NATE UPDATE 6

A lot of pomp and circumstance

It's now 8 p.m. Central Time and the winds arejust now picking up and the rain is really coming down.  Up until now, it was kind of off and on, but I  think we're in the drink proper now.

We still have power, but the wind speed is picking up rather quickly and once it get to about 50 mph or more, we will probably be solar lamping and flashlighting.

All the different weather people only agree on one thing - location of landfall:  Waveland, MS, which is about 25 miles from us and to the west, which means we are on what is known as the "dirty side" of storm.  Because of the counter clockwise circulation of hurricanes, the east side (or right side) is the most powerful and it loses steam by the time the rotation reaches the west or left side.  Most agree that Nate is still a Cat 1, but is expected to make 2 landfalls, later this evening and again sometime tomorrow.  While Nate did reach Cat 2 status earlier, it was only briefly and the winds dropped back down within Cat 1 levels in a matter of hours.

Of course, your devoted reporter had to go outside on the front porch to personally check the weather conditions for herself and the wind is picking up fast.  The trees across the street are bending almost half way to the ground, now, and the rain is blowing sideways.  I.  Love.  Storms.  I love the event itself, not the aftermath.  When the wind is blowing that hard, the sound it makes in the trees is like a dull roar and negative ions are just flooding in...I get pumped.  Think of how you feel when you are near a waterfall...the rushing water produces negative ions that push away the positive ions we live with every day...you feel just a little breathless...and there's a hint of expectancy...of what you don't know but it's hard to walk away from one unless you hate getting wet.  It's why ionizers are so popular.  But I much prefer the natural ones.  They are wild and more pure. 

Now, that Nate has finally made his appearance, I'll be ducking outside every hour or so...unless I hear stuff and then I've got to see.  The placement and direction that my front porch faces, the wind and rain goes right around me - like when water flows around a large boulder in a river, immediately behind it is relatively calm. 

I spoke earlier of the Katrina survivors who faced life or death situations during that awful and unprecedented storm surge and were forced to do unthinkable acts to survive.  Since we have been fortunate enough not to have another storm since then, the Coast has for the most part recovered and even thrived.  But just like soldiers who return from the battlefield, their experiences have left them with PTSD and many anxious  survivors of Katrina have flooded psychiatric offices to renew Valium and Xanax scripts for this storm.  

This installment, I want to address the people who are too poor to leave.  A lot of low-lying areas, flood zones, are also low income areas.  If you live paycheck to paycheck, you do not have money for the gas to leave, maybe your car is not reliable, if you have no gas money, you certainly have no lodging money and maybe there is no family to help.  As the rest of us stock up on water and gas for our vehicles and generators, we also make sure that we have extra cash, generally $300 or so, because if the power is out and it's going to be days, or depending on the extent of the devastation, like Katrina, two months, every thing is on a cash basis.  ATM's don't work, and convenience and grocery stores handwrite each item, adding it up on calculators.  If you are stressed and financially strapped in good times, imagine how hard it can be after an event like this.  There was a documentary named Too Poor To Leave.  Heartbreaking.  Add these people to your thoughts/prayers during this storm.

This is Miz Carol, live from Biloxi, MS.  Back to you, Cafe.

Reviews

[genocide]

i forgot how long hurricane Katrina was

[Tony Jordan]

Handled with aplomb - dark humour is often the only way to deal with things that cause such destruction - what else can we do?
You'd make a good reporter Carol - but you'd be a nightmare for the health and safety boyos (and the Inurance industry) with your popping in and out...lol
Thank you for the RR.

[Jimmy Yetts]

An intriguing, insight-rich account.
You can write some, sister.
Impressive!

[emmajoy]

' The trees across the street are bending almost half way to the ground, now, and the rain is blowing sideways. I. Love. Storms. I love the event itself, not the aftermath. When the wind is blowing that hard, the sound it makes in the trees is like a dull roar and negative ions are just flooding in...I get pumped. Think of how you feel when you are near a waterfall...the rushing water produces negative ions that push away the positive ions we live with every day...you feel just a little breathless...and there's a hint of expectancy...of what you don't know but it's hard to walk away from one unless you hate getting wet'

I know, I know, the means to your post is to explain how it is, how to describe being a part of a wreckless wandering maniac. But the above creates such a rush to my spirit because i LOVE stroms to.. is like being caught on an almost crumbling in-ledge when dry climbing.. a might or not situation.. adrenalin tushes, body trembles and tenses alternately! Your description hits the senses so brilliantly!

As to the aftermath.. how sick and sad is that for the helpless. People ask about insurance and making provisions before it all happens. HA! easy to say from a distant place with money burning a hole in the pokcet!

A wonderful post.. absolutely. You've created your own storm in explaining, empathising... creating. Thank you, Carol.....

[barleygirl]

BRILLIANT SHARE! Never been in hurricane prone areas & we have few notable storms in California, but I've always had the same fascination you describe so beautifully, the way it feels to become enraptured by the storm's energy & noise & sensations. You've brought all this to life so well & I loved it. I also like the many informative asides that you sprinkle in for clarity -- well done! Thanks to Emmajoy for read requesting me on this one! *smile* Fondly, Margie

[Jon Roggie]

I am waiting for updates. Hoping all is well.

[Coyote Poetry]

I will put and your family in my prayers. Those big storms and the wind. Dangerous and scary.
Coyote

[Carol Cashes]

Thanks for your prayers, me and mine are fine - didn't even lose a shingle. Nate was kind to my peoples as "he" was the first storm in our area since Katrina. We did not forget lessons learned in 2005, and it showed. Some damage, but no loss of life and very few, if any, major injuries.

[Coyote Poetry]

Very good. This is good news.

[Great Aunt Astri]

Well, you write so vividly about what it is like to actually be there, experiencing it. I was interested in those negative ions coming in with the storm. That must feel good. Also, it was interesting to hear about people having to recover after the storm. But as you point out, I felt very worried about those too poor to leave. There are many places in the world where people are at the mercy of the weather. It must make one feel very fatalistic.

[Carol Cashes]

You are right about those who are truly at the mercy of the weather: poor, underdeveloped countries. Haiti, Thailand (tsunami), Mexico, and currently Puerto Rico (also Nate). I don't think "fatalistic" is completely accurate, although I'm sure that some are, but, unlike Blanche in Streetcar Named Desire, their dependency on the "kindness of strangers" takes on a completely different meaning: they must rely on the whole world for rescue, recovery, repair and respite. People, globally, have this inherent sense of hope in mankind to help them...as they should.

[Great Aunt Astri]

Yes, that's right