View Single Post
Old 09-11-2004, 08:27 PM   #29
Kitsune
still eats dirt
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Tampa, FL
Posts: 3,031
We're all convinced Ivan is Russian. And drunk. We've not seen a track change this much, this frequently, in a long time.

All of this started getting stressful last night when I began sorting through things that are irreplacable. I suddenly realized that cramming all of it into the car isn't possible and you have to figure out what is the most important: family photographs, old books, etc. After I had packed it all into boxes, all it took was for me to look up and see what I was leaving behind before I reconsidered and began trading out items. A disaster that sneaks up on you and takes your home is difficult to deal with, but somehow knowing that the uncertain is just days away seems so much worse right now. One week from now I might be sitting on my couch enjoying more football, sitting in a shelter with no place to live, or, with the way this summer is going, watching another hurricane spiral towards us.

This afternoon, a shifting of gears. Packing things into plastic tubs got put on hold as we considered that driving North might be more dangerous than staying put as Ivan takes a Westerly course for the day. Food and water suddenly became important and I made sure I raided the stores, today. On the drive through town, I counted five out of six gas stations that were out of fuel thanks to yesterday's panic started by rumors of gasoline rationing, all of which were eventually dispelled by the govenor. Looking around, it also seemed impossible that we had the possibility of being hit by a catagory four hurricane.

During a commercial break on the radio, a correction: catagory five. Great.

And now I sit, trying to watch Georgia Tech battle Clemson, only to have the broadcast interrupted by the local news to update everyone on a prediction track that hasn't changed in the last three hours and won't update for at least another two. Once in the crosshairs, I'm now on the very edge of the "cone of probability", but even that will change after Ivan passes Cuba. Friends in New Orleans indicate that even they are getting a bad feeling from this beast and that residents there remain fairly nervous, thinking that the Westerly course might very will continue and throw their city into deep water.

Not everyone throws hurricane parties because they're fun. It seems, this season, that its one of the only things that keeps peoples' nerves calm.

Last edited by Kitsune; 09-11-2004 at 09:09 PM.
Kitsune is offline   Reply With Quote