[Qcwa] Lessons from Isabelle

[Tom Repstad]

We don't get much damage from a hurricane here in Vermont, but we do get
blizzards and the ever popular ice storm, some lessons I've learned:

1a.  A tree branch with leaves on it will break when filled with the snow,
generally the branch that your car is parked under.
1b. Never park your car near a tree after Oct 1st.

2a. 4WD will help you go on the ice, but it will NOT help you stop.
2b. The guy with the $45K Audi Quattro 4WD who passes you on the interstate
at 70mph when everybody else is doing 40mph, will be upside down in the
median about 2 miles down the road

3a. The ice on the power lines is pretty to look at.
3b. When the power lines break because of the ice, it's not pretty any more.

4a. Kerosene heaters are messy and smelly.
4b. Never should have sold the damn kerosene heater at the yard sale last
summer (Oil furnaces don't run without electricity).

5a. Gave up heating with wood... too much work.
5b. Glad the neighbor didn't, can always go over there when the furnace
doesn't work.

6a. All cars come with all season radials now.
6b. All season radials are only good in Florida and California.

7a. Everybody finds the pictures of quaint Vermont houses with their roof's
covered with snow to be very picturesque.
7b. It's a pain in the ass to get out the "roof shovel" and remove the snow,
because if you don't the roof will eventually cave in. You also get the joy
of "ice dam's" that form as the sun warms the snow in the day and then it
freezes again at night. So then you get to have the fun of getting out the
extension ladder and a sledge hammer to break up the ice while freezing your
butt off.

8a. Ice dam's don't form when it's -40F
8b. -40F is damn cold... the snow "squeaks" when you walk on it.

9a. Some of the bravest people on the planet are the mail "persons" -
somehow they aways manage to get here, even on days when the weather is so
bad I'll choose to take a sick day.
9b. It must suck to be them on those days.

10a. A copper water pipe will freeze when it's below zero and the wind blows
in through the cracks in the house. So always keep a propane torch handy to
thaw it out.
10b. Thank God if the pipe doesn't split (yup it did here). Also, try not to
burn down the house when thawing out the pipe ;o)

--Tom
K1VG




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "W1EOF" <w1eof@hamnutz.com>
To: <qcwa@mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 2003 6:43 PM
Subject: [Qcwa] Lessons from Isabelle


> ---------------------------------------------------------
>
>    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.
>
> end
>
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