tornado alley

I always know that if the squall lines are moving in from the south it will be a real doozie of a time for storm spotters. That's the scenario this afternoon as we begin a two day marathon of heavy rain and strong storms. My brother and I sat on the porch at the cabin and watched as they moved in. As a weather guru himself, he's done everything from hunkering down in a power outage caused by a tornado and continuing to report the news from Jackson. In the dark! It was the first week of May and we had severe weather every day that week. I had to move to town because the road caved in among other things like no power or phone. First week of May is also the anniversary of back to back Forked Deer floods that ravaged the southern business route into town. Demolition of the crackhead hotel was the last of the ugly things, so to speak. The saddest thing, to me, is the shape it was in before the floods got it. Mr. Davis would be turning over his his grave as well as Mr. Bradshaw. Every time we pass a particular spot on the by-pass headed home, Daddy says hey to Bradshaw because he owned it. I suppose "brother" does now.

Infrastructure is fragile because it's easier to build cheap and hope for the best. I just imagine the owners of those two ferries in SoK can tell you that in the long run, it pays to have lifeboats that work. That is so totally disgusting, yet businesses do it all the time because of the cost of safety. Our most likely disaster locally is either a tornado or earthquake, both of which could cut us off from civilization for awhile. I have a healthy respect for the weather here and have gone to the basement numerous times over the 25 springs I've lived here. Since T is across the road shack sitting on a tall bluff, he will probably join me if the need arises. Otherwise, he might end up in Oz.

The tiny little ticks that are every freaking where are getting all over my nerves because they're so little you barely can feel them until they move. I bought some dust for the yards and dogs so hopefully that will take care of the problem. I planted my tomatoes yesterday but I may have to cover them if the rain gets heavy. Should have known better that to plant before May. Asparagus is a lot of ferns right now and I need to separate it after the rain so it has room to grow. If I do that It will probably last another ten years. Hopefully I will too, ripped up arm and all.

So, yes I'm in a meh mood and can't really apologize for it. Things look more hopeful than they have in YEARS but I'm so tired from the extended struggle to keep pace that I'm losing the motivation I once had to sink or swim. The past ten years have been like a marathon for me and while I feel fortunate to have good health, I can feel it slowly slipping away. Every event, be it physical or emotional, takes longer to get past. That's a normal part of the aging process but it sure does suck.

As usual, we did a lot of people watching while eating lunch and bro spotted one gal about the same time I did, one we like to call "the queen". There's a whole 'nother story up in that side joke but that's not mine to tell. She was followed by a couple whose son and daughter-in-law were there for the same reason we were....to visit and eat, all in one. I saw bossfriend and her Hub and Athena the jeweler and her guy. Our waitress must have been new, and I wish you could have seen the look on daddy's face when he angrily asked her where his pecan pancakes were! Girl..I feel ya. I've given him that look a lot of times before you. Heh.

^j^