Prep day 1 for the natural disaster, Hurricane Irma. Recently upgraded to a Category 5 hurricane, which is supposed to be death from the sky, probably will be Cat 4 or even 3 when it gets here. But hey, 3 or 4 cats can make a significant mess of things.
I was here in 2004 when we had four hurricanes cross over us. I remember at the time it became a joke – another weekend, another hurricane. At the time, I was living in an apartment in a newer apartment complex on the middle floor. So I had no potential for roof damage and no potential for flooding. The events were all pretty easy going. The balcony was always to the back of the storm, so I just sat out there and watched things go by. I saw part of a metal roof get ripped off and I saw a displaced alligator walking around.
When I got my house in 2005, I was fully prepared. I got a generator, a chain saw, a chest freezer and a dorm fridge. That should keep me going for as long as I needed. And when did the next hurricane come along? It never did. Until now, 12 years later.
Today, I dug the generator out of the shed where it hadn’t been used once except for a test of the electrical output. It was surprisingly clean, but its functionality is still unknown. I need to change the oil and get some gas in it.
Speaking of gas, there’s a general hysteria going around now. Of course, when I’m out of gas in my car right now. So I stop at one station. I tried a pump and it didn’t work. Odd. I went to another pump and waited for a guy to fill 6 five-gallon gas containers. That pump didn’t work either. But it was just working! It dawned on me that the station was out of premium gas. So I went to another station. As fate would have it, they were out of regular gas and only had premium. So I got my car filled up. But in both places, there were cars everywhere. Luckily, everyone was civil (so far).
I also noticed that people were eating out a lot. Everything was crowded. I guess people didn’t want to deplete their stock at home. After eating, I went to a small store and found pretty much what I expected: no water, no bread. I bought other things, like pop-tarts and canned tuna fish and chips. My idea of survival is different than others.
And you know what, there will be more shipments. I’ll get some bread eventually. I have cases upon cases of Coke and drinks. One paranoid thing I did get tonight? Cash. Can’t use credit cards when there’s no power.
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