Perhaps you have come to the conclusion that Val is very protective of her boy young 'uns. If she could be in two helicopters at once, she WOULD. It's been hair-raising enough that both sons fell asleep and crashed their cars. Genius bounced off the wheels of a semi on I-44, and The Pony fell asleep on the same interstate, though coming from the opposite direction, and going airborne onto the right-of-way. Thankfully, both boys were uninjured, and did not hurt anyone else.
Twice since the semester started, earthquakes have hit Oklahoma, where The Pony resides on the 12th floor of a residence hall. At first I was worried about tornadoes. Not earthquakes. The Pony assured me that his floor, and those from 7-12, enjoy preferential treatment during tornado warnings. "We go down to the basement, Mom. There's not enough room for everybody. The people in floors 1-6 stay in their hallways. All the floors above 6 are designed to break off and blow away during a tornado!" Somehow, that did not ease my worries.
Genius made a fund-raising trip to California last year to seek funds for the solar car team. I was worried about earthquakes on the west coast. Now that The Pony has lived through two of them in Oklahoma...I'm not all that concerned about Genius's mini-vacation to San Francisco and Portland over Christmas break. WAIT A MINUTE! Isn't there a volcano near Portland?
Anyhoo...Thursday afternoon, I went to have lunch with my best ol' ex-teaching buddy Mabel. That involves 35 minutes of travel on curvy two-lane blacktop. On the way home, my phone buzzed with a text. I always worry that it will be one of my boys needing something. But I knew I couldn't look at it until I was safely in town, on the parking lot of a 44 oz Diet Coke purveyor. My infinite love for my son is evidenced by the fact that I looked at the phone and answered his text BEFORE I went inside for my magical elixir.
That text was from Genius. 18 long minutes before I read it.
"Didn't die in the burning building."
"Thrilled for you."
"Did you see the headlines?"
"Have been driving on curvy roads from lunch with Mabel. Guess I'm out of the loop."
"Air conditioner on the roof of EE building caught fire. Very dramatic. I was taking a test across campus and my phone kept going crazy in my pocket. I though someone was dead." [Well, now he knows how I feel every time I hear a text!]
"Are you providing me blog fodder? If so, you'll have to wait in the queue until after Book Blurb Friday. Dang! Why am I never sitting home when the good stuff happens?"
Let the record show that Genius did not respond. But I found a link.
http://fox2now.com/2016/12/08/fire-forces-evacuation-at-university-of-missouri-st-campus-in-rolla/
Let the record show that it was the electrical engineering building that was burning. Genius's major is electrical engineering.
I'd give him points for texting right away.
ReplyDeleteKids, what good are they if you have to worry about them all your life?
Yes, I'm pleased that he kept me informed. You'd think a college such as his, with a reputation for churning I MEAN turning out very competent, technologically proficient graduates...would have some sort of notification in place for campus catastrophes.
DeleteWe were only informed by Genius also, a couple years ago, when there was a lockdown for a fugitive shooter evading police from the nearby interstate.
Those boys should move to Arizona. Nothin' ever happens here.
ReplyDeleteWell, except for beautiful sunrises and sunsets.
DeleteOh, and random outbreaks of the hantavirus, which kills people. Pardon me if I have you confused with another dry sandy state in the general vicinity. Geography was my worst subject.
Val--Burning a building down? I've contemplated that before... in some of my past jobs. Snow days are wonderful, but how do teachers get unscheduled days off in the spring and fall?
ReplyDeleteBurn, baby, burn.
We always had the city water pump to go bad. That was usually good for a couple days off in the fall and spring. UNTIL somebody got the bright idea to hand out free bottled water, and bring in four port-a-potties on the parking lot.
DeleteAs parents, we never stop worrying about our kids.
ReplyDeleteThat's true. I had a dream with my mom in it Thursday night. She was telling me that I shouldn't go out in the cold with my hair wet.
DeleteOur kids will probably be fine, but their antics may kill us off!!
ReplyDeleteAs Genius tells me, when I question some of his antics, "EVERYTHING makes you cry!"
DeleteGee, that had to scare the heck out of you. I have two other friends with kids in the Emerson. You never stop worrying.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but I was just fine until he sent me a text to explain the news I hadn't seen!
DeleteGlad he's safe. Is that what you call irony?
ReplyDeleteI've always had a fractious relationship with irony. I used to appeal to The Pony, "Tell me if you think this is an example of irony." So if anybody thinks something is irony, I am quick to jump on the bandwagon!
DeleteYoungest Son (who, as you may remember is at the same school) sent me a text telling me about the fire. The photo he attached showed a little wisp of white smoke. Based on that I was TOTALLY SURPRISED to see the video on the news.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that's because he didn't want to worry you. Or maybe that wisp was just the beginning...
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