I was one of the very few lucky ones that did not loose power during Hurricane Irma. That being said, we are usually the first to loose power and the last to get it restored. Sometimes it’s as if we are on a tiny island in Polk County. Just across a railroad crossing (no power lines) and right in back of an elementary school. They’ll restore power to the school but go any further for just one home? Nah, it’s just one house, we’ll come back later.
We’re at 7 days post-Irma and I still have some friends with no power. I know the power companies are working as hard as they can to get power restored but sometimes it just doesn’t seem to make any sense as to why one building has power and the one next it does not.
For those that did evacuate or let’s just say went to a friend or family member’s home what did you take? Your pets? Food and water for course. Books and games to keep your mind occupied while waiting for electricity to be restored. But what if you really had to evacuate due to storm surge or flooding. Did you consider what you would take if you could only fit your most loved possessions in your car. And you are not the only one in your car. Maybe you have your spouse and kids to include as well. I know what I would take. Photo albums for sure. Maybe my hard drive because I have about 1000 photos on it. Then we have a box with important papers such as car titles, etc. Just about everything else can be replaced. Sure there are things that I would be very sad about loosing but most things are just that…….. things, objects, stuff. Kind of makes you put your priorities in order doesn’t it?
Another thing I noticed post-Irma was the flexibility in people. We are a very demanding population with the attention span of a goldfish. I saw people just kind of shrug their shoulders when there was no bread on the shelves. Go with their second or third choice of an item if their first choice was out. People willing to wait for gasoline. People sharing their homes, their food, their generators. Too bad it takes a something bad to bring out the good side of us.
Now we just need to work on those 4-way stops at intersections that do not have signals working!