One-Topic Fool

It seems like all I write about here lately is rainy weather and politics. It's Wednesday, so it's supposed to be Politics on the Hump, but I don't feel much like getting all riled about anything overtly political today.

I have a waterlogged brain and am anxious about this Swine Flu outbreak / potential pandemic.

We did have a few hours of sunshine today, but down here around Houston it's been mostly cloudy and stormy. We are lucky to live on one of the highest points in my area with good storm drains, so aside for temporary street water that drains quickly, we've had no flooding problems. Much of Houston has not been so lucky, but then they never are.

Since the 1990's, Houston floods every time someone spits good. It's mostly blamed on too much concrete and not enough drainage planning. I am so glad I don't have to navigate that place anymore on a daily basis, because it gets extremely dangerous to be caught out in rising waters. There were commuters interviewed on the local news last night who had their vehicles flooded last week and had their rental cars flooded yesterday! Many people keep getting water in their homes. I would be coming unglued at that point. You would maybe be hearing about me taking my city councilman hostage or something.

To me, living there is just not worth all that. I have experience, having lived there in the 1980's. I'm happy to let Hubs have the Toyota and just be homebound on days like this. I get really nervous even thinking about having to drive to the grocery store or post office.

It's situations like in Houston that make me realize that we pay all of these monies in local, county and state taxes, yet we are still in the end on our own or worse, at the whim of inadequate drainage in a rainstorm that we pay taxes to maintain properly so we are not flooded. Or like with my land line phone -- on rainy days it still crackles so badly the phone is unusable -- even though Verizon's been out on multiple occasions and proclaims it fixed every time. Or like the untrimmed trees and unchecked undergrowth that Centerpoint Energy is supposed to keep free from the power lines and doesn't.

It makes me wonder if things would be any worse if our taxes were halved and governments had to nix many of these services that we are not effectively getting. I'm almost ready to try, too. Especially since some governments are making plans to assess even more taxes and fees for the same inadequate services.

My dad told me yesterday his town is discussing changing their garbage fees to an assessment of $1 a pound, and no pickup...citizens would have to take their garbage to be weighed and disposed of. I would be fighting that big time. For one thing, like my dad says, what are all of the elderly people who cannot drive and have no kin going to do? Also, who is going to weigh that garbage and what controls are on them to be accurate? And who is going to police the increase in dumping in order to avoid the garbage fee?

Yes, services might need to be cut back and redesigned, but could ya start with something a little less important to public health and safety than the garbage? Sometimes I wonder if people in responsible civic positions even know how to think something through or walk in someone else's shoes while they're doing it.

Add the dull razor mood that constant rainy weather tends to cause, and pretty soon I'm throwing up my hands and deciding we are all going to hell in a hand basket. If we don't all get the swine flu, that is. I saw my first mosquitoes of the year yesterday, too. And my feet, ankles, calves and fingers have been swollen up like sausages for 2 days. My Ford Focus decided it needs a new alternator and Hubs doesn't want to fix it, so until I can get out and buy a new car, I am back to sharing Hubs'.

I doubt that sunshine could wipe out every glum thing, but boy, it sure would be nice to see. Forget Seasonal Affective Disorder -- I think I have Humidity Affective Disorder. ;-))) So, if the sun is shining today where you are, please try to bottle some for me. I will gladly pay for the postage to send it to me.