The Hunt for Red July

CODE RED! CODE RED! ALL HANDS ON DECK! St. Louis has been declared in a state of emergency. The tsunami-like storm hit during a pleasant dinner with my family. The sky turned black and winds blew leaves past our window at the restaurant. Upon our arrival home, we found trees uprooted, cables on the ground, stoplights laying in the road. Luckily my house remained unscathed, besides the shredded fungi covered awning above the back door that I'd been meaning to take down anyway. Nothing like a natural disaster to kick procrastination right in the ass!

I've been without power for two days now in a St. Louis summer. Days are 105 degrees, nights hit a stagnant 90. No A/C, no gas stations, no lights, no TV, no computers, no garage door openers, no cordless phones, no restaurants. Nothing. It's like Armageddon without Bruce Willis or Ben Affleck. Oddly enough, this also means no stoplights, which apparently don't exist without the glowing ball of color inside them. I know you're supposed to stop at them even when they're down, but I just don't see them! I'm busy pointing out that the broken tree limb looks like a dragon head. It's like watching human frogger as the pedestrians try to manuver their way across the 4 lane streets. "Ok after the blue Tempo..." "WAIT!" "Ok after the green Probe" "OK GO! GO GO GO!!"

I have to admit, the damage was more significant than I ever imagined I'd see. My favorite park, Tower Grove, has been destroyed. Behind closed gates, the massive hundred year old trees are split, leaving jagged branches and naked stumps. The braches sprawl across the grass like fallen soldiers in a battlefield. Trees are uprooted throughout the city, leaving shallow graves in fractured sidewalks.

I've been calling my house throughout the day, hoping my answering machine will pick up, letting me know that power is back on and life can go on as usual. But I am sorely disappointed everytime. Wish me luck and maybe if everyone blows at once, a breeze will sweep through St. Louis as I lay sweating in the stagnant heat tonight.