BURKARD'S BLOG
I searched on the Internet, and found no one keeping a blog about events in Columbus, Georgia. (Well, other than a 15-year-old high school student, and who knows how much he pays attention to the news?) So being the hip web-savvy guy that I am, I decided to start a blog of my own - chronicling happenings in the town I've called home for some six years, as
well as my experiences in it.
But be warned.... I used to have a humor service called LaughLine.Com, so my views may be a bit amusing. And the views are my own; no one has paid me to present theirs. Pressured, yes - but paid, no.
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13 JUL 03: CRACKLES AND POPS
DISCLAIMER/WARNING:Today's blog topic could be a bit preachy at times. If you'd rather avoid religious issues, millions of other web sites are waiting to welcome you.
The popping began outside my window around 8:00 Saturday night. Someone in my apartment complex was setting off firecrackers. Either this person is:
A> Secretly French and marking Bastille Day weekend.
B> In bad need of a calendar, because he missed the Fourth of July by a week.
C> Mistakenly thinking the Third Brigade's return route is going through my neighborhood.
We've mentioned before it's illegal to set off fireworks in Georgia without a permit. So the person in my apartment complex probably was breaking the law -- and I had a decision to make. Do I call police on the offenders? Do I go outside, and try to talk them into stopping? Or do I go searching for that Columbus woman who discovered a 1950's bomb shelter buried in her backyard?
Earlier in the day, my Pastor preached at church about David - and how he turned to God with boldness, in times of trouble. Within hours of that sermon, I faced a similar situation. The neighbors had firecrackers. All I have is a garden hose and a waterbed.
In addition, I've been going through the book of Jeremiah in my denomination's Bible reading program. Jeremiah was a prophet who often preached gloomy messages, and was threatened and ridiculed for it. Now I feared I might wind up in the official journal of Christian martyrs - the "I Die Daily."
On top of that, a senior writer in the church I attend posted a web site item saying the U.S. wound up in the sorry shape it's in today because people said incremental lawbreaking was "OK." If I let the neighbor shoot off fireworks, will he be testing shoe bombs next?
With all this bouncing in my brain, I prayed for urgent wisdom and help as the Sabbath ended. Then I decided on a "step one" strategy: take my regular Saturday night twilight run, go to dinner - and then see what was happening. That way, at least I'd be at home if the neighbors tried to booby-trap my doors with firecrackers.
After stretching inside, I opened the front door to go out - and my next-door grandmotherly neighbor was sitting on the porch, practically in front of my door. She informed me she'd warned the people about fireworks. But she added police hardly ever patrol our neighborhood anymore. Well, except for the officer overseeing the inmates who mow the lawn....
I told Ms. Wilson since she'd talked to the neighbors about the fireworks, I would call 9-1-1 if the problem persisted when I got home. At least she took care of the Biblical "go to your neighbor" portion -- but I felt a little like a Baath Party member hiding in Iraq.
So I tried to relax and run -- and found I still get weary climbing stairs, at the spot on the Riverwalk that's closed for the Trade Center expansion. At least Governor Perdue could provide money to finish the Riverwalk side, so joggers and bikers might go a bit farther.
Then I hopped in the car to pick up dinner - and heard the last minute of the Wardogs' win over Birmingham on the radio. I've decided arena football is a lot like pro basketball. Tune in with about two minutes left, and you'll get the part that matters.
An amazing, wonderful thing happened as I took dinner to the car to drive home. It started raining - and it was pouring when I returned to the apartment complex. God intervened to stop the fireworks! Both the kind you light with a match, and the kind deep inside people's brains.
A tense evening ended peacefully -- with rain and lightning until well after midnight, which suspended any firecracker festivities. How strange it was to feel safer from loud rumblings in the heavens, than little pops outside my apartment complex.
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