Lovely Rita, Meter Maid

Wednesday, 9/21/05

Day One,

Hurricane Rita is about 2 and a half days out. Its probable target is yet to be determined.

I've never been through a hurricane before, so this is uncharted ground. buKit has downed several of the famous "hurricane" cocktails, and assures me that I haven't a thing to worry about.

We live in Spring, about 20 miles north of downtown Space City and 70 miles from the coast. I saw things today that I've only seen on the news. Lines for everything. Shelves that are bare. Boarded up houses, IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD. I'd never actually seen a line for gasoline until today, and I was in it. I waited in 2 lines at the hardware store. one for batteries, one for propane. Total wait time, 90 minutes. I'm not sure if we'll have electricity after the storm hits, but my grill has a side burner.

Evacuations orders are out for just about everyone south of the city today. From the people I've talked to and taking into account my own feelings, I'd say the mood here is more anxious than anything. Perhaps the panic is yet to come.

Currently, I'm trying to get the kids out of town, but it appears that the flights are all full. I'm still going to play the stand-by waiting game at the airport later this evening with them.

I'll try to update this as often as I can. buKit will be lending a hand in a yet to be determined manner, either here or on buKitzone.