I\u2019ve seen the videos of hurricanes, with the wind and the rain. This weekend one came to me: hurricane Hilary. Around here on the west coast, I\u2019m used to earthquakes and traffic jams. But a HURRICANE? That\u2019s for other people, other places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I had to prepare for it. We took stock of the ground around us. I picked up the loose things that the wind might pick up. The things that would be hurt by the rain I took inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In my award-winning essay Alaskan Road Rules, I talk about my upbringing and how the streets I come from are gravel and often covered it snow. That\u2019s my context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Snow and cold sometimes meant it was hard to leave the house. But it was hard to drive in snow at any time, so I just had to be ready.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the things about California civilization that took a LOOOOOONG time to get used to was the abundance of food and supplies at every turn. There are people ready to sell me food and all kinds of things<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Around here people fell they can drive out in perfect confidence regarding where they are going to get their food. It\u2019s more a matter of what kind of food they are in the mood for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Planning and thinking ahead get skipped over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This Saturday, I watched videos of cars in fast food drive throughs with rain water flowing half as high as the tires. This is what people left home for. Cheap fast food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other videos showed water rushing like a river through the streets. In the desert they call it a flash flood. Disaster appears in a deadly flash. One moment, things are as they\u2019ve always been, and suddenly everything is in danger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have to be ready to respond quickly when the danger first appears. Civilization is a very thin veneer on the wildness of nature. Complacency has a cost.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u2019ve seen the videos of hurricanes, with the wind and the rain. This weekend one came to me: hurricane Hilary. Around here on the west coast, I\u2019m used to earthquakes and traffic jams. But a HURRICANE? That\u2019s for other people, … Continue reading