DALLAS — I awoke this morning to watch the weather reports from the Gulf, and noticed they had very little to say about New Orleans. I’m going with the no news is good news line of thinking. The exodus was mass. It took me 13 hours to reach Dallas (traveling the long way though). It was a mess. I only had to spend about nine miles on I-10, however, that bit of the journey took me over 90 minutes. Better than some I know who were on I-10 for nearly 12 hours just to reach Baton Rouge (usually about an hour’s drive). Then it was north on I-55 and west on I-20 to the big D. I saw many interesting sites along the way. There was someone evacuating in a limo. Gotta give ’em style points I guess. And those first few exits along I-55 with signs reading “no shelter, only gas” or “no shelter, no gas.” And those convienence stores and resturants off those exits which resembled refugee camps, freaknik and/or spring break. It was nice to get to the Metroplex and see some friends I haven’t seen in a while, but I would’ve probobly ended up here anywhere, because that was about how far you had to travel to find a hotel room. All of Mississippi was booked. As was northern Louisiana, Memphis, Little Rock and Houston. It’s a relief to be safe. Now I get to worry about going home to potential flood damage (I don’t think those two towels I put at the base of my door will hold out flood waters). I just hope the drive home isn’t as congested and frustrating as the drive out. On an ironic note: I drove 500 miles to avoid wind and water damage, then I leave my passenger side window cracked and my car’s interior gets soaked by the sprinkler this morning. Ain’t that a bitch?

Ivan may be coming, or maybe not. Could be way east of me, could be west. Would’ve been nice if he had phoned ahead, maybe RSVPed. So, now I look around my apartment and try to decide what I need to take with me in case of evacuation. Aside from the obvious (first-aid, flashlight, batteries, important documents, cash) making those little decisions. What could I not afford to lose (emotionally)? Pictures? Momentos? Home movies? Favorites CDs and DVDs? There’s only so much I can fit into a Honda Civic, especially if I have anyone else skedaddling with me. And where to go? Just find a place along the interstate in Mississippi? or Alabama? or Texas? Do I try to go see friends? If so, how far is too far to travel, knowing that I will have to fight traffic going and coming. And not yet knowing how my job will handle evacuations and that I may have to be back in a mere few hours. Ivan is now a Cat 5 again, that’s serious business folks. And living below sea level and just a few yards from the biggest freakin’ river on the continent I know if I have to leave I come back to nothing. Oh well, got a hurricane update in three minutes. Helluva thing to schedule my sleep patterns around.

This week was the closest I had ever been to a hurricane. OK, it was only a tropical storm. But you apparently don’t have to worry about those because high schools don’t have tropical storms as their mascots (much less colored ones). There was concern about the negative effects since I’ve already had my car and living room flooded by just regular old rain, much less rain that gets it’s own show on The Weather Channel (note to self, call State Farm about renter’s insurance). I took the time to read over all that stuff in the front of the phone book about hurricane preparedness (that looks like a made up word, but it’s not). I didn’t know what to do. We never had hurricane drills growing up. All I really learned was that you put all of your stuff in the middle of the room and go stay at a hotel in Mississippi. However, I love me some Bonnie. She dropped the temperature about 20 degrees and brought in a cool summer breeze. I walked to the bank and post office without breaking a sweat, twas a glorious day indeed (unfortunately, it coincided with me finally repairing my Playstaion2 so I didn’t get to enjoy as much of it as I would have liked). Alas, there were no tropical storm parties (or maybe I just wasn’t invited). Also, it reminded me that my name has been removed from the hurricane list. So now even Zoe and Zeke have a better chance of their name coming up than me.

With all the talk of postponing the general election and problems with electronic voting, I see only one solution — we must bring in Jimmy Carter to oversee the elections. Hey, it works for the rest of the world.