In Kansas

I flew to Kansas on Saturday. I was up past midnight packing (and still forgot a couple of important item) and was up at 4:00 to be at the airport for a 6:30 flight. On the first leg of the trip (DC to Dallas), I slept! The airplane was empty enough that by moving across the aisle, I had a whole row of three seats to myself, so could stretch out. On the second leg of the trip, I was sitting next to a contractor who does textured sheetrock. He was flying from Orlando to work on a house in Greensburg (a couple hour drive from Wichita plus 2-4 hours to complete the job) and would be back in Orlando by 1:00PM the next day.

Mom, SR and L picked me up at the airport after I landed about 10:30 AM. From there, we did some shopping and errands in preparation for the wedding, grabbed lunch from Wendy's drive-thru, and went to a bridal shower for SR. It was after 5:00 before we were headed back to Anthony. I went to bed early, so I missed seeing Dad until Sunday morning.

We have a list of things that need done for the wedding organized roughly by when it needs to be done. With the list, it seems mostly do-able, though a lot has to be left until Thursday or Friday. Last day items include some of the food prep, decorating for the reception, for the ceremony, and for the rehearsal dinner. Of course, several family members and friends are also arriving then.

Kansas made the national news the day after I arrived with the murder of Dr. George Tiller.

Big news in town today was an accident at the local cotton mill. The fire siren went off around 10:30AM. Around noon, one of the rescue workers was in town buying the local grocery store out of ice, plastic wrap, and some other supplies. The medical helicopter was expected to land in the field next to the mill to transport to Wichita (hour away by car). Word is that a young, college-aged kid (2nd day on the job) got his leg caught in a large auger and they had to amputate the leg on-site in order to free him. Be praying for him and his family!

A thunderstorm moved through the area this evening. How I miss watching the weather! (And I don't mean on tv.)

Also on the weather theme, on the way home from Wichita Saturday, we watched a rain shower several miles away. It reminded me again of how I love the wide-open spaces of Kanses. In Virginia, a prediction of "scattered showers" means you might or might not get rain. In Kansas, "scattered showers" means you can watch around you to see who is getting rain and try to decide if it is coming your way.

Yes, in Kansas, storm chasers can just get in their vehicle and start driving toward the storm. No need for much equipment. Between being able to see the storms miles off and the level of weather coverage provided by the radio stations, storms are easy to find and chase.

Can it make sense that I'm homesick now that I'm home?