Tropical Troubles, Election Speeches, and Football

The country is busy, and every American is probably sitting in front of a TV right now. Between the fears of what the 2 tropical storms will bring over the next few days, the anticipation of Obama's speech and McCain's VP choice, and the excitement that comes with college football, we are a country of TV junkies tonight. But is that all a bad thing?

First off, hurricane season 2008 is in full force. After having 2 really easy years in '06 and '07, '08 is beginning to shape up like the horrible '05 season. Thankfully, we are only up to the letter 'H' in hurricane names. In '05 we were already at 'K' with Katrina. That is the good news. The bad news is that Gustav and Hannah are in the Atlantic Ocean charging toward America. Of course the scariest aspect of any tropical storm is that of death. Gustav has already killed several in some of the islands. And there is a great possibility that more could die in the days to come. But for those of us who do not live on the coasts, we are dealing with the fear of higher gas prices. Gas is already on the rise in America. The barrel cost is holding in the $113-118 range. But the price at the pump is steadily increasing. Keep the people along the gulf in your prayers. The next 7 days are very uncertain for them. Who knows what will come of Gustav and Hannah. It would be great if they would just break apart and not near our coasts. But whatever the result is, pray that they can stay safe.

Tonight also marks the night of Obama's first speech as the Democratic nominee. He was officially announced as the nominee last night, and tonight he is accepting that nomination request. This is a crucial speech for Obama. We will be able to see how united the Democratic party is at this point. But if that was not enough for the political scene tonight, it has also been hinted that McCain might announce his running mate tonight. Now he has denied those requests, and does not want the news to leak until after Obama's speech. But knowing the media they will probably figure it out early and spoil the news. So if you are a political junkie, tonight is the night for you to be glued to the news.

But most importantly (for me anyways) is that college football has started up! NC State and South Carolina are currently playing in the season opener. It is still in the first quarter, and no one has scored yet. But it is exciting to be back to football. The NFL will be starting up next week, and it will finally begin to feel like Fall.

Matt