With apologies to Don Maclean, I rearranged the first line of his iconic song with its reference to levees (why did he drive to it and why was it dry?). Louisiana and the American Midwest are about to find out what will happen if the levees get too wet. The Mississippi has been flooding Louisiana and the areas around New Orleans since the spring. Should proto hurricane Barry dump up to 30 inches of rain on the state, there is a pretty good chance the levees protecting NOLA will breach and cause a Katrina like flood, possibly even worse.
More troubling for the country as a whole is the very real possibility the Mississippi could change course and join the Atchafalaya river on a different path to the Gulf of Mexico. If this happens, the damage to trade, both domestically and internationally, would be incalculable. Much of the industrial and agrarian trade from the US to the world flows down the mighty Mississippi and closing it to navigation for years would probably cause an immediate global panic. I have scant confidence the tRump administration could deal with such a situation.
Meanwhile, on a more personal level, a childhood idol of mine, Jim Bouton died yesterday. Bouton was revered and reviled for his tell all book on major league baseball. Ball Four detailed the tawdry side of the game, revealing many players as huge man children whose sole talent was playing the American pastime better than 99% of their fellows. Descriptions of marital infidelity, casual drug consumption and petty vendettas put off many players and sportswriters, but the very people who criticized the book ensured its success. As an 11 year old besotted with the Yankees at the end of one dynasty, Bouton, who won 20 games in 1963 was one of my heroes. RIP Jim.
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