Saturday, August 23, 2003

7:23 PM Received the sad news that Dixie, our miniature Schnauzer, disappeared late last night. Evidently she managed to squeeze out the front door around midnight and wandered away. The boys mounted a search of nearby streets but found nothing. This afternoon I rode my bike and looked in all the alleys but she was nowhere to be found. Dixie has been part of our family since she was only a few weeks old. She was loyal and friendly and loved to have her belly scratched. She was a wonderful watchdog who barked up a storm when anyone came to the door. Just a moment ago I told Marlene I keep going to the door, expecting her to show up, but I am not hopeful. Oak Park is not a good place for a dog to run loose. We’ll check with the Animal Shelter on Monday, but I think she is gone for good. The house is a little emptier tonight because Dixie is not here.

7:08 PM Arrived back in Oak Park mid-afternoon, having driven over 1500 miles through 8 states in 5 days. Nick is enjoying his first few days at Samford. He is in a four-man, two-room suite with a bathroom in between. They have put all four beds in one room so they can use the other room for TV and video games and for socializing. Maybe they’ll also use the room for studying. Who knows?

We left Florence yesterday and drove to Nashville on the historic Natchez Trace. There was hardly any traffic so I was zipping right along even after Marlene told me to slow down. So of course we were stopped by a State Trooper who said I was going 70 in a 50 mph zone. He smiled when I said, “My wife told me earlier to slow down.” “Always a good idea to listen to your wife,” he said. He congratulated us when Marlene mentioned that yesterday was our wedding anniversary. When he found out (from the car registration) that I am a pastor, we chatted some more. I guess he was in a good mood because he didn’t give us a ticket, but let us go with a caution to drive safely.

Last night Mark and Ruth Wolery took us to the 9:30 PM concert at the Bluebird Cafe, an unassuming storefront that attracts a capacity crowd seven nights a week. They four guys who sang last night performed until 12:15 AM. Mostly original music plus a country version of “My Girl” and a powerful rendition of Conway Twitty’s “That’s My Job.”