6/26: Jacob's Ladder
A love letter to the summer thunderstorm.
The clouds prepare for battle
In the dark and brooding silence.
Bruised and sullen storm clouds
Have the light of day obscured,
Looming low and ominous,
In twilight premature.
Thunderheads are rumbling
In a distant overture.
Summer days in New Orleans used to follow a predictable pattern.
It would get hot—damn hot—so hot you could barely breathe—and just when the day had hit its most sweltering, BAM! The skies would open up, and rain would drench the parched earth for a good fifteen to twenty minutes. Then, just as suddenly, it would be over. Gradually the heat would return, but not as intensely, and the afternoon would more or less melt gently into evening.
At least, that’s how it was. Twenty years ago, when I first came to New Orleans to meet my then-boyfriend’s parents, the summer storms were so regular you could set your watch by them. That’s how it was when my husband was growing up, and when his parents were kids, and so on.
But much has changed in two decades. The world is hotter. The storms aren’t so regular anymore. But every now and then, however, they come around again—they have been back this week in full force—and I think of how wonderfully designed this world is, all the checks and balances each ecosystem has built into itself, and inevitably I think of “Jacob’s Ladder", an exquisitely composed love letter to the thunderstorm.
Its been a while since I heard this song. Great weather tie - in ( and song ).
Weather's changed up here in Toronto as well. Basically after hurricane Katrina sp?). Prevailing wind was from the north west. Now wind is often from the south. We basically get Ohio Valley weather pushed north. My sense is there's no barrier set up to stop that southern wind. Hence so many freeze - thaw cycles in winter ( up here ). Funny- this week I said to myself, these warm winds are from Florida or Louisiana. And then this song....
A favorite. And I am so with you regarding New Orleans in the summer. I've been there four times, twice in the summer (because I don't learn). There was no need to shower as the second you dry off, you are drenched in a sticky sweat that doesn't let up, even at 2am. And the bugs, if memory serves, are super-sized. At least that way you can know where they are. I loved it. I will write a piece/ode to one of my favorite cities in a future earworm. Thanks for the reminder.