The Hurricane Humberto Refugee

"Grandbaby"

In my office this afternoon...

Hurricane Humberto.... SURPRISE !

Okie-dokie.... I want to thank all you folks who, indeed, followed directions from last evening's blog entry and crossed your fingers.... I asked for your digit intervention so that here in Liberty County... and, what the heck, big, bad old Houston nearby... wouldn't see a repeat of Tropical Storm Allison's 2001 devistation in the form of rainfall from Tropical Storm Humberto. Great news! It worked!

But, I woke up this morning thinking it odd that I hadn't been awakened in the night by the sound of horrendous rainfall.... promptly turned on the tv to catch the 6:00 am news.... and saw that TS Humberto had upgraded to a cat 1 hurricane, taken a hard easterly track and slammed into Beaumont, Texas, about 50 miles east of here.

Holy SH**, Sherlock !!!

MY GRANDBABY IS IN COLLEGE IN BEAUMONT!!!!!

Fortunately, before I could get worked up into a serious case of Granny fit-throwin', my daughter called to tell me she'd just talked to aforementioned grandbaby and he was doing fine... none too happy his mom had awakened him, but fine all the same.

Yesterday, the college had cancelled classes for today, told the students to move all automobiles to the south end of the large dorm complex (higher ground) and to stay inside. The college has a very proactive severe weather plan, having suffered heavy damage in the landfall of Hurricane Rita two years ago. Grandbaby felt his truck was high enough that it would be okay parked in the higher center of his dorm parking lot. His dorm building and others around his suffered minor damage... loss of rain gutters, shingles here and there, downed trees and the like. The worst problem being no electricity, and none expected through the weekend, classes were also cancelled for Friday. Grandbaby is at home early this weekend.

Here on the upper Texas Gulf Coast, we have again dodged the bullet. Whew............

Humberto, the Rainmaker

Okay, folks.... here he is..... Tropical Storm Humberto.... it's about 9:25pm, Wednesday night. Here in Liberty County (see "Liberty" on the radar map) we are warned we will get 5-10 inches of rain in about a 8 hour period tonight starting at midnight. We could get as much as 15 inches. It's a slow moving storm and will do its worst damage to the Liberty County, Texas area with the rainfall.

Through my employment with the county, I have access to early emergency management planning AND I have to go to work, even if the county shuts down. Ahem.... Of course, If I can't get there, I can't get there.... a day off to sit on the sofa and write would be lovely.

Cross your fingers that we don't get a repeat of Tropical Storm Allison which, in 2001 brought the greater Houston area to its knees. If you're not familiar with Allison and the flooding she caused in Houston.... Google her..... the photos were awesome.

*TS Storm Humberto radar photo from KPRC-TV (Houston) weather radar

At Goal Weight Watchers Member

At my weekly Weight Watchers meeting yesterday morning, I realized that, since I became an at goal lifetime member, six months have gone by. I only realized this because I'd just gotten the last weigh in sticker on my WW book. There are 24 such spots for weigh in stickers so.... 24 divided by 4 is 6..... therefore, I've been lifetime for six months.

Six months is significant to me because it's the six month mark where, in the past when I'd managed to lose a significant amount of weight (but not all I needed to lose), that I began to slip away from the method, diet or otherwise, that had been responsible for me losing the weight. I've said all along... I'm pleased beyond words to have lost 83 pounds, but I'll be MORE impressed when, at six months or a year out, I've managed to KEEP it off. And here I am... six months out and I'm still at goal weight! Woooooooo-hoooooooooo!

Endurance, Toning and Cardio Workouts

I have no firm measurements to back up my belief that the endurance and toning exercises and the cardio workouts have helped with "firming" but the fit of my slacks seems to confirm that the workouts have helped tighten up my tummy muscles. I've been at it for almost three months. Beyond the fact that I am able to do more and the workouts are helping keep my weight under control, I do believe it's working. I don't see any difference yet in the "wings" on my upper arms, but hopefully that will come in time. I'm not anything if I'm not patient.

Cardio Training Commences NOW...

After about eight weeks of endurance and toning work outs, I've moved to the next step in my exercise program. I'm into cardio training now. The basic difference, Rick the center trainer tells me is that I was using the machines with no negative resistence before now. This was to build up my endurance. I suspect it was also to make sure I wouldn't drop dead from the new activity before I move on to the harder stuff. The cardio training is done on machines that offer negative resistence and therefore build muscle. I need to build muscle now in order to tighten some of my saggy areas... abdomen, arms and legs.

I need to build chest muscles too, hopefully restoring my bustline somewhat. There's no delicate way to say it: the loss of 83 pounds over all took a serious toll on my bust measurement. Even when I weighed 114 pounds as a young adult, I was reasonably "endowed". It's a sad state of affairs when among the other necessities of life one buys at WalMart, one resorts to purchasing "bust enhancement" as well. I don't think it's that I'm all that vain about it; it just helps clothing to fit better. Okay... whatever you want to call it... I'm now into building chest muscles!

Beginning today, I am to alternate the endurance and toning workout with the cardio training. This is to also keep me from getting bored with the workout. The immediate result today is the workout totally kicked my butt! Toward the end of the third round of machines, my muscles were quivering and I was slowing between machines to catch my breath. When I got home, I stretched out on the bed for awhile then transferred to the sofa and took a short nap. Even three hours later, I can feel my muscles, especially in my arms, quivering slightly. This is bound to be good for me... god, I certainly hope so!

Que Sera, Sera

A conversation this evening with a friend having to do with the merits of just relaxing and enjoying life instead of continuing to push the same old boulders uphill, had me using the phrase "Que Sera, Sera". That led to the discussion of the song Que Sera, Sera made famous in the fifties by Doris Day and THAT led to the discussion of Academy Award winning songs and the movies in which the songs appeared.

Now, if you don’t have this type of discussion you probably don’t end up doing as much totally useless research by web surfing as I do. My tendency to get caught up in ever-widening ripple-affect and off-the-subject research is probably the reason I excel at Trivial Pursuit and it’s likely the reason the only time my family and friends will play my favorite game with me is on my birthday! But I digress.

My friend accurately remembered the song to be from a movie starring James Stewart. I suggested the movie might be Rear Window but my friend remembered it to be set in a foreign location. I looked it up. The movie was called The Man Who Knew Too Much and was set in Morocco. Stewart’s co-star was Doris Day.

In 1956 when it won the Academy Award for Best Song, Que Sera, Sera was played on the radio all the time and as an entire nation we sang along. I thought myself quite smart as a ten year old when I could sing in a foreign language! (That was to remain my only second-language sing-along ability until Don Ho made Tiny Bubbles popular in the 1960s.)

Just for fun, I’ve included a short list of historical events, dated by the song title that won the Academy Award that year.

Bombing of Pearl Harbor - The Last Time I Saw Paris (film: Lady Be Good)
Eisenhower Elected President – High Noon (film: High Noon)
JFK Assassination - Call Me Irresponsible (film: Papa’s Delicate Condition)
The First Super Bowl – Born Free (film: Born Free)
America’s Bicentennial – Evergreen (film: A Star Is Born)

Luggage Shopping

Haden and I spent this evening shopping for a refrigerator for his dorm room and for luggage for his trip to see his Dad next week. I bought him two pieces of Swiss brand luggage and he used some of his graduation money on the refrigerator. The Swiss brand luggage is apparently from the same parent company that makes those handy little pocket knives.

I'm quite impressed with this luggage. It appears to be very well-built and tough. I also like that it is Swiss Army red. The larger piece is a 25" bag and the smaller is a carry-on tote. Both are equipped with wheels and a handle. The tote has a padded compartment which will allow it to double as a notebook tote.

(Note: Mishaelle and I went shopping at Sam's on Saturday, July 1st. We picked up a Swiss brand back pack for Haden... very good price! Only $39.99!)

One of those days...

Wednesday, about 10:30am I was set to make a quick trip over to the courthouse to deliver agenda items for Commissioners Court when I found my car to be blocked in by Jimmy Belt, our local Special Ranger. His truck was blocked in by James Carson's car which should have been parked beside my car. James wasn't able to get into his parking place because Jimmy Belt was parked in the way. I stood around on the sidewalk waiting while the egos sorted out the issue. James finally moved so Jimmy could move so I could get out of my space. I believe the time spent standing around outside waiting for the car jockeying was the beginning of my real problem.

When my car was finally freed, I hurried off to the courthouse which is about five blocks away from my office and as I was about to exit my vehicle, I felt a slight twinge on my left kneecap. Being a lady of mature years, I've become used to various little twinges that come with the territory and I rubbed my kneecap and didn't think much more about it. I hurried up the outside stairs, dropped the envelope of agenda items off at the Judge's office, dropped off an envelope at the Treasurer's office and, in a short five minutes time, was back at my car. I realized then that I was having an allergic reaction to what must have been a wasp or bee sting on my knee. I had a tingling sensation in the skin of my neck and my left arm and I was feeling a little shakey.

As I sat in the car seat, whatever had gotten me on my knee to begin with got me three or four more times on the back of my thigh as I sat on it. I realized it was in my pants and I squirmed around to try to get rid of it. I drove as quickly as was safe back to my office with the intent of getting some help. As I pulled into my parking place, the insect in my pants got me again two or three times on the knee before I finally trapped it in the fold of my slacks material and squished it to death. Getting out of my car, I shook it out of my pants onto the sidewalk and found it to be a small red wasp (see photo) about 3/4 inch long. By this time, I was experiencing tingling in my neck and face and numbness in my left arm.

When I entered the building, I encountered James Carson again and told him I needed to go to the ER because I'd been stung multiple times by a wasp and I was having an allergic reaction. A co-worker who is a trained medical first responder drove me to the hospital which is about a mile from my office and I was quickly treated for the reaction.

Before the benedryl administered by ER staff had time to take effect, I experienced a headache, very high blood pressure, swelling of my left arm and itching of my neck, face, and scalp. Fortunately, the medication halted those symptoms quickly and by the time I was ready to leave the ER about an hour later, I was only very sleepy.

I have a history of bad reactions to wasp and bee stings but I haven't been stung in over thirty years. It's been a long time since I carried emergency medication with me but I believe I will again do so. I was lucky this time because I was able to get medical help quickly.

Where the Boys Are

Saturday I sat down to watch TV. I came across one of the channels that runs old movies and settled on Where The Boys Are, a movie released in December 1960. I don’t recall having seen this movie since I saw it in its original release.

Where the Boys Are starred Dolores Hart, Yvette Mimieux, Paula Prentiss, Connie Francis, George Hamilton and Frank Gorshin. It follows four Midwestern college girls who headed off to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for spring break. They were hoping to have a good time and possibly meet “nice boys”. The story follows the four as they meet a variety of guys who become the girls' dream come true and in some cases their worst nightmare. This movie is a glimpse at the beginning of change in sexual attitudes that would result in the “free love” attitudes of the late sixties.

Most interesting to me was a chance to see the actors and actresses who were in this movie. I had forgotten how young and handsome (untanned) George Hamilton was! This movie also marked the acting debut of Connie Francis who sang and made a hit of the title song… Where The Boys Are. Paula Prentiss and Jim Hutton who were matched in the movie as “Tuggle” and “TV” later went on to appear in several comedies together: The Honeymoon Machine, Bachelor in Paradise, and The Horizontal Lieutenant. Frank Gorshin played a jazz musician and later became a staple character actor with a long career in movies and TV appearances, most notably as the Riddler in the Batman TV series. Yvette Mimieux, a tiny blonde actress, had success earlier that same year with the release of H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine with Rod Taylor.

By far, the most interesting of the actresses in the movie was Dolores Hart. By the time she made Where the Boys Are, she had already appeared in two movies with Elvis Presley. In fact, in Loving You, she was the first actress to receive an on-screen kiss from the handsome young singer. Several years later, she appeared in the Elvis movie King Creole. A short three years and three or four movies later, Dolores Hart left Hollywood behind and became a nun. She has resided the years since in a convent in Connecticut and is now known as Rev. Mother Dolores. She recently made an appearance before a congressional committee to support legislation that would fund research into a disease called peripheral idiopathic neuropathy. It’s a painful neurological disease that affects many Americans and Mother Dolores herself.

How remarkable it is that a young woman of that time would turn her back on a world she had reportedly fallen in love with when she was seven years old to spend her life in the quiet solitude of a convent!

Left: Dolores Hart c.1960 Right: Rev. Mother Dolores today.