"Joy and pleasure are as real as pain and sorrow and one must learn what they have to teach. . . ." -- Sean Russell, from Gatherer of Clouds

"If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right." -- Helyn D. Goldenberg

"I love you and I'm not afraid." -- Evanescence, "My Last Breath"

“If I hear ‘not allowed’ much oftener,” said Sam, “I’m going to get angry.” -- J.R.R. Tolkien, from Lord of the Rings

Saturday, June 20, 2009

After the Storm

I'm rained out, thanks to localized severe storms yesterday that appear to have been localized on my block -- no power since yesterday morning, soggy carpets (there's something unnerving about a floor that goes "squish" when you walk across it), and a computer that may or may not be functional -- I won't know until I have power back. (I'm actually at the office right now, since I really need to catch up on some writing, and there's nothing I can actually do at home. I could have gone to a coffee shop and done everything longhand, but a) my hand gets tired, and b) not even I can read my handwriting any more. And I have to listen to their crappy music.)

It seems a 100-year-old tree a couple of doors down took out the power lines, a pole, the neighbor's garage, and, I'm told, part of her house. We lost a Volvo or two down the street, but otherwise, there's amazingly little damage overall. As for me -- I think the computer is probably OK, because it doesn't look like there was actually any standing water in my place. The Books of Magic will never be the same, though. Ditto for 07 Ghost, Volume 1 and Blue Skies. (Of course you use the floor as emergency shelf space -- what else it is for?) And I was going to defrost the freezer anyway.

I happened to have been standing on the el platform when the microburst, or a reasonable facsimile thereof, hit. It was pretty spectacular. And bizarre. (Imagine winds so strong that you're not getting rain any more, just fine spray. Blowing horizontally.) I did get on a train, and half a mile south, nothing.

Today, of course, is a perfect summer day -- sunny, warm, light wispy clouds, soft breezes. Welcome to Chicago.

(Crossposted at Booklag.)

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