27 August 2020: Destruction

Thank you all so much for checking in on my parents. The news is not good, and Mom and Dad are on their way back to Lake Charles right now. Here are some photos of their house taken by our neighbor. My heart hurts so much for them. Fortunately, good neighbors have helped carry out and store some things Mom and Dad treasure. I am eager to know where the second chimney went.

And this shocking one is from nola.com.

26 August 20: Laura looms

Hurricane Laura is on path to directly slam my hometown of Lake Charles. It has gained speed and power all day, and my parents decided rather than just moving higher and inland, they would flee east to New Orleans. They finally left LC at 2p today and are now safely in the Big Easy. I’m a wreck for them. Laura is, at present, bigger and stronger than Katrina, and we know how that went. My parents are right on the bayou and the house is nearly 10’ off the ground. Nonetheless, during Hurricane Rita, the garage and first floor flooded, and Laura’s storm surge promises to be worse. Mom and Dad’s physical safety is paramount, but they built this house together on a dream and a lifetime of work and savings, and I just don’t know if they can stand building it back once more. I ask for your thoughts and best wishes, for Mom and Dad and for everyone in the storm’s path. “It is likely to be the strongest storm to ever hit Louisiana,” said a meteorologist today.

2020 continues to be a horrific shitshow.

25 August 2020: Daily

I took the boys to Vermont last week for a brief getaway. Growing up, Mom and Dad took us to Woodstock several times to experience white Christmases, and I have an enormous spot in my heart for the town still. As it turns out, a friend from the boys’ summer camp lives on a farm in the next town over from Woodstock and invited us to visit.

It was such a wonderful delight to show the boys around Woodstock and Quechee, going with them to many of the very places my sister and I loved as children (and also discovering new haunts, like Mon Vert Cafe [fab] and the simple-but-delicious sandwiches at The Butcher Shop). Unfortunately, both kids had bad falls from a rope swing, and Oliver came home with a mild concussion, but if you ever find yourself needing emergency care in that area, haul ass to Mt. Ascutney which is literally the nicest, friendliest, sweetest hospital ever. Oliver’s injury was really terrifying for both Jack and me, but the three of us were the best crew, and I felt inordinately grateful for Jack’s strength and help as I do for the care Oliver received and the recovery he’s had since. He’s doing great! I also appreciate that Tom flew up on Friday to help me drive home as I was completely wiped out from the stressful night at the hospital and the relatively sleepless night after.

I was very sorry to miss the DNC, though I have tried to watch some of the speeches since returning home. I have made every effort to completely avoid the grotesque, histrionic spectacle of lies and revisionist history coming out of the RNC this week. Instead, I’ve enjoyed fundraising for Dem Senate candidates, organizing for the Get Your Knees Off Our Necks march this Friday, and helping get the boys ready for school. Jack is starting 9th grade which is somewhat hard to believe but also isn’t at all as he just seems so capable and grown up these days. My baby’s taller than I am! I am totally overwhelmed by the fact that both kids will be learning from home through January, at least. Send vibes.

Meanwhile, my parents have boarded up their home and evacuated as the hurricanes race towards southern Louisiana, and I am outraged and horrified by the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, by police earlier this week. They shot him EIGHT TIMES IN THE BACK, IN FRONT OF HIS KIDS, at point-blank range. He is now paralyzed from the waist down. I am disgusted and furious and so sad. Black Lives Matter, and until America reconciles with its past and present, educates its people, and makes amends, nothing will change, and that is disgraceful.

Please work every day until the election to do something, anything, to ensure a fair and free election, to turn the tide Blue and sane and educated and patriotic. Our lives depend on it.