Hurricane Lessons

After several days of media hype and local morons cleaning out the grocery stores--because you can never have enough canned beets--Hurricane Irene finally arrived, bringing a bit of wind and rain but leaving our neighborhood pretty much untouched. We had some friends over for movies and chilli, and the place was extra cozy with our patio furniture inside, as we waited to see if anything major would happen. Perhaps a tree through the window, or the motorcycle parked across the street tipping over. But by morning, our windows were unbroken and the motorcycle still stood. Hurricane Irene was downgraded to a Category 1 Breeze.

What have we learned from this experience that may come in handy if next time we get a more powerful storm?

1) Nothing.

That's pretty much it. Next time a storm hits, people will still mob the stores on the day before, some will still wander out in it and get stranded, and the rest of us will hunker down inside, wishing these storms would ruin a school night instead of a summer weekend.