Farewell for now

Those who knew Chris, Leah, Miller and Mallory Walls - or at least their families - filled Hillcrest Baptist Church in Enterprise, Ala. Saturday.
Some traveled at least as far as Arizona to pay their respects. Others drove from other locations throughout the Southeast, including Mississippi and Tennessee.
The reality of the loss seemed distant until funeral home personnel wheeled the four caskets - including two small ones - out of the sanctuary and the searing pain became evident on the faces of those left behind.
Mourners loaded up in their cars and rode several miles to the four donated plots where the Walls' earthly bodies rest for the time being.
Drivers stopped for the processional.
Some got out to pay their respects, with one man holding his bright orange Tennessee hat over his heart.
A police officer stood at attention while keeping other traffic at bay.
Enterprise noted its loss in fine fashion, and we're trusting Heaven responded in kind on receipt of these four souls.
Singing "You give and take away ... My heart will choose to say blessed be your name" in church today brought on a whole new meaning, and, of course, tears. I want to trust and believe the Lord in this our loss, but it's hard for both Amanda and I to accept that we won't be able to converse with our friends until we see them again.
They inspired us to reach beyond the norm. Amanda started painting several years ago. She had some emotions she wanted to express through art and Leah told her to go for it.
Chris and Leah both patiently listened and encouraged us as we sought the Lord's direction in the possibility of moving to Franklin, Tenn.
During this soul-searching, we got the amazing privilege to arrive in time to see Mallory enter the world from a downtown Nashville hospital.
I watched in awe as Chris pursued his dream to become a professional drummer and later, developed a record label.
Leah's art had a personal touch which went beyond her formal training and expressed her personality - warm, welcoming and full of life.
This family had a place in our aforementioned hodge-podge extended family.
We will miss them and hang on to the memories we have of them, pledging to make new ones with the friends and family we have left.
And, most importantly, we're praying that those we know will eventually come to know Jesus Christ, the One who makes bearable this otherwise unimaginable loss.
For more on the lessons we've learned from this, please see Amanda's blog by following the link "Amanda's blog (Upheaval in Mississippi)".

Last post for the night

Nothing major new to report. Phoenix television station websites have videotape of reports from the scene and may have updated their reporting through the evening.
We're running on adrenaline and that's about gone.
Will pass along, either here or through other means, any important details to share.
We last saw them when Chris, Amanda and I went with another friend of the family to see Rush in Nashville on the opening show of their 30th anniversary tour.
Chris and I were both huge Rush fans.
Of course, we still love the faith these two operated by, which led them to Phoenix.
Before I post the more serious things, Chris knew Amanda and I by our nicknames: "Paulina Poriskova (sp?)" for me and "(E)mand(er) Holyfield." I'm sure his nickname for Jadyn would've been just as humorous.
Here are some scriptures and some lines from a fitting Rush song, "Afterimage":
“Suddenly, you were gone
From all the lives you left your mark upon …
This is something that just can't be understood
I learned your love for life,
I feel the way that you would
I feel your presence
I remember

I feel the way you would

This just can't be understood... .”

Isaiah 26:3:

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you."

Proverbs 3:5:
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."

In memory of Chris, Leah, Miller and Mallory Walls

Details on this post may be disturbing to some readers:
Chris, Leah, Miller and Mallory Walls died in a two-vehicle accident around 4:15 p.m. MDT Friday, June 16 in metro Phoenix, Ariz.
According to various media reports, the family was on its way to a church service at Desert Life Church in Scottsdale, Ariz. They were stopped at an intersection in their Mazda MPV when a Chrysler Pacifica, driven by Haluk Kandas, 29, of Phoenix left an exit ramp going 65-70 mph and rear-ended the van. The vehicle eventually caught fire.
It is unclear exactly how the family died.
Chris and Leah were 36 and 34 respectively. Miller and Mallory were each approximately 7 and 5 respectively.
Chris had a wonderful entrepreneurial spirit and Leah was an amazing artist. They loved their children immensely and desired to serve Jesus Christ with their lives and talents.
We knew them from our days at Christ Community Church in Montgomery, Ala. and continued to stay in contact with them after they relocated to metro Nashville, Tenn. several years ago. They moved to Phoenix within the last 18 months. We last saw them in May 2004.
Those who wish may contact me via e-mail for further details. We hope to know more about funeral arrangements in the near future. I hope someone is able to post their works for the world to see. We pray that in their deaths and through their amazing gifts people will come to know Christ.

Update

Until we know something official, I'd prefer not to say anything about what's going on, but we've spent about the last two and a half hours trying to track down relatives of some friends of ours. We will post updates and details when things are verified. Amanda and I have done just about everything we can do, so we're going to finish up what we can and try to get some sleep.
Emphasis on try.
Thanks for your prayers and support.

Emergency prayer request

Amanda and I are trying to help locate the relatives of some friends at this writing. We don't know why, but we are in the middle of this and will pursue until we can bring some resolution.

Some of my favorite actors

Been thinking about doing this for awhile, at least for myself, but I've decided to share it with blogdom. Recently, I've been basing decisions on whether to see a movie if certain people are in it. Example: I went to see "The DaVinci Code" in part because Audrey Tautou and Jean Reno were in the supporting cast.
This is not in any particular order and I'm sure there are more I'm not thinking about right now. If you want to know more about these people, I would suggest a visit to:
http://www.imdb.com/
And hey, you can help build a little bit of community here by sharing some of your own favorite actors, either on your blog or by posting a comment.
Don Cheadle - Does almost everything with a panache that isn't overstated.
Audrey Tautou - It's quirky and at times, has suggestive material, but loved her in Amelie.
Jean Reno - Sold me in "The Professional," aka "Leon."
Natalie Portman - She's great in almost everything she does.
Tony Shaloub - "Blufftoni!" "Blufftoni!" Some of his lines from "Quick Change," in which he plays an immigrant trying to say that some people got on a bus. OK, you'll just have to see it. And he's super in "Men in Black." And he's Monk.
Vincent D'Onofrio - "The Edgar Suit" in "Men in Black." And he messes with peoples' heads in "Law and Order:CI." He was in "Full Metal Jacket," which I didn't realize.
R. Lee Ermey - Is usually funny when he's not playing a drill instructor, but he's dynamite in his military roles.
Andre Braugher - Sold me in "Homicide: Life on the Street," one of the best cop shows ever. Dug him tremendously in "Frequency."
Tim Meadows - An enormously talented actor whom I'm rooting for in his post-"Saturday Night Live" success.
Liev Schreiber - A great actor whose voiceovers are even better. He's narrated several things including "Mantle," an HBO feature on Mickey Mantle that's simply outstanding.
Pretty much all the "Seinfeld" bunch - Jason Alexander, Michael Richards, Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Plus Jerry Stiller. He absolutely cracks me up. Richards has to be one of my favorite physical comedians.
Helen Hunt - Loved her and Paul Reiser in "Mad about You." She's another one who has just a magic touch in her performances.
Tom Hanks - He's a default major actor; I like almost everything he's ever played in that I've seen, including my favorite movie, "Saving Private Ryan."
Stephen Root - He's Bill delaTour Dauterive on "King of the Hill," Milton in "Office Space" ("I do believe you have my stapler.") and an absolute stitch at almost everything he's done.
All the main actors from "The Drew Carey Show." -
Drew Carey, Ryan Stiles (Lewis), Diedrich Bader (Oswald - also awesome in "Office Space"), Christa Miller (Kate), Kathy Kinney (Mimi) and Craig Ferguson (Mr. Wick).
The deceased:
Chris Farley: "I live in a van down by the river."
Phil Hartman: Just a jewel.
John Belushi: He was John Belushi.
That's it for now. Gotta get to some of those chores. Later

Batchelor life

Not used to not having Amanda and Jadyn around.
Yes, I'm kind of bored, and Hershey (our dog) is almost sound asleep at 10:30 a.m., but I have plenty of chores to keep me occupied and, who knows? I may go see a movie tonight.
Jadyn made her first cross-country flight earlier this week to see Amanda's grandfather, who recently fell ill. I'm hoping we'll see some pictures of the trip at least by the time they return next week.
I've had time to clean out the truck and did so before it got too hot - it's supposed to go to 97 the next two days and it's already 90 outside. Thank the good Lord for air conditioning.
Except for a post about favorite actors, I think I'll be done blogging here in the next few minutes.

Southern accents

Amanda and I recently started a discussion about how we want Jadyn's voice to sound, as if we ultimately have anything to do with it.
This discussion centers on the fact we've heard some accents of people native to this region of Mississippi who sound, well, not so braite.
Remember, I said, some. Many of our friends who are intelligent and educated do not sound stewpid, and there are some Southern accents - especially female ones - which are absolutely delightful to the ears.
And also keep in mind that I'm a (proud) Southerner too and am prone to lapse, from time to time, into verbal laziness.
But unfortunately, the "eeit sownded lahk uh frate trane" version of Southern dialects is alive and well.
I want Jadyn to have a Southern accent, but Amanda, who is from the Amish-Mennonite region of Pennsylvania, isn't sold.
While we haven't devised an official plan for this, I'm hoping she'll develop one of those genteel, smart-sounding accents that would "do us all proud."
We have time. And we have friends around, who, if they'll cooperate, will bring us to the right accent for Jadyn.
As much as any of us have anything to do with it.