Oh, what can I tell you.
It feels like everything and nothing is happening all at once. The hurricane didn't touch us, or maybe it whispered in our ears, maybe the trees swayed a little more forcefully than they normally do, but not a drop of rain fell, not a single power line came down, there was no need for the five 12-packs of bottled water that now languish in the living room. Austin is full of people, though, seeking shelter from both storms. Friday night we went out to dinner with friends to a Chinese restaurant on the north side of town (fantastic, by the way -- I've finally eaten a good Chinese meal in Austin) which was packed to the gills with Houston folks. One guy told me he had driven for 16 hours, which meant he left home at 3 in the morning or so, and had just pulled in for dinner. It's usually a 2 1/2 - 3 hour drive.
In the middle of all of this my father was outfitted with a shiny new pacemaker. Seems to be a growing trend in my family. Both my parents now sport one, which I guess means I'm a likely candidate down the road, unless they come up with something even better by the time I'm eligible. He's fine, it's no big deal, but somehow it is a big deal, too. Parents, mortality...you know what I'm talking about. All that jazz.
And somewhere in D.C. my sister is maybe in jail tonight, having gone there with the intent of doing civil disobedience and getting arrested. There was no plan for a phone-call chain, so I have no idea what's happening. Hopefully it all went well and she got herself arrested, as planned.
People call and say "how are you? what's new?" and again I have this feeling: Everything. Nothing.
We're having record-breaking heat. I'm working. My printer is on the fritz again. We had pasta for dinner. All hell is breaking loose in the world.
What's new with you?
No comments:
Post a Comment