Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Is that song in your head now? Sorry, but I hate having this kind of thing happen to me without some company. So, I guess that's sorry, not sorry? What does that mean anyway? Isn't it better to just not say, 'Sorry' at all?

Ok, enough tangent speak. I want to talk about the evacuation order that those of us living in the coastal counties of SC received from that governor of ours. Not that it was a bad idea. We do have an awful amount of transplants living here and they have no idea about such things as hurricanes. Those of us who have been here for decades and experienced the likes of hurricane Hugo look at these storms from a different point of view.

What the 'been there, done that' folks say:

• the path of a hurricane will change numerous times before finally doing what it's going to do. So, evacuating on Tuesday evening, Wednesday, or Thursday does not seem necessary for most of us. Point in case, when we awoke on Wednesday morning, hurricane Matthew had shifted to the east which is just what we wanted it to do.
• we can handle winds up to a cat 3 storm. I know this because I know plenty of folks who stayed during Hugo. We did not. We left because I had 3 little kiddos. And having little kids changes a lot of things. We went to my grandmother's house in the upstate and still had 70 mph winds AND got a tree on the house. Our house, which is only 3.1 miles from the beach, was fine. Go figure. A little later Wednesday morning, Matthew was predicted to be a cat 2 and staying further off the coast. See? They change a lot.
• if we were going to get a cat 4, direct hit, it's a good idea to go inland. No question.
• if you live on a barrier island, LEAVE. That storm surge is brutal.
• if you're going to evacuate, try not to leave when everyone else and his brother is going. Leave before or after. But remember, there is a window for leaving. At some point, it will become too late to change your mind.
• this is not the Charleston of the Hugo year. We have had a tremendous influx of people and most of us believe that theft and looting could very well be an issue this time around.
• if you don't get a direct hit, you can get some fabulous pictures of a most interesting sky. If you do get a direct hit and you're out there with your camera, you're an idiot. Or a reporter.
• regardless of how strong or what part you get, there will be morons in the ocean, surfing. You can get pictures of them too.
• you must KNOW the back roads. This is the way we travel whether there's a hurricane coming or not. But, during an evacuation, these are the less crowded paths.
• changes can drive you nuts as you flip flop between 'we're good' and 'we're out'. 
• if you do evacuate, buy the water and bread when you reach your destination so that those of us who stay will have some. We did this during Hugo and the shelves were stocked in the upstate.
• don't get too caught up in the excitement of the weather dudes and dudettes. They're just excited because they get to report something other than, 'it's hot.'
•  if you are nervous, just go. There's no reason to stay and be stressed out. For me, leaving is more stressful. Unless it's a cat 4 and we're taking a direct hit. Then the storm becomes more stressful to me. :)
• if we're really, really lucky, perhaps the influx of transplants will become a permanent outflux. Haha! Seriously, though. 

And, seriously, DO NOT POST YOUR EVAC PLANS ON SOCIAL MEDIA. It amazes me that I feel the need to post this at all. If you're leaving during a hurricane, don't post it for all to see. Private message, text, call, whatever, but DO NOT POST YOUR EVAC PLANS ON SOCIAL MEDIA. I can't tell y'all the number of people (teachers and parents from the school where I PREACHED AND PREACHED about online safety) who posted when they left and where they were going. Some of them even posted pictures of their packed cars. When you do this, it's not just the hurricane damage you have to worry about. Post vacation pix, evacuation plans, etc. WHEN YOU RETURN.

Shouldn't that be common sense at this point?

We won't be leaving. I'm just not feeling it. We're prepared- food, water, generator, cars full of gas, board games... I also have a Halloween craft project that I have stopped working on so that the family can work on it while we're sitting around the house. Smart thinking, eh?

Meanwhile---

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