my bff in Boulder text'd me this morning asking 'do you know about this hurrican that is supposed to hit new orleans? of course you do' well.  no.  I don't know about it. but now I do.  I am putting ten bucks on Biloxi, MS and that it dies down at least one catagory before it hits. 

I've been visiting with friends since Friday.  I just checked my yahoo and my sister kate sent me an email about it (she's in ojai, ca; her mother's retreat house was completely missing save for a yard carving we call 'Monk' in Ocean Springs, MS...her mom's house was just above a little dock area - her mom passed years ago).  She wanted me to know about this Gustav.  Let's hope he's not Katrina's boyfriend.

I'll tell you why a lot of people didn't leave for Katrina.  Because we were tired of evacuating for nothing.  Every time a hurricane would come through we would be told it is best to leave and nothing but a regular rain or drizzle would pass through.  It was tiring to evacuate, and expensive(10 hours to get to Bunkie, LA from Gulfport, MS...seriously, that is ridiculous).  So, I packed up my two dogs and stayed in the study of the rectory where I worked. Then water started coming through the ceiling adn tiles falling on the table we were eating breakfast at...we moved to the church main.  Since our church main was so solid? It didn't feel like a hurricane was outside at all.  We had one radio station left standing - an R&B station - and some people could still make cell phone calls into the station to report water levels and damages.  They all sounded very scared and since we didn't have any water at our door (about a block up from the beach) we didn't realize waht was really going on outside. 

At about 7pm Monday night I walked outside and it looked like bombs had been dropped on I-90.  Tuesday early afternoon came around and I was antsy so I got in my forunner and drove up north of I-10 via I-90 to find some parishioners.  One house was wide open becasue they left in the middle of it.  Others had stayed and damage was normal for a heavier storm(which is part of the pack you make with God in moving to the Gulf Coast).  I found a friend and we went to see my little rental home - no bueno - and the beach.  In flips I was climbing over mounds of planks roofing tiles and pieces of furniture, window frames and tables, chairs, mailboxes.  I felt like a voyeur even though I only lived a block up from the beach.  People's intimates were strown everywhere.  Linens in tree branches still wet waving in the clear beautiful day's winds.  I still had no idea New Orleans was under water.  none of us did.  And we still didn't think anyone was coming to help.  It was very tense and awkward. 

I could call Arizona but not home (Lafayette LA - my mom and dad's families are from New Orleans, though).  Finally, I figured out that I could text my father and get through.  I had stepped on a roofing tack and was starting to feel like jello and clammy from the inside gradually moving out to my skin.  Another cause of my getting sick was probably the dead being stored in a funeral home that was essentially attached to our church main(we shared a back parking lot).  They were storing those who didn't make it in a hanger of sorts in which there was a generator).  That Thursday after the storm the county coroner had Dole Fruit freezer trucks coming in and taking out the dead; the media had found our little sacred space for them.  They slid them up a little metal slide onto the floor until it was covered with people.  One man, swollen and greyish yellow slid out of his bag while I had stopped to watch - I knew it was important that I saw this slice of reality, but again I felt like an intruder.  This was an older man they moving into the bed of that truck..  He probably thought nothing of this Katrina lady...a chivalrous man , perhaps? stubborn? unsure if he could trust the media or scared to leave what was familiar because that would be so much more stressful for him? maybe his wife was ill and couldn't travel... I wonder what his story was.  eventhough it ended I would be honored to know of it.   

going back a few days to tuesday...the armed national guard(god bless them) were trolling at nightfall.  Looters had come from somewhere are taken precious things from the beach homes...they were so beautiful to drive along and just look at.  As if an institution of southern grace had died when they were destroyed.  They looked like skeletons with guts hanging out.  The National Guard was scary and serious.  They were to arrest ANYONE outside after dark.  I would sneak out and call my dad late late at night but be listening for the only rumble in the night..those humvees with huge guns propped on top rolling through.  I am grateful, it was the first sign of order since Sunday night's gusty winds and our thoughts of being prepared, nestled and safe.

I remember Sunday.  The wind sounded like winter was coming it.  It howled between the rectory glass front doors, through the iron woven gate to guard it from potential intruders.  It was golden yellow almost orange outside as the sun went down and hit the bottom of Katrina's skirt that had started covering the south late morning.  I wrote a sign (because I'm crafty and artsy) on a plastic banner that read 'no sunday youth mass' ... I would late write on their the first mass to be held on the coast for Wednesday.  what a quiet service.  I played piano and sang, but it felt like a funeral.  if people sang they did it with those raspy I'm about to cry voices.  But it was a normal thing.  The normal things were scarce and few between. 

I remember Tuesday morning I went to the flooded rectory and put on makeup and saying outloud into the mirror as I put on mascara 'this is normal, I need normal.  normal things.'

I truly didn't realize how much on auto-pilot I was.  My boss started cleaning and it was as if I didn't want cooties.  I could NOT dig into it.  just could not. I would boil water on the gas stove(THANKGod) to make french-press coffee(another miracle) and by God's grace someone came by the rectory and said 'rains coming this afternoon' and my first thought was omg I can shower.  So I got my towel adn shampoo adn conditioner stacked by the door and told those who were helping around the church to stack up all the garbage cans to collect water so we could use the bathrooms more comfortably(I learned this by going through Mount Pinatubo's eruption as a Navy family in the Philippines as a teenager).  It started to rain and I ran with my clothes on to the spout I scouted out earlier.  Running with my shampoo bottle I was never happier and or thanked God and told Jesus how good he was to me louder than in that moment.  I was a new woman. 

Wednesday...we started to get people in with donations.  too many people though, we had to turn a number of them away.  We were packed with necessities for too many people that weren't back into the mess, yet.  The city was cramped with items needed for the longhaul just stacked on the side of the highway.  People were frustrated with us that we would ask them to turn around...but, I was scared these people wouldn't be there when we really needed them...in about a month and every month after that until we got some stability back into the system (unemployment benefits, buying products needed, and the product making it into town).  I couldn't make up my mind to stay or leave.  I felt like some kinda fog crept into my head.  I couldn't get a read (emotionally or spiritually) on anything.

Interesting side-note.  There was a bus of hippies that propped up 'bus' and tent on the side of I-10 .... they lived there for quite a while.  Not sure what they contributed really aside from eyes looking in, maybe they were from New Orleans, maybe they were bring 'peace' to those who used.  It was just like a side carnival out of the craziness that I appreciated and didn't appreciate. Wierd balance.

Wednesday night...I'm getting sick.  My father came to get me that Thursday with his NOPD bru'thuh - retired - but still nice to have them come to get me out of there, bring beer and water.   He brought me a tetnus.  I was awesome.  My dad is my hero.  truly.

I get home to Lafayette (my dad's house) and everyone from our family in New Orleans is just propped up staring at the TV.  And from the moment I walked in the door I was a side story to my own life in watching the horror of New Orleans.  It was so devastating.  It did take me out of my head for a few days, though.  I was able to be with my family, my friend helped my Aunt Connie with some cyatic ciatic? whatever that nerve is ...  it was the closest our family has been since our last family vacation in St. Augustine.

I decide to go back to Gulfport a week later.  I left Gulfport two weeks later.  Nothing had changed.  I don't even think RedCross was there yet.  I was so disappointed. and it took me two weeks of going back and forth from Atlanta, GA (mustard seed house) to visit a friend of mine from back in a day whose home was destroyed in Andrew(in Florida). 

Seems like I've been dead for two years.  So, I'm finally looking forward to going home and connecting again, I have the most amazing friends and community. It's just hard to move again.  I am not ready though, to go back to the Gulf or New Orleans.  That will definately take some time.

Gustav, be gentle.  

Hi Everybody,

As it starts to warm into the hot zone once again, we understand, it's not over. Temperatures over the next few days will get back to the 110 degree range, this will continue until at least Monday of next week. In Arizona we can have temperatures up to 100 degrees thru mid Oct. So find a cool spot and we'll see you in Nov.

Watch your kids around water

Dave

I just added the pictures from this evenings thunderstorm/tornado warning that passed over Sedona and Cottonwood, I am just waiting for the FOX team to approve the uploaded photos into my Album then go see for yourself the beauty we witnessed tonight!!!!!.

I am born and raised in Cottonwood, but this is my husbands first year here and is is amazed at our Arizona skies. He grew up in soggy southern Washington state, I lived there for a few years with him.  He is a carpenter and works outdoors a lot, and he was sick of the rain there. I convinced him Arizona was where it was at. Sunny and warm. He   wasnt excited to hear it rains and thunders whenever it wants to in the summer. But I told him monsoon season is worth all the rain because of the beautiful skies, and how it was my favorite time of year here.  I dont think he had a clue what I meant  and  how beautiful it really was until he witnessed it himself.  He tells his family back home that HE IS NEVER LEAVING ARIZONA THE WEATHER IS JUST TOO PERFECT!    Thank you Arizona Skies, I never have to move away from home again!!!!! OH ITS GOOD TO BE HOME!!!

Hi Everybody,

With the month of Aug. almost 1/2 over we are starting to feel a little change in our weather. Late at night and early in the morning you can feel that slight coolness that tells you change is just a month away. We will still have the 100's through Oct. but change is in the air and it won't be long now.

Watch your kids around water

Dave

Tornado!

Hello all, did anyone see the funnel cloud that nearly touched down near the white tanks? I got 6 calls about it and wanted to let the weather guy know about it to investigate this.

San Diego is not perfect. 

 Well we’re all back from our family vacation in San Diego.  And I want you to know, San Diego is not perfect.  While there, we enjoyed 75 degree weather, cool ocean breezes, plenty of sunshine and lots of sailing on “Airtime”.

 We brought our own food, and ate most meals on the boat.  One of the things Ruth brought along was a real treat for me.  Pistachio nuts.  We saved them until the last few days and when we finally got to them.  Guess what?  They were ruined!  The heavy humidity from the ocean air, made them mushy – soft – lousy!

 This was the 2nd worst thing of our vacation.  The first was –for me- not “The Happiest Place on Earth”!  But that’s another story for another day.

 By the way, when we got home, Ruth put the pistachios in the oven on a cookie sheet and baked them for about 15 minutes at 300 degrees.  They were fine when we all gobbled them up that night.

 So you see, San Diego’s not perfect, the humidity makes you soft, especially if you’re a pistachio nut!

I’m so glad to be back.

Rick

Like a lot of people in Arizona, I've been wondering the last few years, "Where'd the monsoon go?"  Last year's monsoon rainfall total of about a half an inch at the airport, had me thinking maybe we should just quit talking about "the rainy season."

Well, it's back, and with a vengeance, this year.  The airport has logged over 3 inches, and other measuring locations around the Valley have seen bigger numbers.  While it's not enough to pull us out of the drought, we are headed in the right direction.  Did you know that our rainfall total this year is already around 6 inches?  So now, we're approaching our average for a full year of a little over 7 inches.  At the current rate, we could top that number with the next good storm!

I know lots of folks don't like the humidity in Arizona.  I mean if it was that way year round, we might as well live in Louisiana or Mississippi.  The dry weather will be here soon enough...using the new criteria from the weather service, somewhere around September 15th.  And, as opposed to other cities that seem to deal with a lot more rain on a much more regular basis, every time we get a good soaking, it seems to cause havoc at Sky Harbor. 

Still, it's worth it, to keep the desert blooming and the mountains green.  I got caught in a rainstorm this week in Payson, and the temp dropped to 68 degrees in the middle of the afternoon!  An hour later, I was back in the Valley at 100!

So, let's hear it for a monsoon that's finally not wimpy.  Who knows when we'll get another one?

For the second time this week, the valley was hit with severe storms that packed lightning, strong winds and heavy rain. The storm briefly shut down Sky Harbor airport's runways and Salt River Project officials said about 4,000 of its customers lost electricity.

Last night, I clocked winds at 58 mph off of Ray Rd.. And dust, dust, dust. My eyes immediately became irritated and irritated my cough.

Last night @ apx. 9pm, I began to notice moving black spots on the ceiling. Within minutes,  their number multiplied as they entered my home through vents and weep-openings.  When I pulled the drapes back to spray around the doors and  windows,  they're were so many of them on the screens and windows that I couldn't see through them.  They are about 1/3 to 1/2 " long, dark gray with a very narrow red margin on their wings.  Although it appears that they could fly, they only crawl and are definatly  light attracted.  Canned bug spray doesn't affect them equally, as some die on contact and others wade right through wet lines undaunted. 

I've got 40 years of desert living experience behind me, and I'm sure that conditions served for a mass hatching or migration of these insects, but this is a horror show I don't want to see reruns of tonight. (Still haven't gotten rid of the stragglers or the  piles of dead)  My internet searches haven't produced anything to educate me and I'd sure like to know more before dark.  Anyone with clues?

Cory, maybe?  You checked out bugs growing-up, didn't you?

Hi Everybody,

Here we go again, the heat will be back over the next few days. The National Weather Service in Phoenix has issued an Excessive Heat Warning. The Warning will be in effect from 10am Thursday to 8pm on Saturday. Temperatures will reach 110 to 113 degress. If you must be outside, stay in the shade and drink lots of water or other non-alcoholic beverages. Look for a slight change with the chance of rain on Sunday.

Watch your kids around water

Dave

I've seen (and taken) some awesome weather-related pics before. But this BY FAR is the most impressive. It comes from Fox 4 (Kansas City). The storm took place the second week of June. It's amazing that there were no human injuries (see the "Newspaper article..." tab in that blog) in relation to that storm. I had a hard time loading the video (as I am using an older computer) but the end of the video was somewhat impressive.

The link to that blog from myfoxkc.com is:

http://community.myfoxkc.com/blogs/wxteam4/2008/06/
16/Is_It_Fake_Or_Not#comments

Hi Everybody,

This weekend we could be seeing some of the moisture from what was hurricane Dolly. The storm that hit Texas on Wednesday is still rolling along as a very wet storm system and should push some of it's moisture into Arizona by Saturday and Sunday. If we get the rain it will bring the temperatures down a few degrees by the weekend.

Watch your kids around water

Dave

I’m enjoying this Monsoon a little more than ones in the past.  Monsoon is a season not a storm, and this season seems to be a little easier to take.

The humidity seems to be a little higher, so it brings the temperature down, and it’s not as hot.  It feels better getting out of the pool, because the water doesn’t evaporate as well, and you don’t get cold.

The storms are violent, but they do seem to cool things down.  And it’s fun to see the clouds in the sky, especially in the afternoon and evening.  They do make for spectacular sunsets, don’t they?

This weekend could be a challenge, however, if the moisture from “Dolly” gets caught up into our air flow. That means a lot of clouds and a lot of rain.  Dave, Cory and Jamie will be watching that.

And we have not had a rash of childhood drownings,  although the ones we have had are just tragic.

So all in all, I’m enjoying this summer.  I hope you are too.

This is my first time blogging.

My parents and brother  lives in Brownsville and the only reason I am doing this is so any one who reads this may pray that Dolly just leave everyone alive and well.  Homes can be lost and rebuilt ..lives not so easily done.

Anyhow here to prayer.

Just imagine is we all prayed or at least sent out some good vibes.

Thanks for prayers and good thoughts in advance.

Barbara