Hurricanes
[August 28, 2012]
I would have never imagined hurricanes were all about waiting. Amongst people.
And I keep finding that collectivity again and again in New Orleans: Football season, musical festivals, Second Lines, Mardi Gras parades, building demolitions. Hurricanes are spent the same way, in the company of others.
But as an "outsider", I also keep find myself appreciating the fact that I'm being held in the niche created by the hands of friends like Dan and Monica and cooked food. The warm company of Charlotte and Mike, board games and wine.
I can listen to the wind outside, the trees are shaking, the toads sing in unison. We still have electricity and we all have endeavors of our own. Some crochet, some drink, some play xbox while I listen to music, write and read books.
There's a dog amongst us. Two cats in the other room, three on the house below.
A tight unit suspended in time by the force of nature.
I think that as we're sitting here, the chance of spending this much time together will be really slim. Not only a hurricane marks an event but the way you live it is what makes a difference. If you do it under a safe roof, in the quality and warmth of people, then you know you're lucky to be under the innocent threat of losing comfort for a few days as a best case scenario.
But if your house is under siege then life as you know it changes irrevocably. The word evacuation is something I will never take lightly again. It means taking what's precious and holding it close to you as long as you can through life's narrowing paths.
As for me again. I'm appreciative, I'm being sheltered, another word I will never take lightly again. I'm tucked in, with laughter and m&m's, with running water and gas and mostly with the last precious moments of comfort that electricity is able provide.
I would have never imagined hurricanes were all about waiting. Amongst people.
And I keep finding that collectivity again and again in New Orleans: Football season, musical festivals, Second Lines, Mardi Gras parades, building demolitions. Hurricanes are spent the same way, in the company of others.
But as an "outsider", I also keep find myself appreciating the fact that I'm being held in the niche created by the hands of friends like Dan and Monica and cooked food. The warm company of Charlotte and Mike, board games and wine.
I can listen to the wind outside, the trees are shaking, the toads sing in unison. We still have electricity and we all have endeavors of our own. Some crochet, some drink, some play xbox while I listen to music, write and read books.
There's a dog amongst us. Two cats in the other room, three on the house below.
A tight unit suspended in time by the force of nature.
I think that as we're sitting here, the chance of spending this much time together will be really slim. Not only a hurricane marks an event but the way you live it is what makes a difference. If you do it under a safe roof, in the quality and warmth of people, then you know you're lucky to be under the innocent threat of losing comfort for a few days as a best case scenario.
But if your house is under siege then life as you know it changes irrevocably. The word evacuation is something I will never take lightly again. It means taking what's precious and holding it close to you as long as you can through life's narrowing paths.
As for me again. I'm appreciative, I'm being sheltered, another word I will never take lightly again. I'm tucked in, with laughter and m&m's, with running water and gas and mostly with the last precious moments of comfort that electricity is able provide.
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