SWAMPTHING


Of late the skies above Subtropical City have opened up. The local waterways are overflowing with rushing muddy roils. The streets are frequently impassable. As STCU-VU sits atop the intersection of two waterways, there is some concern about whether we should close campus or not. Should faculty and students risk life to attend class? Hard to say...

What this deluge produces is a surfeit of amphibious life. This morning I opened my door to a chorus of bullfrogs and spring peepers, their cacophony competing with the cardinals, the mourning doves, the roadrunners and the jays. The door itself is studded with tiny snails. The snakes have yet to appear, but it seems only a matter of time. The turtle trudges back and forth along the fence.

I live in a swamp, optimistic city planning notwithstanding, and when it rains like this everyone remembers why planting a megalopolis here was perhaps not the best idea. Subtropical City is LESS TEMPERATE than Mumbai. Mumbai!

And yet, the entire world now exists in the Dylan Thomas-y state of "the green fuse that drives the flower." The grass grows inches overnight.