Yesterday was only 70* as a high! Isn't that crazy. At night it went down to 54*. Boy did it feel cold!
We had to drive up to Dayton (it's about an hour away) to visit Alyosha's grandparents from up north, and Uncle Bill. I wasn't allowed to go inside with Alyosha and her famiy, but they gladly took me up for the car ride. It was fun long, but highly entertaining.
Everyone in the backseat (Alyosha, her brother, and me) watched Glee. Alyosha's brother refuses to watch it unless Jonathan Groff is in it. I don't know why, but it's stilly.
About half way we saw "Touchdown Jesus" for the first time since it burned down a few months ago. For those of you that don't know about this odd statue, here is a bit of background:
"King of Kings was a 62-foot (19 m)-tall statue of Jesus on the east side of Interstate 75 at the Solid Rock Church, a 4000+ member Christian megachurch near Monroe, Ohio, in the United States. It was destroyed by a lightning strike and subsequent fire on June 15, 2010.
Located on the Interstate-facing side of the church's outdoor amphitheater, the statue was set on an island at the head of the church's baptismal pool, flanked by fountains and lit by colored spotlights. It depicted Jesus from the chest up, with his arms and head raised to the sky. The statue had a 42-foot (13 m) span between its upraised hands and a 40-foot (12 m) Christian cross at its base. The completed statue weighed 16,000 pounds (7,000 kg).
Since its construction, the statue has been given many nicknames, both affectionate and derisive, by local residents and I-75 travelers. Among them are: Big Butter Jesus, Touchdown Jesus, Big J, Swamp Jesus, and Mega Jesus.
The statue is also credited with inspiring two musical works: Comedian Heywood Banks wrote and performed his novelty song "Big Butter Jesus" about the statue. Singer-songwriter Robbie Schaefer of the band Eddie from Ohio wrote the song "Monroe, OH" after driving past the statue.
On June 14, 2010 the statue was struck by lightning and suffered major damage in the resulting blaze. The statue was sculpted using a thin skin of fiberglass over a flammable styrofoam interior stabilized by a metal frame, and the fire left only its internal metal structure. Following the fire, the pastor of the church stated that they plan to have the statue rebuilt, but now using fireproof material. In the days after the destruction, the church's digital sign had the message "He'll be back" running. Although the statue cost about $250,000 to construct, it was insured for $500,000 because the artist, Brad Coriell, had donated his time to the creation. The damage to the statue and amphitheater was estimated at $700,000 with $300,000 being for the statue and $400,000 for the amphitheater. PETA has offered funding through an 'anonymous Christian donor' to help rebuild the statue if they are allowed to promote veganism at the church."
Along this same road we saw IKEA, three flea-markets, a REALLY COOL Mosque, Entertainment Junction, the Ohio outlet malls, and lots of red punch-buggies!
On the way how I played with Rosie and my new Ugly Doll (Thanks Virginia), Ninja Batty Shogun. They had an amazing adventure in Belize, rock climbing and jumping into waterfalls!
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Last NIGHT we had a campfire because it was so cold! It wasn't much, but we invited my neighbor and my new friend I'd like to introduce to come out and enjoy it too. My neighbor, Emma (I don't know her real name, she changes it all the time!) is from England. Her family moved here when she was little. She's lived there for a long time. She goes to a public school and I don't, so she has a lot of friends from school to play with, but sometimes she comes over and we play, and sometimes she brings a friend.
We stayed up and took turns telling scary stories. They were more funny than they were scary though. Maybe like fairy tales. Princesses, dragons, and an evil queen!
Now I'd like to introduce you to someone special. This is Rosa Maria Sanfilippo. She is staying with me until the end of next school year. Rosa is from Italy! Her English isn't very good, but neither was mine when I first came from Ukraine. She is very much into theatre too, and loves playing dolls! I'm very excited to have here here with me!
I just know Rosa and I are going to be best friends!
Hodel, I love your striped hair ribbons! They are so cool! I looked up a picture of the Jesus statue before it burned, and it does look like it should be called "Touchdown Jesus!" Hehe! Your friend Rosa looks nice. :-) I wish we could have a campfire here; it's been cold here, too (finally)!
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