It was about 6 PM on August 27, 1996. Bob, Dola and I were talking about being "Code-dependent" instead of "Co-dependent" at work. (We are programmers.) We were laughing and having a good time, but it was time to head home.
I drove from downtown Omaha west on Dodge Street to go to Best Buy at 75th and Dodge. I wanted to buy a Tina Arena tape titled "Don't Ask". When I got to 69th and Dodge going west I encountered a huge downpour of rain. The sun was shining in the western sky, but it was pouring buckets of rain down on the streets. The water was gushing in the streets as I drove along. It was cool, like a scene that I should have in my movie that I will make one day. (I'm working on the screenplay now.)
When I got to Best Buy it was still pouring, so I sat in my car and looked around for a rainbow. There was none to be seen. I waited for the rain to let up, but it would not. So after waiting a few minutes I decided to go to the Crossroads Mall just a few blocks east. I parked in their garage, so I wouldn't get soaked walking from my car to the Mall.
Inside the Mall the rain was beating against the double-pointed roof they have over the Food Court. (It looks like a big white canvas tent draped over two large poles.) The rain was making a loud sound as it hit the canvas (or whatever material it is). I then went to Sears and bought a few things (like a new umbrella). I told the people working at Sears that it was like "Noah and the Ark" outside. Then I went to check out the new Garden Cafe on the south side of the Mall. I bought a piece of carrot cake from their bakery. (Carrot cake is one of my favorites.) I asked the young woman behind the counter what was her favorite. She said it was the Wellington (I think) cupcake. She said it had chocolate in it. It was redish-purple and did not look like anything that contained chocolate, but I guess she knows what she is talking about since she works there. So I told her next time I'll check that out.
Then it was time to go. I went back to the garage and thought about looking at the storm from the roof of the garage. I went up all these steps only to find the doors locked that went out onto the roof. (WHAT! This has to be a fire violation. How are they going to rescue people from the roof of the garage if the doors are locked?) Anyway, I looked out the east glass windows of the stairway to see an awesome sight.... It was a HUGE rainbow that filled the eastern sky. I mean WOW! Oh My! Neat! (Whatever words you want to say.) It was a complete unbroken arc (semi-circle) in the sky. It was a perfect rainbow that I have not seen in years. Now that HAS to be in my movie for sure! God was putting on a good show!
I did make it back to Best Buy and found all these Classical Music CDs for sale. (2 CDs for $1.49.) So I bought 15 CDs (Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (cool name), Mendelsohn, Bach, Brahms, Chopin, Handel, and Haydn), which will take me years to listen to probably. Maybe I will find some cool music for a scene in my movie. And I did find the Tina Arena tape under the "Rock" category. (I wonder if people know how popular Tina is in Australia? One of her CDs was 8 platinum.) In the checkout line a guy that retired from U S WEST stopped to say Hi. I did not recognize him without his suit and tie. (I'm sorry Robey!) He retired and got away from all the stress a year ago (I think). He said on the day he retired it was 3:15 in the afternoon and he turned in his pager and it was like a huge burden was lifted from him on that day. I told him that I like to take a solid week of vacation each month to get away from it all. I've had problems with stress from time to time also. I mentioned the rainbow and he had seen it also. I told him what I had thought in my mind just a few minutes earlier: "God was putting on a good show today".
I got in my car and headed home. On the way I thought for sure my newspaper would be soaked. When I arrived the newspaper was NOT in plastic and amazingly it was DRY. Duh, what? Here we have a flood at 72 and Dodge and out in my neighborhood (about 3 miles away) nothing. Zip. Nothing. (By the way Stefanie does an excellent job in my neighborhood of delivering the newspaper. I told her this on August 12. Thanks Stefanie!) Interesting... I called my Mom on the phone and told her that God had made the storms go around my house to keep the newspaper dry on my doorstep. Isn't God nice?
God is so good to me. He is. I have a nice house and nice thoughtful friendly neighbors and a good job and good car and LOTS of wonderful fun friends to share my life with and a wonderful family and peace and joy (more than I've ever felt in my life) and access to the Internet for FREE and allergies (I have not figured that one out yet) and 3 maple trees in my yard and the gift of faith and a few Bibles and I have "doctor phobia" (I will get real faint and queezy just talking about surgery or getting shots or giving blood, etc.) and I've only had 1 cavity in my life (Dr. Higgins (17 & Dodge) pulled my 3 molars on March 19, 1993 at 9:45 AM, (God bless him, I was talking to him and the nurse in the chair and asked him when he was going to start and it was already over, amazing! He did give me Nebutal to calm me down ahead of time. Otherwise I would have freaked out.) one of the molars had a cavity, so maybe I still have a perfect record of no cavities, I drink lots of milk is the trick I think.) and I've never had a biggie-big car accident other than playing bumper cars with one woman that was not paying attention at 85th and Dodge street one day a few years ago, (she bumped me from behind and there was no damage). (It's like my whole life is lived on or near Dodge street, isn't it?) "Yup Yup" the Lord has been very good to me. (I saw that license plate on a car the other day.) Hey, I have been blessed. People say to me in different situations: "God bless you" and He HAS blessed me in many many ways.
Dan Boeckman's e-mail address:
dboeckm@csealumni.unl.edu
Last changed on August 30, 1996 at 6:12 AM CDT
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