Just before 3:00 pm a tornado hit Wetumpka within sight of the restaurant where we had lunched. We were stunned to see pictures of the impassable road filled with debris where we had driven only moments before. We were very grateful no one was seriously injured and that only our hearts were left in Wetumpka. The following is a description of an old and beautiful church whose building was torn from this earth but whose soul shines bright.
One hundred years ago today, on January 17th, 1919, students at the University of Missouri were required to wear masks. Why? Because the scourge of influenza had returned. It was thought the nightmare had ended. The influenza epidemic had surged through the fall of 1918 and had dampened the joy over the end of the war on November 11, 1918 and had sickened as many as one third of the world’s population, killing between 50 and 100 million. Here’s how it played out in Columbia…
During our Christmas holiday travels we visited family in Southwest Missouri. One evening we chose Leong’s Asian Diner in Springfield, Missouri. As we were seated, my Dad whispered to me, “Do you know who that gentleman is?” referring to an older man seated alone with two hands resting on a cane. After I said I didn’t, Dad said, “Well, that is David Leong himself.” When I looked confused, Dad stated, “He is the Original! He created Cashew Chicken.”