HURRICANE DAY

I'm sitting in my computer room, looking outside at sheets of rain that are rippling in the air like wind blowing a towel in the breeze. Its Sunday, August19, and right now I'm waiting on the arrival of Hurricane Dean. So far, I haven't been watching the weather channel, because they seem to be on a scare campaign worse than the U.S. They keep making references to "Katrina" and Dean, as well as projecting several worst case scenarios. When posted yesterday, I didn't have any fear in my system, until I saw that should the storm fall and grow into a category 5, then we'd be in BIG trouble. Category 5 storms eat homes and people for breakfast. Yesterday, the Prime Minister issued a nationwide message, noting that power would be shut off in the entire Ilsand by 10 a.m (soon!) and then water would be cut off soon after. So i'm here, hoping for the best, but that's probably all wishful thinking. We work on a system of phone credit here in Jamaica, and I checked my balance today. In the usual message that pops up on screen, which has the balance of my account, they also have a message. "Prepare for Hurricane Dean and move to higher ground

if necessary."

You know a storm is bad when the phone company starts wishing you well. My mother informs me the hurricane is moving south, meaning the eye is probably not going to pass over the island. Its still going to be bad, she says, and I think about when the Eye of a hurricane passes over and island. Its like the anteater pushing his snout into a terminte colony.

The storm is supposed to hit this afternoon, and i'm typing nervously, more so because the power is supposed to go any second, but I have a nice novel lined up. I made a lot of phone calls last night, and I'm waiting for the power to go out. I wanted a hug yesterday but now I don't know...I think I need something else, something I can't have: Security. My mother asks me to take out some garbage. I smile briefly. Even in the face of an impending disaster, life goes on.

See you after the storm.

Hurricane's Suck.... Hug Me

Wow.

I haven't been in a Hurricane since 1988, when Hurricane Gilbert hit the island. It hit on September 12, 1988 as a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. I was young then, and I remember hearing the winds howling over head, and bits and pieces of my house flying away like so many trees and pieces of Zinc fences. The last major hurrican to hit Jamaica was hurrican Ivan.... and I heard the horror stories. My sister told me how the house was flooded and they were marooned in a particular section of the house, having to stay there for no less than two months because of water accumulation everywhere else. Bad roofing caused leaks and even more flooding in other parts of the house, and it was a nightmare. I was at school in the states when Ivan hit in 2004 and now, three days before my scheduled flight to leave the Island i'm smack dab in the path of an oncoming monster. Only four days ago it was a tropical storm, but now its churning up the seas and gearing up to becoming a category five if its strength holds. Regardless of what happens, such hurricans are quite devastating and very dangerous. My father is going out to buy some books to read, food and various other supplies to deal with the aftermath of the storm. (i.e No power, limited transportation, no gas, no internet, no nothing!).

My take on the whole thing? I mean, it sucks that I have to be here when it happens of course, but there isn't anything I can do. A hurricane doesn't sit and watch Airline schedules or reads horoscopes with the hopes that it coincides with your month of bad luck. Anthropomorphism aside, I'll be in the blackness of radio silence for at least a few days, probably more, so I wanted to put this post up before the storm hits. Today is a beautiful day. There isn' t a cloud in the sky. Its a shimmering blue ceiling of nothingness, with bright sun rays shining down on everything especially bright. To most it would seem like any other day, but to me right now it seems like a warning, scary and foreboding. I hope it all works out.


My basic plan of operation is to grab a few books to pass the time. Possibly a personal flashlight and some candy for those long dark nights. I'm going to charge up my Ipod (a paltry 16 hour behemoth) and watch a few movies before Monday. I'll stock up on some of my favourite snacks, like Bun & Cheese and a lot of Ting soda and then prepare myself mentally by doing some deep breathing. I have no idea if I'll be going out tonight. In preparation for my departure back to school, I've been going out almost every night, and i'm sure the streets will be packed with people trying to get in one last drink or a dutty wine before their houses are awash with water and leaves, but i'll probably be holed up in my house, watching the sky.

A day go a friend of mine told me to look on the bright side, "At least", she said, "I'll be able to get some great pictures." I chuckled when I heard this at first (I like a lot of people, still though the storm was on its way elsewhere) but when I saw her again the day before the storm, there was on more laughter in her eyes. A storm of this magnitude is real. It rips trees from their roots, sends them hurtling through the air and it takes lives. The Electoral process will have to be postponed indefinitely, the fragile technological and economic infrastructure will be turned upside down for a few weeks, and productivity will come to a screeching halt for a while. Its a sad state of affairs when these things happen, but such is life they say. After hearing about this storm I'm realizing a few things. The first thing is that i'm guessing most of my friends don't know a Hurricane is going to hit Jamaica, because I haven't had a flurry of facebook messages telling me to "pack up some food" and "be safe", etcetera. My friends are probably chilling in the states, drinking and watching reruns of the Colbert Report on Youtube. It doesn't matter.

The second thing I realize is that its pointless to even want well wishes in the face of an inevitability. Its just try and get as comfortable as possible, prepare for extreme radio silence and the disappearance of all things technological, and figure out how to call American Airlines when all the phone lines and cell towers are down. Like this post said, Hurricanes suck, and I need a hug.