Friday at noon we came home for lunch. It was 95 degrees out and full on sun. 45 minutes later, when we headed back out, there were torrential downpours and wind so strong that it it was knocking trees over into the street. Visibility while driving was poor to say the least. Anyways, when the storm ended about 15 minutes later (as storms are won't to do in central Alabama), the temperature rested at an overwhelmingly pleasant 73 degrees. O sweet blessings divine! It felt like Summer in Vermont. At least for two hours until the heat crept back to the upper 80s. The treat was enjoyed while it lasted.
Things have been quite calm at the parish. A lot of people go away for vacations while their kids are out of school, and especially around July 4th. So numbers are down a bit, which is quite normal.
Some advice: don't ever** get your kids, nephews or nieces, or anyone you know a basketball net. Especially if you live in Alabama. Especially if you live in Alabama and it's the end of June. Sr. Nancy asked Fr. Steve and me if we could set up a basketball net St. Edmund's Learning Center had purchased for their Summer program. We figured it'd be a breeze. Incorrect. First of all, it was not something one would just look at and figure out. There were about 753.297 kinds of bolts and screws. Second, the directions were about as clear as mud. They'd tell you what screw to put in which slot and then there would be no screw at all that appeared as such. The base was a particular struggle. We had foolishly attached the wheels at the outset and then proceeded to attempt the main support. This resulted in the base rolling all over the place as we begrudgingly tried to hold it still. After we got that on, we realized we hadn't put the washers on, so the screw would just tear through the plastic. Thus we undid it all and put it back. Then Fr. Steve shouts, "Uh oh!" Apparently we had forgot to attach the secondary supports which connect diagonally to the pole. At this point we were pretty much ready to throw the whole thing out the window, but alas, we were already outside. So once again we unscrewed the bolts, with the base wheeling all over the place and sweaty hands dropping the wrenches.
After an hour and a half in the 93 degree weather we had nearly finished when this one bolt remained that refused to go in place. One would need robotic precision to do this. Eventually we left the task be and decided it would be better to get a massive bolt that would actually work for someone with reasonable to exceptional hand-eye coordination. That will be tomorrow.
Tuesday Fr. Steve and I are heading once again to New Orleans. Fr. Dave Theroux, SSE is serving as a transitional administrator/ pastor at St. Peter Claver for the Summer, so we will go down to spend some time with him. It should be a good time.
And then Friday, a very good friend of mine, who recently graduated from St. Michael's College and will be doing a year of Jesuit Volunteer Corp starting in August, will be coming to stay with us for a week. We have so much to show him, so much history to tell him about, and so much good food to eat!
I believe Fr. Stan will be coming to Selma in a little bit to spend the evening and his day off tomorrow. I am preparing dinner, so off I go to the kitchen.
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**I would only suggest getting a basketball net for someone if 1) you have a lot of patience, 2) you read directions and stick with them, or 3) you are not going to be the one setting it up. This whole experience gave me a whole lot appreciation for my dad and all the parents who have labored over setting up one of these darned things!
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