Irma Before it Starts

News go viral, people start acting, stocking up on supplies, filling out their gas tanks and seeking to put shutters up or looking to leave the state or at least the city. With more and more people moving to Miami and Fort Lauderdale each year, there is more and more demand for supplies that quickly run over: shutters, plywood, tapcon screws, generators, gasoline, water, canned food, batteries, flashlights, you name it. South Florida has escaped big hurricanes in the past 8 years or so, so the drill is new to them, which also means more chaos and less stuff. Actually, it seems new to me as well, I had totally buried somewhere in my unwanted memories the HomeDepot madness that came with Wilma and Katrina. The lines grow each day while products run out, people start panicking and granted, the media is overwhelming, but you can’t help to track the path of the hurricane every 5 minutes. It becomes the topic of conversation: What are you going to do? Can someone help me put up shutters? Does anyone has extra plywood? Can anyone deliver the sheets to my house, I live in a second floor, what do I do? Should I rely on hurricane-resistant windows? Are they enough, what if my car gets flooded? Then, the suggestions: Take pictures of your home, inside and out, change your car policy so that your deductible goes down, send all your pictures to your email, save your contacts on your phone but print them as well just in case. Save all your documents in zip-lock bags (ok, I need to go buy zip-lock bags, wait, the line at Publix is unbearable, what if I use too much gas?). Should I leave the state, let me check airline tickets, some people have left already and it's Wednesday, ok let me Google tickets, they’re about $600 to Texas, only 2 seats left, I can’t leave my family behind, what if I drive and go to Tampa, hold on, the streets are packed or at least that’s what they say, but what if the storm goes to Tampa, should I instead go to a shelter? What if I have to evacuate, what if I have to evacuate and shelters are full? What is my family doing, what are my friends doing, some have left, I should have gone, some have stayed, I hope they are safe. I wonder what my friend who is 9 months pregnant is doing; I hope my friend who has a newborn can stay at the hospital; I hope my friend who has two kids is managing well. Where do we start, where do we continue, where do we stop? News persist, it looks extremely scary, it is extremely scary. Ok, let me check HomeDepot again, maybe they got a new truck with plywood, I’ll pay someone to put them up. I go there, no luck, I go to another hardware store, it’s closed already. My friend who tried to get plywood for me said they are over, anyway, I don’t have a pickup truck, (I just have a Fiat), great, I should have bought a massive pickup truck 6 years ago. I wake up the next day at 5 am, there are about 80 people making the line. I stay until 10 am, and the truck never comes. I go home, frustrated and tired, it’s done, my new furniture, my new apartment will take the hit, I hope the insurance covers for it. At least I will hide my car at one of my friend’s garage, I go there, it’s full, (at this point I may have cursed a couple of times). Thankfully, I manage to put it in between two cars that were taking 3 spots in total, and only Fiats are able to fit in the smallest places (I’m so happy I bought a Fiat 6 years ago). Madness. Family and friends in other places are concerned. I pack a bag with personal items. We have enough food for one week, that’s the recommendation; I can survive on peanut butter/jelly sandwiches for a week (fine, I have to admit this is with our without a hurricane). What if we need food for two weeks? And then, it continues: Fill out the bathtub, you’re gonna need water for a long time, download the Zello app. even though you hear rumors that is not as good. I decide to stay at my office, which is concrete and anti-hurricanes. It’s my best shot. People at my office are concerned about me, they call me to see if I need anything. Best support ever, best boss, best co-workers. Someone leaves double-stuffed Oreo cookies in the office so that I can double-stuff my face with sugar while Irma makes its way through. But hold on, someone told me that the ceiling at the office is not concrete, great… Ok, there are always the stairs in the middle. I call my boss, he says it’s still my best option. He is usually right, I trust him…Until the guy who fumigates my condo comes, (awesome timing by the way), and tells me that his roof was not concrete during Andrew in 1992 and that his house imploded. OMG, do I still have time to leave to Tampa? Do I have time to fly to Colombia, I don’t care, I’ll go into debt. I talk to my best friend, she tells me it’s not a good idea to leave, the streets are packed and the gas runs over, what if you are stuck in the middle of the street? I calm down. 2 minutes later, I get a text message from her: “We are leaving”...wait what? Should I leave? What the fuck do I do now, am I the only one still here? Why didn’t I get that $600 ticket to Houston? Chats keep coming, “get out of there”, “leave”, “don’t stay”. I get another chat from my roommate “I feel a pain on my chest from anxiety, I’m thinking of going to St Pete.” Every single person I know has had some sort of panic or anxiety attack, a meltdown, felt nauseas, felt nervous or at least has cried once…All of this before the storm even starts…Next time I'm taking off to Hawaii as soon as news break out