When It Rains It Pours

        Folks in parts of the United States must be getting pretty tired of the rain and the wild weather that's been coming with it. Floods, hail storms, and vicious tornadoes have wreaked havoc across the Midwest as the May 21st Judgment Day has been rescheduled for October 21st.

        Of late it seems that there is more news than the news stations can handle. The news outlets must be thrilled with the prospect that more viewers may be tuning in to see what craziness is going to happen next. Current events are falling into our lives like a torrential rain of data and dirt.

        As I flew into Memphis recently to make my connection to Knoxville, I looked down upon the receding floodwaters of the Mississippi. A lady in a nearby seat remarked that it was difficult to tell where the river was. Only then did I realize that I was looking at the Mississippi River and its overflow. I felt relief that we had reached Memphis and I had one more short flight before I would be at my destination.

         Later I saw on the news something about how they were going to open some floodgates which would cause major flooding in areas in Louisiana. They wanted to save some homes upriver but would have to sacrifice others to do so. I paid little attention to the story as I was mostly ignoring the news and just trying to enjoy my vacation.

        Then there were the tornadoes in Joplin and elsewhere, not to mention Schwarzenegger and Jared Loughner, Obama and Osama, Libya and all of the other crazy places in the world. I am inundated with images and my mind is flooded with information that overflows beyond my comprehension.

        It's kind of like my life this year. Where did the time go since the start of 2011? The build up to the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge rushed headlong into April which is now like a blurry dream. Most of the A to Z list remains for me to conquer, as does about half of the A to Z Reflections. Then there are those e-mails piled in my e-boxes. A digital deluge threatens to drown me.

         Added to all of this is an assortment of travels, my search for employment, and the ongoing affairs of family. Today (May 25th), I got word that my brother-in-law Jack finally succumbed to his battle with cancer. My wife and I will head to Phoenix this weekend to provide whatever comfort we can to my devastated sister.

         Next week, the last of my daughters who still lived near to us will be moving to New Jersey to join her sisters. With her goes our precious granddaughter Marley, another bright ray of sunshine that will now be obscured by the rainclouds of the sadness we will feel without her.

      Is this the year that California will at last fall into the ocean? Probably not. The sun will eventually emerge from the clouds and the sad falling rain will be replaced by the purple-blue jacaranda blossoms which drift downward to the flowery carpet on the street.

      Everything will be okay.



       Do you think the current crazy weather has anything to do with global warming or is it just part of a normal weather cycle?     Or is it a sign of the end of the world?   Do you ever have to just turn off the news?    What storms are you weathering this year?


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