I understand (and don't doubt) that all hotels/motels within any distance are booked up, what with the Katrina evacuees also spread around the state. I was at Wal-Mart a few mins ago. Some things are sold out, some things are not. There's no bread, other than some hamburger and hotdog buns, bagels and such. Saw one fellow loading up a cart with tortillas, which seems kinda odd. Not much water, but there's some Gatorade and juices. Don't quite follow why people are buying/hoarding water, city services are working fine at the moment. Didn't look at the canned meats, already have a supply. Lotsa soups on the shelves, already have some of that too. Batteries are not all gone, but some sizes may be picked through. I understand some loads of plywood and such are still coming in tomorrow at the two local lumber supplies. What's there is snapped up quickly and some people are having to just go with what's available, such as sheets of siding instead of plywood. RJ's 'back room' has two walls that are glass / sliding doors to the south. We're getting that covered best as possible. He's worried about the baby grand in that corner, said it's a b!tch to move. I suggested at least wrapping it in plastic or something. His house came to within an inch of flooding during the Thanksgiving 2004 incident. He is raising up some of the furniture, we'll finish that tomorrow evening. He'll probably have to be at his office during the event, coordinating damage control. My house is about a foot higher than his, but who knows.... My main concern, I guess, is the two palm trees in front of my house. They're not anchored very deep. I don't care if they blow away, so long as they don't end up in my living room.
The granny is squared away with a "shack-up-sack" for staying with me, and she's not protesting the idea as much as usual. I'll shut down the network at some point before crunch-time, pick up all the servers, wrap them in trash bags. My mom is having conniptions, which she does about this kind of thing. Dad won't leave, but they really don't need to. My sister & bro-in-law in Bay City (see map above) are planning to hit the road with their travel trailer, for a planned trip to Somerville, but that may not quite be far enough to get completely out of the path. In Houston, my other sister's employer is evacuating the local office to one in Corsicana.
There's a tension in the air, and a sense of anticipation and dread.
