Baghdad Winds

the wind was whipping the tarpaulins in the international zone today. gusts of upt to 15 mph. marvelous. i've always loved weather. any weather - i'm eclectic in my taste for climate-expressions. rain, fog, sun, wind - all can be enjoyed.

last night, the wind was making the trailer we call home rock a little bit. yes, it was rocking because of the wind.

this morning, a few sprinkles of light rain mixed with the ongoing wind. then, by about noon time, the wind picked up and was tossing around the tarpaulins that cover the stacks of sandbags. at one point, walking to my trailer, had the other trailers on my right, stacks of sandbags on my left, and the tarpaulin over me, whipping in the wind. reminded me of the fabric covers over the narrow streets in Toledo, Spain used for the Corpus Christi processions with the consecrated host in the monstrance.

it gets scarier though: an old hand, someone who had been here in 2005, regaled me and one of the sr. embassy officers with a story of the windstorms/sandstorms he had experienced. at times, he said, the sandstorm and wind was so intense, the horizon was obscured and that sand and dust swirled inside the tightly sealed buildings. now, the dust here is so bad, you need to use a Swiffer (R) every few hours if you are serious about keeping things clean. but the thought of all that dust and sand blowing around at gale force, getting inside the tightly sealed boxes we call home - well yuck! of course, the best is that at times the rain joins with the sandstorms, rarely, to rain mud. sounds great, eh. "I'm singin' in the mudrain, just singin' in the mud..." catchy.

remember - comments welcome; questions too.