The Chattanooga Area Prayer Breakfast was scheduled for next Tuesday, and with Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee booked, the breakfast had set a record for tickets sold.
Then the coronavirus came, and everything has changed - even for the prayer breakfast.
"It's different for sure," area prayer breakfast Chairman T.W. Francescon said Friday.
The actual in-person gathering has been moved to Sept. 1, and Gov. Lee is hoping to be able to be the speaker then.
But, like everything in the coronavirus pandemic, Francescon and his folks have gone online, and they will offer a virtual prayer breakfast Tuesday from 7:30-8 a.m. through their website (Chattanoogaareaprayerbreakfast.com) and their Facebook page.
"We excited to have something on the day we're supposed to," Franceson said of the group's 42nd annual gathering and first online event. "We're all pivoting, but we're thankful for this chance to bring our community together."
Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger and Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke, as well as a few other area dignitaries and a representative from Gov. Lee's staff, will be leading the 30-minute online gathering.
The Tuesday meeting is free and open to anyone interested; virtual omelettes are not included.
Surreal sports vacuum
The month of April ended Thursday, and for sports fans it was unlike any other.
Since the NBA was formed the year after World War II ended, April 2020 was a rare month without any of the big four sports leagues in America playing a single game.
While surreal, it was not unprecedented.
It also happened in July 1981, with the NBA, the NHL and the NFL out of season and Major Leagueu Baseball shut down because of a players' strike.
Monkey business
Breaking and entering is not funny, but it's pretty close in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee.
Over the weekend, a man was apprehended after fleeing from authorities. He was accused of breaking into someone's house.
While wearing a gorilla suit.
Richard Muzick claimed he thought it was someone else's house.
No word on why he wore the gorilla suit. Or whether the mask was COVID-19 protective.
Obit observations
Our thoughts and prayers are with John Mercer's family and his work family at WDEF-TV 12. The news anchor died this week at age 56.
Another obituary that caught my eye also caught a lot of y'all's attention, too - Wiley Frizzell, who died last Sunday.
He was 94, and he met his life-long goal to live as long as his father.
His obit said he passed peacefully, but considering Rebecca, his wife of 70 years, had died six days before, well, some love stories are just too big for our world.
May they rest easy together.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com and follow him on Twitter at @jgreesontfp.
Jay Greeson