"The Scorpions?................OR....................Jimmy Buffett?......................."

Good Afternoon;

Well Irene has reached out and touched Baltimore with fingers of clouds and sprinkles of rain. A gentle caress before she comes roaring in like a full contact Mixed Martial Arts cage fighter with a kick in the crotch and a punch in the face.

I'm at the library just killing a few minute before I head out to catch the 1:01 pm. bus to Jenn's. I've got the battery lantern and the portable DVD player with me to charge, along with both our phones and the laptop and Tom's bazillion candlepower handheld searchlight, and just in case all his battery packs for his power tools.

"One Never Knows...Do One", as Fats Waller used to say, (and Archie MacNally too)!

The sky is awesome right now, with about 12 different shades of gray clouds swirling and roiling across the sky in a counterclockwise direction. Having been through and lived through Hurricane Andrew while in South Florida, (a storm of such magnitude that if you are truthfully able to wear an "I Survived Andrew" tee shirt....you damn well deserve to!), this is as close as I wish to be to the eye of a major storm! As a high school friend used to say...repeatedly!....lol!...when we were out riding around and drinking Miller Ponies, (back when it was legal to drink and drive........LMAO), every time he slipped into a melancholy philosophical mood........"Sinister Yet Beautiful/ Beautiful Yet Sinister".

Okay, I'm out of her to grab the bus.....speaking of which, did you know that New York City is shutting down it's ENTIRE Mass Transit System as of 6:00 pm. this evening!?! Wow, N.Y.C. without buses or subways...hard to picture.

I hope everyone is inside somewhere for this storm, even though it is only, (only...HA!), a tropical storm this far inland, sustained winds of 35-45 mph are predicted, with gusts up to 60 mph., and 8-10 hours of continuous heavy rainfall.

Imagine being in the worst thunderstorm you've experienced, for most of the night.

I have not heard what Baltimore is doing to aid the homeless at this time, I assume that the Code Blue winter shelters will open for a few days. I am blessed to be able to stay at my oldest daughter's through the weekend.

I am hoping that the State Fair is free from damage so Rachel and I can go on Monday or Tuesday, between the hurricane and forecast thunderstorms on Wednesday night through Saturday.

See you again this evening, if the wifi infrastructure holds up, and the power/ my battery does too.

Later...................................Dave