Tammi's World

Dennis

Hurricane Dennis is now a Category 2 hurricane. Not as terrifying as a Cat 4 but he's still got time to grow.

I see where they are starting the evacuation. St. Pete - my cousin and her family are staying put. They are a few miles off of the Gulf Coast so they are in pretty good shape. They will hunker down and probably play games all weekend. I'm just hoping their new roof holds for them.

Bou, hubby and those delightful boys should be in Atlanta by now. They left last night but hit some pretty heavy traffic - as was expected. Keep checking over there as she will have updates from her parents that live in Pensicola. My prayers are for all those that in live the panhandle area. TGOO & MOM?!? I'm thinkin' of you.

Yesterday I made it known that I would be monitoring Foxnews and Weather.com during work. A big no-no where I am. I explained the fact that this was too important NOT to keep up on what is going on.

I figured after last year more people would be aware/undestanding of a hurricane and that it involves. I guess living in my little world down there I didn't realize how difficult it is to imagine.

It's days of build up. Tension beyond belief. You know it's out there. You know you need to prepare. It's soooo much work - boarding up windows, pulling in lawn furniture and grills. You don't want anything that could come flying throught the window, or wall! Making sure you have plenty of water, food, batteries. It's watching the weather constantly.

Then the skies start to darken and you know it's time. You still have no way of knowing FOR SURE what will happen, but you know it's gonna be a rough ride. The winds pick up - you have to watch out for the BIG T's. It's all so loud. The rain, oh the rain. It just pours. Not a nice lazy rain, an angry deluge that pounds at everything.

And it just keeps going. The wind continues to build and it feels like it will never stop. I can tell you it's better, in my mind, when it hits during the day. I felt much better when I could see what was going on. Either way - it's no picnic - but for me daytime is easier.

But the worst part? The hardest part? The after. The after SUCKS. No gas. Destruction every where. No power in many areas. No water. No money. Without power no ATMS or credit card machines. NO MONEY! Streets closed. Fresh food hard to find. No way to make the long term repairs. Oh, you have the blue tarps for roofs and stuff for quick fixes - but I have news for you folks. There are still people waiting to get their roofs fixed from CHARLIE! That was a year ago next month.

So, when you read about the hurricanes, see the panic - keep in mind......it's more than just a little wind and rain. It's more than just being stuck inside for a weekend. It's the most terrifying thing I've ever been through. And say a little prayer.

Posted by Tammi at July 9, 2005 06:24 AM