Trying To Reason

 “Trying To Reason With Hurricane Season.”  One of my favorite Jimmy Buffett songs. There are a lot of people reasoning with hurricane season today as Hurricane Helene heads toward Florida.  I had to do a little reasoning a few weeks ago when Francine made landfall in Louisiana and headed for Central Mississippi.  Thankfully, she wasn’t as strong as they predicted and she made a slight turn to the East that spared my area the worst of the wind and rain. But I had my generator ready, water drawn up, and non perishable food stocked up. 

I live 150 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico, so you’re probably wondering how a hurricane can affect me.  Hurricanes are large.  Very large.  Their rain bands and winds can go out hundreds of miles from the eye.  In 1969, Hurricane Camille hit the Mississippi coast as a Category 5 storm with the winds nearing 200 mph. There was near total destruction of the coast. By the time the eye got here, it was still a Category 2 with 90-100 mph winds. We lost power for weeks.  We had been on vacation on the Coast the week before and left just before the mandatory evacuation order.  In one of his few weak moments, my father said he would like to stay another day to see the waves!  As she often did, my mother overruled him!  

Then there was Katrina. You know all about Katrina. Well, maybe not all.  The media only reported part of the story.  Yes, New Orleans was devastated by the flooding.  But the eye hit at Waveland, MS. Waveland was literally wiped off the map. Gone. The entire Mississippi Coast suffered near total destruction. But the media ignored us.  New Orleans was the better story.  The Weather Channel hardly ever said “Mississippi.”  They referred to the Mississippi Coast as “the land mass between New Orleans and Mobile, AL.”  

We once again got hurricane force winds and torrential rain here. Once again, we lost power for weeks.  But we persevered.  The Coast rebuilt better than ever.  Building codes were changed to better protect the new structures.  Once again the people of Mississippi came together to help each other.  And I know we will again. 

As Florida prepares for Helene, my prayer is that everyone is safe, the destruction is minimal, and that Helene is not as strong as they predict.  Stay safe my friends. 

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