Randall is teaching at the newly formed Charleston School of Law. We live on Daniel Island and I think you would like a round of Golf here!!!! Roma T. Allen sent me pictures of Leeba's gathering, which has prompted me to send my address. I was in Memphis in May for my daughter's graduation from Rhodes College. It was a trip down memory lane, for my Father was a Political Science Professor there. My son, Philip, after graduating from U of Chicago Law is practicing in Birmingham and daughter , Sarah Margaret is teaching English in a French High School in Paris, France. I have retired and life is interesting!!!

October 20, 2006
– EVERYBODY RISE ! from Susan Lowry Bridwell
Friday was a day to remember. US Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts spoke to the Charleston School of Law and the Legal Community here. The program at Guillard Auditorium was amazing and so personal. Chief Justice Roberts is a real person and very approachable. There was much laughter and drama. The questions asked varied from "... How do you balance your personnel life and professional life?" Roberts said that he had a great mentor in Rehnquist, who told everyone early on ... your children will be 5 years old only once and you have " this job" the rest of your life. So go home to your family. Another question dealt with the confirmation hearings and can they continue as they are? Roberts said something has got to give... they need to be shorter and questions need to be those that they can speak to. The private Cocktail party was very small and we felt very honored to be included. The Secret Service was everywhere outside of One Battery and halfway through the party they came in and did a walk through. They were NOT friendly looking and almost "gangster like". Not what I pictured. I did not speak to Roberts but my husband, Randall, did. I spoke to Mrs. Roberts and she is an attorney also. She turned the table and asked me questions ...... such as what do you do here in Charleston..... my answer was.... I am a Gardener. She turned to her Aide for the day and they nodded. She had been told about" gardening in Charleston" . This was their first visit here.
PS. The nephew of my best friend graduated from Central and is on a full Scholarship at U. of Texas...small world.

Susan

From February, 2005 - New Orleans Trip
I have tried twice to write about the trip and have not been able to put into words what we saw and what we experienced. This will be my last try.

We were paired with Highland Presbyterian in Louisville, KY, and they were fabulous.. Each day we went to a site and pulled out of someone's home their worldly possessions and put them on the street. Then we proceeded to take the house "down to the studs" and put it on the street. The piles were taller than me and I don't even want to know where these piles are going. We were housed by St Charles Presbyterian Church in their Victorian house Educational building that has been turned into a dormitory. They fed us breakfast and dinner. The Trinity Episcopal Church was provided with a mobile concession truck from Texas that fed us every lunch. Of the 4 houses we worked on, we finished 3. One was in Lakeview, another Gentilly, another Upper Ninth and the unfinished one was so infested with termites, that we were told to "get out immediately". It was structurally unsafe. We wore respirators; they look like gas masks, eye goggles, leather gloves and work boots. At the end of a day we were beat. The work we did would have cost the homeowner $ 13,000, if hired out. Everywhere you looked were Blue tarps on roofs that need repairing.

My observations are:

• That it will be a long time before New Orleans will have a come back.....
• The coverage this week with Mardi gras has been good for the city.....
• I worry about the mental health of those living in their old neighborhoods with no neighbors....most are in trailers.
• The Lower Ninth should not be rebuilt...it was "marshland" originally.
• An old map of New Orleans, circa 1850, shows the areas inhabited then, did not flood in August, 2005! They knew to build on the "high ground".


It was a very rewarding trip and First Scots Presbyterian will send another group there or to the Gulf. We did drive to Passe Christian and it and Waveland got the worst of the Hurricane.

Hope you all have a nice FAT Tuesday....we are eating Red Beans and rice tonight. I definitely got inspired with their cuisine.



 

From March, 2005 - Guatemala Trip

 

I am home as of last night. What a trip!!!! Packed very light and only took Sarah Margaret's book bag, so my fashion was limited! It was an amazing trip. Milli, former neighbor in the Peace Corp, took us all over the country in beat up vans to "chicken buses" to boat taxis. Volcanoes are everywhere and earthquakes are known to happen too. The Mayans are beautiful, simple people.. tiny in stature, black hair and tanned skin. They weave incredible textiles and use bright colors. The Catholic religion is intertwined with the Mayan religion. Tikal has soooo many Mayan pyramids that they have not all been excavated. The generator hummed from 5 to 10 PM and then the mosquito netting was in use around the bed. Howler monkeys awoke the DEAD in the middle of the night and at the pool the Spider monkeys put on a show of "Free Falling" from trees and catching limbs with their tails. Our house plants are their vegetation in the Jungle and beautiful parrots fly in groups. There are 23 dialects in the Mayan language and many Mayans never receive an education. Milli took us to the Cloud Forest, The Highland, and the Jungle. Many tourists from all over the world. Why you ask. . . . because it is beautiful and cheap.


Felt like the ole Backpacking days with Milli. She gave us the royal tour and planned everything to the T. So glad that I took her up on her offer to visit her.

Phil drove from Hilton Head to Charleston in March. He and Susan had good traditional breakfasts - French Toast and Shrimp & Grits - before touring Daniel Island and downtown Charleston.