Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Town's under water? No worries!

When your town is under water, what matters most?

No disasters reported in Ingham. But many will have suffered mental distress, physical discomfort and worse, and severe material losses. Their collective suffering makes the news. All sympathy to them.

But a blogger mostly confined to a caravan best stick to the personal, recognising that solipsism rules.


Housing first. A matter of centimetres. Waters reached to 2cm below caravan door last night. Rose slightly, fell slightly. All this, as the rain belted down (perhaps 300mm in 12 hours). But the total flood area is now so great a 30cm fall - in a narrow band - is swallowed and levels just creep up. So, housing dry, no worries. Food? Enough. No worries.

Car? Parked in crowded, swamped driveway outside park owners' residence. Not floating, no leaks. No worries.  Personal gear? Anything of value, high and dry. No worries. Other stuff will survive soaking. No worries.  No insurance (because live in caravan). No worries.

Let's get to the worries.

What say I get Alzheimer's because there's no Times cryptic crosswords to stop my brain tangles knotting even further. 

If I don't cycle daily the right leg will lose muscle tone and the bung knee will have an orthopaedic surgeon hovering above it like a vulture.

What about watching 10's liar-spotter nonsense drama last night because ABC transmission pixilated? Such guilt stress can cause all sorts of illness.

Could cabin fever lead me to do an Oates and tell the cockroaches as I go: 'I may be a while'? (recent TV skit: Scott made up comment after cannibalism).

As you see, there's a lot to worry about! This post starts in serious vein and ends tapped into an artery of flippancy and black humour. Reverting to type.

What matters? 'To thine own self be true'? No matter, truth will ever out!


Unrelated closer: not often I come across a gag in my pictures. I offer this Straw-necked Ibis for nonprize caption competition.    


13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Tony
Followed your blogs for some-time now, always interesting and informative, never dull, not many birds in this one but maybe one of the best blogs yet!!
Have meet you a couple of times on my too infrequent trips to Tyto (from Townsville). Hope to get up that way again in a couple of months, maybe I'll run into you then.

mick said...

Glad to see you're still out of the water. Hope it stays that way. Extra glad to see you haven't lost your sense of humour!

Boobook said...

And your sense of humour seems to be intact. Keep dry.

Tyto Tony said...

Hi Ed: look forward to it. May be a while before I get in there myself, unless by kayak.

Perhaps, Mick, you could send an old spare kayak up. Duncan's talked of a boat, but I think he's more a ride-on mower man.

Is that sense of dry a ref to humour, or moisture, Boobok?

Snail said...

The internet is enormously handy for preventing cabin fever. Back in ye olde days before Windows --- and when monitors were still monochrome --- it helped stave off cabin fever for a friend of mine trapped overnight in an empty research lab in Venezuela. We were able to send messages back and forth to keep her entertained.

(There was much surprise when people turned up to work the next morning to find her asleep on the lab bench. They had been expecting her to arrive the next week.)

None of which helps your situation but once I remembered the story, I had to tell it.

What I really meant to say was --- we're here to keep you from going batty, if you need us!

Duncan said...

Looks like nearly time to start the bilge pump Tony. ;-)

Tyto Tony said...

So true, Snail. Imagine my white face moment earlier today when wireless modem went from 4 green columns to one. Still don't know if my reset, fiddling and reboots or technician coincidentally up a tower somewhere fixed things.

Odd thing, Duncan. Many people have suggested bilge pump, but, unlike you, I don't think it was kindly meant. ;-)

Herbert River on verge of drop after midnight. Then, king tide. But if big low to NE collapses the cleanup might start Friday.

Mosura said...

Time to take the wheels off and Hoist the main sail.

Here's hoping for some sunshine.

Tyto Tony said...

Now there's a name that rings a bell. Let me think. Mosura,
Mosura, yes I remember ... worked himself to near extinction. How goes it?

Gouldiae said...

Ah Tony,
I'm off to work with a smile on me dial yet again! Glad you're OK, TV News pics look horrific.
Caption - "aahh, that feels better".
Regards,
Gouldiae
PS: Thanks for 'solipsism' by the way!

Tyto Tony said...

Gidday Gouldiae,

As the only entrant, you're the winner! May mean you're not qualified for solipsism.

Cheerier start to day. Almost 50mm fall by midnight; 250mm as I post. So, less than 2 metres to go.

Denis Wilson said...

Hi TOny
Good to see that those 2cm made all the difference.
Who says "size doesn't matter"?
Caption - pls accept a late entry - "What? Who Me? No mine's white! Its back up the track a bit.!"
Cheers
Denis

Tyto Tony said...

Hi Denis: Yes, it's a bit like Micawber's sixpenny swing. Survival, and happiness, turn on tiny shifts more often than we know.

Head up for dragonfly, head off for fish head . . .

One moment it's dragonfly trying to dance on White-bellied Sea-Eagle's head, the next it's all go for fisher's discarded fis...