Well, with Florida sitting like a bowling pin on hurricane alley and the ball rolling our way, it seems an appropriate time for this repost...
.
.
.


Hurricane Warning

It's 5 a.m. and here I am out standing in the rain.
It makes me shutter at the news of mister hurricane.
There's food to get and candles and those batteries, of course
And other little odds and ends to help survive the force.
The boat I'll fill with water lest it turn into a plane.
The hoses and the garbage cans, I must bring in - again.
Drinking water must be filled to help me stay alive,
Vienna sausages by the case will insure I survive.

Seymour's right there down the road. Pepper's right near, too
And I am sure that they are doing these same things I do.
It's a fact of life known to Floridians, one and all,
It's best to be prepared when Mother Nature comes to call.

Fred Hobbs is watching from upstate. Caroline's out there, too.
I wish them all the best and hope that they all make it through.
It seems that Mother Nature never likes to skip a chance
At showing little folks like us, our insignifigance.

So it's off to batten hatches, time to tie possessions down
And, when Frances has passed, we'll have to see what's still around.
It's just an inconvenience....just a small calamity
But I've survived Toerag and Suthern - how much worse can this one be?
.
.


The Calm Before the Storm
.
.
The evening is quite peaceful.
The air is slightly warm.
We're going through what experts call
The calm before the storm.

There's nothing in this tranquil scene
To raise cause for alarm.
A night like any other, it's
The calm before the storm.

There's only one thing missing.
I can hear no birds outside.
The lizards, which abound in droves,
Have also gone to hide.

It invokes an eerie feeling
That things are not quite the norm.
God's creatures are familiar with
The calm before the storm.

Our fate is in His hands now
To keep us safe from harm
And, hopefully, we'll get to see
The calm after the storm.

The Forgotten

So now I sit here in my study
On this bright September morning,
A scene so tranquil one forgets
The weather center and its warning.
My house is, thank God, well-constructed,
My preparations thorough, too.
I feel no major threat impending
As Frances now comes passing through.

Not true of many other people
Who are less fortunate than I.
My thoughts and prayers go out to them.
May this storm also pass them by.

The homeless people live in boxes.
Miami streets they call their home.
No fancy relatives to help them
And they are out there all alone.

The shelters do what they are able
But they will fill up all too fast.
The stench will be quite overpowering.
The food and water will not last.

Some of them can not use the shelters.
Their crimes will not let them appear.
God has become their judge and jury
And now their day in court is here.

The elderly along the beaches
Sit there alone and scared to death.
They have outlived all who could help them
They sit in fear with baited breath.

Hospital patients lay in small rooms,
Machines to help them stay alive,
Watch raging winds from out the window
And wonder if they will survive.

Of all the people that I think of
As rambling thoughts run through my mind,
The ones that really strike me deeply
Are the poor souls that are blind.

No way can I ever imagine
What those poor folks are going through.
The terror they must overcome is
Something I could never do.

So now the storm is fast approaching
As our sweet Mother pays a call.
If there were one thing I could wish for,
I'd wish that I could help them all.