Skunks-- real and metaphorical

Ahh, spring. 

About 2:30 this morning, I woke up-- what is that smell?? 

Yeah, a skunk had discharged right beside the house. O my goodness. The lingering aroma still permeates the first floor. I'm just grateful I was able to get back to sleep. 

It's not as cold this morning-- almost 30 degrees-- but we have some sloppy weather coming in, according to the forecast. I'm grateful for forecasts, actually. And now that the accuracy and availability of those prognostications is under threat, I'm curious just how things are going to work. Yes, we can look out the window, but longer range planning might get a bit tricky. 

The effects on business, on travel, on just about every aspect of commerce and daily life will be felt keenly if we have to subscribe to a service in order to get warnings of extreme weather events. I see X is on the spot for this, too-- shouldering their way into NOAA, and monetizing every damned thing in sight. Couple that with the proposed (and POTUS-approved) dismantling/cancellation of FEMA, and I shudder at the thought of what will happen to states that are routinely in harm's way. They won't know it's coming, and they won't have any help putting things back to rights. And all of us are in some sort of harm's way, whether it's heavy rain and flooding, dangerous ice and snow, tornadoes, hurricanes, extreme wind... these are all realities that the average person faces, and without the heads-up in real time, the catastrophes will write themselves. 

There are so many things to be concerned about, to be angry about, to mourn, even. I'm beginning to feel like that when all is said and done, we will no longer the the U.S.A.-- we'll just be X.

As in, ex-country.

I'll take the skunks.

C