The outlets are abuzz with news of the arrival of Hurricane Earl, which is likely to rub itself salaciously against the American east coast, nibbling on the ear of North Carolina and trailing the tip of its tongue lightly over the carotid pulse of New England, but prudently skipping the DC-Metro area, where I live. No storm for us, it would appear. Even Nature knows to avoid those pestilential politicians. And that's why the Weather.com forecast for my zip code remains relentlessly sunny and hot. Damn.
_
As I have been through a few rough ones, sunny and hot is much, much more preferable to losing one’s home (or having it damaged by winds or flooding) and then having to live without any power (no air conditioning, hot water, refrigeration, TV, computers, gaming systems, etc.) for several weeks while the mosquitoes have time to multiply uncontrollably . Houston was no picnic after Ike as most gas stations couldn’t even provide gas for generators and people waited impatiently in lines awaiting food and ice once they finally arrived in town. What was even more unbearable, was the fact that schools were forced to close for several weeks while undergoing repairs which left working parents with few options concerning the day care of their, now unplugged, children. Luckily, my brother was one of the few in his subdivision to think ahead and had a working generator and he lives far enough on the outskirts of town that we could sneak out during the early morning hours (3-4 am) to drive a couple hundred miles out to Austin to get some gas every couple of nights to supply his generator. Fun, it was not.
ReplyDeleteSo, I’ll take not having to live through another one ever again as a wonderful blessing from the gods of cyclones, typhoons, and hurricanes.
Indeed. I suppose my wish is more for a modest tendril of the hurricane to stroke our collective cheek before moving on. Something to break up the 90-plus-degree monotony.
ReplyDelete