Hank, I do remember the heat wave of 1980 although I was living in Texas at the time. It was the worst summer ever and I know that I will never forget it. I was in college and working full-time, and I had a car with NO air conditioner. (That was the absolute last car I ever bought without an air conditioner!) My dad had a garden that year, as always, and all I remember about it is that he had a HUGE crop of the biggest, tastiest tomatoes we'd ever produced until the red spider mites got the plants in early August. In Fort Worth we went 69 days between June 23 and September 6 with high temperatures over 100 degrees, a record which stands to this day. We also recorded the all-time highest temperature ever officially recorded in the D-FW area on June 26 and June 27---113 degrees. That same year the second highest temperature ever recorded in Texas was recorded in Wichita Falls--119 degrees. In Oklahoma City, y'all had 50 days of triple digit high temperatures and recorded OKC's all-time high temp of 110 degrees--the hottest day on record outside of the Dust Bowl days. The Heat Wave of June-Sept. 1980 did an estimated $20 billion in damages/costs to agriculture and related industries. In addition, an estimated 10,000 deaths during that time-frame were classified as heat-related deaths including those caused by heat-related stress. I worked for an international airline and I remember that people would walk off the air-conditioned aircraft into the UNAIRCONDITIONED jetways, which were said to be in excess of 140 degrees, and they would collapse right there in the jetway. It happened over and over again. We sure kept the police officers, paramedics and firefighters busy that summer with all the medical calls. I also remember that you just couldn't seem to cool off, no matter what you did, because the nights were so incredibly warm too. I have been thinking along the same lines as you that we ought to have good gardening weather next year. For as long as I can remember, we have often had several hot and dry years in a row, but I don't ever remember having two excessively wet years in a row.....well, maybe in the late 1960s, but I was a kid then, so am not sure the memory is accurate. Dawn

Thanks, luvs! No, not here in our small community ...but West of us about l-l/2 hrs. & surrounding areas...the hometown of Iowa State University got hit hard (that's about 50,000 people) & college starts on Mon. (well, was supposed to anyway). One 16-yr drowned who was with a group of 11 in 2 cars & were swept off the road in flash flooding...the survivors were able to hang on to downed trees...always terrible news of the destruction of homes & towns, crops ...but losing lives is so devastating. Good thoughts & prayers to this young woman's family & friends. Iowa just has so much rain this summer that the grounds are saturated & then more falls like 3" in an hour or so.. (some places up to 6" or more in a short time!)....and the little creeks turn into bigger problems like the rivers! Need some drying time for awhile. Thank you for your note, luvs. Jeanne S.

Rebecca, that storm you saw passed on to Murphy, NC and did damage the Walmart, Big Lots, WKRK radio station antena and Wayne's Feed store also. Our little cabin is ok and the NC neighbors there are ok. One large tree came down and they got it cut up and toted off so the gal could use her driveway. Glad there were no injuries! Our friend in Blue Ridge, GA said it was quite a night Fri. She used her nervous energy to hem 4 pairs of jeans until 2 am! Our quilt group sent emails and kept in touch with each other with reports. They are safe. This Sun. morn. in Orl. we were pelted with winds and rains. Scary. Stay alert and safe, Everyone! Gwen

Dido1 - As per your post about the lost houses in Sri Lanka -- made of flimsy materials, no insurance ... Last night there was a TV report about the floods in South America. Through an interpreter we learned about an old retired man -- "I worked for 30 YEARS to afford to build a big, solid home for myself and to leave to my sons when I die .... Now it is ALL GONE." He was in tears, but he spoke clearly and finished his story w/out totally breaking down ..... until the end when he just turned his head away. It was just awful to think this old man watched 30 years of his life - and his legacy to his sons - virtually go down the drain! He did not have home-owners insurance and - no doubt - probably couldn't afford it. It seemed he was fairly self-possessed considering the emotional pyrotechnics some other people would've put on had they been in his shoes! So, yes, there's a big difference in LOSS for people in other countries -- and other economic situations, too. If you can afford to recover a loss pretty well, you obviously aren't going to suffer severe emotional anguish as someone who's lost all their worldly goods in one fell swoop and is without any insurance or savings coverage of any kind at all.