Let's Talk with Nancy J. Cohen
Let’s Talk with Nancy J. Cohen
June 4, 2020
June Storms
by Nancy J. Cohen
June 1st is the start of our hurricane season in South Florida. This means it’s time to examine our emergency supplies. Due to the coronavirus, we’ve already got in a good stash of canned goods and prepared foods. However, our freezer is full to capacity. Normally at this season, we eat down what’s in there in case of power outages. We’ll be having a lot of chicken and chopped meat in the next few weeks.
Batteries are the number one item on our checklist. These run our emergency radios, one of which is also solar powered and can recharge our cell phones. We need batteries for the flashlights and lanterns scattered around the house. Bottled water would be next, in case the local water plant gets contaminated from power failures or flooding. Non-perishable food takes precedence over paper goods. Toilet paper? It wasn’t even on my list until now.
What about camping stoves, battery-run fans, mosquito repellant? Re the stove, I find it impossible to cook when temperatures breach ninety degrees, unless I’m in my air-conditioned kitchen. We’d have to rely on canned or shelf-stable goods to eat at that point if we lost power. Usually I freeze water in plastic containers beforehand to help keep things cold in the fridge. One only hopes the utility personnel will be available, and not out sick, to fix things after a storm this season. I don’t tolerate the heat well anymore, nor do we have a home generator. Staying at a hotel used to be an alternative but not during the plague.
In the past, we’ve been confined at home after a hurricane due to downed power lines and trees blocking the roads. Same for people up north who deal with blizzards. A similar bout of cabin fever afflicts us like what we’re experiencing now. We also live in fear that we’ll get slammed head-on by a storm, much like the ever-present fear that we’ll get struck down by the virus. The Fall is actually the height of hurricane season, and it may bring a second wave of illness, too. All we can do is endure and survive.
On the good side, I’m getting a lot of things done at home that I wouldn’t have had time for otherwise. How about you? Have you started any new hobbies, pursued a particular interest, weeded out your photos or completed a bunch of jigsaw puzzles? Can you name one good thing you’ve been able to accomplish?
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Posted in Let's Talk, with Nancy J. Cohen • Tags: BLB Discussion, June Storms, Let's Talk, Nancy J Cohen | 12 Comments
We were without power for 9 days after Superstorm Sandy. I don’t know how people who live in hurricane and tornado prone areas stay sane. And now with Covid-19 on top of it? Stay safe and healthy, everyone!
As for what I’ve accomplished during this period of “house arrest”, now that I’m no longer taking care of the grandkids, I’m back to working on the next Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery. I’ve also been catching up on TV shows and movies I’ve wanted to see and have made a decent dent in my TBR pile.
Sounds like you are faring well between writing and recreational pursuits. As for the storms, I can’t imagine the store shelves, which are already lacking stock, when a hurricane approaches.
I live in New Jersey, but the area where I live wasn’t affected by Superstorm Sandy as badly as some other places. We were lucky not to lose power. And by the time most hurricanes make it this far north, much of their power has fizzled out. Kudos to anyone who lives in the southeast US!
I’ve been slowly learning Greek during the lockdown. It’s been on my bucket list for years and I finally decided to do it. I’ve also spent more time going on walks outside, which has been nice.
I hope you all stay safe, healthy, and sane!
Learning Greek…that’s awesome! Good for you. Going for walks helps reduce the stress, for sure. As for hurricanes, you might not get the full force of them in your area but you do get blizzards.
i’m lucky to live downtown in the same grid with two major hospitals. My friend in Gainesville can be out of power for weeks! Slowly substituting some of our frozen food with frozen water and using up the best meats. Chilling thought of COVID-19 in combination with Cat 5. Very worrying.
You are fortunate to be on the same grid as the hospitals! And yes, storms combined with virus precautions are worrisome.
We actually came to Florida with a generator as we had constant power outages in Texas. We were already “pre-stocked” for Covid because of the hurricane prep which is constant all year. And, seriously, we have pretty much one of anything you might need. I think my only accomplishment thus far in the midst of the pandemic is learning more patience. Definitely a necessity!
If and when we move to be near our kids, we will look into getting a generator – the kind that turns on automatically or with a switch at a power loss.
I totally get the comparison of Corona virus and hurricanes. One of the best advice I got early on was to “do my hurricane shopping early.” We have frequent power outages year-round here. Lots of big trees that are at least one to two hundred years old with shallow roots from decades of drought. Alll it takes is a heavy rain for a few days and some wind and we get huge trees falling on power lines. I am fortunate enough to be the the westernmost part of the East Coast. Even if a storm goes by off the coast, it has to be an odd set of events to make it take a left turn to come in here. We’ve had some notable exceptions, so we always prepare for the worst! Since I prepped hurricane-style for the virus, we fared okay during the shelter in place, but I wasn’t prepared for the mental side of being restricted in what I could do and where. Necessity is a harsh task master so we are all learning to cope.
Yes, the post-hurricane cabin fever is affecting all of us with the stay at home restrictions. Even with a face mask, it feels as though we are risking our lives to go out anywhere. Plus we aren’t getting the normal breaks and vacations from sitting at the computer, leading to more physical complaints. Re storms, like you, we’re in a western suburb of Fort Lauderdale. Any storms coming ashore here may lessen by the time they get to us but can still do much wind damage. At least we’re not in a flood zone.
Sorting photos lots of them
I still need to do that task. We have drawers full of photos and way too many albums.