Minutes to Memories

by octoberdolphin

I heard today from my Hawaiian friends, Ric and Jonellen. Well, I guess it isn’t fair to call them Hawaiian friends. Ric is from Delaware, and Jonellen from Tennessee, but thanks to the need for the federal government to have its Coast Guard guard the coast of Hawaii, too, these friends are now enjoying the beautiful islands.

Well, I’m not sure if they enjoyed the last couple of days or not. As you probably noticed, an earthquake upset tropical life in the popular tourist destination yesterday. Having learned the Katrina lesson not necessarily to expect the media to perfectly describe day-to-day life surrounding natural disasters, I emailed my friends to see if they were okay. They responded today that they were doing fine; they just had to endure twelve hours without power and the corresponding opportunity to get to know their neighbors a bit better.

Out of the sheer goodness of my heart, I offered to make a humanitarian mission trip to see them and deliver a case or two of potted meat products and other necessary survival items, but though they appreciated my compassionate offer, this young married couple told me they were surviving just fine without me. I suspect they are telling the truth, but on the off chance they are just being humble, I’m thinking I might ought to go on a fact-finding mission just to be sure. Humanitarian relief projects require such attentiveness.

I really miss Ric and Jonellen. They are just a really neat couple. I wish we could have had the chance to get to know them even better while they were in Ocean Springs, but the chance we did have was very good. I had the honor of baptizing Ric one Sunday at his request, and soon afterwards I grew to understand that Ric is one of those rare folks that are so obviously transformed in that decision. All of the baptisms I’ve witnessed were good, of course, but only a handful is of people so obviously “changed.”

I’m such an analytical person that I’m always trying to notice things, take notes, “figure out,” and learn lessons. But people like Ric – people who are transformed like Ric – those rare souls are far beyond analysis. They are more like a work of art to me, something you just stand and admire without words.

Kind of like a Hawaiian vista, I guess. Without an earthquake.

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SPORTS SCENE:

* No Cardinals game tonight. They must have had as much rain in St. Louis as we’ve had in Ocean Springs. A weird weather day around here…

* For all you fellow Lady Jag fans out there, our next game is in Denver Friday night. I’m afraid we won’t be able to make this road trip!

* For the Razorback fans, you’ve probably already noticed that we’ve climbed to #15 in the polls. We’re actually #13 in the brand new BCS rankings. I’ll have to admit that I’m a bit nervous about the Ole Miss game this weekend. We should win, which is what worries me.

* The Dallas Cowboys had a terrible first half yesterday, followed by a terrific second half against the Houston Texans. Walking soap opera T.O. caught three TD passes in the win.

* My three fantasy football teams have had a decent week so far. If Rex Grossman has a decent night tonight, I’ll win in one league. He would have to score 53 points in another league for me to win there! And I’ll win in the final league if a couple of his receivers don’t do much. Sort of a catch-22 for me…