I'm down in Alabama, helping my grandparents clean up after the hurricane. Mostly it's just chainsawing and hauling logs. This town was pretty much wiped off the map.

Last time I was down here I learned to weld by making tie-downs for the silos, and sinking them in concrete... well, they worked! The barn roof is gone but the silos are still there.

Of course, grandpa (my dad's dad) also has me pouring concrete and working on his welder... basically doing all the labor that the welder repair guy doesn't need to do, so that he only has to charge for his work. Of course I'm happy to learn as much as I can about these things.

I discovered that my maternal grandfather's nephew owns a gas station/convenience mart/welding supply store. I coveted his "COCA-COLA WELDING SUPPLIES" sign but of course I wouldn't steal it.

I saw a rabid racoon, my first encounter with rabies. Scary stuff. I chose not to put him down with the shotgun, figuring he wasn't long for this world anyway. Still, I've been thinking how nice it would be to get into varmit hunting, to be able to say that I caught all the meat that I eat.

It's been really refreshing to re-enter a world where re-use is the status quo. Folks don't throw ANYthing out down here. I found my grandpa's bucket of every watch he's ever owned. I saw a picture of a house that was sided with license plates. Sometimes the wastefulness of the city gets to me and I get so ANGRY, but it's good to be reminded that it wasn't always that way.

I started talking about the crime and crack of the city and I broke down and cried... made my grandma cry too... my parents were there to hug me but they had a "why don't you just move to a nice neighborhood" attitude... dammit, the neighborhood wouldn't be so bad if every rich white person before me hadn't had the same attitude. Besides, it's not like I can afford it.

This same flight-of-the-navigator (ha ha) syndrome affects organizations, as well... the more crazies there are, the more the sane people are inclined to bow out... but it's up to the sane folks to keep things under control. So it becomes a downward spiral. I've seen it happen to Critical Mass, and I worry sometimes about the Rat Patrol... we have a commitment to inclusiveness but that can be a fault sometimes, if you accept everyone then you start to collect unacceptable people. For the first time this has become an issue in the Rat Patrol, and I don't know what to do about it.

Dammit, it's hard to be a doer and take a vacation. All you can think about is the schemes you could be schemin'. Well, at least I'm eating well.