angela's blog

Faithful blog readers, Kim and Howard Forrest had (or rather, Kim had) a baby girl this morning at 1:23 am. She's 7 pounds, 6 ounces and healthy. No name for Baby Girl Forrest yet. I think we're going to see them later tonight so hopefully I will have pictures soon. Congratulations to Kim and Howard Forrest on having baby girl number 3! Congratulations to Mel and Gay Gibson for having grandbaby number 4! Congratulations to Jessie Grace and Jaylyn for being big sisters (and for Jaylyn, for being a big sister -- again)! Congratulations to Dylan for a new cousin! Congratulations to Jen Halsey on her ... well, technicially I think it's first cousin once removed but we'll go with cousin! Smiles all around.

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 9/29/2005 10:30:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

This weekend is the alumni meet at Wash U. I am so totally bummed I can't go. Laura lives in St. Louis, Laurel is going, Chewie is going, Colette already bought her ticket so I'm assuming she's going, even Arthur is going back to see everyone. And I believe that Sarah and Jess are going, too. I was in the class that had 2 alumni meets while we were actually at Wash U - one our freshman year and on our senior year - but what that means is that there are actually 3 years before we get to come back for an alumni meet. It's funny, if the meet had fallen a year ago I likely would have been able to go. There would have been some major mooching from mom and dad, begging for plane ticket money against my better judgment, but taking it and going anyway. But this year, no such doing. It's okay, it's not like I would trade where I am now just to go to the alumni meet but there's part of me that definitely wishes I could be there. Especially since everyone is gonna be. And especially since I have not actually raced IN an alumni meet yet. My first year, I was injured. And my senior year I had just dislocated my shoulder the week before. So have I ever competed in an alumni meet? No. Not as a student OR as an alumnus. Which is sort of sad. It's okay I guess, in 3 years we'll have another. So what's that, 2008? In 2008 I will try and be sure to go back for the meet. But there's something to be said about inserting more time distance in there - I wonder where Colette and Laurel and Behrman and I are going to be in 3 years. I haven't talked to Jess or Sarah since my wedding. I talk to Brad and Arthur about 3 times a year. Who knows what will happen in 3 years? And really by then would Arthur even WANT to go back (and I wouldn't blame him if he didn't). Life is so different now than it was then ... and I'm not sure I'm willing to say if one was better than the other. They're just different. Obviously being married doesn't compare to having a team but then again, swimming with a great team is something that can't compare to being married. It's a mystery. I hope someone calls me from the meet and from the alumni weekend. I'm going to badly wish I was there. If I look gloomy this weekend it's because I'm envisioning chlorine and cheers and the red and green, shotgunning beers in the shower, and partying with the swimmers. *sigh*

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 9/28/2005 01:39:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

I'm too busy to post anything significant today, plus I keep waiting for my cell phone to ring informing me that Baby Girl Forrest is here. So here's what I think my faithful blog readers should do today: Go read my father-in-law's column for the week If you're into baseball go read my husband's chat about the FSL top 20 Go visit my church's website Go see the pretty pictures on Dan's photo blog Visit Sara Groves' website and listen to some music clips Or whatever else you can think of I'll be back tomorrow

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 9/28/2005 12:16:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

This past weekend Rachel and Sabrina and I went and sat by the pool while The Girls (Sabrina's name for them - Kyra and Megan) and while we were there I said something about how when we were moving we found old (and I mean OLD) love letters from Sunshine Bearley, JJ's first girlfriend. He met her at debate camp, he was 14 and Sunshine was 12 and she quoted song lyrics from the 80s all over the margins of the letters. There was even a picture of her in ballet clothes. I was fascinated. I found it adorable. While cleaning up the old place we also found old photo albums and in them were also pix of JJ's last few serious girlfriends, which again I find fascinating. Rachel said something about she and Curtis each threw out love letters from people who were, well, not them. When I got home I was telling JJ about the throwing away love letters thing and we decided that JJ is not the jealous type. At ALL. I could pretty much get away with anything (I am NOT suggesting that I ever would) and he only believes the best in people. I think he got that from his mom. Terry's like that: refusing to believe anything but the absolute best of people she meets. It's rare and much envied. And we decided that I'm not the jealous type, but I can get jealous. The difference is that I don't think JJ is capable of getting jealous. It's both good and bad in some ways. What it means, at least the way I see it, is that he will never exhibit behavior typical of jealousy, but that means that things can go from "trust" to "hurt" REALLY fast so that's a responsibility I have to take seriously on my part. As for me, I'm not normally jealous unless I have good reason. There are some things that JJ can do that can make me jealous in a certain situation, but will not actually make me jealous of that other person as a general whole. For instance, on certain Sunday afternoons 53 men wearing shoulder pads and yelling a lot demand the attention of my husband to a degree which I will never be able to match. And I don't blame him for that - at the age of 2 he started watching them and well, they've got way more history with JJ than I do! But that's the sort of thing that makes me jealous - not chicks specifically just other people and places and things that can reach him where I can't. And I know that there are lots of people and places and things like that but when that happens I always remember what Sabrina told me once: It's not that I always have to be the absolutely most important thing in JJ's life ... but I am the constant. So when the other stuff comes and goes I will always be there. And she's right.

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 9/26/2005 04:31:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

I'm no Chevy Chase or Norm McDonald but I promised an update about the in-laws' visit so here it is. Jackie and Terry got in Friday afternoon so while JJ was still at work I put together bruschetta and lasagna and cherry pie for dinner. When JJ got home we had dinner which was lovely and then Jackie got his birthday present from JJ and me: a blue pullover sweater that was really soft from the Gap. We lounged around for the rest of the night and watched old episodes of Friends on the Tivo. On Saturday morning Jackie left for SEBA in Winston-Salem and JJ and Terry and I set off on our day. We went to CPK for lunch and then went and finished cleaning out our old apartment. After that was the shopping spree of the weekend - curtains, slipcovers, coffe table and end tables - and we came home to put all the stuff together. JJ and Terry and I went to Kanki for dinner and then Jackie came home late. Sunday morning I played for a feature piece at church with Curtis so it was up early for me. We rehearsed at 7:15 then I came back and the 4 of us went out to breakfast where I had an omelette, biscuits and home fries. Yum. I can't do that often, but country style breakfasts are my favorite. Note the lack of sweet breakfast foods. Jackie and Terry left right after chuch, we got to see our Gibson/Forrest clan kids and no, Kim has not had the baby yet. She's still in there. We're waiting. Sunday afternoon was NFL football in front of the TV. I fell asleep with about 5 minutes left in the third quarter. The score didn't change (27-7 Steelers over Texans) so I didn't miss much but I've been exhausted and have been ever since this weekend. Recovery weekend here I come. Kinda. We're on tech duty Sunday. But we should be okay. I'm trading decent writing style for information. My apologies.

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 9/21/2005 11:13:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

I know we can't have one. But I really want one. I want THIS one. I need to stop looking at the Durham County APS site. But it's so much fun. And this one is housetrained and neutered already. But I know - the house would be a mess, it would smell, and once the novelty wore off it would probably drive us nuts. I'd name him Hines. But I know I know, we can't have one. Maybe someday.

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 9/21/2005 09:02:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

Ever since we moved into our new place I feel like our lives have been moving along much quicker than we're really used to. And definitely much quicker than we'd like. It's not that we're getting cranky or upset with each other, or that the stress of moving has turned us on the honeymoon-like quality of our marriage after 2 1/2 months. Not at all. But it has totally worn us out. It seems like we get up in the morning, go to work, go home, do 2-3-4-5 hours more work (5 is a little extreme, that only happened twice) on the new place, and then drop into bed for a few hours' rest and then up again in the morning. Yesterday we were both so tired that we were in bed by 8 pm, we laid there and watched TV for about half an hour but both of us were asleep well before 10 pm. And not because we forced ourselves to sleep, just because we were actually that tired. This past Sunday Benji preached on Balance. (Note the shameless plug for newhope by borrowing Curtis' really cool graphic for the series). He talked about slowing our lives down and learning to appreciate what's going on around us, letting Jesus be the "pace car" of our lives if you will. Well, generally, I love the pace of my life. I don't think it's too fast. I like the routine of get up, go to work, go to the gym, come home, have dinner, watch some TV, clean or tinker around the house, maybe cook up something for the next day, and go to bed. I like the routine of small group on Tuesday nights and the routine of WAM on Thursdays (although thankfully we now work about once a month instead of all the time). I like the routine of NFL football on Sunday afternoons, Sunday nights, and Monday nights. And I like the routine of NCAA football on Saturdays. But lately I've definitely been off kilter. And for me being off kilter means being really strung out. I was thinking about the sermon from Sunday last night when it hit me. For me to find balance, in addition to letting Jesus lead my life, I need to acknowledge two things 1) It's not a competition 2) If it's not a competition then I can't lose I like competing. A whole lot. In high school I competed in orchestra for chair spots. I competed in swimming. I competed in Scholars' Bowl. In college it was every single swim practice. Well, here I am at 23 and I'm still competing. If JJ can clean the kitchen floor then I can see him his kitchen floor AND the bathroom and tub. Or if Sabrina can make a lovely chicken pot pie then I'll see her the chicken pot pie and make a cherry pie for dessert. See what I mean? And it's crazy! I'll be the first to admit that. And doing less doesn't make me the loser, it just means I am doing things well and in my own time. Take, for example, our house which is full and in need of some cleaning. I have to realize that while he was bachelor JJ did not really honor the whole cleaning thing ... but now that he's not a bachelor he's more than happy to have chores assigned to him. So his new chores are 1) sweep the kitchen floor 2) take out the garbage 3) clean up the toothpaste that drips from his toothbrush. He's newly married people, gotta ease him in, right? But 1 and 2 are 2 of my most hated chores so there we go - all done and no work from Angela! We'll see how that works out.

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 9/20/2005 12:19:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

I'll post in more detail about my weekend later. For now, this is from Amanda's blog: 1) Reply with your name and I'll respond with something random about you. 2) I'll tell you what song/movie reminds me of you. 3) I'll pick a flavor/color of jello to wrestle with you in. (Maybe.) 4) I'll say something that only makes sense to you and me. 5) I'll tell you my first memory of you. 6) I'll tell you what animal you remind me of. 7) I'll ask you something that I've always wondered about you. 8) If I do this for you, you must post this on your journal. You MUST. It is written. And she said: 1) Is it Monet or Manet? 2) Ocean's Eleven 3) I don't think I would wrestle you in jello... JJ woudln't like it 4) uh.... I don't htink I can come up with anything that wouldn't also include Danny and Jessica 5) Scholar's Bowl, City league, my freshman year 6) otters. 'cause they swim. 7) how's married life? Married life is lovely. As soon as we get our new apartment cleaned up I have high hopes it might be lovelier. But, it's hard to beat comfy couches, good junk food, and football on Sunday all with your husband. So now you do it. Leave your name and I'll answer the questions. Oh how fun.

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 9/19/2005 10:01:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

It's ... only Thursday. I feel like I have been working nonstop for weeks now. In actuality it's just been since we moved 2 weeks ago. We're still trying to clean out the old place but that should finish up tonight. And we're still trying to unpack the new place, which should be finished up soon. Tomorrow, my in-laws arrive in the afternoon. Jackie has a book conference in Winston-Salem, which is about an hour from here, so they figured they'd come up and visit since they would be around anyway. It's the first time we've seen them since we've been "in-lawed" and I'm not sure what to expect other than the usual. When we went back to Wichita to see my parents in August, JJ had been "in-lawed" for a little over a month and that went fine so I'm sure this will go fine, too. On the other hand, they're visiting my house, instead of vice versa, so you'll understand if there's a twinge of nervousness there. But it's the usual Cooper-whirlwind visit it seems. In on Friday, visit on Saturday, out on Sunday after church. Curtis called last night and asked me to play on a feature piece on Sunday morning. As I told Sabrina, why is it that our pastors are so charismatic that they can be persuasive without even trying? I personally find that unfair because it makes it REALLY hard to say no. But it's okay. I'll be playing on an old school hymn and it will be pretty as it will be largely just me, Curtis and the piano, and I haven't played in awhile so it will be fun, too. I just have to get through my 10+ hour workday today, the cleaning we have to do tonight, and then things will settle down for awhile. My garden tub misses me. It told me so this morning. Don't worry garden tub, I'll be back soon. And there ya go - a random post because I have about 15 minutes to kill before a meeting and nothing to do.

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 9/15/2005 11:29:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

Last week at WAM rehearsal I had a conversation with Dylan, who is now FOUR, and then his mom told us a story that made me think about what the world looks like through the eyes of children. Dylan and I were playing on the floor by the stage and I was pointing out all the different instruments and people singing and suddenly he pointed at our stained glass window and asked me "Is that Jesus?" So I told him "That's a picture of Jesus in the window." And then the following conversation took place Dylan: Jesus died ... his arms are like that on the cross me: Yes he did. He died so that we can all go to heaven. Dylan: If that's Jesus, then is that heaven? me: It's a picture of Jesus. They painted a picture of Jesus on the glass on the window. Dylan: Why can't I see him? [it was dark outside, hence the windows were not lit] me: You can't see it because it's dark outside so the window isn't lit up. Dylan: Jesus is supposed to be lighted all the time! me: Well Dylan, it's just a picture. And when the sun comes out then you can see all of the picture. Dylan: [very matter of factly] Jesus loves ME! me: Yes he does Then Dylan's mom, Michele, told JJ and me a story about how Dylan had seen pictures of the aftermath of Katrina and how he had heard that lots of people had died in the hurricane or as a result of it. And he asked his mom, "Mommy, if all those people died ... are they in heaven with Jesus now?" When Dylan started going to HopeTown at newhope he was just about 2 and since then Amy Lynn and the rest of her children's ministry has made him so aware and so thoughtful about Jesus and the role that Jesus plays in other people's lives. God bless our children's ministry - you guys are awesome.

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 9/14/2005 11:41:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

I thought that after the move my weekends would slow down. Oh noooooo. Saturday we went back to the old place to clean it up and then came back to our new apartment. Steve and Sabrina came over and Jamie and Rob came over. The girls (and Rob) started on dinner. I made pizza from fresh pizza dough bought at Whole Foods. Jamie made eggplant fritters. Sabrina made panna cotta and then Sabrina and I made garlic knots from an extra lump of dough. While we were doing that Steve and JJ did manly things like play video games and other electronic type things.. Dinner was fun but the panna cotta wasn't set when dinner was over so we had to wait to eat that till yesterday. Sunday JJ worked the church service and I went to the late service. Afterward we went to find the kiddies - Dylan, Jessie Grace, and Jaylyn. Jaylyn was apparently not in the mood to socialize. But Dylan was. JJ brought him up to get a cooky and I went down to see Jessie Grace who was a little crabby when I got down there. She kept asking for JJ and when JJ came down I handed her to him. She kept saying "You're not JJ, you're not JJ." We finally figured out why she didn't know what was going on - she hadn't seen him shaven before. He didn't look like JJ. I promised Jessie we'd take her and her sister to the playground or to the pool after the new baby is born - and to give Kim and Howard a break. Sunday afternoon the Steelers played the Tennesee Titans. Final score 34-7. I'd comment more but I am way too tired and tonight I still have a rehearsal at the church and 20 papers to grade before I can go to bed.

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 9/12/2005 05:15:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Thanks to Amanda, here's an unusual disclosure. Crushes on boys from childhood books. I have to admit, though, that Amanda has good taste. Or maybe we're both just nerds. Anyway, I don't think I could come up with 10 so I'll just go until I run out. 1. Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables. He was so ... I dunno, nice. And he wanted to go to medical school and he was so devoted. 2. Billy Colman from Where the Red Fern Grows. He loved those dogs. And the dogs died! 3. Dickon from The Secret Garden. Boy who loved animals and came to keep Mary company and helped heal Colin. What's not to like? 4. Jeffrey "Maniac" Magee from Maniac Magee. Remember that book? Maniac was an orphan who loved to run and finally found a black family (Maniac was white) to take him in? He was allergic to pizza. 5. The oldest boy from the Boxcar children series. I can't even remember his name. But he was so responsible. And took such good care of his brother and sisters. 6. Encyclopedia Brown. I'm with Amanda - I started liking the smart nerdy boys early. That's all I can come up with at the moment ............ who were your book crushes?

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 9/08/2005 09:07:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

The results are in. I am allergic to everything. Well, everything in the state of North Carolina anyway. According to my allergist (who is really great, need an allergist, I have a recommendation!) they did a panel for everything that grows in North Carolina: trees, grasses, weeds, and I am allergic to them all. Then there was dust, mold, foods, and animals. They tested me for a total of 73 allergens. I reacted positively to 55 of them. Total mess. He was shocked that I am not more miserable during allergy season. As in, how do I go outside and not just want to die. The nurse who came to take measurements yesterday after the tests had been applied to my skin walked in and went "Wow, you win our prize for most things someone's allergic to!" and "How do you not want to scratch your skin off right now?" to which I was thinking "You told me not to scratch .... ?" Anyway ... I think we're getting fishes. If it were up to JJ he would name our new fishes Fishy and Swimmy. There will be no such naming. I am thinking we're going to name them Big Ben and Mean Joe. 10 points to you if you spot the references there.

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 9/08/2005 07:37:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

Last night we finally got the kitchen in decent enough shape that I pulled out my brand new Kitchen Aid mixer and made cookies. Kinda. I didn't want to take the time to make multiple pans of the stuff and since I didn't start until 9:30 it was getting late. I decided to make "larger than normal" cookies instead. Well .... this is what happened. And some of them didn't cook all the way through. I'm going to have to try this one again.

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 9/07/2005 09:26:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

This is totally random but ... I wonder how many babies born during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina are going to be named after the hurricane?

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 9/06/2005 01:34:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

Allergy season is in full swing here in the lovely triangle area. For those of you under the influence of antihistamines my hats off to you. I say that because I'm currently not allowed to take any. I'm going to the allergist tomorrow (mental note to self: look up directions) and for the week before you see the allergist you're not allowed to take any antihistamines. Which makes sense since if they're going to test me for things I'm allergic to then I shouldn't be taking drugs that counteract that. The result of that, though, is that I am currently knee deep in my body's natural anti-histamine treatment which means I'm exhausted, stopped up, have a sinus headache, runny nose, itchy eyes and am sneezing every 15 seconds. For probably the first time in my life I am looking forward to a doctor's appointment. At the very least it means I can take some Benadryl! In other news ... 98% of our stuff is in our new place. And by "in" that's all I mean .... in. It's everywhere. Our study closet is full of books stacked knee deep with only a path wide enough to walk in and retrieve them. Yesterday we finally arranged the furniture in the living room and I straightened up/organized our kitchen. JJ unpacked some books and put up a bookshelf in our bedroom. The bedroom is largely done, it's the rest of the rooms that are total chaos. This morning I bought a cup of coffee for $1.25. Obviously it's been too long since I've bought a cup of coffee. I seriously thought it was going to be like 69 cents. Oh well. Last night Sabrina made us dinner. Chicken pot pie. YUM. Seriously yum. And rolls. And I made us some mashed potatoes. I could get used to that ... having someone else make me dinner.

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 9/06/2005 07:20:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

As conditions are slowly (and I mean SLOWLY) improving for the victims of Hurricane Katrina we continue to send them our prayers. I heard this on the radio yesterday and thought it was appropriate. Two months is too little. They let him go. They had no sudden healing. To think that providence would Take a child from his mother while she prays Is appalling. Who told us we'd be rescued? What has changed and why should we be saved from nightmares? We're asking why this happens To us who have died to live? It's unfair. Chorus: This is what it means to be held. How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life And you survive. This is what it is to be loved. And to know that the promise was When everything fell we'd be held. This hand is bitterness. We want to taste it, let the hatred know our sorrow. The wise hands opens slowly to lilies of the valley and tomorrow. (Chorus) This is what it means to be held. How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life And you survive. This is what it is to be loved. And to know that the promise was When everything fell we'd be held. Bridge: If hope is born of suffering. If this is only the beginning. Can we not wait for one hour watching for our Savior? (Chorus) This is what it means to be held. How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life And you survive. This is what it is to be loved. And to know that the promise was When everything fell we'd be held. Natalie Grant

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 9/05/2005 09:52:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

We're moving tomorrow. Or at least tomorrow is when our crew of friends is coming to help us move. Whether we'll actually be all moved out by the end of tomorrow remains to be seen. I'm suddenly aware of how much STUFF we have. And most of it isn't even really stuff we use on a daily basis. There are things we own that we don't use on a daily basis that we actually need. For example, my printer or our kitchen table, or certain kitchen tools like a meat cleaver or my hair dryer (which I won't use until there's a freeze or something equally cold). On the other hand we have tons and tons of stuff that we own that we never use. Most of it, to be honest, belongs to my pack-rat husband. Perfect example ... we found his debate bucket from high school in the closet the other night. We have to pack it up and move it over. Has he used it in oh .... the last 15 years? I bet not. Plus, JJ-the-reader has a gazillion books, all of which have to be moved over, unpacked and reshelved. Most of my stuff from my initial move over here in July has remained more or less packed. My winter clothes are still in suitcases and a lot of my athletic equipment is, at best, moderately accessible in closets. However, I will admit that things I have unpacked are all over the place so it's not like I'm being neat and clean and JJ is being a mess. It's just a general mess. One difference, though, is that I'm not a pack-rat, nor have I ever been. Call it the opposite of sentimental but if I'm not using something anymore, I throw it out. There's no reason to keep it (one exception: things that I know I will use later i.e. my violin (duh) and my GameCube which I don't play much anymore because we have a PS2 but I am certainly keeping). We have 3 DVD players. 3 WORKING DVD players. We have 4 TV sets. 2 Tivos. A solid entertainment center and a dying one. Bookshelves everywhere, some of which I hope will die in the move, some of which might still be presentable. The point is that I currently just happen to be living in a place that is essentially a bachelor pad. The rug on the floor is (in my opinion) hideous, the walls are bare except for a couple of prints and (to JJ's credit) a nice painting or two, the bathroom is covered with JJ's former goatee shavings, the bathtub has a ring of soap scum, the desk JJ uses is falling apart. In short, while I don't mind living here, it was always a temporary situation. I'm hoping that when we move the place will NOT look like JJ's bachelor pad anymore. No. Definitely not. But for that I will need the capable hands and mind of my mother-in-law. Because she's a gifted decorator and me? Not so much.

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 9/02/2005 09:01:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

Ilana stopped by my office just now and I was telling her how I'm reading CNN correspondents' blog, which is updated every couple of hours, and how snipers are shooting at people trying to evacuate hospitals, how looters have come to hospitals looking for food, how people are dying at the convention center and all their loved ones can do is look at their bodies because right now there's no other choice. The scene in New Orleans, just by reading, is one of incredible depravity and it's also one of incredible desperation. It's miserable. And Ilana's right ... it's happening, not that far from us, and all we're worried about is how much gasoline we have in our tanks, whether gas prices are going to go up, and when we should be holding class. Sabrina said yesterday that someone, a student, called her office asking if he could transfer to Duke because the college he went to before doesn't exist anymore. Katrina destroyed it. I can't even imagine. There's one image of a woman with her baby who was, as of yesterday, all but 4 days old. Can you imagine being that mom? There's another story of an elderly woman who was found by the rescue crews trained to do quick water rescue. While they were trying to get her out, she told them to go next door because her neighbors had children. "There are people next door, " she said, "and they have babies. So leave me until morning. Get them out now." A few miles away people are looting and killing those who are getting in their way. Riots are breaking out. Shots are being fired. In New Orleans there lies an example of the best of the human spirit ... and of the worst. I just pray that the best would triumph.

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 9/01/2005 02:08:00 PM | Permalink | Comments

People are calling Hurricane Katrina historic. They're also calling her "hellish". The death toll is climbing and experts are estimating it's going to be in the thousands before everyone is found. Right now, or at least yesterday and the day before, the bodies of those who didn't survive, are being left so that the survivors can be pulled from rooftops and attics. God bless the Coast Guard. The SuperDome, which became a 'last resort shelter', quickly trapped its inhabitants as it lost power early in the morning on Tuesday. Then, Katrina started ripping pieces of roof off of the structure, leaving holes enough for rain to come pouring in. Since then the mayor of New Orleans has ordered a 100% evacuation of the city. The grateful shut-ins at the SuperDome are being bussed to the AstroDome in Houston, TX. Martial law has been declared and the looting has begun. This morning on NPR I heard that people are looting from grocery stores, pharmacies and homes ... and bringing their booty back to temporary shelters where they are selling things like bottled water and food for outrageous prices. There are also those who are just looting. The governor of Mississippi has declared that the looting will stop. Yesterday 10,000 more national guard were dispatched to the region and there's talk that New Orleans may be in sight of a recovery turning point. Here in comfy North Carolina the worst we've seen of the effect of Katrina is the leap in gas prices. I filled up my tank on Monday morning for $2.54 a gallon. By yesterday afternoon gas was $2.99 and I suspect it will only keep rising. This morning I saw $3.10. Down in Georgia, my father-in-law says that people have started gouging for gas, asking for $5.50 a gallon and starting rumors that we're out of fuel. This morning on NPR I heard that there are stations with only premium fuel left ... the low and midgrade fuel supplies had already been depleted. Bill Weatherspoon, the director of the North Carolina Petroleum Council, assures the people that we don't have a fuel shortage. "We have a delivery problem," he says. This delivery problem comes from the fact that the pipelines that supply the state with gasoline don't have electricity. No electricity means no pumping. No pumping means no fuel. We'll just have to wait and see. Over 1,000 people are listed as dead from a stampede in Baghdad, the result of a rumor that there was an incoming suicide bomber. Most of the people trampled and drowned were women and children. Our prayers go out to everyone. May God's hand of peace reach you all.

Posted by Mrs. Cooper at 9/01/2005 09:13:00 AM | Permalink | Comments