Well its been awhile, been caught up in the everyday activities that seem to never end but hurricane Ophelia brings me back to the word processor.

Things in Kill Devil Hills aren�t that bad. Take a look at the Weather Channel and check out Jim Cantory. I am located on the part of the Outer Banks he is covering. The weather we are getting at this time is no worse than a winter storm. Once the storm gets a little further up the coast we should start seeing a little more wind and rain and possible some flooding. I do feel for the folks south of me, they are getting pounded.

 

A photo can say much. It can say that it's a nice day with a few pinkish-purple clouds on the horizon. What a picture can't tell you is how the wind feels on my skin or how the rustling trees or the singing birds sound, it can't express the smell of the air. Today is a beautiful Labor day on the Outer Banks. Today is the first day of the fall season. The visitors will be thinning out, the traffic will become less hectic, the temperature more tolerable. Labor day marks the beginning of my favorite time of year on the Outer Banks.

This has been one hell of a week. Katrina hitting the gulf coast hit close to home with me, luckily my siblings evacuated the areas they lived in and all are safe.

*My brother and his wife are unsure of the state of their property they live in Jefferson parish just south of New Orleans and own a camp near Myrtle Grove, La. They have no ideal what is going on near their home, there have been mixed reports, it’s either there or not they won’t know until they are able to get back. The house in Myrtle Grove is most likely gone. They may have very little left of 25 years of hard work. These people are the American dream. My brother came from a dirt poor family and his wife came from a middle class family. He is an electrician and she is a hair stylist. No one gave them anything, their family’s could not afford too, everything they had they worked for. I feel bad for them and wish them the best.

My sisters are fine. My sister who lived in Biloxi had only just move there and owned no property she will be fine. I don’t think she knows where she is going but she has always been a roamer at heart. My sister in Pensacola had no damage at all.

Because of the hurricane I’m having trouble getting in touch with folks down there, as I have said in e-mails call me if your hear anything and I will be in touch if I hear anything!

*I’ve been trying not to comment on the behavior of some of the folks who live in NO. I will say this much: there is no way when something like this happens that emergency folks or the government can be expected to be there the next hour or the next day. I live on the coast and the powers that be clearly say that if you stay you must accept responsibility for yourself and your family. It is understood that EMS will not go into an unsafe environment. It is understood that it may be days before you can expect food and water deliveries. I saw one comment from FEMA that said they did not expect the lawlessness that transpired in New Orleans. People, no matter how poor, have to accept responsibility for their actions. I hope the folks that were seen looting TV’s and jewelry are arrested. There is a law down there that says you can’t do that! I hope we all learn from this. My god it’s the “War of the Worlds” movie in real life!! Well that’s my soap box and I’m getting off of it now.

* Another piece of bad news Chief Justice William Rehnquist has died. I was rooting for him. He will be missed.

I heard from my sister-in-law last night, she and my brother are fine. They are in Mississippi, have no electricity and no supplies but thanks to a friend they have a roof over their heads and thanks to perfect strangers something to eat. They were starved for information about what was going on near where they lived and thanks to technology I was able to look up what was available on the internet and relay the information to her over the phone. It will be a while before they are able to return home. My sister-in-law said if all is gone they won’t be staying. After 25 years in the New Orleans area the storms may have won.

I have heard from two of my three siblings who live along the gulf coast. Both are safe. My brother and his wife have still to check in. I’m confident they are safe but are not able to call due to loss of service. I feel for them and their neighbors. They live in Jefferson parish on the west bank. I only hope the news I see out of New Orleans is true and that their home is one of the “dry” ones.

Katrina

My brother and his wife live in Harvey La. Harvey is about a 15 minute drive from down town New Orleans. I have a sister who recently moved to Biloxi MS and one who lives in Pensacola FL. Each of these places is in the path of hurricane Katrina. My mother was able to get in touch with my brother; he and his wife have decided to go to Florida. We haven't heard from the sisters but they are bright people and I sure they know to get out of harms way.

This storm is big with maximum winds of 160 miles an hour, I would not be surprised if it lost some energy before it hit the coast but the storm wind isn't the only concern heavy rain and wave action are of great concern. I have seen fierce storms approach the coast and as soon as they hit the shallow waters and fizzle out but this one is very close to shore and shows little signs of weakening. It would take a lot for me to evacuate my home in fact I have only left for one storm and I regretted going but if Katrina were heading here I would pack my car and get my butt out of Dodge!

Good luck to all the folks being impacted by this storm.

Whirlwinds

At 5:30pm today I was getting the plants off the steps and moving them out of the way so the boys could move a couch from house next door to my living room. My neighbors are selling their house and moving to Texas, they don’t want to take their furniture (it would cost almost as much to ship as it would to buy new) so they are selling what they can, I bought the couch. The problem is this thing is a sleeper sofa and with son #2 out of commission and son #3 very busy with school and other activities I needed to enlist someone to help son #1 move the thing and that enlistee could only help this Thursday afternoon. I made arrangement to move it on Thursday (today).

At 6pm I started to get a little nervous. No one was here, I’d already talked to the neighbors telling them I would be getting the couch today, and I had to pick up my #3 son from tae-kwan-do at 6:45pm and no one was here yet. At 6:05pm I called the boys father, explained my situation and asked him if he would pick up son #3 and then I waited.

At 6:10 the enlistee arrived with a buddy but no #1 son. The enlistee and his buddy said no problem lets just move the couch. They proceeded to pick that thing up and walk it over to my house, at that moment my #1 son with his own enlistee pulls in to the yard smiles and says ”you guys are doing a great job” at which I said to him “you guys can move the futon” so we had two young men in their 20’s moving a sleeper sofa and two other young men in their 20”s moving a futon and in less than 10 minutes it over, the furniture was moved and they were standing in my front yard with a futon in the back of a van deciding where they were going next. By 6:30 pm they were gone and I was thinking what a freaking whirlwind.

I am not a patient person. When I want something done I want it done. When I was younger and in better shape I would have tried to move that furniture myself (not a wise thing to do but I would have tried) these days my lower back and knees just cant take the abuse anymore and I must rely more on others and accept that a few minutes hear or there really doesn’t matter. Much of my life seems to be a whirlwind but things always seem to work out. The couch was moved, I was able to pick my #3 son up, dinner was on time and all was as it should be.

end of a quiet day

I think one of every parent worst nightmares is a call from an anonymous caller telling them their child had been in an accident well that’s what happened yesterday to me. I guess there is always calm before the storm.

It seems my #2 son was taking a friend home, the traffic was stop and go on the bypass so they decided to turn on to the beach road. The bypass is a 5 lane highway, two lanes heading north and 2 lanes heading south with one turning lane in the middle. He moved over to the turning lane not realizing that traffic had stopped to let a car cross. The crossing car and my son’s car met in the middle. Well my sons car was totaled the other car was badly damaged. My son had to be assisted by EMS out of the car; from there he spent over 3 hours on a back board. After diagnostic testing he was cleared of serious injury but he did end up with some bad contusions and a broken clavicle (collar bone). Every one else walked away with just contusions.

I hate the bypass in the summertime especially on the weekends. This accident happened because people tried to help someone cross the road. The officer who investigated the accident said this happens all the time, people trying to do something nice not realizing how dangerous it can be. I’ve stopped to let cars cross before but I won’t again. I feel bad that those people have to wait but I would rather they wait then be in an accident.

As I sit looking out my window I see the live oak next to the deck rustle in a gentle wind as a squirrel hops from a limb on to the railing and up the pergola. From my window I see children speed by on their skate boards and bikes with towels wrapped around their shoulders. Most likely they are on their way to the sound or pool to escape the heat. Cars go slowly by, their drivers intent on getting somewhere. I look out my window and allow my mind to wander as music quietly serenades me. I am alone in the house enjoying the serenity that comes with aloneness, even the dogs are laying quietly at my feet. At this moment in time life could not be better

Wright Memoral Bridge 0745am(ish) Saturday 

Every Saturday and Sunday morning during the summer over a 100,000 people leave the Outer Banks after spending some or all of their vacation here and every Saturday and Sunday afternoon they are replaced with over a 100,000 new visitors. By 10am the traffic will become so thick leaving that for many it will seem like rush hour traffic in the city they are from. Many will remember that the week before as they were coming on the beach they were faced with the same traffic jam. For most people the traffic coming and going is a small inconvenience, they want to enjoy the sun and wide open public beaches the Outer Banks has to offer.

I�m not a fan of the tourists but with out them economically the Outer Banks would be a much different place. The outer banks has no industry, no farming and because the Outer Banks is constantly changed by wind and ocean, very little commercial fishing. With out tourism this would a bleak place so like it or not I am thankful to the visitors for coming. I hope they have a good time here and a safe trip home.
 

*The weather channel and my front porch thermometer both say its nearly 80 degrees out side but with the humidity at only 60% for the first time in a long time I was able to sit on the pouch with the dogs and enjoy a cup of coffee.

*According to Netscape’s what’s new a radio station in Kentucky , WUKY-91.3 FM cancelled Garrison Keillor's "The Writer's Almanac" radio show because it had the word "breast" in it now in all fairness the radio station cancelled the cancellation but only after people objected. We live in a strange country. I love it but it’s strange.

*Went to Doug Thompson’s blog the Blueridge Muse http://www.blueridgemuse.com/ from there I went on an adventure in cyberspace looking for the video he did on 911. The one he had link to would not down load on my computer but looking for one that would was well worth the effort. The video is a very well made montage of the first few hours of 9-11. I found it by putting “world trade center Doug Thompson” in the search box.

*Well I’m off. Have to get dressed and take mom out to get some early morning diagnostic testing done.

home away from home on the hill 

My where has the summer gone? Summer does not officially end until around September 21^st but in less than two weeks my youngest goes back to school and for many the return of school means the end of summer.

It has been a hot one this summer, hotter than most I think and as I sit here dreading the heat of the day I look forward to the cool autumn nights. Here at the beach we will continue to have hot days clear into October but the nights and mornings will be very pleasant. Of course we will have to deal with the storms. We seem to get most of our hurricanes the end of August and into September. It’s not uncommon for the kids to miss at least a few days the first few weeks of school.

Even though it is ungodly hot I can tell by the shadows cast by the trees in my back yard that fall is near. This is the time of year to plant one more hill of cucumbers. The first of September I will plant a little lettuce and maybe some peas. The pansies will be in the stores soon, they offer a variety of color and will some times last until summer. I must say I love the fall on the Outer Banks.

cow meet dog  

I just got back from a week by myself in the Virginia mountains, well I should say my dog and I spent a week in the mountains. This is a picture of Zeke and the cows #2 this time they were a lot closer and I don�t think he quite knew what to make of them.
 

going home 

enterance to the kids area 

My youngest son and I just spent 4 moist days in the SW VA mountains attending an event called Floyd Fest. The music was good the people who attended were friendly group of people but for me one day would have been just fine.

I liked the set up of the event. Two large stages on either end of a long midway, the midway housed venders and smaller stages. There was a dance tent for the adventuresome. There was a large area set up for the kids with some interesting things for them to do.

I�ll tell you my best times were spent riding the shuttle buses. The drivers were a hoot and the passengers were talkative no one complained about the weather they all seemed very happy and like me very tired.

The weather was not favorable the ground was soaked but the organizers of the event did there best to keep the main paths walkable. You will be surprised how different it is to walk on hilly wet ground when you are accustomed to walking on solid flat ground and we did a lot of walking.

All and all we did have a good time we hooked up with friends from time to time and if asked I would go again.
 

It�s hot already this morning but that seems to be par for the course these days. On the Outer Banks we are looking for temps at around the 100 mark with a heat index around 115. Record breaking temps have been reported all around the country this month but thanks to our Canadian neighbors many of us on the east coast can expect some relief starting at the end of the week by way cold front.