Altered Dorian Track Courtesy DemocracyNow.org

At the peak of the hurricane season, which just happens to be the same date as 9/11, but every bit as destructive, former president Barack Obama is called to be a keynote speaker at a small conference of meteorologists and climate scientists in Mobile, Alabama. He accepts with some trepidation.

That evening the stage is set in a small, intimate room. With a chill down the back of his neck from the sweat he experienced leaving the Secret Service limousine into the humid heat of the Gulf Coast and then back into the air-conditioned hotel, Obama put an index finger to his, too tight, cotton shirt neck line to loosen it up, wishing that he had worn something more comfortable than a shirt and tie, as he approached the podium with some trepidation.

He opened his speech that way. "Ladies and gentlemen. I know I'm not savvy to all of the information and technology that you have, so I wasn't sure what I would bring to you today that you don't already know." A twitter of applause from the audience.

"So let me give you my impression of our current situation. Just an impression, mind you. We have, forming in the area of the Bahamas, another tropical depression like Dorian that is on its way to Florida, expected in a couple of days to hit hard as a Cat 1 and do considerable damage to the central portion of Florida's eastern beach communities. Evacuations are already planned." A graphic showing the situation was projected on the screen behind Obama.

"Of course we expect the hurricane to drop down into tropical storm status again on land and may or may not enter the Gulf of Mexico according to all of the computer models. If it does get into the Gulf, we can assume that it will strengthen, but quickly turn north to Georgia…ah… Alabama… And then, probably head north to the Pacific…ah… I mean… the Atlantic." A twitter of laughter from the audience.

"But you are all smarter than I am when it comes to matters like this, so I will leave the floor to you and go sit down and listen to what you have say on this momentous occasion where lives depend upon what we do here." Cheers from the audience.

With that, Barack Obama sheepishly left the podium to others and was high-fived by the audience as he traveled to the back of the room where he would sit and listen to the experts talk about what they thought was really going to happen and how to deal with it.

Copyright 2019 © Ronald W. Hull

9/13/19