Wow! Some sections of the county were trashed by last Thursday's mid-afternoon storm, while others escaped unscathed. The last I heard, about 10,000 AEP customers lost their electric service and were still struggling without power into the day Friday as this part of the column is being written.

But everyone has seen or read something about the storm. As for me, I was trying to get from Rocky Mount home to Ferrum. And I picked the exact wrong time to make the trip. It was shortly after 3 p.m. I hadn't reached 40 West Food Fare when the wind started rocking Goldie, my '86 4-Runner, from side to side. The wind, predicted to be gusting at 35 mph, was constantly changing direction. When it hit old Goldie head-on, it was like someone was pushing down on the brake pedal.

We all have heard this little description of children: They are like sponges, soaking up everything in their environment.

If we don't already believe that when we have children, we may have to learn the hard way, as many of us do.

You see, we may not always be aware of just how that little sponge works. If it soaks up anything, it is the words it hears parents utter.

That was a lesson I, of course, had to learn the hard way.

The story actually started right before I married my oldest son's mother, who is from New Jersey. We decided to tie the knot and made the trip north to "meet the parents." It was immediately apparent that my soon-to-be mother-in-law was concerned about my lineage.