OK, I’ll try to make this short and sweet, but I’ve gotta set it up so you, my loyal readers – yes, all both of you! – can get the picture…
Rewind back to 1998. The lovely and gracious “Mrs. Just Charlie” had been hired as a teacher just after the school year started. As you can imagine, we were running around like crazy, getting her employment stuff squared away, getting some new clothes for her to start work in, setting up her classroom, etc. – all the stuff teachers have to do. Right in the middle of all that, as we were in the middle of downtown Atlanta, my brother called from Savannah to tell us that my dad had been severely burned in a freak brush-burning accident, and was being helicoptered to the regional burn center in Augusta, about 2 hours away from Atlanta. Well, after a lengthy stay in the hospital, my dad was OK, and that school year turned into seven productive years for my wife.
Now, fast forward to 2005. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the lovely and gracious “Mrs. Just Charlie” is once again a kind of “late hire” for this school year. When her principal called to offer her the job a couple of weeks ago, coincidentally, my mom had just called “just to check in and see how we were doing.” I asked, half-jokingly, if everything was OK with my dad, since the last time my wife got a new teaching job, he ended up in the hospital. “Ha-ha!” we all laughed. “Wouldn’t that be funny?!” But my mom assured me that all was well with my dad, and we went on our merry way.
Now here comes the uncanny part…
Today was the lovely and gracious “Mrs. Just Charlie’s” first day at her new school. She went and had meetings all day, carried loads of supplies and classroom materials to her new room, etc. – all the stuff teachers have to do. At the end of a long, hot day, she came home to enjoy my world famous Grilled Lime Chicken and all the fixin’s. As we were cleaning up the dinner dishes, my mom called. “Guess what?” she asked. “You said the other day I was probably calling to tell you something was wrong with your dad since Vicki has gotten a new job.” Turns out my dad’s in the hospital in Savannah, with what appears to be some sort of pretty serious urinary tract/bladder problem. They’re not real sure at this point what they’re looking for, but they will be doing some kind of scan and other tests over the next few days.
I tell you – both of you, loyal readers – that long story to ask you this: If you’ve got a couple of extra prayers, if you don’t mind, would you send up one for my dad, Howard? He’d appreciate it. My mom will appreciate it. And so will I. Thanks!
