Dateline Pensacola
Stores are laid in.
And we firmly endorse 3/4 inch plywood. “Home sweet home” was added post Ivan, but we really mean it.
The squid terrorist’s best side.
Actually, if there was ever a better neighbor in the world (excepting his ugly anti-Flamingo tendencies, but I won’t quibble during a time of crisis), you’d be hard pressed to convince me. He and his gorgeous wife are the kindest, most giving individuals it’s ever been my honor and good fortune to meet. (Plus, he’s hell-on-wheels the best fixit/do anything tool guy, where me and Major Dad are all thumbs.) ST Jr., all of one year old, is the most overindulged, unspoiled baby I’ve ever been through disasters with. We adore them all.
Now, we’re all pooped. There isn’t an ounce of gas, bag of ice or roll of toilet paper left for 50 miles, but we’re snug as bugs and in awfully good company. Plus, there’s always the entertainment value. The kids on our right side scored plywood this afternoon and are busily hacking it to size with an electric chainsaw. Rock on, dudes. They didn’t know you have to have a drillbit to make the hole the concrete screws go in. We hooked them up with Ivan left over 1 X 4’s to frame the plywood to their windows and the ST found an ancient drill he could afford to have them break. They are humming right along now. Shit, we were all young once, n’est pas?
Hokey doke, that’s it for tonight from everybody’s favorite target. Supposed to be pretty for the better part of the morning, so maybe I’ll get some more shots before the power schmutzes out. Later gators. {:^)
July 8, 2005 8:38 pm 
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Miller Lite? Jeez, couldn’t you buy actual beer?
To sit in a 300 degree garage for weeks?
No.
Could’ve sworn I spotted a hiney-kin there somewhere.
There are 4 of them safe in the still-cool house, as well as a couple each Old Peculier, MacEwan’s Tartan, Dead Man’s Ale, etc., which will be cherished and slurped. The Miller STILL TASTES GREAT and is less filling, when the hasn’t been any electricity forEVER, but you STILL have ice to cool it down and it’s 210 degrees and 98.9% humidity in your non-airconditioned house. It is one TOUGH cervesa. Along about next Friday, we’ll be savoring every glug, while you all watch us on the TV.
Step back and leave this to the experts, Mr. Summers.
My parents have been in Destin since 7/2, and Mom called me this afternoon to say they were leaving to go back to Illinois RIGHT THEN (they were supposed to leave tomorrow afternoon)because the traffic was muy horrifico.
The trip from FL to IL usually takes them 12 hours (they live in Southern IL) and I’m thinking it’ll take them about that just to make it to B’ham.
I’ll be thinking of you, THS. Batten down the hatches!!
Batten, indeed Sis.
Oh, Lisa, no DOUBT! That’s another reason we get to stay every time. Major Dad has ‘what-to-do-now’ meetings and ‘what-happens-when’ meetings. By the time they’re all over, and he pulls up in the driveway, oh, like this afternoon…it’s already 2:30 or 3 and there’s no way to get on the road and not sit for HOURS per mile. Then the hurricane sweeps in. So we batten! Better the devil you know…
That’s the problem with the panhandle. ‘You can’t get there from here’.
Where’s the gin? And the Vienna snausages?
He came home with a fresh bottle each of the Beef of the Eaters and Martini/Rossi, so he is prepared. (I also have several Percosets left from Ivan, but will be keeping them to myself. It’s MY turn to be in the ozone for a storm.)
The snausages we have on hand will have to suffice. They’re a couple years old, give or take a year and should have matured nicely. Goes gangbusters with those new Roast Garlic Triscuits.
(Man! I’m a walking disaster product endorsement-they should pay for my roof for all this publicity!)
My thoughts are with you, sis. You guys seem as prepared as you can be. It’s the stuff you can’t prepare for that always worries me. Some knucklehead leaving his camper top outside on the ground, a loose bicycle, a loose garbage can, a tree branch from down the street……..
AllTheBest,
Good luck with Dennis, THS. Y’all stay safe!!
But why did you buy more water than beer? Or is there more stockpiled out of the photo?
Have a friend down there who was planning on investing in a generator. Air conditioning, pool, generator, port-o-potty… must haves anymore. Stay safe.
The ST bought a whompin’ huge one, so we’re locked on for fridge, lights and a teeny little 5000 btu A/C for our 152 year old Lab. He won’t be able to handle the heat. We were lucky post Ivan was beautiful, breezy and cool, made it bearable.
JeffS ~ oh yeah. As I was ‘splaining to Ken, that’s the ‘haven’t had electricity for a week’ stores.
Rob ~ Or Ivan debris laying around.
…As I was ‘splaining to Ken, that’s the ‘haven’t had electricity for a week’ stores.
What, you can’t go English for a while? 😛
Beer at room temperature in England probably tatses a hell of a lot better than beer at room temperature in Pensacola…or Kuwait, for that matter, I reckon…
Good luck, THS: stay safe!
Indeed – stay safe. I’m down in Cape Coral waiting for it to go by… and worrying about all who are in the direct path.
Dennis the Menace
Eye of the Storm is watching Dennis. Boudicca’s Voice has bugged out of Pensacola (good!) but promises further blogging today. Babalu has a thread going on Cuba. As for me, I’m not going to relax until it’s NW of us and still way off… even thoug…
Just heard from my parents — it took them FIVE HOURS to get from Sandestin to Freeport.
At first I thought they meant Freeport, Alabama, but nooooooo, Freeport, FLORIDA. FIVE HOURS for a drive that takes normally, what? Twenty-five minutes? Sheesh.
I bet my dad was going batshit.
No one will answer my question. Why are houses in the hurricane belt not built with storm shutters? It would seem to make more sense than this plywood polka you go through with every storm warning.
Walter, in much of Florida they have to be if they’re over a certain size, but the home builders’ lobby fights to keep that as high as possible so they can lower their costs. Moreover, building codes are local: county and/or city. When I worked for the Florida Legislature, I got the impression that a uniform statewide building code bill showed up on a fairly regular basis and invariably died for whatever sleazeball political reason or another.
And of course, not having storm shutters helps make more work for the contractors, yes?
Holy Crap, Lisa! I wouldn’t blame him, as I’d be bonkers myself.
Our neighbors have Dade County approved storm shutters (up to 140mph winds ~ the most stringent code in the state). They’re elderly and in questionable health, so they buggered out yesterday (Ivan was once enough for them) and we put their shutters up for them. DANG! Was that nice and easy! Major Dad asked Ebola what they run (about 3 grand) and we think it’s a worthy investment.
Dennis the Menace
A Chick-fil-A restaurant opened in Covington about a month ago. I had never eaten at one. There is one in the food court in the New Orleans Centre across from the SuperDome but they were never open on the days I was there (Saints football games were us…
Local building codes are generally more stringent that state wide building codes (if there is one, that is). And those tend to be based on standard construction industry publications, like the Uniform Building Code.
But storm shutters are a smart idea, and an excellent investment (IMHO, although I live in a non-hurricane state, I was involved in the recovery from Hurricane Andrew many moons ago).
Really, the bigger speedbump would likely be architectural codes or property covenants. I recall one post-Andrew community specifically not permitting storm shutters (even on homes for elderly people) because said shutters wouldn’t meet local architectural codes. I watched a TV interview of two bastards from that community (the city architect and the code enforcer, as I recall) smugly explain that “the elderly can always get help in putting up plywood”. Hopefully common sense has prevailed since then. Or the voters.
Liveblogging ‘Dennis’
Coalition of the Swilling member Tree Hugging Sister is liveblogging the arrival of Hurricane Dennis from Pensacola. They seem to be well prepared.
Wish the Swillsters and everyone else affected by this the best of luck.
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