The Next Whoopi?

Today my assistant principal approached me and said that I would make a good nun. Though all the nuns I have met this year have some great qualities (yes, even you Sr Mary Clarence), I can assure you all that a life in black and white is not where the Lord is calling me.

Thank-you, single gentlemen, for that polite sign of relief. I'm flattered.

Dodging a Bullet....

First of all, I apologize for all of you who have been following my blog. There has not been much to follow lately and it is my goal to keep it more updated with prayer requests, stories, and Bible verses. The story I am about to share happened a few weeks ago, so some of you may have already heard it. Having said that, it's still worth the write-up...

During the month of January, I was blessed by a visit from my aunt. Cindy was here on business and decided to stay the weekend in order to visit with me. She was able to see my classroom and stay at the house with me and the other volunteers.

Cindy arrived on Friday night and we wanted to do something low-key because we both had just finished very busy weeks. We decided to go to dinner and a movie so we'd have time to chat and relax. I was so happy to have a visitor and was even more excited because this visitor had rented a car. No public transportation for the weekend- we could get around with convenience!

Cindy and I left the house around five to drive over to University City where we were going to eat and see a movie. The restaurant that I wanted to eat at is actually connected to a theater which was perfect. We stopped by the theater first to check movie times, picked one out, and then went to the restaurant. During dinner we talked about many different things from school to grad class and from faith to future plans. One question that Cindy asked me was, "Do you feel safe living here?"

Armed with a response because this is a question I am often asked by my loved ones back home I replied, "Where I live and where I teach are not the safest areas by any means. However, as long as I am smart about where I go and when I am out I don't ever feel threatened or unsafe. I am sure to tell people when and where I am going just so someone else always knows. Also, I am safe about where I go in my free time. I love coming to this area (University City) because there are university police all over the place. It's probably one of the safest areas of the city and I have never felt otherwise." Our conversations drifted to other topics while we continued to eat.

At about seven, Cindy asked if I was ready to head over to the theater for our 7:20 show. I said that I was, so we paid and began walking to the door. Right when we were about to go outside, I said, "Do you mind if we stop by the coffee shop down the street? I am craving a white chocolate mocha and it's my favorite place."

"Do you think they will let you take that into the theater?" She responded.

"I think I"ll risk it." I replied. We began walking.

Saxby's Coffee was a block away. I remember noticing a cop car driving by while we were walking and the only reason I took note was because it was driving the opposite direction on a one-way street. "That's odd." I thought. "Well, I am glad they are patrolling!"

We walked into Saxby's, I got my mocha to go, and we stared going back towards the theater. As we approached our destination, we noticed a crowd of people standing outside of the restaurant and multiple cop cars blocking off the street. "Hmmm." I said. "Something must have happened down the street. I think we can walk on that porch to make it to the theater. "

"Stop right there!" A cop yelled at us as we walked toward the theater entrance. "You can't go in there. Turn around, please."

"EVERYONE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STREET!!!!" Another cop yelled to the growing crowd of people. We followed the rest of the people across the street and waited for more directions. I just wanted to see the movie.

My aunt turned around to another bystander and asked, "What happened?"

"There was actually a shooting inside the lobby. A masked man went in to rob the place and an off-duty cop was in line. The cop was shot in the leg and another bystander was shot in the arm. I haven't heard if anyone else got injured or whether they caught the shooter." My aunt and I looked at one another wide-eyed realizing that we should have been inside the theater at the time of the shooting.

"Guess Someone was looking out for us!" She said with a half-smile. "And I don't think we'll be seeing that movie tonight."

Later that night we watched the news only to find out that what the bystander had told us was true. We also found out that the robber got away and was never caught. He supposedly had a get-away car parked down the street (probably very close to where we were parked, actually). It is crazy to think that we should have been in the lobby at the time of the shooting, but we were both thankful for the Lord's protection. And that he's blessed me with a mocha addiction.