Interlude

Had a death in the family so was gone to Indiana this week then on to Austin to take care of personal business. I stayed over one night in Corpus Christi at the airport TraveLodge to work on my next sermon. It was a pleasant surprise. The reviews weren't great and it's true the place had seen better days in the 1950s and was somewhat dirty. But I expected that. The Corpus Christi International Airport is such a rockin' place that the TraveLodge Corpus Christi address is "Corn Products Road". Nearby streets are Wheatfield Way and Cow Pattie Cove. Not really but they should have been. I fished a Band Aid and birdfeathers out of the swimming pool before I jumped in but the pool was fine otherwise. And I had the most stunning view that I've ever had of an oil refinery.

It reminded me of my Italian Great Grandma Coia, 1870-1965, who used to make surprise visits to my newly married parents in Indiana years ago. Grandma didn't always tell them she was coming. She'd just show up. She did that once while they were out of town and they were off at their summer cottage on Lake Michigan. Being Josephine Coia, never embarrassed by anything and game for anything, she introduced herself to the neighbors next door. They liked her so much they invited her to stay with them until my parents got back. When my mother and father returned, there was Grandma emerging from the neighbors' home after a two-day visit. Grandma, who spoke little English, waved at them and said, "I thank-a you for having me stay." Then she went into my parents' home with them, made a face, and declared, "I never-a staying with those-a people again. House too dirty."