The Weekend...

Thursday afternoon I left here and went home. I changed into a pair of jeans and a tee shirt and mostly hung out with Sukiey. I also saw Chris and we made plans to go Friday morning to the Wal*Mart in Pearl for some cat supplies. I didn’t do much Thursday evening; Sukiey woke me up during the night wanting her litter box changed. Yes, I got up and did that! She also wanted some food and I put some down for her.

Friday morning I did get to sleep in a little before getting up and getting ready. Chris and I left for the Wal*Mart in Pearl around 9:30 a.m. and found what we needed – she got cat litter and cat food; I got some cat food amongst some other things. By the time we checked out and got back to Sterling, it was almost 11:30 a.m.

I had just unloaded my bags and put the things away and was playing a little with Sukiey when my cell phone rang…I saw the call was coming from area code 501 – and I knew it had to be my cousin Kay’s cell phone. I answered – it was! J J It was around 12:00 p.m. – they had made better time from Little Rock, Arkansas than they had expected. She said they had exited I-20 at State Street and were at that time sitting at a train crossing that was blocked by a non-moving train. I told her I knew exactly where they were – at the Fowler Buick Crossing. She apparently looked around and saw the signs for the dealership and said yes, where they were. I told her that I wasn’t sure how to give them directions to get around the train without possibly getting them lost. She said they would just sit and wait on the train – if it got to be a lengthy wait, they’d cal me back, but asked that I give them directions from where they were and so I did.

I went down to the lobby – with my camera in tow, loaded and ready to go – and waited just a few minutes before they pulled up in Kay’s white Volvo wagon with her Arkansas plates. I discovered her brother Ray was driving. He got out of the car and came and greeted me with a hug. I went over to the car with him and Kay insisted that I sit in the front seat and got out and gave me a hug as well. We started off – on down Griffith Street, but I told Ray he should turn around and so he did and we went back out to High Street and got on I-55 North and off at Lakeland Drive. We were looking for the Cozumel location Vicki had told me was out there, but couldn’t find it, so instead we turned around and headed for the Ruby Tuesday.

There we had a nice lunch – they treated me – and then when we went outside, I had them to pose for a couple of pictures. When we got back to Sterling, I called Chris and she came out and took the camera and took a shot of the 3 of us – Ray, Kay and me. We said our goodbyes and they headed out – well about the time they were getting to the Interstate, Kay realized she had some things for me – some of her mother’s stuff – and she had forgotten to give them to me, so she called and they turned around and came back long enough to give them to me. The items were an ice cream set that I had given her at Christmas a couple of years ago and a vase that her mother had had and wanted me to have. J J I thanked them and they headed out again – to make their way to Baton Rouge, possibly stopping in Hammond. I haven’t talked with my brother, but they said they were going to try to connect with him while in town.

Their reason for going to Baton Rouge this trip was to meet with their mother’s CPA so they could finish and file her final tax returns. They expected to be down there through Tuesday, maybe Wednesday. Then, they’ll head back to Little Rock and Ray is going to use Kelly’s car – she’s the daughter of Kay and husband Jimmy – since she’s in England studying (I’m not sure what) and won’t be home for 6 months. They were going to sell it, but Uncle Ray asked if he might use it as he rambles around some on this trip.

Kay and Jimmy have 2 daughters – Kelly is 20 – almost 21 – and Courtney is 25. Both are in school – Courtney was leaving that day to go to London to visit her sister during spring break. Jimmy is in the real estate business in Little Rock. Ray is Kay’s older brother and he’s a retired teacher from the Glendale, California school system – he taught for some 30+ years before retiring after the last school year.

I went on and did laundry after that. I was almost done when Chris announced she wanted to go to the battery store to get a new battery for her cordless phone and I wanted to go with her and get Sukiey some cat treats at Pet Smart. So, Lena said she would finish my laundry for me; we went to the Interstate Battery place and got Chris’ battery; I got a spare for my camera while there, and then stopped at Pet Smart and I got the treats I wanted.

We stopped at McDonald’s on the way back; when we got back, I went and claimed my clothes and then went upstairs and put every- thing away. I talked a little while with Janice and then went to bed. Sukiey woke me up during the night to have some food put down for her.

Saturday morning Chris called and got me up early – to do the newspapers. We went out there and got to it. We finished up earlier than before – around 12:00 p.m. We left there and went by the Coffee Roastery and then went to the Wal*Mart in Pearl. I got a thing of cat litter and also wound up purchasing 2 pairs of shoes – actually a pair of boots in “sand” and a pair of brown sandals. I got the boots on clearance for $5.00 and the sandals were their regular price of $5.88! Chris couldn’t find any shoes she liked at a price she also was willing to pay. I also purchased socks and a replacement sunglass case – I lost mine on Friday. I think I left it at the Ruby Tuesday – laid it down to take a picture after taking my clip-on lenses out and then failed to pick the case back up.

Then we stopped at the Arby’s in Pearl and had lunch and came on home. I went up and put my stuff away and laid down and took a nap with Sukiey cuddled up on top of me. She loves to sleep like that and I don’t mind it either. By the way, I received my refund check from the State Tax Commission in the mail on Saturday.

Later, I went down to see Chris about something and she asked if I wanted to go for a taco. I said yes. She had given me some cat stuff that apparently got mixed up with hers, so I shot up to my apartment and dropped it off. Then, we took Romeo (a/k/a Barkey Butt) with us and set out for Taco Bell. We passed the place on High Street and wound up going all the way to County Line Road to eat. We left Romeo in the car – it was a cool evening. Before leaving the Taco Bell, though, we did request a cup of water for the puppy and they gave us a small cup, which I took to the fountain area and found the “water only” button on a dispenser and filled it about ¾ of the way.

Upon leaving, I discovered Chris had a mischievous streak to hit her and we headed for the I-220 loop around to West Jackson and we ended up riding all the way around back to I-55 North and then got off at High Street. She wanted to stop at the Sprint Mart Shell – so we did – she went in and got what she wanted and what I wanted while I stayed in the car with Romeo. He whined for most of the time she was in the store.

Oh yeah – as we were turning in at the Sprint Mart Shell, we noticed there was a wreck on the other side of the intersection and we asked if they needed us to call the police for them – a guy said the cops had already been called, but they weren’t there by the time we left, so Chris got her cell phone and called 911 and advised them of it. They said they would dispatch officers.

We got back to Sterling and parted ways. She took Romeo and went home while I went on up to my apartment. I got myself ready for bed, then laid down on the couch and read for a while, with Sukiey at my feet. Finally I went on to bed – Sukiey woke me up about 3:00 a.m. wanting food. I put some down for her and she was fine after that.

Chris called me early Sunday morning – around 7:30 a.m. or so – and wanted to know if I wanted to take her car to Church. I told her I had decided I wasn’t going. But, we decided to go take a “Sunday drive”. So – later on – around 9:30 a.m., we met up downstairs. I brought my camera with me and she had Romeo – we decided to let him accompany us. We set out on the drive – went up to North Jackson and hit I-220 and went around to Clinton – where we got off on Springridge and pulled in at the Kroger Fuel Center and filled up Chris’ car with gas. She walked Romeo while I pumped; then I went and paid for the gas and got in the car with Romeo while she added a quart of oil.

We set off in the direction of Vicksburg – roughly 30 miles away – and kept going – across the Mississippi River into Louisiana. So – now I can say that I’ve been in my home state once this year already. We stopped at the Tourism Information Center at Mound. I pulled out the camera and got a couple of pictures of Chris and Romeo with the Louisiana sign; she took the camera and got a shot of me with Romeo and the sign. I had taken other pictures en route and took a couple more while we were there. I went to the rest room and then came out and kept Romeo while she went in. Then when she returned, I went in the Tourism Center and browsed, plus got a decaf cup of Community Coffee (the official coffee of Louisiana). She went in and got a cup while I held on to Romeo.

Then, we got back in the car and headed west again – to the next exit – and turned around and headed east back into Mississippi. We were almost to Bolton when we saw a horse farm on our right. I remarked that it would make a very pretty picture – considering the weather was gorgeous, even if a bit chilly. J J We went on down to the Bolton exit, got off and turned right, then went in search of a way to reach the frontage road. We found it – and also noticed a Bolton police officer sitting parked in his cruiser just back off the road. We drove on past him and down the winding road. Well – the next thing we knew – we found the horse farm and it was on the left. We pulled over on the right side of the road to park, but Chris decided she’d rather be on the left, headed back out. So – a Lincoln Town Car (or something similar) passed by us, then Chris did a U and pulled over on the side of the road next to the white picket fence.

I got out of the car; she stayed inside with Romeo. I hiked a wee bit to the fence and started checking for camera angles. I got several shots – what I believe will be beautiful shots – and then went to get back in the car. I discovered that Romeo had gotten excited and was trying to follow me out of the car and managed to spill the cup of water in my seat. Chris didn’t have a towel, but she did have a plastic grocery bag, so she put it down to try to keep my bottom dry on the ride back. As I was coming back to the car, that same Lincoln (or whatever) came back down the road in the same direction we would be going.

We pulled back onto the road – and as we driving along, we encountered that same Lincoln (or whatever) parked off of the road and pointed in our direction. As we were approaching, it began moving – backing up – and as we passed, it pulled out and behind us. It followed us back around to where the Bolton police cruiser was parked. Chris signaled and turned left – the Lincoln (or whatever) kept going on down the road. We made our way back out to the “main drag” of Bolton (not a real big town to begin with) and on to the exit for I-20 towards Jackson. J J

This wasn’t the end to our adventure, though…

As we were driving along - about the time we were approaching Clinton, a black four door truck with darkly tinted windows passed us on the left (we were in the right lane) and then slowed. Next thing we knew – a guy rolled the rear seat window down and half hung out of it with a camera taking pictures of Chris’ car. Chris told me “smile – you’re on candid camera”! J J

Then as we were approaching Ellis Avenue, we saw police and other emergency vehicles in the road ahead and slowed down like the other traffic was doing. Then we saw that we were being signaled to move to the far left lane to go around. We did and as we passed by, we saw that an 18-wheeler had run off the Interstate and flipped over among some trees. On the news, later, we learned that the driver had only minor injuries and the police suspected him of having fallen asleep at the wheel.

We got home without any further adventures and I stayed home with Sukiey and watched TV and did some cleaning for the rest of the day.

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Today’s Women’s Luncheon was excellent – June’s son-in-law and pastor of First Baptist Church of Canton – was the speaker. His name is Bro. Donnie South – I believe he’s working on his doctoral degree at this time. I picked up a copy of the April schedule on the way in and then after eating, settled down and took notes as Donnie was speaking. I’ll share them with you…

The Heart of Jeaus…Compassion

When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9:36 NIV

The heart of Jesus is compassion – how He shows His compassion. The life of Jesus was one interruption after another – but there was always compassion.

Matthew 9:35-37

1. Heed the leadership of the Spirit. (John 14)

God will give opportunities

2. Encounter the multitudes…

Jesus went to the people.

When God calls we must go

3. Act on the need…

He healed.

See that people’s needs are met.

4. Realize the true need.

Sheep without a shepherd.

5. The Savior is waiting…

For you to realize there are hurting people all around.

This spells H E A R T! The heart of Jesus is compassion.

Donnie also shared a slideshow of photos he had taken on a trip to Cambodia. They were very powerful.

At the end of the Luncheon, I went up and waited in a short line to greet Donnie and when it was my turn, I asked him to sign my Journal and he was very gracious and did for me.

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Michele just called me and said that Kathy asked her what we were talking about regarding Chris and me being followed. When Michele filled her in, Kathy informed Michele that there’s a serial killer on the loose – has been for about 2 years – and it’s being kept rather hush-hush by law enforcement in order to try to flush the individual(s) out. Bolton is an area where the bodies have been found; Clinton is another. So – indeed – we were being followed! The Lincoln was following us to find out who we were and what we were up to. Then – the truck on the Interstate with the guy hanging out the window taking pictures – Kathy said they took pictures of Chris’ car so they could check it out later. Michele said that by now the police know all about Chris and possibly me as well. They could’ve run the license tag and got who knows what information on her and/or me.

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In today's mail...

The packages were books:

· The Journey How To Live By Faith In An Uncertain World Billy Graham

· Where God Was Born: A Journey by Land to the Roots of Religion Bruce Feiler

· The Sion Revelation: The Truth About the Guardians of Christ’s Sacred Bloodline Lynn Pickett & Clive Prince

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James left early; Daryl is outside and Ignacio should be in behind him shortly. I'll call a wrap to writing today and continue later...