Trying to Reason With People in Hurricane Season

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Tropical Storm Elsa is scheduled to get over or near Key West in the next 12-24 hours. I’ve been watching the live cams from the Keys, and people are oblivious to that fact. Or, at least, they’re acting like they’re oblivious. Maybe it’s the “dang it, I’m on vacation, and I don’t care!” attitude that some seem to show. Or, more probably, the consumption of some of the adult beverages on Duval Street. Now, do understand that I lived in Florida for most of my teenage years. I was also stationed along the coast (and on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean) throughout my Navy career. So hurricanes are “old hat” to me. Still, I always wonder about a few things. For instance, why is there always a run on plywood when they issue a tropical storm/hurricane watch? What the heck did the people do with the plywood from the LAST hurricane? What, do they think plywood is a band-aid? Use once then throw away? And what is up with the run on bottled water? Don’t any of these poor people have WATER FAUCETS in their homes? They can’t fill jugs, pitchers, and bottles themselves instead of paying $10 a case for someone else to do it? One of the most enduring stories about Hurricane Camille is the “hurricane party” at an apartment complex in Pass Christian, Mississippi (which is now disputed as fact), and how that apartment complex was literally wiped off it foundation when the storm came ashore in 1969. Today we have people standing outside trying to get video of tornadoes. I guess as long as there’s bad weather there’ll be bad reactions to it. The iconic Jimmy Buffett song: