I have spent the past two hours alternating between sitting on my front porch swing and in my living room enjoying a spring rain. My two tomcats are accompanying me. They are both fascinated with the rain, noise and light show. One cat is enjoying venturing out onto the steps and getting rained on then returning to the porch. He keeps giving me the evil eye as if I am responsible for his wet fur. The two female cats are upstairs entertaining my son. My two dogs are underneath my back deck watching the rain from there. They are collies and shedding their winter undercoats. Tomorrow their fur will look terrible. They love the cool air and the rain. They love the mudhole where they’re lying.
We are getting one of those rains that is very heavy one minute and then lets up the next. The smell in the air of fresh rain and lightening with a cool breeze at 57 degrees Fahrenheit is wonderful. The high today was 71. We have been having strong winds in excess of 60mph, tornados, and hail in most of the storms the past couple of weeks. This storm is very nice and relaxing. Every year before the heat hits, it rains frequently, and everything is turning green with blossoming flowers. I enjoy this very short spring season we have. I prefer fall and winter, but these few short weeks are nice. We get the excessive winds, hail and tornados from the drastic temperature changes. The weather bounces back and forth. A few days ago it was over 90 degrees. If you don’t live in tornado alley or grow up here, tornados and our weather can be rather frightening. Sometimes it’s frightening to us natives. I lived in the Miami, Florida area for two years. The feel in the air when a hurricane is moving in is the same as when tornados are a threat. Florida has tornados also. The air is still and heavy. With tornados, the humidity is sometimes very high. You can feel the low pressure system moving into the area. Most tornadoes form where the hot and cold air meet. The storm clouds create hail, they can create a spin, downdrafts, and tornados. During the daylight hours you can see the spin in the clouds and tails trying to drop down as they move over you. We have really good storm trackers here, tornado alarms, and weather alerts. Usually, we have enough warning to get to safety. You learn what to look for and what you need to do to protect yourself and your family. Night tornados and rain wrapped tornados are dangerous. You cannot see them unless lightening happens to strike near one while you are looking in the correct spot. If you’re awake, a tornado sounds like a train. If you can hear “the train” you already need to be sheltered inside or underground. There are numerous houses where I live which have bedrooms in the basements of their houses. If it’s tornado weather, sleep downstairs if you can.
People get sick with colds and allergies this time of year. People cough, sneeze and suffer headaches caused by sinus allergies. It doesn’t last long and then people move on to coughing and sneezing from wheat, canola, and alfalfa fields blossoming and/or being harvested. Canola fields are beautiful but stink like rotting corpses. Canola has bright yellow blossoms similar to sunflowers only smaller. Thankfully, my immediate area does not grow sunflowers. They too are very pretty fields but set off my allergies. Rain clears the allergens out of the air providing temporary relief for most people. It is not difficult to distinguish colds and allergies from other viruses.
As I’m sitting here relaxing and enjoying my evening, I’ve turned introspective on the current state of America and the world in response to Rona. We have hospital capacity with qualified staffing throughout the US. Our response should not be the same as a country without our resources. Our response should be more like we respond to tornadoes in tornado alley. Be aware, take precautions, stay as safe as possible, take care of your neighbor, but continue to carry on with your daily business and life. Continue to live. If the tornado is coming right at you, then shelter in place. If it’s across the street moving away from you, go check on your neighbors across the street and make sure they are ok after it’s passed. Give them warning to take shelter while it’s passing over them. We are here to live our lives instead of cowering in fear over the unknown. We shouldn’t be tanking our economy nationwide. Rona is dangerous and should be taken seriously. Rona isn’t so dangerous that we should stay in the basement or cellar for the entire tornado season in case someone might get struck. I lost an apartment roof when I was in college to a tornado. It was a mess but I am still here. We cannot stop Rona anymore than we can stop a tornado. We learn better warning systems, how to respond, and continue with our lives. Rona is endemic in the US population. She’s not going anywhere. If you’re not living in an area with a big outbreak, go to work. Go to the beach. Get on with your life. We could all stay indoors for months, reopen, and have one super spreader undo everything within a few weeks of reopening. It’s not worth it to bankrupt our country. The payoff isn’t there.
Middle of the Muddy Road 