It seems a shame that Gustav will ruin the first days of the Republican Convention. The GOP is just champing at the bit to thrash the Democrats hip and thigh with the high dudgeon of entitlement of the example of the Bush leadership of the country in these past 8 years.  The “Time for a Change” mantra has been heard in the land and many are listening to it.  It looks like Nature is showing its preference by it performance at this particular time and hitting hard in this particularly vulnerable place.

After a while the noise of the talking heads and the actors in front of colorful screens becomes a little too much and you have to sit back and wait for the actual landing of the hurricane which “experts” predicted various landing places and thus the storm on land lambasting cities and refuges that the refugees from the coast may be heading into.

You cannot know how gifted we feel in hiding behind our shutters while knowing in our hearts that we are glad that neither Fay nor Gustav hit us where we live.  Now, we have to wait for Hanna and those named storms which follow to show us their paths (hopefully past our doors) so we can get past this season and begin to live normal lives once again.  Or, is suffering severe weather the normal way of life these days?

I noticed that other parts of our country have been hit hard by unfettered Nature with un-seasonal snow storms as well as bands of rain that have flooded out low-lying parts of the nation. A great number of people have succumbed to the notion that God has shown up in the destruction (needed to put us in our places because of our unearned pride in our accomplishments such as by passing building a tower of Babel and shooting for the stars in our space ships.)

One picture indelibly burned in my thoughts are the number of aged and handicapped people sitting in wheelchairs waiting for someone to come and take care of them.  I am reminded of how just yesterday I got out our wheelchair and pushed Carol through our tasks and then brought her down the corridor to our apartment.  We fit into that set of people who are often overlooked because they need outside help to get about and have to wait until they are remembered and someone comes to give necessary aid and comfort.

I am glad we made what is most likely our last long motor trip that we planned and executed ourselves.  It worked well and WE MADE IT. Now we have to see what Nature and fate have in store for us down here in low lying Florida.