Ernesto

Monday, August 28, 2006

Tonight when I got home from work I put up my hurricane shutters as Ernesto is chugging toward my section of Florida. Tomorrow I'm going to get up early to try to buy gas for the generator and pick up milk. The gas lines were horrendous all day long and many stations have run dry already. The tankers are giving priority to the Keys so that people can evacuate , but that means our stations are running out. Some stations are receiving supplies tonight so that's why I'll make the rounds early. People who don't live in hurricane zones don't know/understand the long, long lines. Cars circle the blocks around gas stations; people wait in lines stretching down the aisles in the stores. Most of the home supply stores now allow only so many people in at a time in order to regulate the crush. Once a hurricane watch goes up, it is a race against time to get the necessary supplies before the storm hits. Normally, we have more advance warning but Ernest changed course unexpectedly so it's crunch time. I can hardly wait until November and for this hurricane season to be over. Carol