The appearance and subsequent damage from Hurricane Harvey has given me an unexpected amount of time at home. Much of Houston is under water, so driving back to San Antonio right now is probably impossible and certainly not the best idea.

We lived in the Houston area in 2001 when Tropical Storm Allison came and sat over Houston for three days. The flooding from Harvey looks worse. And since it kept bouncing back out into the Gulf and coming ashore again, it destroyed things all the way from Corpus Christi to Lake Charles.

I have my computer here so I can work, but this also creates unexpected time with my new granddaughter. And, frankly, my new cat. And the new tiger at LSU (yes, I have been back to see him again). Interestingly, before he becomes Mike VII he will still be known by the name he had before he arrived on campus, which happens to be Harvey. Coincidence?

Back to the important stuff: we went to New Orleans yesterday to visit the baby. It was fun. She’s a genius and is eating, sleeping and pooping like a champ. You know, all the stuff a three-day-old baby has to master.

I hate that our friends in Houston are suffering, but I am going to take advantage of the opportunity that it presents. The whole lemons/lemonade thing.

I will stay here through the Labor Day weekend and then head back to San Antonio. I am sorry for the circumstances that created the opportunity, but it is good to have extended time at home.