divine angst

It seems Rita took a more northerly turn than expected, so my hometown is not the danger I feared it would be.

That, of course, means that other towns are in danger—namely, the one my brother lives in. He’s decided to stay, but he’s prepared: boarded up and well-stocked. (And what a birthday present for him! He gains a year on Saturday, right when the storm is set to make landfall.) I guess all we can hope for is that Rita moves quickly and doesn’t dump 40-days-and-nights of rain on Houston like that one tropical storm did. Of course, the flip side of Rita moving quickly is that she’s likely to spawn a bunch of tornados. Joy!

Speaking of Allison, by the by, I’d say that Houston is at least aware of the problems such natural disasters bring and is likely more prepared than it might otherwise have been. Still, hurricanes are no fun in big cities. I’m praying that everyone who should have gotten out did and that those who are left behind are well prepared for power outages and other deprivations.