"It's the big one, Ethyl!"

Yup! That's right. Hurricane Irene is gonna pay us a little visit. Gonna be like having a rowdy rock star staying at your hotel. Windows broken, floors flooded, guests harassed. Really no fun at all. So we're gonna batten down the hatches, break out the lanterns and candles, store up a bit of water. I'm not too overly concerned about flooding, since we're on the side of a hill. Still, ya never know. Could get some overland flooding if too much water is coming down the hillside. But I doubt that'll happen. Any way, gotta make sure there are fresh batteries in the flashlights and top off the gas tanks in the cars. Maybe tape the picture windows. Just in case. It's been a long time since I had to deal with a hurricane. When I was MUCH younger, I lived in the South. Florida. Mississippi. Louisiana. We got hurricanes. Lots of hurricanes. Michelle and I spent our very first night "together" during a tornado back in 1975. October. We evacuated to the church cuz it was made of brick and up n high ground. Everyone slept on the floor in the cultural hall. We lay side-by-side. I was 15, she 14. Just kids. Nothing happened. It was a more innocent time, you must remember. Anyway, after my house got flooded three times and struck by a tornado, I packed up and headed back to Idaho. Ya don't get hurricanes in Idaho. Just snow, and lots of it. But I can usually deal with that. Besides, folks who follow this blog already know all about my love of the West. So now, here comes another hurricane, and Michelle and I are together again, only its 36 years later and we're all grown up. A lot has happened since that hurricane 36 years ago and this one that's coming now. Other spouses, children, college, jobs, divorces, frustrations, joys. A lot of water under the bridge. But we came back around to each other in the end. I was like a boomerang, hurled far away but I returned back to the place I started from, back to Michelle, all the way back home. Let the hurricane blow. I found my safe harbor.