Hey, everybody!

So far, so good here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. With Hurricane Isaac expected to hit in just a few hours, we are hunkered down.  That it will hit on the 7th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina is something that I’ll process later. 🙂

I was out riding on my bike in the squalls since I don’t have a surfboard and can’t ride the waves. 😛  And I’m trying to finish my theatre writing deadlines because it is the dreaded last week of the month.

Power has been out twice, but it’s on for now (obviously).  I’m in Jackson County, so while we are on the worst side (the northeastern quadrant), I think we’re out of harm’s way with the hurricane itself.  The National Hurricane Center is predicting 14 to 20 inches of rain in the next 2 days for us though.  And that’s where we might see some damage to power and water lines as trees are uprooted due to ground over-saturation.

The one thing I’m not looking forward to — aside from eating pre-prepared food, no electricity, no running water, and no computer (!!!), I’m not looking forward to the eery quiet once the power goes out.  We really have no idea how loud human civilization is until Mother Nature forces you to be completely unplugged.  No phones, computer fans, air conditioner hum, the fridge, the icemaker, the dishwasher, the streetlight buzz, engines, motors, weedwackers — the bells, whistles, dings, and zings of everyday life — just absolute quiet.

As the full-on part of the storm starts, the wind whistles.  The animals stopped making sounds hours before.  As the eyewall approaches, it sounds like a hundred trains going over your head.  It’s quiet again when you’re in the eye of the storm, then more trains as the back side of the hurricane goes over.  The rains stay for as long as the storm stays organized over water and even over land.  There will be lightning and tornadoes.  Then all is quiet again.  The quiet is strange at first, then you realize it’s you resetting to the natural energy around you.  After a while you get used to that and really know what it means to be connected to earth energy — after being so affected by water and wind energies.  Then the electricity comes back on. 🙂  Makes you wonder which is the real “power”……. And y’all thought a little ol’ Fire Spirit like me couldn’t play nice with the other energies?  Tsk… tsk…

And no, FedEx did not  bring my phone. And I’m kinda annoyed I can’t get any footage of Isaac.

In other news, I rescued a baby squirrel who fell 25 feet out of a pecan tree this morning.  So my daughter and I are feeding him and taking care him until I can find him a new home.  His name, for now, is “Chipmunk.”

Take care!

trish