last Wednesday meal until after the summer. By the time I come back here in the middle of May the children will have broken up for summer holidays, and all activities at Emmanuel are suspended until they go back.
The cakes were just knocked up from a mix which I buy when they are on offer, and I put chopped up peaches inside, then cream and more peaches on top.
The meal tonight were tacos, and there was a distinct Mexican air about it. I am not sure why because Mexican Independence Day is celebrated in this part of the world on the 5th May, goodness knows why because that isn't even the day of Mexican independence. There was a lot of chatter in the kitchen in Spanish, everyone speaks Spanish here. I'd thought of learning, but I've got enough to do. And I've never been any good at languages anyway, I had to drop out of New Testament Greek because I couldn't hack the verbs. But I'm rambling.
There were a lot of sombreros, which are surprisingly heavy.
I love to see the children help serve and clear up.
That's Fr Bill on the right of the picture.
Started off water walking at the Pool, then running errands round town. I took the flowers from Emmanuel to the hospital and had lunch there with Larry and the two other chaplains who were doing the floors.
Larry was telling us about someone who decided to get rid of the moles and gophers in their garden and was attaching a cylinder to the exhaust of the car - carbon monoxide poisoning kills them apparently - and a neighbour saw him putting the cylinder on the exhaust and thought he was about to commit suicide. I asked how they got rid of armadillos, carbon monoxide is no good as they don't tunnel. I was told they are very difficult to get rid of, some people try shooting them, but it takes several rounds because they have this very hard exterior.
Looks revolting doesn't it.
Still on the subject of animals I dropped by the Senior Centre and fell in love with this dear little dog.
It's part chihuahua, but they've no idea what the other part is. Kate said someone would look after it until I got back from England if I wanted it. But I think Bubbles is enough responsibility. Apart from which she hates dogs and would be very jealous, she doesn't even like me having needlework in my lap.
Couldn't decide which service to go to this morning, 8 o'clock, 10.30, or 11 at the small Methodist chapel. While I was thinking about it I fell asleep, but fortunately was dressed and ready to go. I woke up at nearly 11 and went to Emmanuel where I was just in time for the Communion half of the service.
I was woken by Kevin cutting my grass, I hoped he wasn't missing church just to do my grass, but he said he had a lot to do and the weather was fine for it.
One of our church members died at the beginning of the month and there was a sort of funeral this afternoon, where her ashes were committed to a place she'd reserved in the Lady Chapel. Some of us were asked to provide cake or cookies for the reception afterwards.
When I got back from church I knocked up some little German chocolate cakes from a mix, and frosted them.
German chocolate cake is popular here, it contains coconut and pecans.
I mis-spoke yesterday. A favourite expression here when someone makes a mistake and needs to walk it back.
The bomber, who was hiding in a boat, was a block and a half beyond the perimeter of the search area, I thought he had been missed in the house to house search, but I'm sure every possible hiding place inside the search area had been combed. I have to say that although I think the justice system in this country sucks, I am full of admiration for their law enforcement.
I am sure you have heard now that the bombers are from the Caucasus Emirates - Chechens who are Islamic militants, which is why they are now targeting the US - they have no other reason to target the US - and it is causing grave concern here. Someone told me many years ago that Islam was spread by the sword, which is becoming increasingly apparent in the 21st century. Unlike other religions, which are all about love and forgiveness, Islam is an idealogy, Sharia, which its followers feel called upon to impose by force upon the rest of us infidels.
The younger brother who is injured is a US citizen, and the other was here on a residency permit, and intelligence sources are saying these are the people being recruited into the cause, because they can bring in others.
But to get back to the injured bomber - interrogaters are straining at the leash to question him, but he has a bullet wound to the head which went into the jaw, so I wouldn't have thought he'd be able to say much. I think they are anxious to get to him first before he is appointed a lawyer who will go in and tell him not to say anything. There are arguments back and forth as to whether he is an enemy combatant and therefore not entitled to rights and a defence lawyer, but, as I said, he is a US citizen, entitled to the full protection of the law.
I wondered yesterday how the police and swat teams established that he was in the boat, but apparently they sent a helicopter over it with a heat seeking device. The marvels of modern technology. They were being very cautious at approaching him because they thought he would be wearing an explosive device which he would detonate if they approached.
I went to the monthly AARP meeting this morning, and had lunch there. I don't always have lunch, there are better places in town, but it is a chance to sit down with Phyllis and chat. I think the people sitting round us like to eavesdrop on what two English women chat about.
I spent the rest of the day on my needlework project, watching tv with Bubbles.
I feel I have been watching the longest movie ever made. It started yesterday afternoon when photos of the Boston bombers were released (showing one of them dropping his bag down at the feet of the 8 year old boy who was killed, I can't tell you how that made people feel). Five hours later they carried out an armed robbery at a convenience store, the owner pressed the silent alarm to the police, who raced to the scene. There was a gunfight, the bandits were throwing home made grenades out of the window at the pursuing police car. A police officer and suspect number one were shot dead. Number two took off on foot. The Governor ordered all transport systems in Boston to be shut down, and everyone in the area of the manhunt to stay indoors. Hundreds and hundreds of police combed the area, going from door to door.
During this lengthy manhunt which went on for several hours I left the television to do my chaplaincy round, and have lunch in the hospital cafeteria, then it was back to the television.
Late in the afternoon the transport ban was lifted and people could go outside. A householder noticed that the tarpaulin on his boat was askew, investigated and saw the bomber inside covered in blood and very injured (the police missed that when they were going door to door) Police vehicles screamed to the scene, and then it all got very tense. Those of us watching at the home couldn't really see what was happening. But then a cheer went up and everyone gathered round watching applauded, and we knew it was all over.
There was great relief that he was still alive so could be questioned, but is critically injured and has been in surgery, but everyone is hoping he will pull through so the police can interrogate him and get to the bottom of it. Is it a new form of terrorism, who were they working for, or acting alone?
Like I said, the longest movie ever made. And apart from the hospital and lunch I just sat riveted to the television watching it all unfold.
