Now that was fun!
One writer who I hold in high esteem, him being a fellow Texan, stuck someplace between old school punk and being called “Gramps,” (not the Cramps, mind you), see, this guy once called me “always sunshine and light,” or some other kind of a snicker. Mr. Happy, that’s me.
True, after cranky people for a long period of time, I tend to get cranky, too. Plus, a stack of astrofish.net bills that can’t be paid this week.
So – some surprise – I was fishing off the dock, at little after sunset when a certain red-headed Capricorn stopped by. Been a few weeks, and she was just recovering from surgery. We chatted, caught up, and to the west, the good lord was lighting the sky with huge bolts of electricity. In the night’s air, conjunto music was playing the background, an accordion was howling a solo, sounded like East Austin was celebrating Cinco de Mayo.
“Storm’s coming. Cool, huh?” I conversed under the night’s cloud cover as another brilliant flash lit the western sky.
“Oh man, they said it’s going to be bad – people in Llano and Mason? They’re saying if you live in mobile home, get out now. It’s really bad,” she said, “they said the wind was changing directions.”
A couple of more big rain drops fell. We wandered inside. She wandered off to tend to whatever.
A big gust of wind, slammed through the doorway, scared the cat, and the wind brought torrential rain. I closed the door, the cat skated off under the bed. Not a good sign.
The wind howled, the trees shook. Something shifted, a transformer blew, the place went dark.
Now, my most recent adventure fantasies involved hurricanes. So I lit a candle and took stock. I dug out a fishing shirt, figuring it was weatherproof, and I walked back to the shoreline. Three-foot swells. Cool! I was drenched inside of 30 seconds, so I ambled back inside and thought about it. Emergency supplies? Check. Leatherman? Check. Raincoat? I know I’ve got one somewhere. I felt around in the closet, pulled out the raincoat, pulled on a dry shirt, grabbed a flashlight, and walked back down to the shore.
I’m guessing 30-40 MPH winds, no hail, but an inch or two of water, and I hope my little fish friends are safe in their watery abode. I was hoping – trailer park and all – to see a twister or something.
The hurricane fantasy? I think I’m over that. This wasn’t even a bad storm, Although, it took me less than 30 seconds to be completely prepared. It’s a lifestyle point, I’m sure.
Less than an hour later, the rain let up a little, settling down to a steady drum beat, and the cat came out from under the bed. As I’m typing, she’s sleeping next to me, on the couch, snoring. The cat is snoring, not the couch.
But for one minute, standing on the shoreline, okay, above the shoreline, the hems of my shorts getting drenched, the wind blasting me in the face, I was at peace. Ready for anything.
Battery is starting to run a little low on the laptop, though, and for the life of me, I can never figure out how people could read by candlelight. And I’ll post this as soon as I have net connection, but right now?
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Musical notations:
Since there’s no net connect, all I can do is list these by hand, like, The Cramps, Riding the Storm Out REO Speedwagon, Twilight Zone (Golden Earring), and Twilight zone/Twilight Tone (Manhattan Transfer).
Technical issues
The server burped on Thursday morning, created a bit of a stir. Not much, and it was all up and running again in no time. I like the boys in the back room, when they tend to technical issues like that.
But it brings up a good point. Technical issues. At a minimum, it takes about 2 grand to run this place each month. Subscriptions pay one-quarter of that bill. Advertising and book sales are another 10%, at the very most. The rest comes out of my pocket. Simple math.
What to do?
Suggestions are welcome.
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