My first Tropical Storm, there I was living in Houston, Texas, at least 15 feet from the Braes Bayou a strange concoction of a cement path for water flow (a path for a river if you might), primarily intended by humans to re-direct a natural current to become more urban, more convenient. Having spent my previous entire life in Pittsburgh, all of the glories of nature I had the joy of loving than complaining about were the feet of snow, that fell in the winter, the Snow Days when, even for Pittsburgh too much white stuff on the ground, actually grounded EVERYTHING, and as kids life was a winter wonderland.
When the rains fell beginning as inches then rushing and swooshing into feet, the Braes Bayou began to fill with water and almost anything and everything, swept downstream in what now looked like white-water waves, and a current of rushing items which had no time nor inclination to say move out of my way began forming, and growing, and finally about 25 feet later rising above the top s of the Bayou! It was both scary, but being MY FIRST ever Bayou Flood, a bit intoxicating in a weird way. The deluge stopped, and the infamous weather people, just local, because those ‘daring young men and their flying machines’, as an old refrain from a song ran through my head …there had been no Weather Channel) did not warn us of the Dangers of Bayou Flooding 101! So out I ventured to the half-inched soaked sidewalks just to say to my family back in Pittsburgh, look at me in a Bayou Flood.
Wearing my hiking boots (what a putz), and a pair of shorts, of course with my windbreaker, I trudged along the water’s edge, filled with amazement, dodging any metal item floating by (I hadn’t remembered when I received my last tetanus vaccine), and had a gay old time swooshing and wading upon the edges of floodwater (DIRTY, DANGEROUS, and I found out DECEIVING flood water). I splashed away what I thought was an interestingly large group of bark and tree limbs, thinking to myself, “isn’t that interesting.” That was until the bark started to change formation and crawl up my leg. I discovered something called Fire Ants, and learned that to survive, the climb upon on another when their underground habitat is flooded and float on the current. Like a pack of predators, these ants survive, and will bite, sting and injure any living creature in its way. I ended up with my legs swollen to my knees and discovered if I had played in the water a bit longer I might have suffocated and drowned. Fucking ants, kicked my ass.
I watched the Mueller Fiasco, as long as I could stand looking at stupid morons, I mean FOX and Sean Hannity (our real Secretary of Defense), clones, begin to pile up upon one another (Gohmert, Chabot, Gaetz, Jordan and of course Devin Nunes) and ignore the security of this nation, but instead, try their best to survive so they could continue to stay in their NEST of Fascist/White Nationalist/Gerrymandered/Oligarch/anti-democracy propaganda and Bull Shit. I watched these treasonous lemmings and my legs started to itch, and all I could think of was the Fire Ants, moving swiftly, and trying to destroy EVERYTHING in their way…no matter the consequences. When I was in Houston I had to receive another tetanus shot to stop the poison...I am not sure what vaccine we have available to stop this Zombie Plague of the GOP Fire Ants!
