Unprepared

Hurricane season began on June 1. Normally, this is just another unimportant date to me, but it has taken on a new significance ever since we bought a home in Houston, Texas. Stores down here are selling hurricane preparedness supplies, including weather radios, batteries, and plywood for boarding up windows. Neighbors have told us stories about how the electricity was out for two weeks after Hurricane Ike in 2008, and that storm was merely a category two. I am beginning to get a tad concerned about what it might be like if a stronger hurricane decides to roar through our area. Naturally, I have purchased non-perishable food, extra water, and the necessary battery-operated flashlights & radios. Roughly half of our neighbors say that they typically board up their windows when tropical storms are imminent. But it has been almost impossible to convince Jim that we should have plywood on hand "just in case." We've measured our windows, debated which of several techniques to use to cover the glass, questioned people, read articles, and done just about everything except purchase some actual lumber. Until yesterday. I was finally able to persuade Jim that even if he didn't feel that it was necessary to board up our house, we should at least have plywood on hand to replace any glass that might break during a storm because - hello - repair crews are going to be a bit too busy doing other things than to rush out to our house to fix a shattered window. We drove to Lowes with our measurements in hand, debated over which wood to buy, had two boards cut to size, and returned home with enough supplies to cover one - yes, one - of our fifteen windows. I doubt that Jim will be pleased when and if a powerful hurricane heads our way and he finds that Lowes has tripled the price of the boards that we bought yesterday for $8.00 each. I tell him that he is in "Hurricane Denial." And now I am kind of freaking out because the first tropical depression of the year is tracking right into the Gulf of Mexico. But, really, it is such a large body of water; what are the odds that the storm will head directly towards Houston . . .