I’m writing this as summer comes to a close. It has been a hot season in Texas. It has been so hot that the dogs are chasing the cats, but they are both walking. We are now in the middle of hurricane season. I have had a lot of experience with hurricanes — in fact, I lost a condo to a hurricane. Actually, it was with 20 other owners. It was a nightmare to rebuild. It was like a committee of 20 trying to build a building. The financial part was easy. We were underinsured, so the deficit was just divided by the number of owners in the condo association. Simple, isn’t it? It might work at companies or churches. Just divide the cost of building by each employee or member.

Not only have I lost a condo to a hurricane, I have hunkered down and stayed in that condo through a hurricane. That was the year before the hurricane that destroyed the complex. Evidently at the time, I was thinking of making a Forrest Gump movie sequel entitled “Stupid Is As Stupid Does.” By the way, when the weatherman says it is going to be in the upper 90s and he is talking wind velocity, it’s time to leave. What I remember vividly is the constant wind and a strange tearing and whistling noise coming from the roof. Later, I discovered that this was the sound of the shingles leaving my roof and landing on my car — the only car in the parking lot because everyone else knew to evacuate. Did you know that shingles spin very fast during a hurricane? My car looked like it had been in a demolition derby and lost.