He liked to sit in his yard at night and light sparklers. They reminded him of her shining, bright eyes when she looked at a flower, the blue sky, a puppy, or him. He was sad when they went out. He feared that, someday, her eyes would cease to sparkle for him.
The theme for this week’s Song Lyric Sunday is fortune telling/predicting the future. I’m not choosing the obvious song this week. Instead, I’m choosing a song sung by Cher, who sang quite a bit of gypsy music. This song was one of her best. It was written and composed by John Durrill.
Dark Lady (1974)
Cher
The fortune queen of New Orleans,
Was brushing her cat in her black limousine
On the backseat were scratches from
The marks of men her fortune she had won
Couldn’t see through the tinted glass,
She said “home James” and he hit the gas
I followed her to some darkened room,
She took my money, she said “I’ll be with you soon”
Dark lady laughed and danced and lit the candles one by one
Danced to her gypsy music till her brew was done
Dark lady played back magic till the clock struck on the twelve
She told me more about me than I knew myself
She dealt two cards, a queen and a three
And mumbled some words that were so strange to me
Then she turned up a two-eyed jack,
My eyes saw red but the card still stayed black
She said the man you love is secretly true
Gratitude is an emotion I don’t think I express often enough. Tonight, I feel gratitude, but a range of other emotions as well. I’m grateful that I’ve been lucky enough to find out that my little home in South Florida only sustained minor damage from Hurricane Irma. There was some minor outside wind damage. Nothing that isn’t fixable. I hope there isn’t any damage on the inside. It, according to a friend and neighbor, doesn’t seem to have had any roof leaks. I think I dodged a bullet where some, where I live, weren’t so lucky. The infrastructure on my island is having a little more trouble getting up and going. The National Guard has been called in to help folks out with issues like food, water, and ice, along with getting the power and water back on. This is on one little island off the Florida Coast. Extrapolate that to the entire State of Florida, very little of which was spared. When we can go back is anyone’s guess.
Along with grateful, I’m also puzzled. I’m hearing very little news coverage of the cleanup and fixup efforts in Florida and Texas. Considering that Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Harvey affected something close to 15 million Texans and Floridians, not counting us snowbirds, I don’t quite understand this. Where is the national news coverage? Cities in Florida were devastated. We all know about Houston. The Florida Keys are a news story themselves. If I’m missing something, including the right news coverage, someone please point me in the right direction. I watch very little television and almost no frivolous television, so maybe I am missing the coverage I would like to see.
I’m also sad tonight. I have heard some disparage others who have second homes in South Florida that they either lost or that sustained damage. Maybe that seems like excess to some folks, or conspicuous consumption, but as someone who has a very small and modest second home there, I would like to say a word about it. I worked very very hard for many years in order to be able to afford to live in Florida during a few winter months each year. It took a lot of education and even more years of hard work. I’m sure I’m speaking for many people with second homes in another state. Others could have worked as hard as I did and reaped the same rewards. It is unnecessary and cruel to celebrate loss of property for people who spent their whole lives working for it. Rant over.
It only happened to Rachel once. Maybe because, after that one time, she never let it happen again. If it had happened again, she hadn’t recognized it. She had walked into his office that one day, the day she’ll never forget. His desk faced the right wall. The door was open. He was at his desk, looking down, reading something. She reached in to knock at the open door which swung open to the right. As she knocked, he turned toward her.
She had to keep herself from gasping when his eyes met hers. They were laughing eyes. Dark, dark brown in color. Mesmerizing. They grabbed her eyes and held them.
He said, “Can I help you?”
Rachel couldn’t speak. She had forgotten why she had come to his office.
She mumbled, “Sorry, wrong office.” Then she fled down the hall. Back to her own office. She was breathless when she sat down at her desk. She knew his name. She quickly remembered why she had gone to see him. She couldn’t go back, but she had to. He was going to be her professor in a class this semester.
Rachel was a research assistant at the University of South Florida. She was pursuing her Ph.D in Computer Science and Technology. Peter Fitzgerald was an Associate Professor in the Department and her professor in an upcoming class. Rachel felt like she’s just been hit by a train. Could you really fall in love at first sight? Rachel was far too sensible to think that. It was just a moment. Everyone had moments now and then. It would pass and the next time she saw him, he would be just another man on the street.
What Rachel didn’t know is that Peter had felt the lightning bolt as well. He wondered who that girl was. Was she an undergraduate student? A graduate student? He had to find her. See her again. He walked around through the halls of the Technology Building, but he didn’t see her anywhere.
Early that afternoon, Rachel had Peter’s class. She dreaded it. How would she face him after fleeing his office. She slipped in from the back as he was calling roll. After class, he walked up to her.
“You didn’t get here in time for roll call,” he said.
“I’m sorry, Professor Fitzgerald.”
“Please follow me to my office to fill out some information for me.”
Suddenly, Rachel realized she was daydreaming. That day had been so long ago. Rachel couldn’t imagine why it had popped into her mind while she was driving down the road in South Florida. She hadn’t thought of Peter in many months, although he did pop into her head from time to time. She was successful in shoving him out of her head these days. She was happy with her life. When she did think of Peter, she usually thought of the end of their relationship. Today, instead, she had thought of that very first day.
The Glory Days. They had certainly had them. For years. The last time she saw him, those brown eyes didn’t sparkle any more. He said he was happy, but his demeanor and his eyes said something different. He had settled. Settled for what made him content at the moment. That was all right with Rachel. He wasn’t hers to save or care for.
Only one thing made Rachel sad now. She wished she could have emotionally let him go sooner. She would have lived a happier life. Instead, she had waited and hoped that one day, they would be together. But, it was not to be. She’d had relationships. Lots of them. She’d even been married. No one had ever touched her heart and soul like Peter. Now she wondered if it was because she never gave anyone else the chance. It was probably too late now.
Rachel remembered the day when Peter looked at her, after they made love, and said, “In your eyes, I’ve found the missing pieces.”
She felt bound to him then. That was right before he left her forever.
___________________________________
#fictionfriday is brought to us by Simply Marquessa
April was up at 5 a.m., fixing Keith’s breakfast. Eggs and toast. Marriage didn’t seem good to April. He never made her feel loved. She tried all kinds of things to endear herself to him. This morning, she had even cut little heart shapes out of his toast.
Keith walked into the breakfast room and sat down without speaking. She served his breakfast. He started to eat and looked at the pieces of toast.
“April,” he said, “if all the bread has holes in it, take it back to the store.”
April threw the skillet on the floor and walked out.
Photo Credit Kelvin M. Knight
The final analysis on the aftermath of Hurricane Irma isn’t in yet. In fact, it won’t be in for a long time. Why? Hurricane Irma isn’t over yet. Rain is still falling in northern Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, and….well…rain will fall in other states due to a low pressure that was Irma where hurricane rains should never fall. Sandy already grabbed the title of Superstorm and, indeed, it was, so what are we going to call Irma? Surely, it is deserving of a title of something other than “hurricane.” Maybe phenomenon? Natural disaster? I like “force majeure.” Translated “a superior force.” There has never been another hurricane like it in recorded history.
I’m not going to quote figures in this post. I will only say that millions of people had to be evacuated from their homes in Florida and some in other states. I don’t even want to guess at the dollars in property damage not only in South Florida but in northern Florida where such damage was unexpected. As far as the Keys are concerned, the situation there is almost more than I can bear to think about. Rescue and recovery are on their way to some of the Keys that are literally underwater and others with terrible damage. I fear hearing the death toll. I only hope more evacuated than we think. Property damage in the Keys? Unbelievable. I honestly believe we will never know the death toll from Hurricane Irma.
Photos of flooding from Hurricane Irma
Millions of people experienced high levels of stress and anxiety as we watched Irma plod across the Atlantic. We tried to secure belongings and figure out where to go and what to do on a level never seen before. The situation in Houston with Hurricane Harvey was bad enough. Hurricane Irma affected an entire state. More than one state. A natural disaster? Certainly. Some say a natural disaster on a level never before seen in the United States.
From my point of view, a week of my life is gone. Lost to Hurricane Irma, The Weather Channel, and every news channel I could find. I wrote very little, my primary occupation now. I seldom left the vicinity of a computer or television. Thank goodness for my good friends who kept me company and provided sympathy. I wouldn’t have survived the week without them. I have a personal stake in Florida, but my stake is more the people I’ve met in Florida than my own property. More the “old Florida” I’ve grown to know and love than any tourist trap or attraction. I grieved for Florida this past week and will for a long time to come as it will take a long time for Florida to rebuild and recover. I hope to be there, at least some, to help.
The frightening part, at least for me, is that hurricane season isn’t over yet. I have to believe that any other hurricane will be only a pale reminder of Irma. I shouldn’t say that. The oceans are warm, too warm. Monsters are growing in them.
Marianne has been in with the doctors a long time. That’s what Marianne’s husband, Joseph, was thinking as he sat in the hospital waiting room. He noticed the flowers. Pretty. He hated hospitals. He’d just focus on the flowers while he waited on Marianne.
“Excuse me. Mr. Hayworth?”
Joseph jumped. He’d nodded off, staring at those flowers.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Hayworth. Your wife has a collapsed lung. We accidentally caused it to collapse at the end of the procedure. She has to stay until it resolves. She’s in Room 412.”
Joseph was still trying to wake up. He jumped up, thanked the doctor, and shook his hand. The doctor left and walked quickly down the hall.
“Now what?” Joseph thought.
He walked over to the flowers, snatched them out of the pots, and started walking quickly to Room 412 to see Marianne.
140 words
Photo Credit Shivamt25
The theme for this week’s Song Lyric Sunday is revenge/vengeance. This is the first song I thought of:
You’re So Vain
Carly Simon
Lyrics
You walked into the party
Like you were walking on a yacht
Your hat strategically dipped below one eye
Your scarf, it was apricot
You had one eye on the mirror
And watched yourself gavotte
And all the girls dreamed that they’d be your partner
They’d be your partner, and
You’re so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You’re so vain,
I’ll bet you think this song is about you
Don’t you?
Don’t you?
Oh, you had me several years ago
When I was still naive
Well, you said that we made such a pretty pair
And that you would never leave
But you gave away the things you loved
And one of them was me
I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee
Clouds in my coffee, and
You’re so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You’re so vain, you’re so vain
Lyrics by Metrolyrics
What a bad time for me to write a stream of consciousness blog post! There is only one thing streaming through my consciousness and that is the situation in Florida and the Caribbean islands due to #HurricaneIrma. I suppose my motive for writing this post at all is a bit of catharsis. You see, the hurricane is about to come roaring up through the Florida peninsula, clinging to the Gulf Coast, and I own property on a barrier island off the Gulf Coast. Chances are, nothing will be left after being touched by a Category 5 hurricane.
My own property isn’t my only motive in writing this blog post. I also want to call attention to the 5.6 million people who have had to be evacuated out of Florida. That is a huge number of evacuees for me to wrap my mind around. There is going to be massive property damage in Florida and many of these people may not be able to go home for a while. Just like the people of the U.S. have helped the people of Houston after Hurricane Harvey, please help the displaced people of Florida who are victims of Hurricane Irma.
Now to continue to sit, wait, and watch the Weather Channel (and the weather online). It’s a bit like watching a train wreck and not being able to look away.
Hurricane Irma is still a Category 5 hurricane at 2:00 a.m., Friday, September 8, with winds at 160 mph. The winds of this historic hurricane stayed at 185 mph for an astonishing 35 hours. Just because they have dropped to 160 does not mean that Hurricane Irma is not as strong as ever. It is still a strong Category 5 hurricane, showing no real signs of weakening. It is currently lashing the Turks and Caicos islands, moving toward the southeastern Bahamas. Puerto Rico did not sustain a direct hit, but it did sustain heavy damage. Irma is approaching South Florida and is expected to arrive there by Saturday evening, with tropical storm force winds possibly arriving earlier.
Since I blogged #HurricaneIrma last night, it has done massive damage to island nations. Hurricane warnings are up for portions of Florida, Cuba, Haiti, and all of the Bahamas. By morning, hurricane warnings will likely be up for all or most of the state of Florida. Storm surge warnings are up for all of the Bahamas, South Florida, parts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and parts of Cuba. Surge amounts vary from 3-5 feet to 15-20 feet, but it is an inexact science.
The projected track of Hurricane Irma has changed since I blogged last night. It is no longer expected to track up the east coast of Florida. Instead, most models put Irma tracking directly up the middle of the peninsula of Florida. Since Irma is such a large hurricane in geographic size, wider than the Florida peninsula, it will affect most of both coasts. Barrier islands off both coasts are under mandatory evacuation orders.
The impact of Hurricane Irma’s effect on the coasts depends on when it makes a northward turn. The closer it gets to the eastern coast of Florida before it makes its turn, the more it will also impact the Gulf coast. If it doesn’t turn until it gets closer to the middle of the state, then both coasts will be impacted. The northeastern side of the hurricane will be most severely impacted with the western side less so. However, hurricane force winds extend in every direction 75 miles from the center of the hurricane.
Writer’s Note: Once again, I find myself speechless. There seems to be nothing at all to add except this. To anyone reading this still on a barrier island off the Florida coast, if you can still evacuate, please consider doing so. To everyone else in my adopted home for six months of the year, please stay safe.
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