To the End

I took a shower before I left work Monday morning. On the way home I noticed all the gas stations had plastic bags over the pumps (international symbol for no gas). I knew if I found a station with gas there would be a line. I had to wait, I think it was 40 minutes, the first hurricane. I passed a Shell station that was all boarded up, closed and empty. On the plywood was painted "Open, pay at pump." Too good to be true, no way. I turned around to check it out - no one was around. The pumps were on, so I put in my credit card and filled up the tank. That was easy. The rest of the way home was the same as before - no gas and only two other stations were pumping and they both had lines. It pays to pray. On my way back to work the Shell station also had bags on the pumps, but the plywood was gone.

Speaking of answered prayers, the power came back on today at 12:30pm. When I got home I cleared some debris - a few branches - and put the plants and chairs back outside. I also took the plywood off the windows. I watched a movie (Sweet Home Alabama) on the computer while leaving the car running with the inverter to power the fridge. I had a fan going too, it was a bit hot. And windy, it was so windy today, even with the hurricane in northern Florida or Georgia. When the movie ended, the power came on. I plugged in the fridge, put on the A/C, called Irma to tell her the power was on and went to bed.

I had it easy during these hurricanes. So many people in the area have lost everything. The only thing to do is hang in there and get through it. Sometimes that's all we can do. Read Staying Power.