suddenly...

..there was very bad weather, an unexpected storm today with drenching rains and high winds. It is likely that the weather guys predicted  it, and the people who devote excessive amounts of time to fretting over things they cannot control were not surprised. I know what ever the weather is here today is what the people to the west sent us overnight. If they had  cold windy weather overnight in the states to the west: Mississippi and Louisiana, maybe even Texas, we would be getting it today. If they had blistering hot summer, we should expect more of the same.

I don't pay much attention to the prognosticators who want to warn  about changes providing dire reports of something terrible that may or may not occur. There is nothing I can do to circumvent or postpone, so I just accept and try to dress accordingly: to keep warm when it is chilly, and hope I have on enough layers for each day's activities. Or possibly decide to not put on the warm wool socks when it seems to be moderating enough for me to not be chronically cold.

When I was at work this afternoon, people came in the store looking like drowned rats. Men with shirts stuck to their backs from torrential rain. Women shaking umbrellas with sodden shoes and socks. Many mentioning how the suddenly saturated weather seemed to come by surprise, an unexpected downpour.

Upon leaving work, and heading into town for some errands, there were a number of power lines down, and several traffic lights that had been so buffeted by strong winds they had smashed onto the pavement. Requiring public safety vehicles and police to block off intersections, downed lines and create detours to avoid dangerous travel. I went on about my business, but surprised to see so many places where the traffic lights had suffered, overwhelmed by the weather. I think that powerful blow was what I have heard referred to as a 'wind shear', which is a sudden forceful blow in a small area.

It blew the top out of a pine tree, in front of the house that fell and blocked the driveway. I am so very glad I moved the pickup truck to a well-traveled venue, so it was not parked out in a spot where it would surely have be smooshed. The truck now sits out near the street on the property of a State Farm agent, where I have left two other vehicles, with the hope that voluminous traffic might attract one who will want it. I really need for someone to want it, and be willing to pay for me for it, so I can get the title from the loan company before they change hands (hasn't your mortgage been sold and resold, so you don't know who to send the payment to?) and it becomes a moot point.

I called a friend and said: "I need a man and a chain saw." It is cut up into manageable sized pieces,  so I am very thankful for the mystery man who showed up and went to work while I was gone from home. But still a mess for the person who will have to drag it up the street to put in the trash. That will not be me, so I have to find the 'other man' who will clean up and get it moved to be picked up by city trash truck. I expect those slices of pine trunk are still much to large for me to manhandle up a steep hill, so even though I can get in and out of the driveway, I will have to pay someone to relocate.