Here he comes...

Finally, a hurricane is going to hit us dead on. I've been wishing for it for years, but now that the time has come, it seems disrespectful to say it, knowing how much they hurt people, especially near the coast, especially Mom and Dad and Bill- how much work they were, the damage to their home, the turmoil. I sort of see Katrina as the beginning of the end for Mom. I imagine Mom driving around looking for ice and gas, all the insurance hassle, the preparation, evacuation and cleanup. She always laughed and was a good sport when I told her how jealous I was that she was getting a hurricane and I hope she knew, that, all jokes aside I knew it wasn't funny. Anyway, still, I can't help but be a tiny bit excited. I love storms. Hurricane Alicia, in 1983, came right over our house. Terry was out of town, at a two-week Army Reserve thing, and the kids weren't born yet. My Irish Setter, Katie, and I spent the worst part of the storm in the hall. It wasn't really scary. The worst thing that happened to me was that, afterwards, I got terrible poison ivy climbing over a downed tree that was blocking the bike path! My wonderful neighbor, Travis, is going to send me digital pictures, during the storm, to post so I hope we keep power. And, he and Kaye have a generator and said we can run an extension cord from their house, if the power goes out. He stopped short of inviting us to stay in their guest room, though. Smart man. Twenty-three years living next door taught him one thing! The Doaks are really best enjoyed from a distance! Ha Ha. Just kidding, Trav. While we're talking about Travis and Kaye, let me say that they're the best neighbors anyone could ever hope for. I have a bunch of scanned pictures of our children together, when they were small, and have been planning to post them on my blog so I'll do that today. Right now, I'm headed out for a walk with Leila. Brb.