Last week I made an urgent call to my parents in Florida when I realized that hurricane Fay was coming ashore only a few miles from their home. I was simultaneously worried and irritated with myself, for not having tracked the storm’s progress and calling them sooner. While we often get caught up in the events of our own lives, it’s important not to lose track of events happening in the lives of others. Often times those are the ones that are most important.

While I had difficulty reaching them initially (twice answered by a fax machine, and once by broken voice mail) I was relieved when I finally got through. They assured me of course that they were fine and unsurprisingly, not really concerned. They’ve been through numerous hurricanes and seemed more interested in reminding me that the schizophrenic storm shared my mother’s middle name, Fay.

Now another hurricane, Gustav, is spinning it’s way through the Gulf of Mexico and picking up steam, heading where it has no business going. I’ve been visiting a website tracking the storm at http://i.wund.com/tropical. Formatted for the iPhone (which of course is always with me), it provides a clear snapshot of Gustav’s position and where it’s headed. Check it out.

I know the site will come in handy when the next hurricane approaches Florida, and hopefully will prompt a call to my parents a little earlier next time.

Over the next few days, as Gustav’s path becomes more clear, I am hopeful that neither the right or left will politicize the storm in this partisan-charged climate. Those who may be standing in it’s path will deserve better than that.

However, Gustav’s expected arrival around the third anniversary of Katrina, and at the opening of the Republican Convention in Minneapolis, the irony, unfortunately, is anything but lost.