Preparing for Irene

For those who have been oblivious to the recent news, we have a hurricane coming up the coast of the United States. It is currently pounding on the mid-Atlantic states and heading towards New York City, New Jersey, Long Island and that whole area. After that it is going to keep heading north and slam into Maine sometime late Sunday afternoon into Sunday evening.

We currently have clouds from the storm blocking the sun but the wind is calm and there isn’t any rain. But knowing it is lurking south of here, makes it seem a little too calm outside. Almost eerie in the stillness.

I am fairly certain that, by the time the storm reaches us, it will no longer be a hurricane but a tropical storm. This is good because it will be less strong but bad in that it will still be a powerful force to deal with.

In preparation for the storm, I decided I should take care of a few things in case the power goes out. I filled up my gas tank even though it was only ¼ empty. I also stocked up on food that I can eat that doesn’t require cooking such as cereal, lunch meat and fruit. I also bought two gallons of water although, even if the power goes out, I will still have water to use. Unless the city water becomes contaminated and they issue a boil order. No power, no boiling and the gallons of water will come in handy.

I also looked into my flashlight and portable radio situation. Turns out I didn’t have any batteries. So thus began my search for size D batteries.

The grocery store I was at yesterday was completely out. So this morning, after visiting the farmer’s market (it is, after all, a Saturday during the summer) and filling up my gas tank, I started out on the search for the batteries. The grocery store I stopped at was completely sold out and the customer service desk said they weren’t expecting any to come in before Sunday. So I went to a local hardware store. They were also sold out. Next stop, a CVS drug store. They were all out as well. I skipped the Rite Aid across the street because if CVS is out, then I knew that Rite Aid would be out.

My next stop was another hardware store. They were also sold out of the D batteries but they had a flashlight that came with batteries. I figured that at least I would have a flashlight so I bought it. I asked the gentleman waiting on me if he had any thoughts as to where I would find D batteries (still needed them for the radio) and he said that he was sure that every place in southern Maine would be sold out. He said he knew for sure that Lowes and Home Depot were sold out and I told him that, according to a posting I saw on Facebook, Wal-Mart was also out of them. I also told him that I had been to grocery stores, drug stores and another hardware store and no one had any D batteries.

After paying for my flashlight and starting to head towards home, I glanced up the street and saw a convenience store. It occurred to me that most people wouldn’t think to stop there to get batteries so I might as well stop and look.

As I walked through the store, I didn’t see any displays of batteries so I asked the two girls who worked there. One of them said there was a display of batteries behind the counter. She went over to it and asked me what size I needed. I said D batteries. She handed me a dusty package of them. I asked her if she had another and she did. She then said those were the only two packages they had in stock.

I thanked her and told her this was probably the last place in southern Maine that had any size D batteries. Both of the clerks looked at me with puzzled expressions and I explained that the hurricane was coming and the power would probably go out. They still looked puzzled so I further explained that most flashlights and radios take size D batteries. Finally the light went on and they comprehended why the D batteries were so important. Apparently they either didn’t know a bad storm was coming or they simply didn’t feel it was necessary to do anything to prepare for it.

After I came home with my supplies, I accessed what I now had on hand. A good flashlight with new batteries, a radio that worked, extra water, food, and a lighter for candles.

Next I charged my laptop so I can play with that even if the power goes out. I had bought new batteries for my camera in case I take a lot of pictures and need to replace them again so I put them in a location where I could find them (see previous posting on my camera’s batteries dying – see I can learn). I charged my phone. I put the church newsletter on a flashdrive so I am ready for Tuesday morning when I need to go down to church and have it printed. And I did the only load of laundry I had to do so that, if the power is out for a few days, I will have clean clothes to wear. Won’t be able to take a shower, unless I take a cold shower, but my clothes will be clean.

So I think I am ready for Irene. I am hoping that all my preparations will mean that the storm doesn’t do much then provide us with a little more rain than normal. Sort of like, if I hadn’t prepared, the storm would be the worse storm we had in the last 100 years. Have to wait and see.

I will try to take pictures both during the storm and after so I can post them. That way everyone who lives outside of this area can see what this storm did to us.

For everyone who lives in the area, be prepared and be safe. Let’s all pray that it will be a gentle tropical storm and that damage will be minimal, or maybe non-existent. Because praying is the only thing left to do…and the most important thing to do.