Tags
be prepared, food storage, Hawaii, hurricane, Iselle, Julio, prepardness, storms, tropical storm
Two blog posts from me in two days is about as likely as two back-to-back hurricane/tropical storms headed toward Hawaii, so, yeah. Here you have it. Iselle and Julio have made be sit back and think, more than the other storms that have come our way. This time, I’m thinking about being prepared.
Growing up in the LDS church, we have always been taught to be prepared. My whole life I’ve heard the warnings to have food, water, and emergency supplies on hand. My parents, their whole lives, were told the same. Even my grandparents have heard this warning from a very young age. My parents have enough food stored to feed a small army. (Okay, maybe not THAT much, but close.) I grew up picking corn out of grandpa’s garden, helping pull the husks and little silk hairs off the cobs, even with my fear that earwigs will crawl into my ears and eat my brains. (I thank my aunts for that one.) I’d watch Grandma and the aunties cut the corn off the cob and put it into freezer bags. I learned how to make jam. We canned peaches, pears, green beans, and beets (yuck). This was simply what we did when I grew up.
I might not be nearly so domesticated now, but I did hold onto the repeated warning of, “Be prepared!” We have, not enough to feed a small army, but enough to feed our family for long enough. We have water, flashlights, and other emergency supplied. But I went to Walmart yesterday anyway. It seemed like the thing to do. And I found the bottled water isle empty. One palate of water remained in the middle of an isle, and there were only 7 cases left on that. (I grabbed one. Peer pressure. Everyone was doing it.) Shopping carts were full of Ramen and rice. I got my duct tape and glow sticks, and got out fast! It was a bit panicky in there!
I went to fill up The Beast. The lines at the gas station were 4-5 cars deep. This morning, I figured I should top off Jeff’s car, too. The gas station was the same, only the cheapest gas was sold out. The radio is having people call in to talk about their preparations, or lack of them. Pictures of people lining up at the doors of Costco, before they were open, are being posted on social media sites. Facebook is also full of people asking if anyone knows where they can buy water still. The air on this island hangs heavy, and not just with the clouds that are starting to roll in, but with true panic.
And it is now, that I sit back and understand the meaning of, “If you are prepared, you will not fear.” Because when the worst of storms hits, I’m sure it will still be scary, but in the build up before the storm, there is no fear in my house. We are prepared. I have my duct tape and glow sticks, after all.
The Many Adventures of Me 