Despite attempts by the alarmist local media and our cover-your-ass mayor to frighten us, my housemate Gloria and I have decided to evacuate New Orleans anyway, in the morning. Hurricane Gustav does look serious and quite a risk. I was actually looking forward to riding it out, but when Gloria, the Katrina veteran of the household says it's time to go, it's fucking time to go.
She and I and her two large dogs are packing into the van and heading north to Memphis. Gloria's grandmother's house has 3 bedrooms and is vacant. We'll do a bit of site-seeing in the surrounding country, like Oxford Mississippi, etc. More like a mini-vacation with a lot of traffic going our way.
Fortunately, I can work from the road, assuming Internet access, at least at a Starbucks or Barnes and Noble in Memphis. From there, who knows. Maybe I'll keep on moving. I have a job in DC at the end of the month, and was planning to travel slowly across country to the creative residency near Seattle. Guess I'm starting that trip early.
Packing list:
laptop
my novel-in-progress
my Bible
a new book to read
hand lotion
Ibuprofen
summer clothes
light business clothes
toiletries
extra socks
the plays of Robert Chesley
ID
checkbook
ATM card
tax records
I put my family photos on a high shelf, and raised other things I'd be sad to lose in case of flood water. Who knows? This may all be for naught, but right now, leaving is the prudent choice.
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