We’ve had some crazy winds in my area over the last several days.
On the whole, I’m not a fan of high winds. This comes from growing up on the Gulf Coast and dealing with hurricanes. I’ve been through more than enough hurricanes in this lifetime, and I don’t feel the need to have to go through anymore.
The problems with hurricanes is not so much the hurricane itself, although those are bad enough. Howling winds, rains, anything not nailed down being flung all over the place at high and dangerous speeds, trees blowing over and smashing cars, power lines going down.
No, the worst part is the aftermath. The loss of electricity for days, sometimes no potable water, and property damage. When Hurricane Ike blew through Houston, I was staying at my wife’s house (before we got married) watching her pets, and my pets, while she, her first husband, her daughter and son-in-law were off on an Alaskan cruise. They managed to fly out on the last flight from Houston before the airport shut down.
When Ike came through the power went out, the backyard fence blew down, phone service was out, and there was a leak in the front room of the house which made a mess, ruined a piano, and a lot of books. My wife had bought me a lot of frozen food to eat while I was house sitting, and with no power it all went bad, not that I could cook it anyway, because no power.
I cleaned up the front room as best I could. I had to take the dogs outside, on a leash, one at a time, so they could have bathroom breaks since the fence was down, and I couldn’t have them running away and wandering the neighborhood causing trouble.
My house at the time, about 10 miles away, was on the same power grid as the local hospital, so my house had power a day or two after the hurricane came through, I just couldn’t get to my house because all the debris on the roads.
Some of the neighbors (who had electricity because of backup generators) were kind enough to give me milk and orange juice so I could have cereal in the mornings. I had apples, bread, and peanut butter so I I ate that the rest of the time. Also, I had crackers, and a bag of chocolate chip cookies, and some bottled water. Not an ideal diet but it was good enough to survive on for the ten days the power was out.
The power and water were restored the night before my wife and her family returned from their vacation. I wanted it to last one more day so she could see what I had to go through, but alas, the Universe didn’t see things that way.
My wife, who hasn’t had to suffer the consequences of hurricane aftermath, loves the wind. She likes standing out in it and letting the air buffet her.
It bothers me, on the other hand. Especially when there are gusts of up to 50 to 60 mile per hour winds. That’s too close to the low end of hurricane force winds (70 miles per hour) for my taste. And the noise. The howling wind damages my calm, as Jayne Cobb would say. It keeps me awake at night and makes me edgy in the daytime. If I’m having to walk the dogs, the wind tries to steal my hat.
I associate it too closely to trouble and scarcity, I guess.
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