which is good
turns out they didn't open saturday
i didn't need to feel guilty all day
it's constant rain
but
not hard
i think for me the worst is over
people who live by the trinity or brazos river
however
are being evacuated
as they are expected to rise to the 800 year flood level
and the safeties are only for the 100 year flood level
buffalo bayou has receded a little
and they are releasing from barker and addicks reservoirs
gradually
but with all that and drainage from the north and west
they expect buffalo bayou to rise eleven more feet
if i understood correctly
beyond the five feet over the 100 year flood level
so i guess
flooding is still a possibility
they are evacuating the subdivisions around those reservoirs
kinda a mess
my mom's power is back on
stillno water in her house
and brays is draining nicely
the boat evacuations near her have stopped
for the time being
because it's not deep enough for boats
but still too high for cars
i wish i'd bought junk food
i want chips
i want brownies
i want popcorn
i don't want healthy shit
well
i want that
and a big fucking bag of weed
anyway
i had toast
and coffee
i'm barely certain what day it is anymore
has it really only been a couple days?!
my phone alarm just told me
flash flood extended til 7pm
they've just been extending it since friday
several of my friends on social media have posted this
i've never seen it before
i'm not sure about the praying for part
which is sort of integral to the poem
but it captures something
very houstonian
which you might or might not appreciate
but i did
so
i'm sharing it:
- Houston pride - forever. by Jeremy Rutledge:
if you want
to pray for Houston
you have to pray...
in her way
pray like Beyoncé
when she was
at HSPVA
or Billy and Dusty
shooting pool
at Rudyard's
pray like you're
sitting over soup
at Spanish Flowers
or pho at Mai's
steaming your glasses
pray like the kids
playing soccer
on the east side
or mutton busting
at the livestock show
pray like the runners
in Memorial Park
lacing them up
or the researchers
in the medical center
looking into microscopes
if you want
to pray for Houston
you have to pray
as quietly as
the Rothko Chapel
or Houston Zen Center
and you have to pray
as loudly as
the old scoreboard
at the Astrodome
after a José Cruz
home run
you have to pray
sitting under
a live oak tree
or standing next to
an azalea bloom
while your skin
clams in the heat
if you want to pray
for Houston
you have to pray
without pretense
this ain't Dallas
and in a neighborly way
as friends come out
to check on each other
in the rain
and those
who are far away
watch screens
and wipe our eyes
if you want to pray
for Houston
raise a bottle of Shiner
to the gray sky
9 trillion gallons of rain
are no match
for a city of such life
and diversity
you can fill up our bayou
but you will never rain
on our parade
