THIS ISN'T WHAT I HAD IN MIND....

This week there was an enormous amount of rain that fell on Arizona, causing flooding of Biblical proportions. Our house is about ninety minutes north of the flooding area, and our lot is quite high in comparison to the houses around us...so I wasn't worried. But it did bring to mind the comment my neighbour made about how people who drive through flood areas and get swept away by the waters can be fined - big time.

The “Stupid Motorist Law”, which corresponds to section 28-910 of the Arizona Revised Statutes, states that any motorist who becomes stranded after driving around barricades to enter a flooded stretch of roadway may be charged for the cost of his/her rescue.

The need for the law came from the lack of storm sewers in the deserts of the Southwestern United States, combined with heavy rainfall in the desert, usually associated with the summer monsoon. If public emergency services, such as a fire department, or paramedics are called to rescue the motorist and tow the vehicle out of danger, the cost of those services can be billed to the motorist, plus additional liability of up to $2,000.

Common sense you say? Huh?

A group of tourists on their way back from sightseeing at the Grand Canyon are lucky to be alive after their tour bus was swept away by flood waters in northern Arizona. The water then carried the bus 300 yards before it flipped onto its side in the flooded wash.

In all, 33 people were on the bus when it flipped. Thankfully, none of them were injured.

A spokesman for the Northern Arizona Consolidated Fire District said the bus approached a low-lying area and was swept away by a flash flood. There had been announcements on the radio and everyone in Arizona knows not to drive into a flooded road or intersection, especially after a heavy downpour....except for this bus driver it seems.

The passengers and the driver managed to escape the bus by climbing through windows and swimming to dry land. Even more scary - by the time the passengers had escaped, the water had risen to 8 feet in some areas.

And then there is the case of the driver of a medical transport van who waits to find out if she will be cited for ignoring a barricade and driving into a flooded Scottsdale intersection, where she and her patient, in a wheelchair, had to be rescued by the fire department.....who luckily had a very long ladder!

At another location, an officer used his cell phone to record a white Ford Bronco as it entered a flooded wash near Lost Dutchman Boulevard. The vehicle was quickly overtaken by the rushing current and swept way downstream.

Several local, county and state rescue agencies responded, including the Department for Public Safety, which used a helicopter to rescue the two 19-year-old men in the vehicle.

Yup, I have a big truck and I can ride through anything!!!!As they went hurtling down the wash screaming like little girls.


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I was a little dismayed this week when I fed the fish and discovered that SIX had gone missing....as in....nowhere to be found - no little decaying bodies bobbing around - nothing!

I called to dear husband "the Neon's are gone!"

"the Neon?" - as in, the neon light in our kitchen....

"No - the Neon Tetra's in the tank. They have disappeared."

He came down the stairs, coffee mug in hand, robe flapping at his bare legs, "Well," he said after observing the tank for a moment. "the fact that the other fish aren't eating should give you a clue."

WHAT? My two other guys ATE my Neons???

Why, after months of cohabiting, have the two big buys suddenly turned on ALL SIX of my little guys. And they weren't that little.....I have seen them grow from practically little dots to lovely turquoise blue and red shimmering flashes.

So, now what do I do? Get more Neons so that they can become lunch? Get more big guys, who may eventually beat the crap out of my existing big guys? Hhhhmm? I think I will wait until early next year to replenish the stock. We will be away and I don't want our housesitter to have to worry about who is eating who in the water world.

Another of the world's great mysteries.......



Things I have learned this week:

I think this husband is glad to get rid of her....I'm just sayin'

Mrs. Sonia Van Meter ( I emphasize MRS. ) has applied to be in one of the groups heading to Mars...a one way trip to Mars that is.

Apparently she is not the only nutbar on the planet...as in THIS planet...as 200,000 people applied to Mars One to be considered.

Mrs. Van Meter thought this was an opportunity that just couldn't be missed. "My purpose on this mission is to help people back on Earth to look up." Look Up??? At what - Mars? I think we can all do that by just tilting our heads on a daily basis Sonia.

And her husband, who didn't think it was a really great idea to begin with, has come round.

"Living without her will be agony that I will have to share with the WORLD." He stated rather dramatically if you ask me..... Sorry, buddy, but I don't think I will be in agony over this.

He continues....."I'll be MR. Sonia Van Meter for the rest of my life, showing up to cut the ribbon at Sonia Van Meter High School and telling her story here on Earth." Well, It's all about YOU isn't it mister.

Back to Sonia and it's all about HER. "I am incredibly fortunate in that I have a remarkable family....to leave behind."

AND every year, several times a year...she watches Apollo 13...you know...the one where the mission nearly ended in disaster!!!

NUTBAR alert...if you see this woman....just back away slowly

Strangely enough her stepchildren, Henry and Hatcher, think it's cool that their stepmom has decided to be this hero. Yes - we all know how children feel about their stepmoms now don't we????That won't be a broom she'll be flyin' on kids!

So, it seems there are now FIFTY ONE ways to leave your lover.......Leave the planet, Janet....Get lost in space, Grace! Good on ya, Sonia!