If you heard any loud praying last Wednesday afternoon, it may have been me and alot of other parents in the pickup line at Smithville Elementary School.

I was enroute to pick up a great niece and nephew, parked beside Ace Hardware on Congress Blvd. when the storm hit. The school was on lockdown and the buses were on hold. So we, picking up car riders, were in that line an hour---a long hour!

Was it a tornado? Never heard. If so, that's the second tornado I've been in. The last one was in Nashville when the apartment roof blew off through my car windshield.

Anyway, sheets of rain and wind were rocking my car. I called my sister to let her know my whereabouts. She advised me to not panic. What a way for those weary teachers to spend the end of the day.

Jen Sherwood, in her children's message at First Methodist last Sunday, mentioned the storm and how a storm develops.

Visitors of Jenn Parrish, youth director at First Methodist, last week were her parents Mike and Marsha Parrish of Traverse City, Michigan.

Sympathy to the family of Gary Cripps. A memorial service was held last Saturday at Love Cantrell Funeral Home. Gary was a familiar pharmacist for many years here and in Nashville and taught at UT Pharmacy School.

Get-well wishes to Vince Baker after surgery; Hoyte Odom;Jerry Adcock; Kim Luton; Sarah Brown; and Charlotte Barnard.

Belated-birthday wishes to Hilda Ashburn.

Upcoming events in Woodbury: August 29-31, Short Mt. Disc Jam and Music Festival, Short Mt. Distillery, Woodbury; and Sept. 13-14, White Oak Craft Fair, the Arts Center of Cannon County.

You may have seen these signs around town: "Read with your child. It’s the most important 20 minutes of the day.''

Amen.