Holy crap, Martha,
the damn well’s going dry! But, Martha knew that History repeats itself,
especially when it comes to the weather. Seems like Martha and Harold are back
in the old dust bowl, again. Some of us still remember the author John Steinbeck
who wrote The Grapes of Wrath,
which won the Pulitzer Prize,
and Of Mice and Men,
about folks like Martha and Harold. (That was back in the old days when you had
to read stuff to find out what was going on in the World.)
Well, back then Martha and Harold bundled up the
kids and some of their belongings and headed for California, and a better life.
Now, we seem to have a similar weather pattern in our abundant Midwest and
Southwest. This modern day drought has some eerie similarities to the Dust Bowl
of the 1930’s. It stretches from the high plains of Central Canada all the way
South to Gulf of Mexico.
Does anyone remember what was going on here in the
1930’s. Ah, yes, we were trying to resurrect ourselves from “The Great
Depression”. Sound a little familiar? Now,
Modern Martha and Harold can’t just bundle up the kids and some of their belongings
and headed for California. California is totally bankrupt, way too overcrowded,
and Modern Martha and Harold don’t have the money to move, because Harold has
been unemployed for a year and a half. MM & H are also close to defaulting
on their mortgage, maxed out on their credit cards, one car already repossessed,
and the second one in arrears.
Tell me; what are Modern Martha and Harold
supposed to do? In our style of democracy, this is where the Federal Government
comes riding in on the white horse, just in time to save the day. Here’s where
we run into a major snafu. The Federal Government doesn’t own a white horse
anymore. The Chinese bought the last one we had, and, believe me, they aren’t
riding in to save our day anytime soon. I guess there is a small chance that we
can keep our feet out of the fire. Maybe, just maybe, if we stop fighting these wars that are destined to failure, we
can avoid running over the $3.4 trillion outlay that I suggested three years
ago. Maybe then, we will have some money left over to help Modern Martha and
Harold through this rough period. I really thought that helping them at their
hour of need was “The American Way”. I hope I can still feel truth in that when
I wake up tomorrow morning.
Just a little history
from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_Bowl
Geographic characteristics
{A dust storm approaches Stratford, Texas, in 1935.}
The Dust Bowl area lies principally west of the 100th meridian on the High Plains, characterized by plains which
vary from rolling in the north to flat in the Llano
Estacado. Elevation ranges from 2,500 feet (760 m) in the east to
6,000 feet (1,800 m) at the base of the Rocky
Mountains. The area is semiarid,
receiving less than 20 inches (510 mm) of rain annually; this rainfall supports
the shortgrass prairie biome originally present in
the area. The region is also prone to extended drought, alternating with
unusual wetness of equivalent duration. During wet years, the rich soil
provides bountiful agricultural output, but crops fail during dry years. The
region is also subject to high winds.
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