Rain, Rain, Go Away

I imagine people in South Carolina are singing that old nursery rhyme. Scary times as the effects of Hurricane Joaquin hit the southeast this week. In Arizona and New Mexico, warnings are out about severe thunderstorms through Wednesday. Yet in California the drought continues.

Extreme weather conditions seem to dominate the news. More important is how the weather affects people. In Michigan, we’re far enough away from the east coast that we only get minor changes—cloudy, some rain. I can’t imagine having to evacuate because of a hurricane or wild fires. Losing my home would be devastating. Worse, losing a family member. While we don’t have hurricanes, wildfires, or earthquakes, Michigan isn’t exempt from severe weather. We get tornadoes. Little warning, barely enough to get to a place of safety like the basement or a closet.

What if we could control the weather? That’s the stuff of science fiction, right? In fact, in my sci-fi romance Switched, the weather is controlled on the planet Serenia. Farmers know when they’ll get rain, enough for their crops. The mountains do not pose a deterrent to rain, no deserts on Serenia. The weather is always temperate, no snow or ice storms, no droughts. Since science isn’t my forte, I don’t explain how scientists managed. I just assume they figured it out. It’s fiction.

Consider the advances in technology. In her 102 years on earth, my mother-in-law saw (or read about) the Orville Brothers’ first flight (three years before she was born) and a man walking on the moon. If you think about it, the advances in flight that took place over a period of sixty-six years are amazing.

What about communication? From Alexander Graham Bell’s first telephone call in 1876 to today’s cellular phones. Many people don’t even bother with landlines. They only have cell phones. And those phones do more than send/receive calls. They take pictures, access the internet, keep track of appointments, stream movies, control home security, and a variety of other things I haven’t figured out yet. (I haven’t figured out most of the aforementioned things, either.)

If science has advanced so far in a little over a hundred years, why couldn’t scientists figure out how to control weather? Maybe not in my lifetime. Possibly in my grandchildren’s. Imagine no droughts or floods, no tornadoes or hurricanes. Why not? 

Until then, our thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by the latest hurricane.

Spring Nasties

Last month, I wrote how great it was that spring finally arrived. Spring also brings nasty stuff. Like rain. In moderation, rain is good. You know the old saying “April showers bring May flowers.” More rain and you have mud. With the house construction next door, the rain is washing dirt into the pond behind our houses. Of course, the pond helped that by flooding over its “bank” and when it receded dragged more dirt in. Poor ducks have to swim in all that muddy water. Too much rain and you have real floods that endanger lives and property. We’ve been fortunate that the spring flood of 2012 hasn’t been repeated here in West Michigan. Sorry, California. I wish we could send some rain to you.

Road Construction. The signs are out again. Winter is hard on roads in Michigan—as elsewhere. We know it’s spring when the orange barrels and warning signs come out. In between cussing at the delays and taking alternate routes, our mantra is “it’ll be great when it’s done.” We just have to learn to live with it.

End of regular television programming. The season for prime time shows is ending. You can see the episodes building to a crisis and you know they’re going to end on a cliff-hanger. Too bad we have to wait until almost October to find out what happens next. I used to hate the season’s end because that meant constant reruns. A whole summer of shows we’ve seen before. But thanks to the minor networks (that aren’t so minor anymore) we get to watch the new seasons of old programs or the advent of new ones. Thank goodness someone in marketing got the brilliant idea of filling the void.

Another spring nasty is the onset of allergies and the spring cold. How can a simple virus make you feel so bad? I apologize to all those people who are suffering diseases so much worse. A cold isn’t life threatening. It just makes you want to curl up and wish the world would leave you alone. I’ve only had this cold for four days. Four days when I didn’t even want to read. Me, not reading? Impossible. Yet, it was true. My eyes hurt too much to focus on words. Instead, I watched many episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise. Correction: I slept through many episodes. And took real naps—the kind where you get into bed and pulled the covers over your head. Then I slept through the night. I think I’ve stored up enough sleep to last several weeks.

Maybe it’s a good thing Hubs and I got our colds now (he so kindly shared his with me) instead of in a few weeks—when we get to meet our new granddaughter. She’s here! A few weeks early but healthy. Mom and baby are doing well. Dad can’t stop grinning. Through the wonders of technology, we’ve gotten to see her and hear her cry and laugh. She’s a real charmer.

I guess spring isn’t so nasty after all.