3rd Anniversary Today
It’s August 29th again. Today went by like a normal day, although I’ve felt somewhat down. I’ve done what needs doing but with no enthusiasm. I slept until noon (I had the morning off) and I took a nap from 7 to 10 this evening after mowing the yard and heating up a pizza out of the freezer for supper.
I couldn’t spend much time dwelling on it because we are now facing Hurricane Gustav, currently predicted to hit the Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida or Texas Gulf coast as a category 3 storm on Tuesday or Wednesday next week. We don’t know where it’s going because it isn’t even in the Gulf of Mexico yet. It’s still hanging out down by Jamaica in the Caribbean. Governor Jindal, FEMA and Homeland Security have all been on the radio frequently this week updating us on when New Orleans will be evacuated, what resources are already in place, what is being done to make sure everyone gets out, when nursing homes and hospitals will be evacuated, etc. The lessons of Katrina have been learned well and no one is waiting to see if Gustav is coming. We’re assuming it is coming and we’re all getting ready way ahead of schedule. That’s good. At least what happened in Katrina won’t happen again. There is even a website where state citizens can put up information about room available in their homes to help shelter people.
The Republicans are even considering putting off their convention if Gustav hits a populated area and causes a lot of flooding and damage. I doubt they’ll put it off though. The only reason they would put it off is so they won’t have to share news coverage with the storm. A lot of people in the red states wouldn’t be able to watch the convention of the party they’ve supported recently and that wouldn’t be good for voter turnout on November 4.
I had to finish cutting grass and started putting everything that could move into the garage. Tomorrow I need to buy several bags of ice and pack the freezer. I also need to get some gallon or larger bottles of water. I have large containers and will likely just fill them instead of buying water. We’re sheltering in place so portable water isn’t necessary. We have plenty of canned food, a full tank of propane, the camp stove works fine, we’ve got plenty of batteries for the lanterns and flashlights, and I may buy a small generator to keep the refrigerator and freezer running. I need to pick up some charcoal and lighter fluid. I also need to grind a weeks worth of coffee so I can brew it using my camp stove percolator. I usually make fresh ground coffee from beans each morning, but with no power I can’t grind coffee beans. I need to grind the coffee before the power goes out.
I really don’t have the money for a generator right now, so we may just be having a huge barbecue as the meat in the freezer thaws. We’ve been working on cleaning the freezer out over the summer anyway, so there isn’t much in there. Food will stay frozen for at least a couple of days if ice is on top. The ice will keep everything in there cold while we use it up. The advantage of a chest freezer is the cold stays in it really well. Extra ice will also help us out with the little bit of food we have in the refrigerator. We stopped buying milk that requires refrigeration until it is opened after Katrina. We buy ultra-high temperature pasteurized vacuum sealed milk in the quart carton (Parmalat). It’s shelf stable for 6 months and only has to be refrigerated when opened. The cartons are plastic and work really well in the cooler. We only have enough meat and cheese to last a week and we’ll eat that up to prevent having to cook more than once a day.
I am not looking forward to a week with no power. It’s been a really hot and humid summer. If Gustav hits to our west, we will get a lot of hot, humid air afterward. Yard clean up will likely have to wait until the power comes back on so we can work in the yard and be able to cool off when we come in.
See more pictures in the Hurricane Katrina Picture Book by Jeffery Morgan
Read Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City by Jed Horne.
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