Subject: Weekend Update: March 12-14 "It's a Small World After All"
Date:    Mon 3/15/99 11:17am

Well, it was a wild weekend and I'm not talking about the weather.  We
got a call Friday afternoon telling us that our daughter Miranda and
her roomate Kara White were recipients of a free trip to Disney World
for the weekend.  WHAT!?  All sorts of things started racing through
my head, especially thinking of timeshare pressure salesmen or worse!
But Pastor White knew more and after talking with Miranda last night,
I got even more details.

Eastern Nazarene College student council (I think) sponsored a
"Suitcase Party".  Participants bought a ticket to the party and one
pair of same-sex entrants would be whisked from the party to the
airport, as long as they came with their suitcase packed for the trip.
Now, in non-Nazarene circles, some people might call that a raffle,
but I digress.  As you have already guessed, it was Mandy and Kara who
were whisked right out of the party and off to the T to get to Logan
International Airport where they caught a flight (coach) to Orlando,
FL with a stopover in Atlanta, GA.  Their flight departure from Boston
was delayed so they only had five minutes to change planes in Atlanta.

They arrived in Orlando at around 11:30.  Their package included taxi
vouchers to get them to and from their hotel in the heart of the
Disney resort.  However, by some quirk, they took the wrong cab and
found themselves in the back of some weirdo's cab (a father's
nightmare).  The cabbie paid a 75-cent toll with 20 dollars, but soon
realized he'd been shortchanged by five dollars and was backing up
(erratically, according to Mandy) on the highway to the tool booth!
When they got to the hotel, the young women offered the taxi voucher
but the cabbie refused.  The girls attempted assertiveness and asked
him to call his base to confirm the voucher but he would not.  Then he
said that if they gave him a $20 bill, he'd drive away and forget the
whole thing.  (The meter read close to $40, which I wonder about after
this part of the story.)  The girls paid him and he drove away (a
father's great relief!!!).

They finally collapsed in their hotel room at around 2AM and set the
alarm for 8AM.  From 10AM to 10PM, the girls hit almost every ride in
the Magic Kingdom, stayed for several parades including the night
fireworks, bought a few pieces of memorabilia, and snapped many
pictures of their adventure.  They also bought postcards for friends
and family and stayed up to 2AM writing those.  They intended to rise
early on Sunday, but the snooze alarm won out over a morning swim.
Instead, they arose and walked around the pavillion for a while until
the right taxi cab company arrived to pick them up for their journey
home.

Now, there was a large storm affecting most of the eastern seaboard
and some airlines were warning that some people may not get home that
day.  They flew into Atlanta for their connecting flight, this time
with much less than five minutes between planes!  When they were
finally able to debark, they ran to the nearest airline employee and
inquired where the flight to Boston was, which happened to be at the
other end of the terminal and was about to exit the terminal!  The
girls made a mad dash for the terminal shouting to hold the plane.
The airline employee beeped frantically for the pilot not to leave the
terminal, and the girl just made it as they reopened the door for them
to huff and puff into their seats.

We got the much-anticipated call last night to hear that they were
safe and sound (a father's satisfaction) and heard about the whole
wonderful adventure that they will remember the rest of their lives.

As for me, I attempted to deal with a varmint that had burrowed under
our brick walkway.  I tore up 9 bricks, poured hot water down the
hole, put a hose in there, too, and then filled in the hole with dirt
(I should have used drywall compound!) and carefully replaced the
bricks.  The next day, the hole was back next to the brick walkway.  I
can see this will be war.  (I can see me sticking a shotgun into one
end of the hole and the barrel sticking out of another hole pointing
at my rear.)

Jessica goes for her driver's license road test today (weather
permitting).

I'd better stop there for the weekend update.  Phew!  We are elated
for Miranda and Kara!  My only regret is that I felt like I wanted to
go along and video-tape the whole thing as if she was 8 years old
again.  But I can't tell you how happy I was for them!  Woohoo!

Mark