TheBanyanTree: Respecting Ophelia

[Pam North]

With the news having been saturated with stories of Katrina these last few 
weeks, nobody is taking the threat of another storm here very lightly.
 Well, except for me.
 But I never really took them very seriously to begin with.
 I have a really bad attitude about it, I know. All these years, storing 
provisions, stocking up... and all for not! A little wind, a little rain, a 
few tree branches to pick up the next day while the sun shines.
 Living about 20 miles from the beach here in eastern North Carolina, I 
probably should have a little more respect. 
 Like now. Sitting around and waiting for Ophelia to do whatever in the heck 
it is she's going to do!!
 When I look at the various radar maps, it looks like something should be 
happening, but then I don't think I'm really understanding what all the 
colors represent, and how a hurricane works. I was awake at three o'clock 
this morning, and it was hot and humid, and incredibly still outside. When I 
got up around nine, it had been raining. And it's done that off and on all 
day. Sometimes with a breeze or little gust of wind, sometimes a steady 
downpour without. And then none of the above.
 They're saying that we won't get the 'worst' of what we're going to get, 
until later this evening, and through the night. But I want to be able to 
see it! And this is probably where I'm gonna tick off Mom Nature! I am 
pretty darn sure that this town would never flood... even a few years back, 
when Dennis, and Floyd and Dennis came through, there was terrible flooding 
an hour down the road, but not here. And specifically here, I live higher 
above sea level than 98% of the rest of the town.
 So I ain't skeered of the water.
 I have NO desire to have any tornadoes accompany the hurricane though. 
Sure, I think it'd be cool to actually *see* one, but I don't want any 
damage or victims.
 And then there's the chance of falling trees. Here in North Carolina, we 
have a LOT of pine trees - we aren't called the "Tarheel State" for nothing! 
Most of these stupid trees are ugly. Because there are so many of them, they 
grow up hundreds of feet before even sprouting a limb in their attempts to 
touch the sun! They're not very attractive, nor do they have many other 
redeeming qualities. Worst of all, they drop pine needles!!!!
 About a year ago, I had six removed from the front and front/side of my 
house! Five were easy drops... the guy just sawed and they fell. One was 
tougher, since it was between my house and a power line, and he had to climb 
that one and 'top' it, and take it down a piece at a time. 
 In the fenced in part of my backyard, there are six more. ALL of these 
would require the 'topping off', and be way more expensive, so they still 
stand. Dropping needles and small branches, and clogging my gutters all year 
long (not to mention the little trees that grow in there!). And that doesn't 
include the other dozen or so around my yard, not in the fence. Any of these 
could fall in and cause damage.
 But I'm not showing a lot of fear about that either. I'm telling you, 
sometimes I think ole' Mom Nature is going to show me a thing or two about 
respect.
 The last hurricane we had that was any threat at all, was two seasons ago. 
At the time, I was still preparing to have my pines taken down, and I'd 
painted a line around each tree, at about 'eye' level, in the only color I 
could find of spray paint laying around the garage - silver. To drive by, 
one would think I was communicating with aliens. And I did get questions! 
But I had marked them, at the suggestion of a neighbor, so a 'tree feller' 
could come by and give an estimate without me being home.
 When the hurricane came, I found myself praying. "Okay God... these are the 
ones I want removed. Go ahead and drop 'em, and save me some money!"
 I dunno whether God or Mom Nature found any humor in that, but the trees 
kept standing!
 And now, Ophelia is in the neighborhood. 
 And I'm waiting. Not very patiently either!
 The kids are out of school; the base is shut down and we're off of work 
today and tomorrow for sure. (Friday is iffy, we'll have to wait and see.)
 So, here I sit. Waiting for the rain to blow down sideways, the trees to 
sway with the wind... the *excitement*! I think it'd be cool to lose a bunch 
of shingles off the roof... then my insurance would cover getting it redone, 
and I could pick a color that would match prettier paint!
 I know! I have no respect.
 Pam