Tuesday in Texas - Weather Or Not!

I can remember as a kid wondering why “old” people were always so interested in the weather.  When my parents, who most usually were halfway of more across the country,  would talk to my grandparents in Delaware, the conversation always began with a recitation about the local weather. Why did people in Delaware care about the weather in California?  And why did people in Hawaii care about the weather in Delaware?  For many years, this ritual topic of conversation was a great mystery to me.

Now that I am one of those “old” people whose first words nearly every day are, “What is the weather supposed to be like today?”  and who now sits down in front of the TV when I get home from work to watch “the news,” which really means the weather, I understand.  As children, I don’t think we have any sense of the power of Mother Nature.  Our concept of how destructive the weather, and other natural phenomena, can be is unclear at best and probably more nearly non-existent.  My only interest in the weather was if it rained and kept me from playing outside or if there was lightening and it cancelled a swim meet or a band competition.  We still marched and swan in  the rain, sleet, snow and ice.  It’s a wonder more of us didn’t grow up to become mail carriers! 

In this current stage of my life, having now seen lives lost to hurricanes, tornadoes, lightening strikes, floods and earthquakes, I know these things are to be taken seriously.  A few years ago, I sat in my living room one spring afternoon and watched on TV as a tornado less than twenty five miles away picked up semi trucks and whirled them around as if they were toys.  In that moment, I was torn between watching the devastation unfold on TV and heeding the cries of our local sirens sounding to take cover in an interior closet.  Over the last week, I have watched as people in our neighboring county had to be rescued from their rooftops as flood waters swallowed their homes.  When you see these things happen, particularly so close to home, you learn to take the weather seriously, very seriously.

The funny thing is that I was aware of weather and natural disasters as a kid, I just didn't worry about them.  I lived in Hawaii where volcanoes erupted.  I lived in California where there are earthquakes.  I lived in various places up and down the east coast where hurricanes are prevalent.  In several of those places, my dad had command of Navy ships.  When the hurricanes came through, the ships were all sent out to sea.  Still I didn’t worry.  Why was I not scared by that?

The one thing that I never encountered weather-wise as a child was tornadoes or even the threat of a tornado.  It didn't take long once I moved to Texas for that to change.  My parents  would call and ask how the weather was in Texas and I then understood why someone living halfway across the country would care about the weather.  In retrospect, I realize that their concern was not really about the weather itself, but about the person, in this case me, who was experiencing the weather.  I guess they wanted to make sure that I was still in Texas and not in Oz.  But the question was never, “How are you handling the weather?” But rather  “How’s the weather?”  Semantics?  Maybe.

I’m sure that to someone who has never lived in tornado alley, the threat of a twister is scary.  I do know that there were times when my parents were worried for good reason.  You just learn how to be prepared for the possibilities as best as you can. When I lived in Hawaii, back in the 70’s, we had air raid drills in school.  Here in Texas, we have regular tornado drills.  And like me when I was their age, our students don’t take them seriously.  I can honestly say that I get that.  Hopefully they won’t have to learn this lesson the hard way.

The Texas weather has been wild, scary, and destructive this spring.  But yesterday was beautiful and sunny, the first such day in awhile.  And we reached ninety degrees here in Dallas, according to the car thermometer.  I was thankful for the beautiful sunshine because we have to have some major plumbing, or should I say re-plumbing, done at our house.  Our pipes are fifty year old cast iron and they have served their time and are now ready to “retire.”.   The primary issue started with a master bathroom  pipe.  The plumber first came out over a month ago and figured out the plan to repair things.  Since then, rain has delayed the work.  Finally, last week, they began digging under the house creating a four foot by four foot tunnel from front to back.  (It feels a little like Stalag 13 around here.)  Then it rained.  Again.  A lot.  

Yesterday, when I got home from a morning appointment, the plumber was in the yard checking on the pump that he was using to pump the six inches of water out of the tunnel.  He didn't seem too concerned about having to do that.  We talked about the next steps in what has become our month long and not anywhere near completion plumbing project.  I wonder if the plumber has checked the weather and knows that it is supposed to rain here on and off for the next week.  Surely he keeps up with the weather.  He is older than I am.  Check the weather…that’s what old grown up people do.  Right?  I guess he’ll be pumping water out of the tunnel again next week, when we have sunshine again.

After the plumber and I talked, I came inside to text Weber and give him the latest update.  In the midst of those messages, the house made a weird noise and I felt weird, kind of like I had vertigo for a second.  I sent a text to Weber that said, “I think we just had an earthquake.”  Weber’s response was, “Are you sure it was not something going on with the plumbing?”  Before I could respond, I received a text from another friend saying that he too thought that we had just experienced an earthquake.  About ten minutes later the official news report was released.  We did indeed have an earthquake, not a big one only 3.3, and it was centered in our city.

This is Texas!  Earthquakes aren’t supposed to happen here…but they are more and more.  There is lots of speculation as to why that is, but that is a topic for another day.  Suffice it to say that in the midst of floods and tornadoes, I don't want to have to worry about earthquakes too!

Okay Mother Nature, lesson learned.  I have grown old up and now know to take you and your natural phenomena seriously and to respect your strength and power.  I get it!  I’ll do it!

Feel free to call me from anywhere and ask me about the weather in Texas.  That let’s me know you care!

*** As I am about to hit "Publish" on this post, the heavens have opened up and it is pouring!