Thar She Blows

We all have our obsessions and one of my worst ones involves the weather. I always know the weather report; I can remember the scientific names for all the different types of clouds, and I can feel when a front is coming in before even hearing about it on the news. Ok, maybe i'm a freak, but that's just my thing.

Today, the news has been littered with accounts of Hurricane Katrina making landfall down South. Local news correspondents are practically blowing away down there. I can't get enough of the shoddy camera angles, blurred by sheets of rain and debris. It looks pretty damn dangerous.

I've been through a number of hurricanes myself, although I experienced them on the Jersey Shore which never feels the full effect of serious storms. Maybe the reason that I like bad storms so much is because I have vivid memories that I associate with them, for instance:

Hurricane Hugo, Sept. 1989 (Category 5): Made landfall in late September. I was 5 years old, and I remember having to go into the neighbors yard and collect the shingles that flew off our house. Bear in mind that the Barenegat Bay was in the back yard (literally) and I couldn't swim yet...Also, our entire living room was flooded and I watched my toys slowly sinking to the bottom of the muddy water (I thought it was the coolest thing EVER...my mom was not pleased)

Hurricane Andrew, Aug. 1992 (Category 4/5): This storm killed 15 people in South Florida and also destroyed our summer home, which was falling down on its own without the help of Andrew. All I can remember is the insurance man coming to the house and almost shitting himself about all the damage...little did he know that my brother and I had inflicted most of the structural damage years before Andrew finally finished it off.

Hurricane Floyd, Sept. 1999 (Category 4): I've never had a "hurricane day" off from school until Floyd hit. That's the only reason I remember it.

Hurricane Isabel, Sept. 2003 (Category 5): With all the hurricanes i've lived through, i've never felt as unsafe as I did during this one. My friend Mik and I decided to go driving around DC in her Jeep Wrangler (w/ a soft top!!!) We were inches from being impaled by a rogue stop sign that had been blown off its post. DUMB! I've never seen something so eerie in DC. Dupont Circle was abandoned, all the electricity had gone out, and shop owners boarded up their windows. It was quite a sight!