Dennis the Menace

Sorry, couldn't resist. Oh well, ho-hum, another year, another hurricane season. But let's get this one started early, why don't we? Say early July or thereabouts. Yesterday I finished putting last year's hurricane chronicles in the archives only to find out that a cat 4 storm is forecast to skirt close to Florida. My area's not expecting a direct hit, just a few rainbands (which come through with 40 mile an hour winds and spit an inch of rain in fifteen minutes). So I've been out caulking any cracks I find around windows and doors. If you drive around town, you can still see tarps on people's roofs, damage from last year's mess.

A more likely target is the Pensacola area, which got slammed last year by Ivan. Piles of rubble still lying around. I don't think they're ready for this. Our friend Susan (It sounds like my house is inside of a dishwasher), of Lilac Rose, survived it, and now she's gearing up again. We should pray for her safety, and the wisdom not to ride it out if it's a cat 4. Maybe it'll fizzle out. Maybe it'll turn away. I just hope it doesn't do a Charley on me.

Update: This thing looks like a buzz saw. It's a history maker, the strongest storm to come out of the Caribbean this early in the year ever. It's hardly believable that it could come in as a Cat 4 in precisely the same place as did Ivan. I trust any readers are praying for Susan, though I notice none have left any well-wishes in her comments box.