No Happy Medium (A Thanks, A Personal Rant, Some Hurricane Humor)
I have to take a moment and use my cool new icon, made for me by
Remusseverus. Thank you so much, Jen! It’s gorgeous! The fates really seem determined to force me into breaking down and getting a paid account. :-)
And on the more personal front:
The good: Hubby and I both have today and tomorrow off.
The bad: We’re off because we have to prepare for not-a-hurricane Ernesto
The ironic: My Disaster Preparedness Seminars was cancelled
The reality: Ernesto is likely just to be a basic Tropical Storm (I hope)
The personal reality: Even if we don’t lose power, our DSL seems to go out with nothing more than just heavy cloud cover :-(
So… I’ve no idea how much online time I’ll have over the next day or two.
It is the one year anniversary of Katrina hitting New Orleans. Perhaps we as a nation have learned some sort of lesson, but I have my doubts. Typically I have refrained from doing too much bitching about our hurricane damage, because after personally seeing the absolute devastation, to both lives and property, caused by Katrina in New Orleans I have to admit that we personally really have gotten off light. However… at the moment I am watching most of south Florida practically panic over what will likely be a Tropical Storm or at best a weak cat1 hurricane. The irony is that this region didn’t prepare near this well for Katrina, Rita, or even Wilma, all of which were at least cat2/3 hurricanes when they hit Florida. The worry is legitimate, though. Right now I can look my window and see a downed tree, felled by Wilma, that still hasn’t been removed. There is debris scattered throughout the southern part of the state, as we have been amazingly slow with Wilma clean-up. In the central part of the state, there are still buildings and houses awaiting repair from Charlie, Frances and Jean, from two years ago. Even a tropical storm will toss around debris or damage un-repaired roofs. I absolutely reject the claim that anywhere in this country is now capable of weathering a cat5 hurricane. Florida is one of the most hurricane prepared states, and right now we don’t seem prepared for another tropical storm! My fear is that everyone is over-reacting for TS Ernesto, and then we be too blasé if something wicked really does this way come. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time.
For ourselves, I’m concerned because our roof still hasn’t been completely repaired after Wilma, and if we really do get cat1 winds and 15 inches of rain, I hate to think of the additional damage that might be done. We never did receive any money from our home owners’ insurance claims, as they declared bankruptcy after Katrina, and are arguing in court that all claims from Wilma are invalid. Bastards. We are on our third home-owners policy in three years, and we don’t even live anywhere near the coast. All right, end of personal rant.
Got these in Email today. They are similar to some I posted last year, but this time I’ve added some personal commentary.
How to know you live in South Florida:
You’ve learned how to grill Spam. (No, but I have heated Vienna Sausages over a Bunsen burner.)
Your pantry contains more than 20 cans of Spaghetti Os. (Ravioli, more likely)
Having a tree in your living room does not necessarily mean it's Christmas. (The hurricane shutters are up again, so I hope not. We did have a tree fall one both cars during Wilma, though)
You are thinking of repainting your house to match the plywood covering your windows. (I wonder if that would really work?)
Your SSN isn't a secret, it's written in Sharpie on your arms. (not quite yet, but hubby and I have each others memorized)
Your children don’t know what a snow-day is, but the first thing they ask when you turn on the Weather Channel is, “Are we going to get another hurricane-day?” (Well, I never have minded a day off.)
You've been laughed at over the phone by a roofer, fence builder or a tree worker. (more times than I can count)
You catch a 13-pound redfish - in your house. (more likely a bass or such from the lake)
You have FEMA's number on your speed dialer. (I do have it on a post-it note around here somewhere)
You have more than 300 'C' and 'D' batteries in your kitchen drawer. (Double AA’s in our case, they fit most of our indispensable electronics.)
Toilet Paper is elevated to coin of the realm at the shelters. (Believe it or not, we both carry toilet paper in our cars now)
You think your patio furniture looks quite fine at the bottom of your pool. (don’t have a pool, but it looks great in our garage!)
You are delighted to pay $5 for a gallon of regular unleaded. (I’d just be delighted if the line weren’t three hours long)
There is a roll of tar paper in your garage. (yup, several)
Your "drive-thru" meal consists of MRE's and bottled water. (We actually have a case of MRE’s in our cupboard.)
You can now teach other people the difference between the "good side" of a storm
and the "bad side." (Yup, are you interested?)
You own more than three large coolers. (seven, actually, but several are also used for work)
When describing your gutted house to a prospective buyer, you say it has three bedrooms, two baths and an open air feel to it. (I sure hope not!)
The road leading to your house has been declared a No-Wake Zone. (This isn’t really a joke - we do advise drivers in flooded areas to go slow to avoid causing more wave actions into the houses.)
You are on a first-name basis with the cashier at Home Depot. (Only the cute ones)
You have 2-liter coke bottles and milk jugs filled with water in your freezer. (Several! In fact we have plenty filled with water out in the garage as well.)
At cocktail parties, women are attracted to the guy with the biggest chainsaw. (Dude, my chain’s bigger than yours!)
You rationalize helping a friend board up by thinking "It'll only take a gallon of gas to get there and back." (Haven’t we been thinking that way anyway for the past two years?)
You consider a "vacation" to stunning Branson, Missouri. (been there, done that)
A year ago you couldn't even hang a shower curtain; today you can assemble a portable generator by candlelight. (Isn’t candlelight wonderful.)
Your child's first words are "hunker down" and you didn't go to Ole Miss! (‘Meow’ is far more likely from our ‘kids.’)
You can recite from memory whole portions of your homeowner's insurance policy. (I have trouble remembering who we are even insured with anymore, it seems to change so often.)
You can rattle off the names of three or more meteorologists who work at the Weather Channel. (The cute ones, at least)
Someone comes to your door to tell you they found your roof. (Er… yes, actually. After Wilma. Only a small part, though.)
Ice is a valid topic of conversation. (You mean it shouldn’t be?)
You have had tuna fish more than 5 days in a row. (Well, it really made the cats happy.)
Relocating to South Dakota does not seem like such a crazy idea. (Blizzards, anyone?)
You spend more time on your roof then in your living room. (too steep)
A battery powered TV is considered a home entertainment center. (Not much different than camping, really.)
Your kids start school in mid-August and finish in late July. (and this is bad how? ;-)
You don't worry about relatives wanting to visit during the summer. (They only want to come in the winter anyway - buncha dang snowbirds.)
You go to work early and stay late just to enjoy the air conditioning. (It’s a conspiracy I tell you!)