TALES FROM THE BAYOU: Weathering The Storm

 

hurricane

 

As I watch the news channel talk about all the turbulent weather currently sweeping the country, I thought it would be timely to talk about all the times I had to deal with bad weather as a kid.

Growing up so close to the Gulf of Mexico made it almost a sure thing I would see a hurricane or two roar through my hometown. It seemed like every fall I would never actually get to go to the first day of school because we were always under a hurricane watch.

Sometimes, we would just get a little rain, but on September 16th, 1971, Hurricane Edith bore down on my hometown of Gueydan and only my mother stood between me and the storm.

My father, an off shore cook, wasn’t always around when hurricanes came to town. My mother would hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. Filling up the bathtub with water to drink, buying extra kerosene for the lanterns in case the power went out, and storing up enough canned food to feed an army.

Mother never showed fear, even when the wind howled and the roof threatened to tear away from our house. She was the rock in the proverbial storm. I never felt afraid even when Edith caused a water surge of up to 8 feet in some areas, and I watched the wind spin trash cans like frisbees before crashing them into houses across the street from our home.

Writing a good story can be a bit like riding out a great storm. Ideas sometimes swirl around in our brain and characters crash into each other as plot lines rain down on us. We wade through the debris of false starts, and ride out the storm to a shaky ending.

But sometimes everything becomes a perfect story storm surging out of us to touch the lives of others…

 

**********

 

 

[wpvideo Zvs6WtXV]

 

**********

 

donna

 

International best selling, award-winning author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna is a BOOK NOOK REVIEWS host providing the latest book reviews on all genres of children’s books, and the host of WRITERLY WISDOM, a resource series for writers. Donna is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators and Children’s Book Insider. She is a lover of dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection. Donna’s latest book, LUNADAR: Homeward Bound (a YA fantasy), is now available in eBook and print form from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, and other online retailers.

Donna L

Hybrid award winning author; aspiring sketch artist; and 4th Degree Senior Certified Taekwondo Instructor. Host of BOOK NOOK REVIEWS. Member of SCBWI. Mom to fabulous son and adventurer delving into the tricky world of indie-publishing.

2 thoughts on “TALES FROM THE BAYOU: Weathering The Storm

  • July 8, 2019 at 6:45 pm
    Permalink

    Hurricanes were exciting to me as a kid. I was never afraid of them.

    Reply
  • July 8, 2019 at 7:22 pm
    Permalink

    Once they were over, Janet, I didn’t mind riding around to see the damaqe it had done. I even was interested when we went outside to watch the “eye” pass overhead but generally, they scared me…

    Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Janet Lavergne Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *