Memorial

Husband, Father, Grandfather, Great-Grandfather, Friend, Retired Navy Veteran, Harley-Davidson and NASCAR enthusiast.

Paul E. Lightfoot SUFFOLK, Virginia - Paul Edwin Lightfoot passed away Sept. 23, 2008. Born in Sulfur Bluff, Texas, he was the son of the late Archie O. and Willie Maude (Cox) Lightfoot.

Paul was a proud retired U.S. Navy veteran with more than 22 years of loyal service, serving during both the Korean conflict and the Vietnam War. He had also been employed with the Virginia State Police as a motorist assistant. He was a member of Burdette Baptist Church, Suffolk Moose Lodge No. 141, VFW Post No. 2582 and the Fleet Reserve Association.

He will be sadly missed by his loving wife of 51 years, Phyllis Neuman Lightfoot; one son, Daniel Lightfoot of Windsor, Va.; one daughter, Donna Nickerson of Virginia Beach; his brother, Harold D. Lightfoot of Mount Vernon, Texas; also missing him will be his four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

A graveside service with military honors will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Meadowbrook Memorial Gardens by the Rev. Larry Cribb. Friends may join the family at Harrell & Hill Funeral Home Friday from 7 to 8 p.m. for visitation and at the residence at other times.

- Virginian Pilot

Shooting Star

I arose before sunrise this morning to get a run in before the sun and the heat of the day made the temperature intolerable. After a quick warm-up and stretch, I started out running in my middle-class suburban neighborhood. I was running eastbound with a very nice breeze keeping me cooled off, thinking it was too warm and too humid and wondering when the cooler temps will be here.

As I zoned off in my thoughts looking at the first gleams of sunlight on the eastern horizon, a shooting star painted a momentary sparkling streak across the sky just above the horizon. Sweet. I love unexpected reminders of the universe's love.

Then, I thought, hey, that was a falling star. Was I supposed to make a wish, or is that only for the first star you see at night? I couldn't remember. So, I wished for better memory. No, wait, I can't wish for something for myself. It has to be unselfish.

So I for wished for more wisdom for all life on the planet.

At the same time, people lives were in jeopardy in Houston as the planet tries to balance it's health with Hurricane Ike which will cause major damage to human lives and property. I also wished Ike's impact on the human world will be minimal.

I got back Monday from the area south of Baton Rouge that was hit hard by hurricane Gustav, which caused major damage, but seemed to go mostly unnoticed by the big media outlets. They are still picking up the pieces, and Ike is supposed to be far worse. I felt guilty leaving the area when they needed so much help, but I had to get back to work.

We are powerless from the forces of nature, which can be dazzling, as well as humbling.

Crossposted on Backroads Of My Mind

Baby Steps

I've been busy lately, running around the south, spending time with daughter and granddaughters who evacuated for Hurricane Gustav, then had to be driven back home last week. It was fun, but it wore me out.

Compared to the rest of Baton Rouge, the damage to their home was minimal. They got power back on Thursday, we drove back Friday afternoon. When we got to the house, the dogs had been in a kennel, inside the house for many hours, and were sick, and they made a horrible stinking mess. We had to get the dogs into the back yard, let them do their business, then carry them upstairs to get them washed, clean their kennels because they sleep in them, and clean the area where the mess was in the house and air out the stink from the house, while trying to keep two hungry tired toddlers happy. That was just Friday, after a long drive. Saturday my daughter cleaned out the fridge and I tried to go grocery shopping. The wait to get into Wal-Mart (YECCCHHHH) was 30 minutes, then an hour to check out. I decided to go to the Winn-Dixie down the road, but they were out of almost everything, so we could just get enough for a few days. We were lucky, they had Milk, Cold Cereal, Bread, and Lunch Meat and Sodas. My son-in-law has been busy working long hours until the power is fully restored. Plus, Grandpa niCk had to make time to play with the grandkids and bond with the puppies. I've been very busy.

Where they live there are many houses with no roofs, many trees that had demolished houses, trailers in pieces and flooding in many parts. They said the damage in area south of Baton Rouge was much worse than they saw with Katrina. Most people still have no power and won't have any for weeks. Many people are in public shelters. The noise of generators is everywhere, and every time you go to the gas station everybody is filling up several gas canisters for their generator. My Daughter's neighborhood lucked out because they were in a newer community without many big trees and I believe the power lines are underground, because I didn't see any lines on poles.

It going to take awhile for the area to recover, but little by little, without any more storms (Ike, you better stay away), everything will return to normal chaos.

Speaking of "Baby Steps", here is a video Running 101, from Jeff Galloway on how to start running.