anticipation

I will never forget the night of our last close call with a tornado here on the hill. That one flattened a swath of Dyer County that included the golf course behind me and many businesses, plus severe damage to the high school. One person died, at the motel across the highway from our place. Since I did a long Easter weekend at the sawmill, I'm off today and tomorrow and it's a good time for that to happen considering what's about to hit the fan around here. We are in an area where there are 24 hours of potentially wicked storms poised to hit a location where people are already scurrying to escape from floodwaters with everything that they own. The air is thick not only with humidity blowing in from the south, but a sense of urgency that is palpable wherever you go. We've been there done that, and are nervous about a repeat performance. BG and the dogs and me have a new roomie until the big muddy decides what it's gonna do. Or folks who have the power to cut levees and such. Nobody knows what to expect, and that is scary. The big flood of 1937 is the one that all the oldtimers speak of, and this one could affect a lot more people than that one.

Back in the day, it was nothing to see houses on stilts down by the river. I remember riding that way as a child to catch the ferry and was amazed at the tenacity of those people who never gave up on the dream of being river rats. The Mississippi river cuts down the center of our country with a kazillion tributaries feeding into it, ending at the gulf where I would seriously LOVE to be laying on the beach. This is National Medical Laboratory week as (none of you) we all know and it is tradition for vendors to feed the hungry lab rats. My favorite rep of all time is named Jim, with a spirit that is so full of energy and good vibes that you just can't get away from him without a strong church hug. He knows what I'm dealing with parent wise and shared with me yesterday all the traveling he and his wife did over the weekend to hook up with family members for the holiday weekend. Poor thang was EXHAUSTED. He always asks if there's a beach trip in my future because he knows that is my ultimate relaxation. Ya'll hug a laboratorian this week. I'm sure we all need it.

Lord willing and the creek don't rise, there will be more stories to tell. Later.

^j^