I'm Having a Ball

I'm cleaning out a closet. For some unfathomable reason, Rachel told me today she wanted to jump rope. I thought we had an official jump rope, so off I went, delving into the unknown depths of the front closet. I know there are coats in that closet, waiting for a less-than-100 degree day, should that blessed event ever occur. But I was quite unaware of all the other things in that closet. Here is what I found while looking for the jump rope:

• 22 tennis balls
• 21 golf balls
• 12 wiffle balls
• 3 hard rubber bouncy balls
• 2 soft rubber world globe balls
• 2 black tension-reliever squeeze balls
• 1 cricket ball
• 1 Panther Pride mini football
• 1 Panther Pride mini basketball
• 1 uninflated Mavericks basketball
• 1 nerf football
• 1 street hockey ball
• 1 hard foam ball
• 1 hard rubber egg
• 1 pompom from a UofM ski cap
• 1 marble
• 1 beanbag
• 6 shuttlecocks
• 1 very large bat bag full of baseball stuff--baseballs, softballs, bats, gloves, helmets

There were also numerous tools for hitting these balls, but I won't go into that.

I wish the story would stop here, but alas, I hang my head in shame to tell what else I found. I found about 30 pieces of bubble gum that had been there since my married son was in 10th grade (you do the math). And if that is all I found, it wouldn't be so bad. The trouble was that there were numerous pieces of this gum with the, well, gum missing. The waxed wrappers where still mostly there, somewhat shredded by something--I hate to think what.

And after all that, Rachel said the jump rope was too short. So I gave her an extension cord, and that worked just fine.

Are You Coming Home Or Not?

The latest answer is not.

I've been talking to David, who lives in Houston, to see if he was going to leave the city and come to Dallas before Hurricane Rita hits. At 8am he said he and his housemate would come "later today." At 1pm, he said, "We'll leave within the hour." At 3pm he said, "Nope. Too much traffic, and no gas is for sale in all of Harris county. We're going to stick it out."

He said he went grocery shopping yesterday, so has non-perishable foods. He hadn't thought of candles and a flashlight, so he may not be staying up to read when the power goes off.

Two Silly Things I Heard Today

• "You've never heard of a phone date? That is when you and your date both watch the same TV show on your respective TVs and then you discuss it with each other on your respective phones."

• "Do we have any barbed wire? I am going to put barbed wire on the dresser so the cat won't sleep on top of all my stuff or push it on the floor."

Janis

I've just returned from a memorial service for a friend who died Friday. She was younger than me. I was sad, but holding it together until I saw her husband raise his hands in praise to God while singing "Because He lives, I can face tomorrow."