Osama dies, it rains

It was difficult to determine this afternoon whether people plodding down the streets of Beaumont — umbrellas partially covering them from rain — had a special step in their walk because of the much-needed rain, or because Osama bin Laden was killed.

Why try to add anything about the death of “America’s Public Enemy No. 1 Since 9/11?” There are plenty of questions remaining and one of the biggest is how much will the military allow to be told about what was, in essence “a daring early morning raid into Pakistan by Navy Seals?” This piece from The Christian Science Monitor answers some basic questions about the raid by Seal Team 6. There are so many more questions though. What did bin Laden look? Like crap on a shingle? Was he nearly crippled and still sporting that long-ass beard? Was he the one that reports said took a woman as a human shield? I wouldn’t put it past him.

Other questions linger as well. Could the capture have been made without killing bin Laden? That will be probably a big question tossed around by reporters and policy wonks. Was this in fact a mission to take bin Laden “dead or alive” as our former President G.W. Bush declared? If it was a military assassination, was it covered by executive order that takes in black and white a precedence over previously-enacted laws that forbids such actions?

I am not saying the actions were wrong, quite the contrary. If some SOB had it coming, it was OBL or UBL or whatever spelling you want to use for the now departed murderer. That’s what the terrorist acts were. Maybe those were acts of war. Somewhere deep down in me though, feels as if  such distinctions made for these goofballs as some kind of super-combatants build these people up much more than they deserve. I laud the raid and its execution, no pun intended. I just believe it unfortunate that is to what our nation had to resort.

And I said I couldn’t add anything to the OBL death. I lie.

I was working in my office up there on the 3rd floor and apparently I had been looking out on and off at the rain, but it all hit me at once like a ton of feathers. Well, that’s kind of exaggerating don’t you think? Or don’t you? Nonetheless, we have needed a good “soaker.”

Our area of Southeast Texas is under what the National Weather Service terms a “Severe to Exceptional Drought.” There is a rainfall deficit that generally runs about 11 inches or so since Jan. 1. It’s Moe or Larry in other places around the area. We had a nice little rain where I live.

Hopefully, we will work this drought out pretty soon and won’t have to make it up in some tropical storm or hurricane. The latter is what we will have to watch for not too long from now. Pay no mind to the man behind the curtain, those who predict hurricanes. We either will have one or more, or we won’t. If you live where I live, you must go with the assumption that a hurricane is coming to get you and your place this summer or early fall. You should plan for what you should do. Do it now, not later. There is no need to do  it all at once but try and get your supplies bought up and your evacuation plan (or not) worked out before the last minute.  I should practice what I preach, I know. But if I stay behind, and hopefully stay safe, it will be to freelance some rewarding pieces. It isn’t all about money. As in the past, I wanted a wider audience to know about what our folks were experiencing. This is especially true after the wind and rains and Anderson Cooper left.

I am still hoping for some good rains before the heart of hurricane season rolls around. But the end of droughts are guided by the same principle of the karmic episode in which Osama bin Laden found himself yesterday: “What goes around, comes around.”