Call from Johnnie

John called on his cell phone from Georgia, en route to Augusta to see Adam. J's on vacation. Looking forward to seeing him (and Nat Sue and Mandy) next weekend. John woke me from a nap. We went to a funeral in Seymour on this hot, humid day (and I froze in the church's a-c). It was Rozz's cousin Bekki, who was 41, killed in a car accident in Colorado last week. Uncle Eddie and his family are good people and their girl's death broke their hearts. I recall Bekki coming to visit Rosie's dad at the Columbus hospital twice and I thought she didn't have to do that. But she was a sweet, thoughtful girl. We went in a funeral procession from Seymour to Vernon and there wasn't room enough under that tent they put up for graveside ceremonies and I stood in the blazing sun while the preacher delivered his second sermon telling us that if we didn't have Jesus in our lives we wouldn't spend eternity with Bekki in heaven. When he finally shut up Rosie and I got away and drove on a county road out of Vernon, trying to bypass North Vernon. We were going to go back to a dinner at the church. I made a wrong turn or two but we had fun. Then I was really so lost that we ended up back in Seymour too late for the dinner. We were both very hungry so we ate at Cracker Barrel -- chicken and rice, and Rosie had raspberry iced tea, which she loves. I said it was a good thing I didn't make it back to the church because I might have told the preacher that I think his theology is a bunch of cruel horse shit and if anybody is right about grace, it would be Phil Gulley and Jim Mulholland, co-authors of If Grace Is True: Why God Will Save Every Person. Rosie said, Well, today wouldn't be a good day to tangle with him and I agreed.