What's it like after a hurricane?

 The short answer is:

It's anything but fun!

The things we take for granted like:

Lights actually coming on when you flip the switch, rather than living in the dark from 7pm to 7am.

Hot water > shower

The grocery stores being open

A hot meal

The gas stations having fuel at the pump when you pull up

Internet, text, and phones that work

Church on Sunday, because there are lights and heat, and a microphone that works.

Hot water >  I mentioned that before, but it's worth mentioning again.


Checking by flashlight to see if the internet has come back up.  Nope!


We do a last check of the refrigerator before the power goes out.  It's pretty well stocked, and we have extra items for members and friends who need them.  Sister Johnson has some empty 2 liter orange juice bottles that we fill 3/4 with water and have frozen for several days.  These serve to keep the fridge cool, though the freezer compartment does thaw.  As soon as the stores open we get 2 bags of ice each day, and that keeps our food from spoiling til the power comes back on.



Walmart is one of the first stores to open again, on their own emergency generators.  They know the cost of being closed.  When we walk in for the first time after Fiona, we see that the BBQ chickens are hot off the roaster.  We score a bunch of them, and take them around to our members and friends.  First hot meal they've had for 5 days.  We go back several times to reload.  I cajole the deli manager into telling me when they will be coming off the roaster, and we time our visits to score new loads.  These are very much appreciated.  We deliver some in complete darkness, inside the homes as well as outside.



When the gas stations first get power back on and they can pump fuel, the lines are 4-6 hours long.   Luckily I topped off the Touareg, and I can get 600 mi, about 950km out of a tank.  I nurse it along, economizing and combining trips, and we get everywhere we need to go.  At about 1/4 tank, I'm starting to get a little nervous.  I can't wait in line for hours while there are things we need to get done.  So one morning I wake up at 1:30am.  I decide to get dressed and see how long the queue is at the nearby convenience store.  The answer is:  at 1:30 in the morning, I'm the only one there.  I top off and go in to pay, and find out I get a free hot chocolate with a fillup.  Bonus!



The 2nd Sunday we do have power at the chapel  - but no drinkable water nor heat.  No matter, the pioneers had it worse, so the Branch President Robert Silverstein and Elders Quorum President Kenny Donovan preside over the meetings.  And we even have a "longer longer" after, which is very much appreciated, as several of the members don't have power back on yet.  Some take as long as 13 days!


Among the first stores to get power are the government sponsored cannabis shops.  After all, gotta stay mellow after a traumatic event like a hurricane.  Hmmm.  It's legal here, I wonder .  .  .  nah.

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