On Hurricane Watch
by Rosalind Foley on 09/16/12
Tropical Storm Isaac was about to reach hurricane status.With everything outdoors secured, food and water on hand, radio and flashlight batteries checked, candles and matches at the ready, the wait-and-see time had begun.
Hour after hour. Isaac, master of the waiting game, crawled up the Gulf of Mexico, keeping all of us in it miles-wide range in suspended animation. When it moved a little westward and its projected path was still uncertain, I decided to make an evacuation contingency list, just in case. It can be hard to think straight in a crisis. What would you take?
Something about the world we live in is reflected in what I put on my list. Without any hesitation I wrote : (1) large memory stick (it contains all my computer files) and (2) cell phone and charger. First things first, after all.
As it turned out, Isaac's back edge barely brushed by. Unlike some others, we got lucky again. I'll keep those lists handy, though. Hurricane season has 6 or 7 weeks to go.
