Tuesday, 20 September... Phone call from Dude

Dude called to find out what I was planning to do. She plans to ride out the storm with her KJ and her dog and14 cats. She invites me to come over and stay with them, but I tell her that I’m boarding up and getting the hell out of town.

She sounds nervous, as she has just gotten back to Houston from riding out Katrina in Mobile. I try to talk her into evacuating with me, but she declines. I’m not surprised, since she’s a girl that travels back to Mobile to ride out all of the hurricanes and take care of her two homes there.

I reminisce about all of the years that we were neighbors, and about all of the elaborate plans and preparations we made. We rode out TS Allison together. I would feel much better if we were still living as next door neighbors, but she will soon be leaving Houston permanently for a new (and to return to her old) life in Mobile.

Sigh...