Random notes written on the back of a tornado relief worker waiver form:

It’s normal, and it isn’t. As I covered Thursday’s Class 2A area softball tournament played at the complex behind Fultondale Elementary School, I noticed a stark contrast. As the Wildcats and three other teams determined which two would go on to the regional playoffs, the cleanup continued from the computer that passed over the complex.

Twigs and leaves were still lodged in the backstop of the field, left there by winds of more than 140 miles per hour. Batting cages only yards behind home plate were bent over, and scoreboards on adjacent fields teetered at an angle. In the background, bright blue tarps were placed over gaping holes in roofs, and trees stood stripped of back and snapped like matchsticks.

So much was normal. And so much was anything but.

“Don’t try anything you’re not accustomed to doing — like thinking.” That’s called Camden Marrs’ Law, or so says the Fultondale pitcher/infielder by that name, and given to her by Wildcat coach David Reed.

Recommended reading. ESPN.com writer Rick Reilly wrote a terrific story about Hueytown baseball coach Rick Patterson. The Gophers’ skipper lost his home in Pleasant Grove to the tornado, but continued to coach his team until their playoff run ended Wednesday. This is a must-read story if there ever was one. Check it out.

You never know who will drop in. Garywood Assembly of God in Hueytown, my home church, has been the base of operations for several relief agencies working in the impact zones of Pleasant Grove, Concord, Pratt City and Fultondale. Among those agencies is Samaritan’s Purse, run by Franklin Graham, son of Billy Graham.

So who should stop by the church on Wednesday but one of the group’s better-known supporters — Sarah Palin. The visit was totally unannounced — she just showed up with her husband Todd, then went to help the organization in Pleasant Grove. I found out about it when Pastor John Loper posted the photo on Facebook. As far as I know, the visit slipped under the radar of the local news media — until now.

Palin was headed to a speaking engagement in Point Clear.

Oh yeah, there’s golf this weekend. The first edition of the Regions Tradition, the PGA Champions Tour major tournament, has come to Shoal Creek this weekend. Alas, that event has been somewhat overshadowed by the tornado tragedy.

Nonetheless, several pros and celebrities that are part of the tourney have visited the impact zone, including Tom Watson and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a Birmingham native.

And break out the mint juleps. Later today is the running of the only horse race most people care about anymore, the Kentucky Derby. As a native son of the Bluegrass, I am compelled to share my well-honed handicapping skills, which I will do after catching up on the prep races that I’ve ignored earlier this year…

[about 30 minutes later…]

Well, I was going to take Uncle Mo, the second choice in the early line, but trainer Todd Pletcher just scratched him. So let’s go with a longshot: Archarcharch (10-1), who’s coming off a win in the Arkansas Derby at 25-1 odds.