Riding the Storm Out

Last nights storm was a storm to remember. I was going out to get dinner for us, and a section of the fence, and one of the large palo verde trees at the end of the driveway was down. There aren’t many things that I like better than hammering a fence together in the wind, cold rain, and thunder, it brings out the patience in my personality! Just ask my wife, she’ll verify that.


We moved our vehicles around so that I could get to work in the morning, parking one at the neighbors, and backing my truck up against the fence to help hold the patch job. After that we settled in to a nice cozy fire and movie. Being attuned to weather as well as I am, I took a few looks around the back to make sure everything was still there. One look out in the driveway showed that a second palo verde tree had fallen victim to the winds. Pruning at its best.

At one point around 9:00pm or so, the wind was screaming, rain was torrential, and there was a tornado warning about 5 miles northeast of us. It was a great night to be cuddled with my wife and Hobie.

Riders on the Storm

This has been quite a day for us weather wise. A storm working its way through the southwest is just getting bigger, stronger, windier and wetter. We’ve been hearing about it coming for a few days now, and it’s here. Right now it’s barely drizzling, but it’s been a steady rain all day. From what was being forecast I was expecting a steady, heavy downpour.


Flagstaff is being shutdown as of 6:00pm tonight, Sky Harbor hasn’t shut down, but any flights leaving for Phoenix can’t take off. Our home, Maricopa County is under a severe weather alert, which includes a tornado warning, flood warnings, high wind warnings with winds of sustained speeds of 40mph, and gusts from 50 – 65 mph.

It’s eerily calm out currently, 5:15pm Thursday evening, and the wind is starting to pick up. We get some hellacious winds here during the monsoons, and it looks like we may be getting them soon

Last night we were watching the 10:00 news, and decided it was a good idea to go out and get some sandbags for the front of our house. I headed out and hit two fire stations before getting to one that had sand, but no bags. So I went over to Safeway (my favorite store), got some bags and headed back. There were a few of us there, and we all ended up helping each other. Heading home I unloaded, and we sandbagged the front door.
Meteorologists are predicting that the heaviest of the storm is still on its way. We’ll see what happens tonight. Later, from Phoenix.

A change of pace

Early morning and it’s damp and cold. Low, dark clouds are drifting in from the northeast, covering up what there was of the morning sun. The cab in my tuck is still cold. No surprise there, cost way too much to replace the heater, so I deal with it.

Turning a corner I see an old man and his dog walking towards me. He’s stooped over, either from the cold or his age, maybe both. A pull down hat on his head, flannel shirt, jeans, boots. His walk is pretty slow, nearly a shuffle as much as a walk. But he is looking around, smiling.

In one of his hands is a leash, walking along with him is his dog. He looks kind of old himself. A small guy, mostly black, long wispy fur, and there are streaks of grey in his coat. Looking closer I can see the tell tale white around his muzzle. His walk is similar to his masters; it looks like it may be a little painful for him. But he’s there with his friend.

Where are these two headed on a morning like this? Is it just the two of them, or is someone waiting at home for them. I wonder how long they’ve known each other. More than a few years would be my guess. What kind of days have they shared over the years? Some laughs, tears, friends that have come and gone.

What kinds of walks have they taken together in the past? I wonder if they’ve strolled country roads, chased the waves at the beach, trekked through snow and rain. Or have they always been on the streets around here. It doesn’t really matter, as long as you are making the trip with a friend.

I smile and drive on my way. I’m glad they passed by me for a moment. When I get home I’ll give Hobie an extra pat and hug, and share some more time with her.

It’s the day after New Year’s Day. We hit a high of 71 today and there’s been a breeze so the mountains are clear, it’s cooling down, the sun is setting, and the Christmas lights are coming on, (we’re the holdouts on taking them down. Prairie Home Companion is on, and I’m settled into my office with some tea. There’s your setting.



We stayed in New Years Eve. It’s not hard to do when you get up for work at 4:00am. There was a point in my life where I would have just stayed up all night and gone for it, but thank God those days are long gone. I think there’s a song in there somewhere, so I need to jot that idea down.

When we were kids my folks used to let us have a New Years Eve party every year. We’d invite our friends on the block; usually there were eight to ten of us. Mom would make Sloppy Joes (no one has ever matched that recipe), and punch. Come to think of it the punch was great too, I think it was orange sherbet and 7-Up, and, she put it in the good punch bowl! We’d have party poppers, noise makers, party hats, confetti and ribbons. It was quite an affair, and it was eagerly anticipated every year. We’d eat, then my Dad would lead us down the block, making noise with our noise makers, banging on pots and pans and shouting Happy New Year! The only real glitch in the system was it was usually around 9:00pm when we celebrated, but what the heck, we were kids and couldn’t stay up late. One year my folks did get us up at midnight to see the New Year in, and from what I recall we made a few grunts and went back to sleep. I feel the same way about it now, truth be told.


The holiday season has been great, Thanksgiving through this weekend. My wife and I love it. We get busy, but it’s good. We spend time with friends, family and each other. Share meals, stories, memories, create some new ones in the process, and make some new friends too. It definitely refreshes my soul, and I’m ready to head into this year with hope, vigor and energy. Look forward to great things this year, and thank the Lord for blessings already on their way.


Happy New Year.