Things they should add to the hurricane preparedness lists

Things they should add to the hurricane preparedness lists


In this 3 weeks after hurricane Wilma, I’ve come to realize that the “are you prepared?” hurricane lists given out at every store in Florida is missing some items. Things that most people wouldn’t realize as a necessity until you’ve been through a storm. As I sit here in my powerless, waterless, and phoneless house, I’ve had a great deal of time to think of these very basic, but very necessary items.

Earplugs. After just two nights of hearing seven generators grumbling around my neighborhood, earplugs have become a major item. I know some people can sleep through anything, but I dare them to sleep with a generator gagging on its last bit of gas, or trying to run three lamps, stove, TV and Xbox all at the same time. Cats having a hairball sound less painful. When I finally remembered my little foam earplugs from work, and the wonders of silence far outweigh the itchiness of in my ears.
GaxEx. Has anyone ever looked at what we eat during and after a hurricane? Chips of all kinds, beans, soda, beer..junk food of all sorts. It gives us another whole reason to get the shutters off the windows. If we could harness all the methane released in a hurricane zone, we could light up Manhattan for weeks!
Doggy treats. With all the fences down in the neighborhood, there are a lot of dogs cruising the street. Most have just noticed that their prison walls have blown away, and they want to see what’s on the other side. The big monsters I avoid, but the treats have helped me leash a couple of small poodles and a corgi for the walk home.
Bike helmets. In the past six days I have seen more kids on scooters, bicycles and rollerblades in my neighborhood than I have in eight years. None of them in a helmet. Two or three kids on a scooter blasting down the street as fast as they can go, dodging tree limbs, roofing tiles, and fallen power lines. Enough said.
Water hose. If it wasn’t for my water hose and my next door neighbor, I would be in serious trouble. One of my trees ripped up my waterline, leaving my house high and dry. Luckily, I have a very nice neighbor that let me hook into her water supply. My best workouts have been hauling the 5 gallon bucket to my bathroom for flushing. I will celebrate the day of the bucket free flush.
Blue tarps. Ok, these are on the list, but I’ve found they work for another reason completely. When Wilma took out my water, it also took out all of my trees. I have the hose from my neighbor, but no privacy for a nice wash down. A little blue tarp, some fencing posts, zip ties and concrete blocks, and voila! My own outdoor shower. And people pay thousands of dollars for such a luxury.
Clean clothes. My brother laughed when I told him that the day before Wilma hit I would be all my laundry. Now that it looks like I won’t be getting power for the next week, now who has the last laugh!?
Digital camera. I know, I know, any cheap camera will do to document the damage done to our homes. However, with a digital camera, you can document all the insanity in your neighborhood (for example, using a 4x4 pickup truck to bring down a 30 foot pine tree without using a chainsaw) and quickly email it to all your friends and relatives. That is, as soon as you get an internet connection.
Hair holders. Even if you don’t have any hair, elastic hair holders are the wave of the future, or at least the saving grace for all vertical blinds. I’ve used me hair holders to keep my blinds together, so they won’t break off in the wind coming through my open windows. You can color coordinate if you like. Mine are in blue and teal.

Well, I’m not David Letterman, so I don’t have to have a top 10. I just think that these nine are ready to join the list of requirements in all the stores for next year’s hurricane season. May we never have to use them.