Hurricane Watch . . . Again

Well, here I am sitting in front of the TV in Jackson, Louisiana, watching the ongoing hurricane coverage. I really could have gone out for a ride this morning before the rains started, but I was lasy, or perhaps preoccupied, and didn't. By 8 a.m. I was already wishing I had ridden because it is looking like it will be raining for a while around here. Candy and I stayed at the office well after everyone else left today, and we were a little bit surprised when we went outside to leave because the wind and rain was already pretty strong. It was relatively quiet again at work today. I'm sure most people are more worried about the weather than work, and I can't say I blame them. I did make a little bit of progress on that grant proposal idea, and I think I have found someone who will be able to take the lead on it, but of course this hurricane will set everything back a couple more days.

The house where we are staying has a metal roof and as I sit here the sound of the rain pounding on it is quite loud. It comes and goes depending on which band of rain happens to be moving by. I'm looking at a live report right now coming from Canal St. in New Orleans where the power is on and there are people driving up and down the street. I wouldn't mind being there right now.

I am hoping that none of the branches from the old pecan trees outside come down on any of the cars outside. We are already getting some very heavy rain and strong winds here in Jackson. It was discouraging to hear that one of the levees in New Orleans had already yielded to the storm surge. If the levee patch on the 17th Street canal holds, the flooding in my own neighborhood will be whatever is caused by the torrential rain. With the 17th street canal and its pumping station closed off, the rain water will just collect in the lowest parts of the city and gradually move into the higher areas. Meanwhile, the local power company, Entergy, declared bankruptcy today in order to get enough of a cash infusion to tide them through until they have some paying customers again. Trust me, I will never again complain about my utility bill again. Those guys have been working their butts off repairing power lines, and I have no doubt that the most important factor in the recovery of our city is the quick restoration of power.

So I'm sitting here, a couple of glasses of wine past where I should be, once again wondering what damage is being done to the house and once again feeling rather helpless to do anything about it.

I wonder when I'll be able to go out for my next ride.