Time to go

I love Louisiana, I really do. Well, the state itself, let’s just say I like that a lot. It’s sort of like how you feel about a good pasta sauce in a jar; you’re happy that you aren’t eating Ragu, but it’s not like you’re eating Grandma’s Sunday version. It’s the friends we have made that I am going to miss when we leave in two months. I won’t miss the oppressive heat, or how slowly people drive, or how tied everything is to religion. More than anything though, I won’t miss the freaking weather. By now you know that I like to dramatize the whole ‘Nadoes thing. Most of it has been tongue in cheek, but last night’s storm here was a little scary.



While it was occurring we were not technically in a tornado watch, so the 70 mph winds that were howling outside our kitchen window seemed normal for a spring thunderstorm. Did you just read that? 70 mile per hour winds, normal? Talk about placebo effect. I guess you need a weatherman to put that little red tornado watch on the screen before you get nervous.
















It was only upon waking up this morning that I realized just what those winds did. Walking the dog during the only break in rain over the last 15 hours, I came across our own little path of flattened trees. This damage pales in comparison to the flooding that much of Shreveport has seen, and it certainly isn’t even a blip on the radar when you consider the tornadoes in Oklahoma and Arkansas last weekend, but if this is what happens in a thunderstorm in Louisiana I think it may be time to go.

As of now we have received over 9 inches of rain since 8 p.m. yesterday and we are forecast to have heavy thunderstorms until 5 p.m. tonight. I can scarcely think of a time last night when the sky wasn’t thundering. Of course, Annie slept through it all. To think that if I unload the dishwasher while she’s sleeping I take care to not make the slightest tinkle of glass on glass.

Before this run of storms ends we will be well over 10 inches of rain and have more property damage than I think is normal for non cyclonic weather. I’m booking my flight to New Jersey now.