Lessons learned from Isabel

[Thrifty Angler]

There's a lot of things I realized in the aftermath of Izzy. Here's just a few of them:

The Good

1. Putting all those filled water jugs in the chest freezer a few days ahead of Izzy is what helped save our food.
2. Taking the time to board up all the windows saved them from the many tree branches that fell on and around the house.
3. Filling up the truck's gas tank the day before sure paid off. It helped me avoid those lonnnnnnng lines.

The Bad

1. I'll never again make the assumption that a basic jigsaw is capable of cutting 8 ft lenths of plywood into strips in a timely manner. And having to sit atop them while slowly cutting them sure was more vibration than I could stand.;-)
2. I'll never again leave my fishing gear in the outside tool shed when a storm is headed this way. Darn near had a heart attack pulling all the branches away that were blocking the shed. Almost missed high tide.
3. I'll never again leave my home to seek shelter in the home of someone who lives in a neighborhood where trees are way too abundant. Question: If a tree falls in the middle of a storm and you feel only a slight thump, does it mean that it was just a small tree? Question: If no thumps at all are heard, does it mean the chances are that no trees have fallen, no houses have been crushed, and no cars have been compacted? No, No, No, and No.


The Downright Ugly

1. Watched as looters struck a powerless ABC Store right in the midst of the storm.:-(
2. I'll remember the next time to put kitty litter into the carrier for my outside cats that I chose to bring inside for safety. Won't do that again.
3. Had space for 150 pics on the digital camera. Hit the record movie button and lost out on a chance to get some memorable shots. That's got to be the equivalent of "getting spooled in 10 seconds. Will buy film for my 35mm, just in case.


On a more lighter note:
Seeing neighbor after neighbor coming to the aid and assistance of one another the morning after was just breathtaking. It's effects were calming to me. So much so that everything seemed to be going in slow motion. Strange how one can drive down the street and notice every single detail.



Anyone have lessons learned that you want to share?

[jedi_angler]

Yep.

That I spent way more money on batteries and flashlights than I'll ever need!

That having city water is better than having well water. I was showering while folks 1/2 mile away on wells were miserable for a week (yes, of course I offered those I knew my shower).

(And based on your post, if I was a business owner, to have a shotgun or two and spend the night in the store!)

[J_Lannon]

You actually cut plywood into strips with a Jig Saw ? You must be a good angler with the patience that requires. I did 1 strip one time with a nice jig saw and almost had a anxiety attack.

At least ya got through the storm ok..........fishing gear intact....right?

be safe...........have fun.

[Thrifty Angler]

Last I checked, everything was in perfect working order.

[Cdog]

Things I learned from IZZY,

1. A generator is not a luxery its a nesitety!
2. A bathtub and a 7 gallon bucket of water will allow you to flush th toliet for 8 days.
3. I got really lucky an my thoughts an prayers go out to those that are still struggling with th after effects of Izzzy.

[Thrifty Angler]

2. A bathtub and a 7 gallon bucket of water will allow you to flush th toliet for 8 days.

When the rumor hit that the city of Portsmouth was about to turn off the water supply due to contamination, folks around here started washing out then filling those large surbside trash cans with water so it would be there if needed for flushing. After the fiasco when the water pumping station was flooded out some years ago, seems this was a good move. So I took a cue from that. Didn't use the one that I had been using for the curbside, but I did have a couple 30 gallon ones I used to store cat and dog food in. I filled both of them up.

As it turned out, the entire thing was a hoax. In other cities as well. Still, it's best to be prepared.

Ya still got the dog, Cdog? Should I take a guess as to where he got his drink of water from? Give me a hint...Which container was it from.......the prefilled or the refilled one. In other words was it from the supply or from the demand:barf: ?

Oops. I'm out of smilies. The limit is 2. Gotta talk to flea about that. :~)

[Cdog]

drank bottled water. Well I drank beer an water.

[luv2fish]

lol ok here is what I learned from Izzy

1) It is a good thing to grow up on the water then marry someone from up north who is used to snow storms.LOL we where overly prepared

2)Its good to be on a well when city water goes out. As long as you have bucket and a rope you can get drinkable water

3)Be thankful for out of state power workers,without them its no telling how long the power would have been out.

4)Having a hottub is a good thing 250gal of water to flush toilets

5) Fish your heart out on piers you never know when it will be the last time on that pier

6) Kids will go nuts after 5 days with no playstation/tv

[jcreamer]

The last hurricane that I went through was when I was in service and stationed in Taiwan. It is funny to sit back now nd think about a bunch of armyguys from the midwest and the cities try and get a communications center ready for a hurricane. I spent the time down in a cable vault keeping water out.

dI have plenty of camping gear so we were ok. No power from thur to sunday but had hot water, hotmeals and coffee for ourselves and a few neighbors. They foundout why I have so much camping equip and always maintain that equipment.

I just lost about twenty feet of fence and two freezers of frozen food. All the fish that I had saved up from earlier went down the tubes. Time to restock right..

All of that is replaceable so I was lucky. The water came within 4 blocks from my house. That is why I live on hill.

[Wilber]

Learned a lot from this one.
About the outdoor cat. We search for hours trying to find "Spot" my cat. Storm got too close and we had to bail without her. We had 47 inches of water in my area, that means water for miles. When I got home Friday at 5am Spotty Cat was sitting on the back porch, dry as a bone. Her only comment was MEEEOOOW.

[Thrifty Angler]

Isn't that just like a cat. Always greeting you with a meow. And although you were worried, by her getting onto the porch shows she never had a doubt that you'd return. So she got into the comfort zone and waited, and waited and waited. Seems Spotty has a home for life.

[Thrifty Angler]

Good thing that hill didn't become a permanent island.

[jcreamer]

Do not have to worry. It is all high ground behind me. I was lucky when I moved in four years ago. I did some work around the house and everythign drains away from the house.

[Axon]

I learned a couple of thinks 2.

1. It sucks being 7000 miles away when mother nature is taking aim at the family. Granted we didn't get hit like Tidewater (I know what you all went through, I was at Ft Eustis for "Floyd")

2. As soon as you tell the wife to get in the car and drive home to NY and get a generator from Dad (400miles). As soon as she got there the power came back on at home in MD.....never fails.

3. And, If you live on Ft Monroe your screwed. My room mate here in korea left his family there...nothing more to say on that topic.

But glad to hear everyone made out pretty good and no one got hurt.


mike