Hysterical Snow; Atlanta Rain; New Friends; New Shoes; Dog in a Bag; Unity Presentations

Since we’ve been traveling the past few days, we missed the news reports about the big Midwest snowstorm, and our Minnesnowda Correspondent, Terri of the Frozen North, has not kept us up to date on winter conditions there. That could be because (1) the 14 inches of snow has knocked out all electronic communications between that fair but frigid state and the rest of the civilized world; (2) she is too embarrassed by the record snowfall (the previous record for this date was 2 inches) to send an email asking for emergency supplies of food, unfrozen water to drink, and blankets; or (3) she remains trapped in her car under a seven foot tall snowdrift. We will hope to hear from Terri by mid-June, when the ice pack is supposed to melt enough for the National Guard to clear the highways. 

We are supposed to be in the Boulder/Fort Collins, Colorado area next week. Fort Collins only got 12 inches of snow... neither My Fair Bride nor I has ever driven a 40 foot long, 37,000 lb motor home on icy highways, so we may have to seek shelter in New Orleans until Spring finally arrives in the center of the country. Here in Atlanta it is in the low 60’s, dropping to 48-50F over the next few days, and we are looking forward (NOT!) to 4 inches of rain and widespread flooding...) Hey, May is not supposed to be cold and wet here; this is azalea blooming time! 

On Friday evening we were invited to dinner with Carole O’Connell and Don DisCenza. Our good friend Gail the Lawyer linked us up (Gail met Carole and Don while they were all living in south Florida). We instantly clicked with this delightful couple who now live in Lake Arrowhead, in the Appalachian Mountains north of Atlanta. Carole was a minister and leader of the Unity Church in north Atlanta for many years, and her husband Don was the music minister. Don also happens to be a professional musician, taught music at the university level, and now does private gigs in Atlanta and around the country. We have much in common, some things happy and some tragic, but meeting Carole and Don reminded us of the Oneness we all share at the human level. 

We thoroughly enjoyed their company and hope that we can convince them to visit The Villages sometime soon. Note: Your Faithful but Occasionally Forgetful Correspondent asked our server to take two photos of our group, but had forgotten to replace the 16gB memory chip when last downloading pictures, so he has no evidence that we actually had dinner with Carole and Don... "Sigh... another Senior Moment"... so I have to admit to using photos from their web sites... but they really do both look like movie stars! (Joyce, you will have to give me some remedial photography training upon our return to The Villages!) 

After dinner, we had to stop at the adjacent mall so My Lovely Bride could find a new pair of shoes. I offered to make some repairs and modifications to her old shoes, which after all were only five years old and in excellent condition, other than being uncomfortable. “C’mon, my dear, suck it up, you’re tough; a little duct tape and some Dr Scholl’s inserts and those shoes will last ‘till you’re 60.” Smack!

So, we arrive back at The Bus to find our kids, Rudy and Gretchen, waiting for us... looking out the windows expectantly, saying to each other, “Okay, they’re past their 8:00 PM curfew, they are in such trouble.” When Suzanne brought in her shoe bag, which also had a box of leftover pasta from dinner, Rudy went into “seek and eat mode”. (Fellow photographers: this photo was taken with my cell phone, since I had not yet replaced the memory chip in my pocket camera... ya do’s whatcha gotta do...) 

On Saturday, we traveled to Unity North Atlanta, a beautiful church where Suzanne was giving two presentations, “The Meaning in the Messages” and “Making the Connection”. In spite of the continuous rain, we had a lovely group of enthusiastic attendees who connected perfectly with Suzanne. Four members of the group had actually had very evidential readings with Suzanne in the past year.

In between presentations, I had a chance to meet two beautiful young ladies from Atlanta; Greg Scalzini had taken his daughters Samantha (7) and Juliana (5) out for frozen yogurt after they attended a friend's birthday party, and I met them at a local coffee shop. (Let's see, birthday cake and ice cream followed by frozen yogurt... can you spell "S-u-g-a-r H-i-g-h"? These little girls have so much energy, I immediately realized why Greg was so trim and athletic... he would collapse trying to keep up with his daughters if he wasn't in shape! It was a truly delightful experience, and made me wish more than ever for grandchildren...

There is an interesting transformation that comes over Suzanne when she finishes a long day of workshops or presentations. In the first photo, she displays the essence of a good presenter; sophisticated, poised, articulate, and connecting with her audience. In the second, after dinner and a very small glass of Chardonnay, Ms. Couch Potato appears somewhat more relaxed and at ease in less formal garb (sweat pants, tee shirt, and fuzzy slippers) than many of you might expect her to even own, much less wear...