Zot Boom A
Lightning Strike
I dont seem to be able to
get enough sleep through the week, so I like to nap on Sunday afternoons.
On the last Sunday afternoon in July, I was awakened by a sound I couldnt
identify, though it roared and subsided much like a line trimmer or what
most of us call a weed-eater.
My neighbor, Bill Knight had been using a pressure washer earlier in the
day, but the noise that awakened me was not that of a gas powered pressure
washer. By the time I got good awake, I simply had to know what it was that
had awakened me. Looking through the blinds of a bedroom window, I saw Bill
in his front yard, trimming limbs off one of the oaks near the street. If
ones not familiar with a pole trimmer/ pruner, then there are two basic
types, gas powered and manual. I have the manual type that extends about
thirteen feet, and it works well enough for the light trimming I need to
do, plus, it keeps me from having to do tree-limb-trimming work using a ladder
propped against a tree. Bills brother-in-law has the gas powered type,
which Bill was using.
My curiosity satisfied and being "wide awake," I stumbled into the living
room and told Barbara it was time for us to make our rounds to the nursing
homes to see Aunt Jo and Barbaras mom, and Miss Opal.
We were saying our goodbyes to Aunt Jo when we heard a clap of thunder. Pontotoc
County has been in a drought for several weeks, so the thunder held the promise
of rain.
"That sounded like thunder," I told Aunt Jo. "Did you hear it?"
To my surprise, she said she had heard the thunder, though Aunt Jos
hearing isnt too great these days.
"Maybe well get some rain," she replied.
Barbara and I drove to visit those at our second nursing home stop and
didnt encounter any rain along the way. Neither did we see any evidence
of rain as we returned home. As we passed by Bill Knights house, I
noticed something different about the oak tree beside his driveway but
didnt mention it until Barbara was cooking supper.
"Did you see what Bill Knight did to his tree beside the driveway? It looks
like he took his pole saw and trimmed off all the bark from almost ground
level to about eight feet up the trunk of the tree."
The next morning as I left for work, I glanced at the tree, still wondering
why Bill wanted to kill the tree.
"If he wants to remove the tree, why doesnt he just cut it down?" I
thought.
That evening, Barbara mentioned she had talked to Bill.
"Bill asked me if I knew I almost lost a neighbor Sunday afternoon. I
didnt know what he was talking about, but he explained that lightning
struck his tree while he was outside. He said he felt the electricity from
the strike, though he was more than fifty feet away," she shared. "He said
he thought for a moment he had been struck and killed."
Later Bill told me he had no idea a cloud or lightning was in the area. In
fact, Bill doesnt remember any other sounds of thunder, and it surely
didnt rain a drop. Thus, the thunder we heard while visiting Aunt Jo
was likely from the lightning that struck our neighbors tree.
What had first appeared to me to be the handiwork of my neighbor was actually
the result of a lightning strike. As I left for work Tuesday morning, I stopped
to make a picture of the tree. Only while up close, could I see the cracks
in the trunk of the tree created by the lightning bolt. Tree bark lay in
small sections all around the tree, with some small pieces as far away as
the edge of my yard. What I found so amazing was not that lightning had hit
the tree, which is not the tallest one in the yard and not that bark had
been torn away (I have seen other trees struck by lightning), but it was
how the bark had been stripped that captured my attention. The nude section
of the tree was as neatly de-barked as if done by the careful hands of a
craftsman.
Upon close inspection of the hairline cracks in the trunk, I could see splinters
up to two inches protruding outward indicating that the explosive force came
from within the center of the trunk and not merely down one side.
With its loss of bark and no way for nutrients to traverse from roots to
leaves, I expect the tree will die of malnutrition. Bill Knight is in no
immediate danger of suffering from malnutrition, though if I were him, Id
keep a watchful eye for signs of threatening weather.
JoAnne Retires
PEPA For Forty-One Years
Too many of my friends are retiring. Im beginning to think theres
something wrong with me, as I hope to continue working for a few more years.
I dont plan to stop working altogether when I do retire, though I expect
to work a lot less. Im afraid Ill meet the grim reaper sooner
than expected, if I take up sitting in a rocking chair.
JoAnne Roberts Bradley was honored with a retirement reception last Tuesday
by her employer of forty-one years, the Pontotoc Electric Power Association.
Forty-one years is quite an accomplishment in a day and age where job tenure
is often measured in months, not years.
JoAnne was a grade ahead of me in high school, and while I knew who she was
even in junior high, it wasnt until we had study hall together or perhaps
when we worked on the staff of the high school newspaper, "The Pow Wow,"
that I got to know her.
After graduating from Ole Miss in 1965, I returned to the same college campus
the following summer to work on course requirements for a teachers
license. By then, JoAnne was married to Jerry Bradley, a fellow student in
my astronomy class. Jerry was having trouble with the math and JoAnne told
him to seek my help. Jerry and I became friends and have maintained contact
throughout the years since our meeting that summer.
In the early seventies, I had the honor of briefly tutoring Jerri Lamar,
the Bradleys daughter. She didnt really need the tutoring and
most likely was merely going along with friends who were all trying to "ace"
their math course.
JoAnne probably wont be found in a rocking chair anytime soon, either.
Her dad is at the same nursing home as Aunt Jo, and her moms health
is deteriorating. Shell just have more time to devote to her family,
and, hopefully, shell still be writing her column for the Pontotoc
Progress, our local newspaper.
Welcome Ryan
Fuoss VISTA Worker For Habitat
On Friday evening, July 28, Wayne and I went to Jackson, taking with us Rayanne,
Merilese and Katherine to attend Sheila Hess's organ recital at Northminster
Baptist Church. That same evening Ryan Fuoss was arriving following a three-day
orientation in Atlanta. Ryan will be a VISTA worker with Habitat for Humanity
for a one-year assignment in Volunteer Coordination. VISTA (acronym for
Volunteers In Service To America) is a part of AmeriCorps. Pontotoc County
Habitat For Humanity agreed to assist in finding housing for Ryan, but everything
was still in limbo upon his arrival.
Bro. Joe Steen responded to Ryan's phone call and met him when he arrived.
He and Father Pete Peterson provided housing for Ryan that night. On Saturday
I went to the worksite and found Ryan and Bro. Joe. We went to lunch and
made plans for Ryan to come over to our house later in the day to stay with
us until we could make other arrangements.
A National Leadership Conference was on schedule for Wednesday through Sunday
in Charlotte, NC, and Ryan and I were registered to attend the many workshops
on the agenda. So, on Wednesday we left for Tupelo and flew to Memphis on
our way to Charlotte. Habitat for Humanity, in addition to the conference,
was celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Christian housing
ministry.
The first two weeks of Ryan's stay here in Pontotoc is supposed to be spent
in orientation to the area, the local Habitat Affiliate and to Habitat for
Humanity International. The Conference was a good way to orient him to HFHI,
and it was a good way for him to meet other Affiliate staff and to learn
about volunteer management. The entire trip was very fruitful.
I was able to see friends from the few years I have been working with Habitat
for Humanity, and I was also able to introduce Ryan to some of the folks
he will be working with through other Affiliates and HFHI. The new CEO of
Habitat for Humanity International was present for the conference and made
several outstanding presentations, including one concerning the Housing Report
for America for 2005, which was an onstage interview/ discussion with Nick
Retinas, a Harvard Professor, who is also the Chairman of HFHI Board of
Directors.
We were treated to two receptions with heavy hors d'oeuvre, three luncheons,
and one evening meal, which were all amazingly good for convention-type foods.
There were 1,200 people in attendance, so getting that many people fed a
tasty meal was quite a feat. I probably gained another five pounds on this
trip.
The Conference didn't actually end until around noon on Sunday, but because
our flight back to Tupelo was at 7:05 a.m., we missed the Habitation Service
that was held on Sunday morning. Neither Ryan nor I are early-morning people,
but somehow we managed to get up, get packed, and meet in the lobby at 5:30
a.m. to head for the airport.
Needless to say, I was tired when we rolled into Pontotoc around 11:00 a.m.
on Sunday. I went inside to finish up the lunch that Wayne had started before
he left for church and turned on the TV to watch the worship service from
First Baptist Church in Pontotoc. It sure felt good to be back home, but
we still had to face the challenge of getting Ryan's housing worked out.
First Methodist Church graciously agreed to allow him to use the mobile home
that the church owns and has parked across the street from their main church
building. On Monday morning we got his rental agreement worked out, and on
Tuesday he got his utilities all turned on. After spending some time cleaning
the unit, which had been vacant for a while, and then getting some of his
belongings moved in, Ryan is now at home at 11 Green Street.
Ryan is a recent graduate of Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, and will
be spending his time here prior to continuing his education, hopefully, in
law school. I have suggested maybe the University of Mississippi, but I think
he has his eyes set on some other school.
If you see Ryan around town, please welcome him to Pontotoc. He seems to
be making a remarkable adjustment to his work assignments, and if you know
any young adults we can introduce him to, please let us know. All our friends
are probably boring to a young man just out of school and with more energy
than we seem to have available.
By Barbara Carter, Executive Director - PCHFH
Bodock Beau Leno
On Castro
Jay Leno: As you know, the elderly Fidel Castro is recovering from
surgery in Cuba. It was pretty serious. I understand he was rushed to the
hospital on Donkey One.
A message delivered on Cuban Television today said that Fidel Castro's condition
is listed as stable, which in Communist countries means he'll be dead by
Friday.
In a speech in Florida President Bush praised all the contributions Cubans
have made to America: catching, hitting, outfielding, shortstop. These were
all major, major contributions.
As you know President Bush is currently on vacation in Texas. He said he's
going to try and do absolutely nothing for the next ten days. His advisors
think this is the best way to bring his approval rating up.
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