“joy weathers any storm: happiness rides the waves.”
― todd stocker
Jan22
the view out of my window
this morning in glen arbor, michigan
one hour after we left
the storms began
every kind of bad weather
rolled in
and
left this beautiful little town
by the lakes
isolated
and
damaged
my family members
who are still there
are all okay
hoping that all the others are too
tomorrow
the sun will rise once again
and the cleanup
will begin
with gratitude.
Staff report from the Glen Arbor Sun:
Glen Arbor was hit by a very severe storm on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 2. Winds of 93 miles per hour reportedly pummeled the town next to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore at the height of the summer tourism season. As of Sunday night, the Glen Lake Fire Department was reporting that all roads into Glen Arbor, and around the Glen Lakes, are impassible.
sirens blaring
phone blowing up
with alarms
take cover
take cover
tv buzzing
if you can
see this
or
hear this
take cover
take cover
so
i went to
my bathtub
safest spot in my cottage
and
rode out
the storm
relaxing
and
blogging
and
reading
and
listening
to music
and
my daughter
texted me
to say
‘that’s exactly how you’d like to go, isn’t it?’
and
i had to agree
and
i kept
my laptop
and
my head
above water
and
all the while
something like this
was going on outside
but inside
all was calm
—
if you want to see the sunshine,
you have to weather the storm.
– frank lane
—
image credits: google images
worst walk ever
yesterday
on a very, very hot
late summer’s eve
humid as hell
headed out
on a
forced death march
downtown
all in the name
of being healthy
and
enjoying the city
at eye level
when i
noticed the signs
that i was headed
right
looked up
into a black cloudy sky
the air began to swirl
rain blew sideways
into my eyes
i had happened
into
a
wizard of oz
storm
somehow
and
made a decision
to head on back
lightning flashed
a mile to go
put my phone
in my shorts
to save my connection
to the world
i-pod
deep in my pocket
to save the music
people running
kind of scary
as i
quickly
transformed
into
an
unwitting
wet t-shirt contestant
cut through the park
ran into wall
of construction
turned around
shortcut down street
closed off
for resurfacing
finally made it
home to the cottage
nacho the cat not the food
was outside and missing
flipped on light
to put key in door
no light
opened door
pitch black
only light
came from my eyes
power out
fumbled for flashlight
apparently it is a 1910 model
didn’t have much effect
on the darkness
so, so sweaty
and
rain sodden
no hot shower
cell phone
powering off
internet gone
decided
only thing to do
was go to bed
stumbled up the dark stairs
still no cat
still no light
room was 157 degrees
or so
no fan
no air
heard sirens
fire department
on my street
buzzing
flashes of electric light
couldn’t just lay
on the bed
naked
and
fall asleep
in all my glory
trying
to cool things down a bit
had to be on high alert
kept the teva’s on
shorts, shirt
ready to flee
at a
moment’s notice
drifted off
dreaming of a better day to come..
woke up this morning
bright and cool
nacho the cat not the food
came home
to the cottage
police tape
decorated
the town
transformers blown
power lines down
mighty trees
toppled
car
in garage
at mercy
of electric opener
walked
back downtown
to a
friendly coffee shop
read
and
wrote
and
talked to other
blackout neighbors
and
had
a
very, very, very
large
coffee
power company
estimates
i will
have power
restored
by
wednesday
night
at 11:30
or so
—
“the major difference between a thing that might go wrong
and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong
is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong
it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair”
– douglas adams
—
credits: planetcurioso.com, new line cinema