Archive of posts tagged Weather

A note of thanks

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Everything’s finally back to what passes for normal at la casa de Basil. The power was finally restored this afternoon, and Comcast service resumed tonight. The tree is out of the tree, thanks to a neighbor and some hired help.

Oh, and thanks to you.

The comments you left regarding my tree in a tree predicament were truly hilarious and put a smile on my face. The responses to Harvey’s “Where’s Basil Really Gone” Straight Line question were also enjoyable to read.

Things are all better now, and I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate you. Thank you all for the encouragement, the kind thoughts, and the many laughs. I do so appreciate you each and every one. Thank you.

I really need to get my tree out of the neighbor’s tree

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Hurricane Matthew came by for a visit this weekend. Friday, actually. I was out of town anyway, and had events in Perry on Saturday and Millen on Sunday, so it was Sunday night before I got a chance to see what all Matthew had wrought.

I did know that the power went off at 8:36 Friday night, because, well, I have it tell me things like that. And here it is Monday afternoon, and the power isn’t back on yet. Georgia Power says I’ll have service by 10:00 tonight. They, as well as the local EMC, have had workers out all day and all night working on things. I have no complaints. Sure, I wish my power was one of the first back on, but I can understand them focusing on nursing homes, restaurants, grocery stores, and such. Or so it seems.

Now, we’ve had hurricanes before. When David came through in 1979, it hit closer, but it had already weakened by then (thanks, Florida). When Hugo came through in 1989, it was more powerful than David, but further away. We even managed to get in some football during that Thursday night strike.

Matthew, though, was more of a problem than either of those. At least, it seemed to put down more trees and tree parts in very inconvenient locations. Driving out of Millen, for instance, there were several traffic lights out on U.S. 25 in Statesboro. Most people knew to treat such circumstances as a four-way stop. But some didn’t. You know what you call dumbasses like that? Dumbasses.

Anyway, same was true for Claxton (the place famous for fruitcakes — the kind you have at Christmas), Glennville, Ludowici, and Jesup. Yes, those are all real places. Brunswick, where my son lives, is in pretty good shape. They have power, at least.

Me? No power. But I do have a tree in a tree. The tree that’s in the ground is actually the neighbor’s. It just hangs over into my yard. Free shade!

The tree in that tree is my tree. Well, actually, it’s part of my tree. A good chunk of it, at least. And, I need to get it out of the neighbor’s tree. The neighbor isn’t there, so the neighbor doesn’t know my tree is in their tree. I’d kinda like to keep it that way.

So, any tips on getting a tree out of a tree? I’ve tried offering it treats, but it just won’t … leave.

[Comments also welcome at BasilsBlog]

Snow Day

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WalkingDeadSnowParody
[Geeks of Doom – Facebook]

Yeah, I know. We aren’t used to snow around here. We have no plan to deal with it. And, since the roads ice over, we’re slip-sliding all over the place in large vehicles weighing several thousand pounds.

I’m a 100 miles southwest of Atlanta, and the roads here were iced over. That means when you travel at a snail’s pace, foot off the gas, but have to press the brakes for a stop sign or a pedestrian or another car or something, you start sliding and skidding, traveling forward at about 20° off-center. Not a good feeling, particularly if you’re not used to it.

Schools closed, many businesses and agencies closed, and a lot of people had a vacation day. Some of us worked. And, because a lot of people didn’t show up (some nearby counties closed all their roads), we actually got some stuff done.

Go ahead and make fun of us. We can’t handle snow. And we have no desire to learn. We can handle hurricanes. Heck, we play football in hurricanes here in Georgia. You won’t see any hurricane-related scandals here. But snow? You can keep that stuff.

What’s the point of being homeless if you have to go to work anyway?

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First, let me thank Frank J. and everyone at IMAO for their kind words of support.

Okay, not everyone had kind words of support. Still, it was touching. At least they spelled my name right, even if some pronounced it wrong.

With those niceties out of the way, I must say that this whole getting displaced by a tornado is starting to get on my nerves.

First, the good news. On Friday night, the Weather Channel online (on my CrackBerry) said that we were under a tornado warning, and that one would be in our area at 9:17.

They nailed it. At 9:17, the sound of the rain gave way to a gosh-awful noise, and the lights went out.

That’s the good news: we got hit with a tornado when they said we would. Aint’ technocracy great!

The rest, though, falls under the category of “bad news.” The tornado tore down the large tree in the back yard and put in on the house, knocking the power lines down and ripping the power meter box from the wall.

Of course, on Easter weekend, there’s no getting an electrician to come by. Especially until that tree and the accompanying debris was out of the way. Saturday and Sunday, we got the side of the house cleared, but still no electrician.

Rather than spend the night in a power-less house, we stayed in a hotel. That was Saturday night. And Sunday night. And Monday night. And now, Tuesday night.

There’s still no power at the house. Oh, the electrician got the power box and meter up. But there’s no line running from the pole to the house. That’s awaiting the power company, who’s awaiting the inspector signing off on the electrician’s work.

So, we’ve been having to stay in hotels since the storm.

Being homeless isn’t fun.

But, having to get up and go to work? While homeless?

That’s just not right.

I think, first thing in the morning, I’ll put on dirty clothes, head to the Piggly Wiggly and grab a shopping cart, then wander around town, picking up trash bags full of thrown out bread from Subway.

Then I’ll go register to vote as a Democrat. Several times.

After all, in for a penny, in for a pound.

I’m wondering what else I should be doing, now that I’ve joined that elite group.