Only a paper moon

Yep, it's only a tropical storm in a place far away - not worthy of national coverage since there aren't a lot of bodies floating down the street as there were in New Orleans and there are so many distractions elsewhere, but don't tell that to the guy looking at his missing roof and most of his waterlogged furniture lying in the front yard or the guy with just the top of his SUV sticking out of the 6 foot deep inland sea that used to be a parking lot. Keep in mind that most people don't have flood insurance and are just this morning finding out that their home owner's policy doesn't cover any of this.

Of course there's a lighter side to everything from nuclear holocaust to leprosy, and you may find more favorable ears attached to the carefree guy using his pickup truck as a tow boat so his kids can water ski down the highway or the deranged iPodal skateboarders with improvised sails doing 90 over bridges 60 feet above the water or the surfidiots who, so desperate for waves, can't resist the temptation to go out in hurricanes to the delight of the local shark population - or worst of all, the kite surfers who read in the papers that it's only a tropical storm.

Yes, the winds rarely exceeded 60 mph where I live, but it's the flooding that does all the damage - well, that and the tornadoes. Have a look at some slides from the Palm Beach Post while I go out in the wind and rain and see how my boat rode out the storm.