Distractions

Well, lucked out till halfway through September, but it looks like it’s my turn for a tropical storm. So I’m scheduling this ahead, in case of power outages.

And it’s definitely a distraction, checking the National Weather Service for updates. Or is that an excuse? Who knows?

But I ran to the store yesterday for a few last things (hate running out of bread when it’s not a good idea to drive anywhere. We’ll police the yard for things we don’t want the wind to pick up and throw through a window, and hunker down for a day.

Our house has never flooded, although I’ll admit to a few worrisome times.

Which is sometimes good story fodder. Both for having experienced the emotions, have stood watch all night in case of tornado warnings or damage that needed to be addressed quickly.

And seeing things that somehow I hadn’t realized. That when a river floods, before it tops the banks it backs up all the streams . . . and then the drainage ditches. Let me think . . . we’ve lived here thirty six years now and three times the ditches along the street in front of the house have run backwards, topped their banks and started spreading out and inching toward the house.

So I know that the Brazos River floods only have to to be another foot higher for the house to suffer. But I’ve got to say that if Hurricane Harvey couldn’t do it, Tropical Storm Nicholas is unlikely to be a threat.

None-the-less we prep for it.

All the while hoping we don’t have another valuable learning experience.

Yeah, we writers never let an opportunity to gather first hand information pass without noting that it’s useful, however unpleasant.

It’s a wonder normal people want anything to do with us.

And, if you need something to read, this is my latest, which I swear I will get out in print RSN.