Weather Panic

Well, the meteorologists (a.k.a. "Severe Weather Team") are hard at work this morning. Apparently they've been up since before the crack of dawn, measuring barometric pressure, temperature, relative humidity and making predictions about snow accumulation in East Tennessee. They've all donned their Northface parkas and Thinsulate gloves and ventured out into the medians of the highways, dodging traffic and camped out on the back porches of the studios to warn us about bad road conditions and slick steps.

They are disappointed, I know, that this is not a repeat of the infamous Blizzard of '93. Though I was living in RI at that time (where winter weather is never really news), I understand that some of the news and weathercasters never left the studios, not bathing or grooming during the blizzard and aftermath! Such dedication is rarely found in this day and age.

This morning, though there is almost no accumulation to speak of, they've pre-empted the network morning shows to zoom around the East Tennessee region, showing various degrees of winter weather. School closings are scrolling across the screen. People are calling in from all points in the viewing area talking about the person they saw sliding on the highway and the dusting of snow on the windshield. We even had one video clip of a truck sliding about 10 feet.

I'm sure there is no bread or milk to be had in any grocery store in the area. I guess snowy weather brings about an insatiable desire in many people for "milktoast", whatever that is.

This year (where there has not been so much as a 1/2 inch accumulation of snow or ice where I live), I've learned some new weather vocabulary in these frantic reports. This morning I heard a weathercaster talking about "heavy flurries", which seems to me to be an oxymoron. A few weeks ago, when we had an unexpected freeze (catching the meteorologists off-guard apparently), one weatherman was asked if what we were seeing was "sleet or freezing rain". His reply was, "Neither. What we are seeing is really ice fragments." I guess someone or something was shattering a glacier hovering far above us and the fragments were falling to earth. Maybe it was Johnny Depp, a.k.a. Edward Scissorhands creating an ice sculpture! Of course the fallback position is to label it all a "wintry mix".

Right now I am seeing a picture on the weather report of snow in a place called Petros (pronounced pee-tros), Tennessee. This brings me to another oddity of winter weather reporting: we learn about obscure places, which are apparently blanketed like a winter wonderland and we often get to see obscure people, with the appropriate hillbilly accent, offering commentary. Last night, for instance, the news featured a rotund grocery store employee predicting there would be no snow or bad weather. This prophecy was based on the lack of sensation in his bad knee. Thank God for his obesity, without which we would not have a weather forecast or a news story! Unfortunately, this morning they replayed his forecast and proved him wrong. So much for folk-meteorology.

I'm going to go enjoy the "heavy flurries".

Things I Learned at Shabbach

I did the unimaginable this week-end: I chaperoned a youth group trip! First time ever! After raising 2 daughters to adulthood without being a chaperone on one of their trips I finally bit the bullet. Hope and Josh (Student Ministers) needed chaperones for the trip to Shabbach and I like Eddie James who did the music so I thought I'd give it a whirl. Overall it was a great experience but....I learned some things.

1. I am a lot older than I thought.

2. Not all kids (i.e.- teen-age girls) are snipey and mean. Many are actually supportive of each other and sweet. This has not necessarily been the experience of my daughters in all youth groups and was not my experience while teaching middle and high schoolers.

3. My daughters are not the only messy kids on earth.

4. My daughters have actually learned some things about basic housekeeping.

5. There are more kids in serious trouble (cutting, suicide, addictions) than I (or most adults) want to believe or imagine. Thankfully, I saw scores of kids getting help and praying through to repentance.

6. Young people will worship without restraint when given the space and encouragement to do so.

7. We have come some distance with regard to race. This was truly an interracial gathering of 3000 people, mostly youth. They all worshiped together; they had traveled together and were in effect living together for 3 days. For me, it was a wonder to see this happening in SC. That would have been impossible in the SC I grew up in.

8. It is possible to have a large gathering that is predominantly COG without politics and commercials.

9. God is still moving; the Pentecostal Movement is still very much alive. Our kids will be okay. But will they be in the church/denomination they grew up in? The jury's still out.

Reflection and/or Relaxation?

Most of you know: I'm on sabbatical. For someone who is task-oriented, routine-driven as well as guilt-driven, time spent in reflection, reading, studying often feels like "wasting time". It's hard being the oldest daughter of Builder Generation Parents! I didn't struggle as much with this guilt when I was in England, as I was paying good money to go there to further my education. Anyway, my retired pastor friend, Lowell Brannen, must feel the same way. Here's a poem he recently wrote and posted on his blog:

The Sighs of a Sluggard

The day has come, the day has gone,
And here I sit. I’m all alone.
The day was short, and not so kind,
I could not satisfy my mind.

Were you out there? I should have known.
You did not speak. Then you were gone.
But then I thought, Why should you care,
About my plight, or my despair.

I had the day just like you did,
And all day long, My face I hid.
I could have called, or visited,
But here is what I did instead:

I sat me down upon my chair,
And focused only on the air.
I only thought of me myself,
And all my dreams upon the shelf.

I viewed them over in my mind,
And knew that they were left behind.
What a wise man I’d have been,
If I had only let you in.

Time and time and time again,
I know you tried to be my friend,
But I refused to let it be,
Because of my concern for me.

Why, oh why did I do wrong,
By doing nothing for so long?
Now, it’s gone. My days are spent.
And for this sin, I now repent.

— Lowell A. Brannen