Looking out my Backdoor: Nothing changed; everything different

Jim picked me up at the airport in Guadalajara. Once we exited the labyrinth of parking and hit the straightaway, I requested, “Tell me all the news.”

“There is no news,” Jim responded. “Everything is the same as when you left.”

I’d been gone a month, so I treated his statement with skepticism. And over the course of the trip home learned much.

Among several small rains, two devastating storms hit our town. Trees and branches down all around.

We had driven a mere five kilometers down the road when the sky opened. At times one could barely see the lane markers, side view. I took the storm as a...