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Burnett's Urban Etiquette

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Crying Wolf, Wolf, Wolf

So the TV weather guy just said it was going to be really hot tomorrow....So I'm planning on wearing one of the few winter jackets I brought here from Wisconsin.

Kidding, but man, could they have been any farther off with Ernesto?

As a still relatively new Floridian I had 20-plus gallons of water stashed, a camping stove, assorted MRE type supplies, flashlights, portable TV and radio, and enough batteries to operate a power plant. And I blistered my fingers getting my hurricane shutters closed.

And after all that hype, Ernesto turned out to be a punk, essentially a thunder storm. I was looking for some TV weather guys to be hanging onto trees, yelling to the cameras that the wind was very, very strong.

Next time I'm preparing for a "threatening" major storm by having a cold beverage, and sitting on my thumbs. It'll take less time than doing the well-prepared boy scout routine.

7 Comments:

  • Now,now,now! Having been here long enough(between living in Key West and Miami), I've had my share of this silliness, but for the times where I've sat and listened to my poured concrete house hum in the Cat 3 winds, well,I kinda look at it as all part of livin' in paradise. And I wind up doin' it all myself because my beloved is a long haul trucker who ALWAYS seems to be CA. during Hurricane season! Hmmmmmmm.....

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:46 PM  

  • Ha! Dogncatmom, I too find that suspicious that your other half is always in Cali during hurricane season. Perfectly timed deliveries? Hmmm.

    But you are correct in that it is often like paradise down here (climate, weather - not necessarily behavior). So if the occasional storm hype and the occasional real storm are the price to pay I'll ante up.

    By Blogger James Burnett, at 5:59 PM  

  • Come on now...How many people sat on their thumbs last year during Rita and Wilma and ended up having their arses handed to them? Having gone through a bunch, IMHO, it is still always good to prepare...even for the punk storms.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:44 AM  

  • James, I'm now having a good laugh over this. Hubby called to say he was taking a load from Utah to... 'tada'... PA, right into the storm's path...Ah, the gods are laughing somewhere!!!!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:48 PM  

  • I'm still trying to conceptualize the expression "sitting on one's thumbs." To me, that sounds somewhat painful. Is that a South Florida expression?

    By Blogger The Sarcasticynic, at 8:42 PM  

  • Complacency is the hobgoblin of little minds.

    Had you been in the maw of Andrew, you wouldn't have such a cavalier attitude about wind storms.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 9:44 AM  

  • I have to sympathize, Mr. Burnett. As a grad student in the architecture program at Univ. of Florida back in 1998-2000, I recall one storm barreling towards us and the Threat of Imminent Destruction. Students from out of town were packing up and bolting, while the ones from the state of Florida were taping their windows and buying kegs. The storm turned at the last minute and hit the Carolinas, leaving Gainesville to shop at Target all day, since school had been cancelled.

    Just be sure to wash your thumbs before returning to work.....

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6:50 PM  

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