20 JAN 08: WHITE OR WET?
The pastor thanked the church congregation I attend this weekend, for being "bold and courageous." We were?! All I did was drive to church in a cold rain. In Seattle, this would be considered routine.
We were declared bold and courageous by the pastor at the start of the worship service, because he said Saturday's weather forecast called for snow -- "two to four inches."
"North of LaGrange," piped up the congregation's curmudgeon to my left. That's the forecast I'd heard as well - but I've learned better than to doubt what might be uttered under the Holy Spirit's inspiration.
The pastor decided to go ahead with a potluck lunch after the church service. As I waited for everyone to get ready, I stared out a window of the fellowship hall at the cold rain pouring down. A young man asked what I was looking at. After a summer of drought, I suppose I was soaking in the moment as much as the ground was.
At least one woman was disappointed with the city of Columbus's response to the past week's rains. She told me the city should put out receptacles of some kind to collect the water. But this could lead to conflict among city workers - with some of them demanding an equal number of fire barrels for staying warm.
Organizers of a Saturday parade in Columbus were scared off by the weather forecast. The Martin Luther King Unity Parade was canceled -- and if the "We Shall Overcome" crowd can't overcome a rainstorm, local civil rights groups may have some work to do.
Muscogee County Schools called off its athletics schedule Saturday as well. But apparently the motocross event went on as scheduled at the Columbus Civic Center. All the pit crews had to do was add tires with studs....
Our blog camera was ready, to take pictures of Columbus's first snowfall of the winter - but in my neighborhood, the precipitation was only cold rain. And it stopped around 4:00 p.m., so the only way I might have seen "Flakes after dark" would be by visiting the pastor of Fourth Street Baptist Church.
Many shoppers packed grocery stores, stocking up in case the weather worsened. It reminded me of a line Atlanta radio reporter Richard Sangster said years ago, when he noticed winter shoppers there stocking up on bread and milk. "What are they going to eat, milk sandwiches?"
Even though Columbus and points south had no snow, several drivers skidded off the road. I saw one car in the grassy median of J.R. Allen Parkway - and not far west of the car, I saw evidence of where it went off the road. Putting one side of your car on grass and dirt for traction simply does NOT work when it's raining.
Evening newscasts repeated the advice of law enforcement officials, to stay off potentially icy roads. When I worked in radio news years ago, this simply would NOT have been tolerated. Open businesses would have complained to the station manager, and I would have been instructed to urge listeners to get out and shop - especially if we're at the brink of a recession.
North and west of Columbus, snow fell and stuck. The evening news showed a light coat of snow on the grass at Tigertown in Opelika, where the parking lot was half-full. Huh -- no Columbus tourists with coolers, looking for collectibles?
Sporadic snowball fights broke out in some parking lots. WRBL showed one at King Chevrolet in Valley. How sad -- such violent actions on Martin Luther King Day weekend....
Some families actually drove north from Columbus and Eufaula, looking for snow. One family found enough along Interstate 185 in Harris County to pull over and build a snowman. What do you know - they added some art to an already scenic byway.
WRBL showed a possible inch of snow on the ground at Callaway Gardens. Before you get ideas - no, Fantasy of Lights did NOT have a surprise extra weekend.
Montgomery had about two inches of snow Saturday - and one 11-year-old girl was unimpressed. Khryshanna Taylor declared to a reporter: "If it snows again, I'm going to move out of the state!" If the predictions about global warming are true, she might not have to worry about that....
BLOG UPDATE: After a one-week delay, "America's Most Wanted" mentioned the hunt for accused Columbus murderer Michael Registe Saturday night. It was part of a segment called "15 seconds of shame," and Columbus was never mentioned in those 15 seconds. Our homicides must not be weird or sexy enough for John Walsh.
(At least Michael Registe was mentioned in the first half-hour of the program. That allowed me to focus on the main event of the evening. No, not the weather -- Kansas beat Missouri in men's college basketball 76-70.)
E-MAIL UPDATE: Let's start a new library fight, why don't we?
I must dispute the opinion of the illiterate who gave a negative view of the Phenix City Library in "Sound Off" I have been to the Phenix City Library and found it to be a place of welcome and warmth..I appreciate the work ehtic of the librarians as they are so dedicated to encouraging people to enjoy the world of books...Once a month the library presents a speaker of interest and the public is invited...The only person who would not appreciate the library is someone who can't read and has a phobia of the social world...
There may be a hidden reason why the Phenix City librarians have a strong work ethic. They remember the librarian who stole fine money a few years ago, and wound up going to prison for it [12 May 05].
My main disappointment with the Phenix City Library is that it's not connected to the Columbus system. You can't use your Chattahoochee Valley Regional Library System card there for anything -- not even the public access computers. It's as if any mystery which crosses the state line will prompt an F.B.I. investigation.
I can think of a few other reasons why some people would NOT appreciate libraries. In fact, some residents of Columbus who could give you 49 million reasons - all of them currently sitting on Macon Road.
We're stockpiling other e-mails for another day, since it's SO cold and icy outside. Now let's review other weekend items of interest:
+ Our "Burkard Bulk Mail Index" dropped below the 1,400 mark, for the first time on record. When the number of spam e-mails is this low, we MUST be heading for a recession....
+ A Phenix City McDonald's restaurant held a surprise birthday party for employee Willie Green, to mark her 80th birthday. Do you think she's survived to that age by eating off the menu every day?
+ The Hillary Rodham Clinton presidential campaign opened a Columbus office at Ninth and Veterans Parkway. At least, I'm assuming that's her office. But then again, maybe all those campaign signs surround an old doctor's office because it's a publicity stunt for national health care.
+ Democratic opponent John Edwards made a campaign trip to Atlanta - and was that Mark Taylor I saw standing behind Edwards at a rally?! Yup, his campaign IS in big trouble....
+ John McCain won the Republican Presidential primary in South Carolina. I mention this because WBT-AM in Charlotte had "TalkLine" legend Doug Kellett on the air, asking who's "the real conservative in this race." If people on the "right coast" couldn't figure that out, perhaps nobody can.
+ Columbus State University's basketball teams were swept in a doubleheader at home by South Carolina-Aiken. Now their post-season chances seem to be Aiken as well, because.... wait, I didn't spell that right....
+ Instant Message to the people spreading rumors about a Kroger store coming to Columbus: The managers overseeing Columbus Park Crossing tell me they're planning for a future supermarket. But there's NO deal yet with Kroger, or anybody else. So you may wind up settling for a large-sized Circle K.
COMING THIS WEEK: Is it a vision for the city, or myopia?....
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