This afternoon as the dark Hurricane Isaac skies began to roll our way and Reagan and I locked Curves up tight and head to our personal safe haven , Mom and Dad's house, I had a very eerie deja-vu feeling. Seven years ago to the day , oddly enough, people were doing the exact same thing in preparation for Katrina (The category 5 hurricane that devastated our world in just a few hours).
Whether Isaac is all bark and no bite or if it knocks our socks off there are a few things we learned from Katrina that will never be forgotten and from the looks of things around Hattiesburg/Seminary/Ellisville/Laurel everyone is putting their hard earned hurricane preparation knowledge to good use.
The shelves are empty of all the essentials and non-perishables, There are no generators left to buy for miles in all directions, public parking lots are full of vehicles left there to ride the storm out safe from falling trees,some cars are parked so closely together to insure no one can syphon the gas out it actual looks like a wreck.(You should see how close my mom parked our van to my car in order to protect her gas tank. I wish I had taken a picture.) I have noticed most business around are closed, schools are out, and the streets are pretty empty. considering we're still about 6 hours out from the really nasty weather I feel proud to know my fellow Land-massians can learn, have learned, and are going into this hurricane much more prepared.
Then I started thinking about the steps I have taken to insure my family is protected and how differently it is than how I prepared for Katrina. I had to chuckle. Not only did I not prepare for Katrina but once its seriousness was brought to our ,my friends and my, attention via sign on the JCJC BSU door about school being out the next day due to dangerous weather conditions, we did the only thing you can expect from college freshmen. We planned a hurricane party. We didn't have work or school the next day and that was as far as we thought that decision through. As it turned out we were not the only students with the same idea and it was a happening night.
What a luxury it was at that time in my life to live so fearlessly.
Seven years fast forward and the only thing I'm thinking is how I can keep my house and baby safe. Brad is at work so I got all the dishes and laundry done in case we lost power. Then filled a few jugs of drinking water in the fridge, and a few Tupperware containers for the freezer to help keep everything cool if the power went out. I filled the tube with water for flushing the toilet, turned the air way up, packed my car with anything and everything Reagan and I could possibly need for a few days and hit the road.
I actually feel like we will get little more then a bad thunderstorm but I would rather be prepared than not. As we draw closer to Isaacs grand appearance I hope everyone continues to keep their Katrina knowledge at the for front of their minds and be as safe as possible.
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