Soar-Dream-France: Hurricanes and Roses

This photo popped up in a memory on Facebook yesterday. I purposely didn't share it. Hey, I was in the throws of a no laptop day and birthday roses, so I was only checking in on my notebook from time to time.

I'd been seeing posts about "Ida" on the way, but it wasn't till this morning when I saw Governor Edwards on the news and moments later heard from my sister that my brother and his partner were heading north; that I began the drill...checking in with everyone to see how they were, what their plans were, but mostly just to let them know I love them.

At the moment, no one knows for sure what will be faced upon return. The predictions are dyer... Category 4 at landfall what looks to be along the Louisiana Coast to the west of New Orleans. My hurricane rule has always been, anything over a Category 2, I leave.

The difference here in this photo is that we were all together at 411 in St. Louis and we already knew how bad it was when this photo was taken. No one had been allowed back yet.

So, in this shot Tom and Adrianne were just able to go home based on their zip code being allowed back into the city. We'd all gathered together for the send off. Mine didn't follow for a few more days when Dali and I headed south together.

Another difference between then and now is the raging COVID pandemic in Louisiana that has all the hospitals and emergency services strapped to the limit. I foresee major medical problems AND the need to protect against the virus when so many of the people in Louisiana who have not evacuated may need shelter and are also unvaccinated.

These layers on top of the impending hurricane are grim.

So, today I'm staying in touch, checking in, and trying to take care of a couple things there from here. I'm also channeling as much positive energy as I can muster. The good news is that: Lola and I are here together; I renewed my flood insurance last month when it was due; and, I have most all of my very important stuff here with me.