Famous People I Have Met

OK, I am in some ways ripping off Dad's theme, but he took the hugs video, so I guess turn about is fair play. I also thought about titling this "42 on my 42nd," but didn't want to tell everyone how old I was. Oopps.

Today we went to the Silent Wings Museum again. Derrel and Kay are in town and he wanted to see some of their displays, so he and Luke and I went. While in there, we saw a couple of American Airlines jets parked next to the museum. We were told that President Clinton was coming to town for a speech and they were sweeping the airport, thus holding up the jets. (I heard later this was a result of weather in Dallas, but you never know.)

Clinton was supposed to speak at 5:15 - or so we thought - and since we were leaving about 4:45, we thought we might check it out. There were 11ty-11 billion police cars, so we knew SOMETHING was about to happen.

Come to find, Clinton was to speak at 5:45 and we had to wait longer than we thought, but we did. And when the small crowd (12 or so) got cold, the security guard said we could go inside of Lubbock Aero. We got to visit with OU's pilots, who could not leave with the basketball team with Clinton there. We all visited inside and then watched Clinton's plane land, pull up near the building and then after making sure everything was secure -- including using a helicopter, no less -- Clinton left the plane to go to his big, black Suburban. Except he didn't get into his car, he went and said "Hi' to the Lubbock Aero guys.

So then, he gets into his caravan and we rush to the exit. He comes zooming out of the gate and waves to us as he goes by. Trust me, the picture of him is him waving.



So then, about 10 feet from where he is in this picture, he screeches to a halt. (I can imagine the guy in the passenger seat of the above picture saying, "You want to do what?!") He rolls down the window and then just jumps out, walks straight over to us and starts shaking hands. We were all sort of in shock.

Luke is still sort of in shock and will have quite a story to tell when he gets to school Tuesday. I just think it is wild that in the past four months I have met and shook the hand of Colin Powell and Bill Clinton.

The 3:15 type

I think I might be insulted.

Apparently, my husband and my friend can't believe that I'm a 3:15 kind of girl (see previous post).

I'm such a donkey girl scout that they can't imagine that I would be described as a "sense of freedom" or "having my own schedule" or being the spirit of the 3:15 end of school day bell. :-)

Well, here's the deal:
I think what this means (based on how I remember answering the questions), is that I'm pretty organized, have a regular to-do list, like to sleep, hate the sound of an alarm clock, and like social structure. But, within this predictable frame is the yearning to be unfettered by a schedule, to have time to do nothing, to experience the joy symbolized by the ringing of the end-of-day bell. (One of the questions asked, "What would you do with an unexpected 20 minutes to do nothing? My answer: I would zone out and do nothing.")

That's what I think this all means. So there. Now I'm off to tackle my to-do list, set my alarm, and go to sleep.

Yep, I'm wild and free.
Jana

What time of day are you?

Anyone want to take the quiz?
Jana

It's a small world

Trisha, if you are reading this, this story is for you:

Late last night, when I was supposed to be re-reading the play Antigone in preparation for class today, I took a break and started reading some blogs. I began with Ben and Trisha's blog, then linked over to Cheryl Cash's blog; while there, I noticed her link to her sister Cherisse's blog. Cherise is a very dear Odessa friend of Trisha's, and I met her last summer at Trisha's house, so I decided to take a look.

On the latest entry was the name of my dear friend and colleague in my department. 16 years ago, Cherise was a freshman student in Dr. B.'s class; Cherise saved a journal she was required to keep for that class, and in particular, remembered a specific assignment that meant something to her then and that has come to mean even more to her in the present.

I forwarded the blog address to Dr. B., and visited with her about the entry this morning! Dr. B. has had a very hard year--illnesses, home robbery, etc., and of late, has felt very tired and burned out by over 30 years of teaching. Cherise's blog was a reminder to her that she has had an impact in people's lives over the years, even through something as simple as a journal assignment. She got teary-eyed while we visited about Cherise and her blog, about Cherise's roommate and fellow classmate Stephanie, whose funeral Dr. B. attended.

I'm telling all of this for a reason. First, it is a small world. There are so many invisible threads connecting all of us; one of the best things about eternity will be the opportunity for these connecting threads to finally become visible--for us to see how we all fit into each other's lives, even when we were unaware of the connections; for us to see that we were really never alone.

Secondly: for us to be reminded how our words, or our simple acts of kindness, or even a classroom assignment can live on long after the sound or the moment. I would like to think that your name, and maybe even mine, is spoken about with grace and with love in someone's home, or in someone's journal, or in someone's blog. That God's light shone from us, even in the midst of our confusion and struggles and fears, and that He used us, even when we got in His way.

So Trisha, please tell your friend Cherisse that she made Dr. B.'s day today, and that her name was spoken with grace and with love in the American Heritage Building, Room 106-C.

Blessings,
Jana

Super Bowl - Super Night!

While I doubt it ranks being able to watch the Cowboys win a Super Bowl together, I will have to admit watching this one was pretty fun. Luke yells and boos and hisses when things go bad. (Jana will be quick to point out he sounds exactly like his father!) And he jumps around when his team does good.

His team? Well, it was the Patriots until 10:10 in the 4th, when he announced very publicly that his heart had changed to the Giants. Truth is, two things did him in. First, I will not under any circumstances cheer for New England. I kept telling Luke it was OK to cheer for a team Dad was not cheering for, but he had his doubts. The real reason for the switch, I suspect, is that he loves to cheer for the winning team and that was the point he felt like the Giants were going win. He had been hedging his bets all night and it was finally too much.

One of the best lines was him telling Jana, who was cheering for NY because she will always cheer for the underdog, that she ought to "Cheer for the overdog" every now and then.

I could care less who won -- I am just glad I had a chance to watch him watch the SB.