I was going to go with a Chaucer story, but recent weather patterns provided so much story fodder that I complete re-wrote my Labyrinth contest entry in 24 hours.
Four days ago, things weren’t looking good for the top end of Australia. News was dominated by the ‘cyclone sandwich’ that threatened two states. A Category 3 and Category 4 were rapidly growing and headed to the Northern Territory and Queensland. Needless to say, as I was the closest to the action, I got more phone calls and texts than usual asking if I was safe.
On Thursday, I went for my usual grocery shop to find that milk, bread, and bottled water had all been sold out. Man, I thought, this shit just got real. So I called my clients and offered to reschedule if they wanted to. All of them wanted to.
Friday was when the ‘calamity’ was billed to hit the coast. Cyclone Marcia, was building to a Category 5. The day opened with blue skies. It was eerily quiet; all the birds had disappeared. The air was so muggy it was hard to breathe. Everyone, yours truly included, watched the radar throughout the day as the cyclone rolled down towards us haphazardly. Schools were closed. The office was quiet.
It was weird. My partner in Brisbane said that it was raining hard. The news showed pictures of flooding further north. And yet, here’s Hervey Bay in the middle of it all... fine.
Four days ago, things weren’t looking good for the top end of Australia. News was dominated by the ‘cyclone sandwich’ that threatened two states. A Category 3 and Category 4 were rapidly growing and headed to the Northern Territory and Queensland. Needless to say, as I was the closest to the action, I got more phone calls and texts than usual asking if I was safe.
On Thursday, I went for my usual grocery shop to find that milk, bread, and bottled water had all been sold out. Man, I thought, this shit just got real. So I called my clients and offered to reschedule if they wanted to. All of them wanted to.
Friday was when the ‘calamity’ was billed to hit the coast. Cyclone Marcia, was building to a Category 5. The day opened with blue skies. It was eerily quiet; all the birds had disappeared. The air was so muggy it was hard to breathe. Everyone, yours truly included, watched the radar throughout the day as the cyclone rolled down towards us haphazardly. Schools were closed. The office was quiet.
It was weird. My partner in Brisbane said that it was raining hard. The news showed pictures of flooding further north. And yet, here’s Hervey Bay in the middle of it all... fine.
By Saturday, the remnants of the storm had rolled past us, its effects barely felt at all in the bay. Even Brisbane got more rain play than this place.
Which prompted the question: What happened? My partner and I joked that it was my pure optimism that had warded it off.
And that’s how Disaster Squad came to be.
Which prompted the question: What happened? My partner and I joked that it was my pure optimism that had warded it off.
And that’s how Disaster Squad came to be.
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