Frances

The current forecast states that Hurricane Frances has slowed to 110MPH. Still very powerful and very large.

I spent about an hour on the phone with my parents last night trying to convince them to evacuate. They're planning to stay in an interior room with no windows. (According to my sister, their preparations include dragging a mattress into the bathroom, filling the bathtub with water and baking a ham. A ham?) I keep telling them that this won't matter when the roof goes. I was horribly frustrated. Mom kept saying that she was practical and they'd be ok. I haven't the slightest idea what the hell practicality will do against a tree flying over 100 miles per hour.

I kept asking why they couldn't go to a shelter. "I don't feel comfortable there." There you have it. Personally, I can't imagine you'd be more comfortable huddled in a bathroom closet for 4 days, but obviously I'm not convincing anyone of anything.

After all these years, I'm still metaphorically at the kids' table.

I wonder if it's an attachment for the house that keeps them there. They've lived there longer than any other place in the world. This is the house they raised their children in. This is the house that means nothing to me if they are not safe.

Is it faith that keeps them there. Faith in the sturdiness of the house? Faith in God? Faith in the crazy luck that seems to run in the family? (There needs to be a post about this, but this is not the time.) As for me, I have faith in my martial arts training: "The best way to avoid a hit is to not be there."

At this point, there is nothing to do but hope for the best.