Back in May, my daughter called and asked if we could come down to their home and watch their two girls in August. “Sure,” we said, looking forward to spending time with them. Mom is a teacher and had to go back to school for prep work for several days before the girls start. Dad works too, so that left no one to tend to the kids. Sounded like a great plan. Until you factor in the fact that they live in Savannah. Which, as you might have heard, was in the path of Tropical Storm/Hurricane Debby this week. We were already in place when the storm hit.

We arrived in sunshine, but that didn’t last long. When the rains started, they didn’t stop – for a long, long time. As you may know, Savannah, and its environs (including the area just north of the city where my daughter and her family live), are all of 20 feet above sea level at their highest. Most places in and around the town got at least six inches of agua just in the first few hours after the storm hit. My son-in-law was wise enough to go to the little creek behind their house and clear out the storm drain. He went out about every two hours with his neighbor to make sure it remained clear of debris. The normal trickle was soon a raging small river. Fortunately, a brief lull in the action allowed the drain to catch up during the night.

As the deluge continued, we were fortunate to not lose power. So, we were able to keep tabs on the Olympics. With two little girls in the house, the ladies’ gymnastics were of particular interest. They created their own event. Putting pillows on the floor, they summersaulted from an overstuffed chair onto the ground. I have a video of this in preparation for the future when they are actually IN the Olympics and NBC wants to do a special feature on them.

We were wise enough to stop by the nearby Publix a few hours before the storm hit, so we weren’t hurting for food. It was a very crowded grocery store. By the time I arrived, the entire produce section consisted of three Granny Smith apples (somewhat bruised), two bags of grapes, and a few onions. Oh, and two bundles of asparagus, one of which I snagged for dinner. There was even some chicken left, albeit at a premium price. Got some ice cream too since you can’t live on veggies and protein alone. And pretty much the last loaf of bread. I do have to say that all shoppers were more than polite to each other even as we stood behind our carts in lines five and six deep, waiting to check out.

As we flipped back and forth between the Games in Paris and the fine folks at The Weather Channel (you really DON’T want Jim Cantore to be reporting from your driveway), we did happen to see a breaking news item about Kamala Harris’ choice for Vice President. What I didn’t see was Harris actually appearing before cameras to announce Governor Walz. I think she just posted it on social media. That seemed a little odd until I realized how odd the entire previous month has been in this presidential election year. Given the abnormal events thus far, I suppose it made sense. I know the ticket got together later that day in Philadelphia. But when you’re used to seeing the reveal at a rally where the presidential nominee works the partisan crowd into a froth before bringing out the Veep choice from the wings, a social media introduction was a bit anticlimactic. Sort of like, “Hey, here’s a picture of my hamburger at lunch, and by the way, this is my VP.”

Initially, the most used adjective I heard to describe the Governor is “affable.” My kinfolk in Minnesota will no doubt be able to provide some more insight into the man, but even those in the “R” category who served with him in Congress say he always seemed to have a smile on his face. The Republican National Committee may come up with some information that causes him to smile less, but that’s the nature of the business.

Since Harris is running on the Biden record and Trump is running on his own, both of which are well known to the electorate, it will be interesting to get to know more about J.D. Vance and Tim Walz. There’s been a hue and cry from both sides for somebody new. Those two fit that bill.

For now, though, both my Savannah granddaughters, having heard us talk about these two guys, just want to know which Olympic events they’re in. And can they do a somersault off a chair. (Perhaps that qualifier could become part of the vice-presidential debate.)

©MMXXIV. William J. Lewis, III – Freelance Writer