We are dealing with two tropical systems this weekend, Bonnie and Charley. I keep wanting to say Bonnie and Clyde! ;-) Both storms hit Florida within 24 hours of each other, a very rare occurrence! Bonnie never became a hurricane. After hitting Florida, she moved north and passed through NJ today. It wasn’t so bad here. We had some scattered showers but not nearly the amount of rain I feared we’d get. The newscasters all talked about the heavy downpour we were expecting. It didn’t happen – not today, anyway.
Hurricane Charley upgraded to a category 4 and became a wicked storm. Two million people were told to evacuate. Charley’s the strongest storm to hit Florida since Andrew. In 1992. What made it a little worse was that forecasters predicted that Hurricane Charley would be a category 2 storm. Ooops!
Tomorrow we are supposed to get more rain as what’s left of Charley travels north.
Friday Fiver:
1. What is the worst weather you have ever experienced?
There was a hurricane in 1985 that made a direct hit on Long Island. I don’t remember which hurricane it was. I was living in a basement apartment on the south shore and left there to ride out the storm with Rich’s family. I remember the wind howling for several hours. There was a big old oak tree in the front yard. The wind blew so hard the tree leaned over, exposing its roots. I kept thinking it was going to come crashing down but it didn’t. During the eye of the storm, Rich, his brother and father ran outside to push the tree over. Neighbors came over to help. They’d managed to tip the tree over by the time the wind started up again. We lost power on LI for a week. Driving around, it seemed that every tree had been knocked down.
2. There are a series of hurricanes heading towards the continental US right now. Authorities have issued manditory evacuations for several areas, yet some people are refusing to budge. Do you think it is right that the police are allowed to make arrests in this case? Do you think you should be allowed to stay with your property?
I understand why evacuation can become mandatory. I agree with it because when people stay and then need to be rescued in hazardous conditions, it puts the lives of the rescuers at risk. That’s not fair. Arresting people seems extreme but then what else can you do when someone refuses to leave? As for leaving property, take what you can – the sentimental stuff anyway – and make sure you’ve got insurance!
3. "Poaching" has been described as the act of intentionally pursing an individual in an already committed relationship. Have you ever poached? Would you ever poach?
This is a new one on me. Married men have approached me before but I wasn’t “poached”. And I would not pursue someone in a committed relationship. That is just plain wrong.
4. Who should be blamed? (The person who poaches (homewrecker)? Or the mate who strays?)
Both share the blame – or the responsibility of betraying trust.
4. Are certain people "fair weather friends" ? Or deep down, are we all fair weather friends to someone in our lives?
I think we all could be a “fair weather” friend to someone but it’s relative. I think it happens more with social friends. I think real friends stick by each other.
The family picnic that was scheduled for tomorrow has been postponed. It’s just as well because several members of the family aren’t feeling well. TB’s still recovering from shoulder surgery and the trip to his brother Chris’ is too long for him to handle right now. Then his mom has been feeling weak and sick. She had a CAT scan and an echocardiogram. She may have some blockages in her heart and is going in for another test on Tuesday. And Ted’s sister is having trouble with migraine headaches. Everyone’s in need of prayers!
1. What do you do when you're riding in a car with someone and they're playing music that you can't stand?
Put up with it. :P If it’s really horrible I would ask, “Do you mind if I switch stations?”
2. What do you do when someone is riding in the car with you and tells you they can't stand your music?
Try to compromise and find a station with music we both like
3. How important is music to you?
Without a question, extremely important!
1. If you could have your future accurately told, would you want to know and why?
No … I would not want to know ahead of time what’s going to happen. I might then live in dread or maybe carelessly
2. When you are upset do you prefer to be with people or in solitude and why?
I prefer to be alone so I can think and calm down
1. Is brainwashing possible and why?
Absolutely, it is possible. Why? There have been so many examples over the years. When a person is totally controlled by someone else there is a dependency formed – even if it’s bad control. And the person will tend to fall in line and agree with the controller. It gets a whole lot more complicated and I’d have to be a psychologist to explain it.
Some pieces of music have a magical, mystical, mysterious effect - what music takes you to another world for a brief moment, and can almost (or does!) make you believe that magic is real?
Celtic music makes me feel that way sometimes. There is a group called Enya, and their music sounds mystical and mysterious. Specific songs:
Rhiannon
Wildfire
Spirit in the Sky
Ooh I'm sorry to hear about all the health problems! I'll definately say a prayer for them. They really should have called Charley Clyde! The weather's been really cool here because of the storms, and for that I'm thankful. It just really stinks that Florida's being ripped apart for the weather to be so nice here :( Those poor people!
Posted by: Miranda at August 14, 2004 01:44 AM