Couldn’t Stand the Weather | Miscellaneous Heathen

Hurricane Advice We Find Both Amusing And Terrifying: “Bring an axe to the attic:”
Some houses in Chalmette have water past the second floor. The Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries ahs approx. 60 boats ready to go out to rescue people from rooftops where necessary in St. Bernard Parish (and 200 throught SE Louisiana. Some people were reportedly trapped in attics. You’d think everyone would know by now, BRING AN AX TO THE ATTIC. I don’t care if you’re in Nebraska. If you go into the attic, you bring a damn ax.
Where the Heathen Ancestral Home Is, Superimposed Upon Certain Storms
What Our Mother Said Just Now As She Watched a 100-Foot Pine Get Uprooted In Her Front Yard: “The ground is breathing.”
Where Said Tree Fell: On the neighbor’s yard, but not without clipping the neighbor’s house as well.
What’s Weird About Knowing This: The eye is over them, but they still have phone service. No power, but phones work fine.
Why Our Mother Is Not, As She Was During Camille, Under A Mattress: We have no idea.
One Possible Reason: South Mississippi is one place (the only, really) in the US that can look at her and say, quite literally, “We’ve seen worse.” Assuming you’re old enough.
But Still: More trees have come down in her yard since we started writing this — one on the garage, it appears — and they now expect significant structural damage to the house.
At least there’s this: Our mother has decamped to an interior hallway, though there’s no word on mattresses. Yet.
Why We Still Think Mattresses Might Be Wise: Even inland, Katrina is still gusting at 135 with sustained winds at 105 — with hurricane force winds extending 125 miles from the center.
Our Mother’s Safety, Of Course, Is Our First Concern, But This Is Also A Load Off Our Minds: Early reports indicate that the French Quarter did not experience significant or catastrophic flooding.
Ergo, This Is What We’re Doing As Soon As Possible, God Willing: Eating here.