Drought @ MindSay

Mom had no choice other than to tell me what the mystery gift she needed my car for was because they botched it. My poor mother. She always comes up with the coolest surprises and then someone fucks them up on her.

Well, she didn't need my car to haul anything. She needed my car because they were installing an automatic starter on it so I can start my car in the morning to warm it up so it will actually go over 25 MPH when I drive it. My car won't go over 25 MPH until it is warmed up so I either sit in the car freezing my ass off for 15 minutes or drive it and have it moving in 10. The only problem is that it take about a minute to get to the first major intersection where it would be good if my car would pick up a little.

Anyway, she'd sat there the other day for four hours before they told her they needed to try again another day. So she had no choice but to tell me since there was almost no chance I wouldn't notice the new antena inside the car on the windshield or the new button on the dash. But the car will remote start now... it just shuts off after about 15 seconds. So they have to try something else. They'll be doing that tomorrow and I'll be taking my dad's car to work.

The keyless entry won't ever work. It involves putting a whole new system in the doors and that is just so not worth the money. I can use the friggin' key. No problem. But having the car nice and warmed up in the morning? Yeah, I can deal with that! LOL!

Oddly enough, they had the worst time trying to find one of these things without a car alarm. I don't want a car alarm and will not put one in my car. If I feel the need for security in my car, I'll get a Lojack. Who the hell ever listens to a screaming car anyway? Besides, we live right in the path of the airport and the car alarms around here go off every time a plane goes over. So just about everyone did away with their alarms simply because they had to shut them all down every five minutes.

Glad everyone liked the lake pictures from yesterday. Shocking, no? It is more breath taking in person, believe me. I plan on getting out there at least one more time. That area was actually one of the more full areas. When you drive over it on I-85 it looks like a big field. And the air shots make it look like a golf course.

1. That lake (Falls Lake) has about a 95 day supply of water left in it. Lake Mickie, in Durham, which I have also photographed before (not since the drought, but that may change), is at about 53 days of water.

2. People have been trying to fish there anyway. A guy recently went out to fish and got sucked into the mud up to his mid section. He was there overnight because the rescue crews couldn't get equipment out to him.

3. Being Federal land, people are getting jail time for treasure hunting in the lake areas.

So, like a freak, I just sent an email off to the governor. I'm sure whoever reads his email is going to laugh when they read that one. But my suggestion could be useful. I suggested making a deal with the northern states for their snow. It sounds stupid, I know, but think about it. I spent 21 years in NJ. They had so much snow they didn't know what to do with it (it spends months in 10 foot high piles on the corners, believe me, the buses love slamming into them and I spent years riding to school like that). It usually ended up in the Bays. They're talking about making deals with other states to truck in water, trucking in water from non-drinking water lakes, etc. Why? If you can truck in water from other states, why not snow? It would be a win-win situation, really. Those states could get rid of their snow and we could buy ourselves some more time while they try to come up with a real solution. And we could flush our toilets again! All that snow is just going to melt and end up in their sewers anyway. Or their nasty Bay. So hell, why not give it to the needy?!

I said in the email that I wasn't sure it could even be done, but if it can, why not consider trying it? I mean, all that water has to go through a cleansing process anyway, so it isn't like little pieces of NY asphalt are going to get stuck in our faucets. And Lake Mickie is practically a garbage dump anyway, so it can't be any worse than that!

Ok, seriously. I am really starting to think God has a sense of humor. We've been in the 80s most of the week. Yes, you read that right, mid-December and we're in shorts and sandals again. It dropped a touch yesterday although it was still warm, in like the 60s.

It fucking snowed in the middle of the night. No lie! It didn't stick, nor did it snow long, but it was snow none the less. How is that physically possible?

Right now we've had several hours of rain and it is suddenly the type of cold outside that makes all your fingers hurt and feel like they are going to shatter. Of course, this after not having rain in so long that we forgot what it looks like. The local lake is, as we speak, a small puddle with a twig sticking out of it. I think Durham had like a month of water left (no, that is not an exageration, they seriously are about to run out of water). It's been so dry that when it started to rain earlier, everyone just stood there and stared at it like, "What is this water falling from the sky?"

So we go from hot and dry for months to cold back to hot to freezing with some snow and a major rain storm. Ok, God, that's more than enough, thanks.

On another note, what the hell is this thing where stuff changes instantly when you pass a birthday? I have never in all my life had that "Well, my left toe is sore so we've got a snow storm coming" shit going on. But I'll be damned if I didn't get a dull ache in my left knee yesterday that got worse today and blossomed as it began to rain. My left knee can suddenly predict rain. I've been 28 for a week and suddenly my left knee is psychic. WTF?!

I'm sure all the Bible readers in the Southeast have thought about our water situation and how it compares to the droughts in Bible times. So far we've only had a two-year drought. Joseph's folks escaped a seven-year dry spell. People in Africa today have had years and years of drought. What's the sacrifice of not being able to wash our cars compared to massive crop failures and food shortages. Of course the people in Orme and Monteagle have it far worse than we do here on the banks of a lake. But it all makes me wonder. In perspective, water is far more important to life than oil. Must be time for bed. My brain is getting fuzzy.

As usual, the greedy and growing population of the south and the west have far outstripped the local resources and aquifers, and are now suffering from a drought. So - instead of ever realizing that certain lands have limits in the amount of people they can hold - they just want more water - because they've done so well with the water they do have (sinkholes, giant reservoir's in the desert, Colorado river not reaching the ocean, etc).

So - to help contribute to the sprawl in places like Atlanta and Phoenix, you want our water! You don't want to deal with the snow and rain and cold temperatures that make us 'awash' in glorious water - you just want the benefits without paying any of the costs.

Great Lakes pipelines! Kill the endangered species act! We need water (for our golf courses, giant 4000 sq. foot home, our 2 hour daily commutes, etc)!!

She said it nicely:
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071013/OPINION03/710130322.

I won't mince words.
Fuck off.
Move if you can't shower or water your gardens anymore. Or just don't shower.

http://www.greatlakes.org/

Lord God, please bring rain to Georgia and to southern California.

 

Father, forgive us for turning away from You.  We have pursued almost everything else imaginable but You.  Please have mercy on us and bring the rain.