Buffy, the Hurricane and Me
I just ate two slices of leftover Indian Pizza (Good stuff, Indian Pizza. Imagine Indian food on Pizza crust. It sounds weird but it tastes good. It even comes with that green sauce and red, onion chutney stuff.) and now I’m sitting on the couch watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Early Buffy. I time my lunch to correspond with the 2pm reruns on FX. Buffy is a great show, BTW. Eventually I’d like to revisit the entire series on DVD, but there are already 126 items in my Netflix queue… so it will have to wait.
I was sitting here watching Buffy flirt with Angel and thinking about what a crappy blogger I am. I can’t seem to get a regular schedule going. (Now HibiscusFire, there’s a blogger; good writing, up-to-date, interesting posts. Sigh…) I should just post when I get the urge (like now), but then I feel like I’m obligated to report everything I’ve done since my last post, but since I may have done quite a bit it seems too daunting to create this whole, massive update so I put it off, thus falling further “behind.”
Then it occurred to me that maybe no one (but me) really cares about comprehensiveness. In fact, most of you probably don’t care to hear about everything I’ve done since my last post. The highlights are enough, yeah? Besides, if I leave out stuff you won’t even know.
* * *
Hurricane
On the Sunday before Labor Day I was driving with my family back from the lakehouse in Greers Ferry, Arkansas to my folks house in Cabot. On the radio we heard the mayor of New Orleans read an order for the evacuation of the city. Honestly, the gravity of the announcement didn’t sink in as I listened. Instead I was struck by the lackluster oratory skills of the mayor. He sounded like he was reading the minutes of an uneventful city council meeting rather than an historic evacuation notice. I remember commenting on his delivery without really considering the content. I hadn’t followed the news since arriving at the lake on the previous Thursday so, despite this announcement on the radio, it wasn’t until later that evening that I realized what was about to happen.
I spent a lot of time over the following days watching storm coverage on television. The scale of the thing is mind blowing: an entire city, the entire gulf coast. New Orleans (rightfully) got most of the spotlight, but a huge swath of Mississippi was equally devastated. Entire towns were wiped out and, unlike New Orleans, many of these smaller places will likely never recover. (However, I suppose even New Orleans’ recovery is still in doubt at this time…)
My dad’s side of the family lives in Wiggins, Mississippi, which is located about 35 miles due north of Gulfport and the coast. Wiggins wasn’t completely destroyed like many of the coastal towns, but when you consider that the eye of the storm was roughly 30 miles wide they still took a hell of pounding. Trees were uprooted, power lines were downed and residents were warned to boil their water supply, but all of my family was safe.
By Wednesday the Mississippi folks were able to (intermittently) make calls on their cell phones. As soon as my dad spoke to them he was ready to load up his truck with gas cans (he figured he could haul about 120 gallons) and take a delivery of fuel and supplies to his family. However, when we checked with the Mississippi State Police we discovered than non-emergency vehicles were not being permitted to travel below Jackson, MS (a good 160 miles north of the coast). We also heard that police were seizing these sorts of personal gasoline shipments for use by emergency vehicles. My dad reluctantly agreed not to attempt the trip.
In the end, another relative that lived in Louisiana made it to Wiggins and delivered gas and generators. I haven’t spoken to my family members there since returning to San Francisco, but as of last Friday I read that “some” of the power has been restored but more rural areas around Wiggins may not have power for “months.”
Also, my brother’s sister-in-law lives in Gulfport, MS—right on the coast. She’d told everyone she was leaving the area on Sunday evening, but by Wednesday we’d still had no word from her. It turned out that she’d never left. She’d told her family she would evacuate so they “wouldn’t worry” but actually stayed in her home with her husband. Miraculously, they and their home were unharmed. The vast majority of Gulfport was leveled, but the neighborhood in which they lived was inexplicably spared. They got damn lucky.
Even as Katrina coverage slowly recedes from the headlines (or more importantly, from the public consciousness) millions of people still need a lot of help. If you haven’t done so already, please consider making a donation to the Red Cross. Also, check with your employer to see if they have a donation-matching program. If they don’t, lobby to start one.
Arkansas
Despite the hurricane, I’m happy to report that I wonderful time in Arkansas. I was there for eighteen days, which I now realize is the longest, uninterrupted time I’ve spent in Arkansas in ten years. Thanks to my new virtual lifestyle I was able to work from there as easily as I could from my home office in San Francisco. (My mom is very high-tech—broadband and a wireless network.) It was great! I’d finish up my work by around 1pm, then spend the rest of the day watching hummingbirds on the back porch, playing with the dogs and horses, or just visiting with my family. Of course I probably gained ten pounds as my mom insisted on cooking a massive southern meal every night. (Not that I complained too much.)
Over the Labor Day weekend Katy and her family (mom, dad, sister) also came down from Bay Area. We spent most of our time at Greers Ferry Lake: boating, floating around on “noodles” and inflatable rafts while enjoying cool beverages, jumping off rocky cliffs, and playing poker at night. Good times.
Memphis
I made a (much too short) trip to Memphis during the week after Labor Day. I lived there for about six years in the early nineties, so it was great to see friends and just enjoy the city—if only for a day. And let me tell you: southern hospitality is alive and well in the River City. I don’t think I ever feel as welcome and comfortable as when I visit my peeps in Memphis. (Thank you, guys/gals.) I had such a good time I’ve already booked a longer return trip in November.
San Francisco
Now… back to reality.
Buffy is long over. This post is done. What do I do next?
September 16th, 2005 at 11:30 am
So what’s the coach think about you sitting on him? Or is it like a girls swim team coach? Were you guys on the floor? Or loveseat? Some kind of couch maybe?
(Yes, I’m an insatiable smart-ass. Can’t be helped. I know no restraint.)
And yes, you should give us the highlights. We like your highlights. And we’re all hungry for this magical Indian Pizza of which you speak. Where the hell am I gonna find Indina pizza in Helena. Damn you, Jeff. Damn you and your chutney to hell.
September 16th, 2005 at 12:09 pm
It was a wrestling coach. He likes it when people sit on him. He’s gone now so now I’m on a “couch.” (Thanks for pointing out my blind faith in spell-checking appliacations… smart-ass.)
No Indian Pizza in Helena? Sounds like a market ripe with opportunity! Perhaps this could mark the genesis of “Sims Indian Pizza.” I see colorful cups and plates. I see the Supersize Bombay Supreme. I see franchises across the mid-south, movie tie-ins, animatronic Bollywood/Blues performers. This could be big! (Just remember where you got the idea.)
September 16th, 2005 at 8:17 pm
Let’s get one thing straight: Buffy is NEVER over. And Angel and company did NOT go out like Butch and Sundance facing the Bolivian army. I will not believe it. And yes, I am watching the reruns on FX (Buffy) and TNT (Angel) faithfully, as if I’ve never seen them before. With TiVo, comes the sickness.
And James Marsters will now be on “Smallville”, a show I’ve never seen, and Joss Wheedon has a movie coming out–”Serenity”. There is hope.
You will get no depth from me in this debut comment–just shallow. Sorry. It’s all I got in me tonight.
I wish I’d known about your blog a long time ago–it’s going to take me forever to get through it! Now I have to look for your post titled “Horses”, which made your mother cry.
Take care–I’ll be BACK!!!!
September 16th, 2005 at 8:25 pm
P.S. Wanna be our Netflix Friend, in case we miss something we should see, or could avoid something we shouldn’t–like “Hide And Seek?” If you visit my blog, PLEASE participate in the “Movies To Which Rapt Attention Must Be Paid, For Things May Not Be As They Seem”. No one is really getting the idea, I don’t think.
September 25th, 2005 at 11:33 pm
Been meaning to respond to this for awhile and now even this response seems out of date since a whole new hurricane has passed through…but I hope your family in Wiggins is still okay and that maybe they’ve got power by now? That was nice of your dad to try to go down there.
You watch Buffy? I thought I was a dork for getting into the new Battlestar Galactica…
Mmmmm…Indian Pizza. Sign me up. I don’t think we have that here in KC either.
18 days at home?? Wow I would love that. I tried to schedule a week-long trip home, but it didn’t work out because I got in a play that cut it short. But any time home is good these days, so I appreciated the few days I had. No lake though. Just lots of visiting at people’s houses.
You’re right, Hibiscusfire’s writing is really, really good. I’ve told a few people to read her blog. How is it that so many doctors make good writers? Their keen powers of observation? Their love of human nature? Their incredible attention to detail? Who knows, but it seems to be a good combination.
September 26th, 2005 at 8:54 am
I watch Buffy, too! Do you know that there are 2 episodes in the morning…7a-9a ? Until a few weeks ago, they also had 2 shows in the afternoon.
BTW, Buffy is gonna do PORN! -
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2004580002-2005440372,00.html
September 28th, 2005 at 9:29 am
I just hear from my MS relatives:
- They had no power for 16 days.
- For the first several days after the gas stations had fuel again it was being rationed, but there doesn’t seem to be a problem with access now.
- They were eating MREs and Red Cross plate lunches for much of that time during which the power was out.
- It was very hard on the older folks. My aunt’s parents are 78 and 84 and have Parkinson’s. She said it was pretty rough given the lack of comforts. She said the heat was probably the worse thing since nobody had air conditioning.
- All or most of the power is back on in thier country thanks to power crews from “5 states” that came down to lend a hand.
Finally, my aunt also sent me these photos of Biloxi. This is *not* where she is, but further south right on the coat:
http://www.gulfcoastnews.com/KatrinaPhotos1.htm
September 28th, 2005 at 9:33 am
Oh, and Ob1. She’s not going to *do* porn, she’s gonna do *fake* porn. Big difference. (You scared me. I thought maybe she reallt did get sick of the horror movie circuit and finally said “ah, screw it”… literally.)
That being said, I may have to check out that film because I’m interested to see her development as an actress.
September 28th, 2005 at 11:42 am
RE: Buffy …LOL. I know….but it made you read the article didn’t it! HA!
Glad your relatives are doing OK now.
September 28th, 2005 at 11:49 am
“- All or most of the power is back on in thier country thanks to power crews from “5 states” that came down to lend a hand.”
Last year after Hurricane Charlie (I think it was Charlie) knocked our power out for 10 days, I met a guy that worked on a power crew in a local pub. The first thing out of my mouth was “Thanks for all the hard work”…. the guy thought I was being sarcastic. Far from it…I saw how those guys really busted their asses 24/7 to get power back. After buying him a few beers, he told me that after about a week or so without power, some people really turned nasty.
If you ever get a chance, buy a power guy a beer or 6. They are unsung heroes in my book.
September 28th, 2005 at 3:20 pm
“animatronic Bollywood/Blues performers”
You, sir, are a GENIUS!!! The could play little fiberglass sitars and sing songs about the importance of friendship, civic pride and animal-headed gods with multiple arms.
August 6th, 2006 at 9:31 am
Good job.