[K3PZN-List] Lessons from Isabelle

[Keith Krichinsky]

 >    Things I learned since Hurricane Isabelle
 >      (Article in a North Carolina paper.)
 >
 > * Coffee and de-frozen pizzas can both be made on a BBQ grill.
 >
 > * No matter how many times you thoughtlessly flick the switch,
 >   the lights don't work without electricity.
 >
 > * My car gets 23.21675 miles per gallon, EXACTLY. (You can ask
 >   the people in line who helped me push it.)
 >
 > * Kids can survive 4 days or longer without a video game
 >   controller in their hand, amazing to say.
 >
 > * Cats are even more irritating without power.
 >
 > * He who has the biggest generator, wins.
 >
 > * A new method of non-lethal torture--showers without hot water.
 >
 > * There are a lot more stars in the sky than most people thought.
 >
 > * TV is an addiction; and the withdrawal symptoms are painful.
 >   One day at a time, brother!
 >
 > * It sure is QUIET around here at night! (Except for the generators;
 >   and they all go off around midnight.  And except for whatever it
 >   is that walks around in my attic very late at night.)
 >
 > * A 7 lb bag of ice will chill 6, 12 oz Budweiser's to a drinkable
 >   temperature in 11 minutes, and still keep a 14 lb. turkey frozen
 >   for 8 more hours.
 >
 > * There are a lot of dang trees around here!  (A bit fewer
 >   than before, but still plenty available for next time!)
 >
 > * Flood plane drawings on some mortgage documents were
 >   seriously wrong.
 >
 > * Contrary to most Hampton Roads natives' beliefs, the speed limit
 >   on roads without traffic lights does NOT increase.
 >
 > * Just because you're 45 doesn't mean you can stay out as late as
 >   you want. At least that's what the nice Hampton cop told me
 >   during my curfew violation stop.
 >
 > * Crickets can increase their volume to overcome the sound
 >   of 14 generators.
 >
 > * People will get into a line that has already formed without
 >   having any idea what the line is for.
 >
 > * Police and firefighters become irritable after 15 straight
 >   18 hour days on duty.  Be extra cooperative with them.
 >
 > * When required, a Lincoln Continental will float: it doesn't
 >   steer well, but floats just the same.  For a little while.
 >
 > * Tele-marketers function no matter what the weather is doing.
 >
 > * Cell phones work erratically when land lines are down, but
 >   only as long as the battery remains charged.  Fancy phones
 >   that need wall-warts to work---  ---don't.
 >
 > * 27 of your neighbors are fed from a different transformer
 >   than you, and they are quick to point that out!
 >
 > * If my store sold only ice, chainsaws, gas and generators...
 >   ...I'd be rich
 >
 > * The price of a can of soup rises 500% right after a big storm.
 >
 > * The ATM is down.  I have $14.  My wife has $3.  The kids have
 >   zero.  That little glass jar with loose change is empty.
 >
 > * Your waterfront property can quickly become someone else's
 >   fishing hole.
 >
 > * Tree service companies are under appreciated. These are fine,
 >   hardworking people.
 >
 > * I learned what happens when you make fun of another states'
 >   blackout.
 >
 > * Drywall is a compound word, take away the 'dry" part and its
 >   pretty much worthless.
 >
 > * The supermarket can't swipe my MasterCard.
 >
 > * I can walk a lot farther than I thought.
 >
 > * Bicycles can carry cargo.
 >
 > * Sitting around the fire, just talking with my family, and
 >   working together to get through all this is sort of enjoyable,
 >   actually.  Maybe the power will never come back.
 >
 >   We can hope.
 >

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