Boy, does the gulf coast know how to welcome me home. We're having a hurricane party. Put in the link below and check out updates of the path....right at me!
http://www.weather.com/maps/news/atlstorm9/projectedpath_large.html
This is about my 5th big hurricane, being a Texas native. The first one I remember is Carla, and what I remember the most was Carla caused the annual church picnic to be canceled. It was the biggest social event of the year, and poof! just like that, no picnic. Do you remember how long a year wait is in the life of a ten year old?
But also I remember how quiet the eye of the storm was and how the winds howled all night. Quite a night.
Since then I've experienced a few more big ones, and I learned that you don't run from the storm if you are not in a low lying area. You stay, repair the damage, and then leave in search of power and air conditioning. (Unless you have to do something non-civilized like go to work, in which case you get dressed in the dark and go to work with wet hair.) I'm glad we returned from our journey before this storm. I cannot imagine any of my friends loving me enough to take down all the dangling objects in the back yard. Today I regretted being such a bohemian gardener as I took them all down and swatted off the yellow jackets who moved into them over the summer.
Teregram went into storage today. We weren't going to put her away till we finished cleaning her up after the trip, but with the size of this storm and the winds we expect, she ran for cover.
We'll probably lose power sometime tomorrow. Ike is so HUGE, about 300 miles diameter. The hurricane force winds are 75 miles across. That's a lot of punch. Maybe I'll take my own home movie to post later.
Carl asked if I was going to buy water. No, I said. Teregram is all filled up with 30 gallons. She's full of fuel, propane and water. All we need is to find out which of our friends will have power after the storm, and there we will be, plugged in and cool as cucumbers.
This funny comes from my cousin who lives in Louisiana and has way too much personal experience with hurricanes:
Top Ten Reasons Hurricane Season is Like Christmas
10. Decorating the house (boarding up windows).
9. Dragging out boxes that haven't been used since last season (Camping gear, flashlights).
8. Last minute shopping in crowded stores.
7. Regular TV shows pre-empted for "specials".
6. Family coming to stay with you.
5. Family and friends from out-of-state calling.
4. Buying food you don't normally buy ... and in large quantities.
3. Days off from work.
2. Candles.
And the number one reason Hurricane Season is like Christmas...
At some point you know you're going to have a tree in your house!
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1 comment:
Loved seeing you and I already like your blog. Let's make it through this hurricane and then have a good lunch somewhere - or perhaps a strong drink and lunch.
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