Follow these links for deeper information in the form of reports from passengers on board the threatened aircraft:

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1. A passenger seated in the rear provides details and perspective in a full, compelling report, from African boarding to Detroit debriefing.
2. Report about a passenger who says a man at the Amsterdam gate requested Abdulmutallab be allowed to board without a passport.
3. CNN interview (on YouTube) with Dutch passenger Jasper Schuringa, who jumped terrorist Abdulmutallab.

Family, and friends of my parents, will have special interest in this post (of course, anyone is welcome to read and enjoy!).

I was finally able to visit Beaufort, SC on the Atlantic coast, where my parents lived when they were first married (1956-'59). Better, I was able to go there when Dad was going, so he could guide. He was accompanying Jeff and Libby, for a weekend meeting Jeff has there; so the four of us explored the area. Beaufort County is specially marked by three features: river channels, islands, and a third feature, the interface between those first two, which morphs back and forth each day. At low tide, this third kind of area is the revealed mudflats of the salt marshes: not particularly pretty, and smells a bit. But at high tide these flats are under water, with only the attractive tall green seagrasses identifying them as something other than river beds.

Low tide:


In Dad's book, he describes their arrival following the honeymoon. It was Mom's first time coming to Beaufort, and it was at low tide:

"Beaufort is a picturesque town on an island fronting a wide bay on the curving Beaufort River. Beaufort county is made up of 66 islands separated by tidal streams and rivers. They were arriving late in the day. As they left the mainland and approached the Whale Branch Bridge across marshy flats bisected by a deep channel, the sun was setting low behind them. They were crossing this branch of the Coosawhatchie River at low tide. And instead of the bordering tall sea grass being immersed in lovely flood, tops bending with the current or breeze, the ebbed tide exposed mud flats stretching down to the water in the main channel, backed on the distant far side by a raised bank of live oak trees heavily swathed with grey Spanish Moss. Nothing else and no one else was in sight. As they crossed the bridge the highway ahead was swallowed by the thick trees and waning light beyond. Marlene was quiet and peering down the road. Dale thought, 'I wonder if she is thinking, "Where in the world is Dale taking me?"' After they were settled in the charming town, Dale asked her if she remembered that approach to Beaufort, and if so, what she was thinking. She laughed and said, 'I remember the exact moment and was thinking, "Where on earth is Dale taking me?"'"

Picturesque Beaufort. The point of land extending to the right,
and just beyond the edge of this pic is, naturally, "The Point."

(No, this picture is not mine! Ripped it from the internet.)

Mom and Dad first lived on The Point, in a two-room apartment on the first floor of a large older house. The house:


The two windows on the front, and three on the side, look out from the two rooms they had. Their entrance was a small porch (barely discernable at far right) beyond that third side window:



A few other shots from The Point, the neighborhood where Mom and Dad rented that little two-room apartment:









Map of Beaufort.
1, 2, and 3 mark the places Mom and Dad lived. The first (1), on The Point, is the two-room apartment pictured above. Bay Street is "downtown" and the main commercial street. "C Bldg" is, obviously I suppose, the church building. The Beaufort Hospital, where Jeff and Scott were born, is at lower left on the map.



Just a few years before Dad came to Beaufort, the church there had built a meeting place. They built it so that it would later be easily converted to serve as a house, and built a small structure to its left which held two classrooms. A few years later, they did indeed build a more typical church building next door. Here though is the original building, in which the church met as long as Mom and Dad were there:



After just a few months in the two-room apartment on The Point, they moved into a rental house, fully furnished (2, on the map). The current fence and accompanying shrubbery were not there at the time.

Jeff was born while they lived in this house.


Bay Street:


And here's the Bay Street store where Mom was picking up a few things on Tuesday, after giving birth to Jeff on Sunday (although the building no longer houses the same business). Dad's description follows the photo:


"She was feeling so well on Tuesday morning the doctor said she could go home. For going home, she had packed a pretty blouse and skirt, heels and nylons, and a light-weight girdle, knowing there might be some bulges she would not care to have evident. She did her hair, dressed, got her baby and walked out of the hospital in high heels, looking just smashing.
[skip]
She and Dale went to a store on Bay Street to pick up some baby things, and she was proudly carrying her new son, attracting a lot of attention. When people asked how old the baby was, they were shocked that she had so recently delivered and here she was out shopping. They were adamant in their advice to get home and get off her feet. It had not occurred to her that this might be pushing things, so she purchased what she had picked out already, chose to forgo further purchases, and went happily home."


In addition to preaching for the church in Beaufort, Dad drove out to a small black church on St. Helena Island each Sunday afternoon to preach. They had originally been meeting in a tomato shed (it was very much a tomato growing area), until one of the women decided a church ought to have a building and she could do something about it. So she built a small building for them. This is where Dad preached for them each Sunday afternoon:






Beyond that little church building was the most seaward island, Hunting Island. It was a place Dad went fishing, and also the location of a landmark they visited on various occasions:




Shrimp boat in a channel among the salt marshes just before Hunting Island:



After some length of time in their second residence, another house (3 on the map) became available at substantial savings in rent, though it was not furnished. Part of that savings provided a few very basic furnishings for the house. Scott was born during their time in this house.


Eventually, they moved away from Beaufort, to Jesup, Georgia.

This afternoon we played football on a local high school's practice field. With dark clouds in the area a couple hours before gametime, Josiah said we would be playing in the rain (not that anyone saw this as a hindrance). Alex was excited about the possibility. A rain shower came and passed. I personally didn't mind the aspect of rain, though I figured the sky would clear before we got out there. Turns out that the darkest clouds of the day were just to our southwest about the time we started. Drips starting coming, then outright rain, with lightning in the area (therefore the "though perhaps unwise" part of the title above). We kept playing. The rain was blowing much more sideways than downward, no lie. For a while, there was small hail mixed in with the rain. Then it settled into just a calm steady rain for most of the game. Most fun football I've played in quite a while. :) :)

Two others and I are skiing next week in Utah, Brighton Ski Area. A fourth person would be fun, and would further cut our costs. Wanna go? Let us know! We've got a great deal on lodging: in a chateau at the bottom of the mountain, and with a fourth guy, it would be only $25 per person per night, and lift tickets for $50 or less (plus ski gear, share of a rental car...). There's also a possibility of free air fare for you. Come on!

Got home from the FC Lectures last night. As always, I enjoyed the week. And I really appreciated and enjoyed staying with these good friends and their kids. Not that I actually spent much time at their house - which would have been nice if I had had the time.

I especially recommend Tom Hamilton's 3 lectures on elders, and of them, particularly the second and third: "Work of Elders" and "Issues With Elders" (bookstore to order CDs, 1.800.423.1648). Tom discussed various hot button topics such as elders with a single child, and widowed or remarried elders -- and those were good discussions.

But most importantly, Tom had much good to say about what the role and work of elders is -under both the above titles. I say "most importantly" because I think there is WIDE misunderstanding about the role and work, with many elders mishandling and abusing the position (unintentionally, I'm sure), and many brethren going along with it. I appreciated the points he made, as they were new to me and complemented the arguments I had previously learned and made.

Perhaps I'll do a blog about that. But there's another Bible issue I want to do first. Check back next week.

Melvin Curry's lecture on Titus (the man, not the epistle) was another one I especially enjoyed.

This was the first year in a long time that I spent any time in the dorms. Well, "dorm," as there is now only 1 men's dorm instead of 3 or 4. Anyway, unusual degrees of hilarity ensued late night on the 4th floor of Boswell. Also enjoyed meeting and spending a little time with Ben B's suite-mate Lorenzo from Italy. Meeting foreigners is the best. As for the dorm itself? Nice indeed.

And finally, before departing on Friday, I got to view the Body Worlds exhibition at MOSI (Museum of Science and Industry - that's the museum across Fowler from USF). The exhibition (partially dissected and plastinized human bodies and organs) was in Atlanta probably over a year ago, and I didn't get to go. Just as well, normal cost is $30, and Erin got Kramer and me in for half price with their membership. Truly a fascinating exhibition. Many specimens included the muscle, others had large sections of muscle cut away, one was nothing but the nervous system: brain and nerves, stripped out and displayed by themselves, laid out in bodily shape. Many others also. Fascinating - and I got to see the ulnar nerve, which has both of my wrists messed up right now!