Am I scared?

[Norm]

You bet I am. 140MPH sustained winds about 250 miles E-SE of us and moving W-NW. Oh well what can you do? I've got the hurricane shutters up, plenty of water and BEER, batteries, two full tanks of propane for the bar-b-que, 8,500Watt generator, and between the two vehicles and Gerry cans 50 gallons of gasolene.Hurricane Francis promises to be a big one. Since my home was built two years ago I guess I'll find out how effective the 2002 Florida Building Code is. On the lighter side, the hurricane block parties are out of sight. It takes a eminent disaster to discover that most of the neighbors you casually wave to as they pass your house either on their way to or from work are actually raving alcololic party animals.

NORM SAGE

[Chad Fabry]

Best of luck Norm. We're thinking of you hunkered down with your twelve pack.

[Brian G]

Good luck Norm. You said you've got 50 gallons of gas...is that more or less than the beer total?

Brian G.

[kurt]

Having survived two tornadoes in my life (one blew up my house), I'd be scared shitless. Dig in friend; I'm keeping the fingers crossed.

[Terence McCann]

Best of luck down there Norm!

I see you have the most important item though, BEER! []

[Norm]

During the preparation process I thought about a 12 pack. Then two 12 packs. I settled on a 1/2 keg for the poolside tap. Screw the refrig. as long as the tap is cold I'm fine. We are getting the feeder bands now. Wind squals and brief heavy rain. Weird noises as the wind passes through the hurricane shutters. Best part, as I eluded to before, the neighbors who I perceived as conservative tie and suit types are really fun people. Kind of takes the edge off of reality.

NORM SAGE

[hausdok]

You've got some stones Norm.

Personally, I'd pack up the truck and drive out of the zone until it's over. You can't do anything to stop what's coming, it's going to do whatever it'll do and staying there in placing your ass at risk.

Course, everyone likes to have a good reason to PATAY!

Get down in that foxhole trooper, grab your ankles real tight and shove your head up your ass real far, so that your eardrums won't pop! We'll be looking forward to hearing from you when it's over.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Norm]

I ain't leaving that 1/2 keg for someone else to enjoy. Seems the hurricane has stalled (almost to a dead stop) somewhere over the Bahamas. The slower it progresses the more rain it produces. Soil turns to mud and trees unroot and fall. Good news, the sustained wind speed has diminished. Thanks for the good wishes. Now it seams there is another storm forming off the coast of Africa. Boy am I glad my homeowners insurance isn't with that guy who was offering bogus HI liability and E&O Ins.

NORM SAGE

[Jim Morrison]

Hurricanes are devastating forces and Francis is supposed to be a whopper. Still, my money is on Norm.

Hang tight friend, and drop us a post when its over.

[hausdok]

Heh, heh,

My Dad informed me last winter, right after returning to New York after visiting my step-brother in Florida, that he's having a house built in Florida and will be moving down there sometime next summer. I thought he was out of his mind, since he just finished building a brand new home the winter before, but he's bound and determined to do it. Now I get to call him after every one of these and bust his chops a little.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Paul MacLean]

My wife's sister and her husband have a home on Old Ocean Blvd in Ocean Ridge, FL. It's across the street from the beach and I'm sure Norm knows where it is. Their house was messed up by a storm about five years ago and they finally got everything back to normal about two years ago. Now it looks like its "deja vu all over again" to quote Yogi. They are in Chicago for the summer, but we're thinking of them and Norm and everyone else down there.

A friend who lives in Boston, now spends five or six months a year in south Florida and really loves it. When asked if they were going to buy a place there instead of renting every year, this real estate savvy friend replied, "No....., I don't think so." With Francis looming, I think I see why!

[DonTx]

Norm, keep you head down and if you see Geraldo flying around, don't try and catch him.

Just heard the storm has stalled out...I hope that 1/2 keg will last you through the storm!

Here's hoping you and the family are fairing well.

Donald

[Norm]

Alive and well and don't ever want to do it again. I'm referring to the hurricane not the beer. The anticipation was agonizing. Damn thing nearly stalled in its track producing extensive rainfall and unending gusts of wind. The noise the wind makes as it passes over the metal shutters is unnerving and scares the hell out of not only children but adults as well. Three days without power. The 8,500 watt generator powered two refrigerator/freezers, the beer tapper(most important), numerous lights and fans, television, my next door neighbors refrig, lites, and even a hot plate. Burns about 2/3 gal./hour. Not bad since we turned it off during the sleeping hours. I think I'll buy a window A/C unit so we'll have one comfortable room for sleeping when the next one hits. Eight days later we still have no phones. What's strange is that my DSL line works. As to damage we only lost a couple of trees and one screen panel in the pool enclosure. Could have been much worse given the fact that we were about 50 miles south of landfall of the eye. The worst wind and rain are north and east of the eye. My wife was in charge of survival procurement and did a great job. We had plenty of the essentials. I, on the other hand, underestimated the potential beer consumption. 1/2 keg just don't get it. Especially when there is little else to do. The greatest dangers of the aftermath are downed power lines submerged on flooded streets and swails and idiot drivers who don't have enough sense to treat intersections with inoperative traffic signals as four way stop streets. More people were injured and/or killed in the state from auto accidents after the storm than from the storm itself. As to new construction, there was extensive damage to buildings in the early stages of construction. Block walls without tie-beams fell like sails, roof trusses which hadn't been sheathed collapsed. Roof-top A/C units have become a part of the landscape, boats ended up on roads, and mobile homes forget it.

Thanks for all of your good wishes and concerns. It's good to be almost back to normal. It appears H. Ivan will miss us here in SE Florida.

PS. My partner's son is a medical school student in Grenada. The British were prompt to send their Navy in to extricate the Canadian students due to the dangerous conditions following the hurricane. The American students had to fend for themselves. Some were able to pay pirates high prices to fly them to Trinidad in order to get a flight back to the States while others were forced to stay on the island. No power, no phones, little water and food, 90 percent of the structures damaged, the prison blown open allowing 300 or so less than desirables to roam and loot. Fortunately John was reunited with his family last night at the Miami International Airport and received great media coverage. The US government sure let those kids down.

NORM SAGE

[Scottpat]

Norm glad to see you made it through the storm in fair condition. I guess we are all waiting to see what Ivan is going to do. It looks like it is now heading toward the West more.

[hausdok]

Hi Norm,

Welcome back! Glad to see you weathered that sucker okay. Check this out. If this idea picks up steam, could this be the precursor to a statewide Florida stiffening of HI training standards and a requirement to be able to address structural issues?

Editorial

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Jim Morrison]

Stormin' Norman,

It's a relief to know you weathered Frances, but then, we always figured you would. When planning for the next emergency, pack 1/2 the clothes you think you'll need, and twice the cash and beer.

You can never have too many honey mustard pretzels either,

[Norm]

Oh Shi_. Here we go again. Hurricane Jeanne is dead on course for S. Florida. Shutters are up, two half kegs in the cooler, 7 gallons of gas in the generator and two 5 gallon Gerri cans full, both vehicles full +/- 40 gallons, and awaiting the inevitable. This is getting old. We just got the debris from Francis cleared up. I'll let you all know what happens.

NORM SAGE

[kurt]

I'm one of the internet weather geeks. I've been tracking all the storms, & yes, South Florida is gonna get it again. Geeeeez, makes dealing w/ the Big Dirty seem pretty easy.

Good luck Norm.

[Norm]

Kurt,

Driving on A1A (the road which runs N/S along the ocean) today I couldn't help but notice the wind surfers, board surfers, and body surfers out enjoying the waves. Best part were the topless ladies, that's an oxymoron their tops were abundant, on their surf boards. I would have posted photos but for the FCC rules and the fact that my wife, Leslie, was with me and wouldn't let me take the photos. What did Leslie mean when she said "eat your heart out can we go home now"?

NORM SAGE

[Scottpat]

Hey Norm,

Look at it from this point; If y'all keep on getting hit by just about every storm, eventually all of the debris will be gone.

Best of luck this time a round,

[kurt]

Originally posted by Norm

Kurt,

Driving on A1A (the road which runs N/S along the ocean) today I couldn't help but notice the wind surfers, board surfers, and body surfers out enjoying the waves. Best part were the topless ladies, that's an oxymoron their tops were abundant, on their surf boards. I would have posted photos but for the FCC rules and the fact that my wife, Leslie, was with me and wouldn't let me take the photos. What did Leslie mean when she said "eat your heart out can we go home now"?

NORM SAGE

Yeah, all the surf & windsurf internet boards are yakking about how good the waves & sailing are right now.

Drop off Leslie, go back w/ the telephoto, & to hell w/ the FCC; this is important documentation of storm conditions (and other things).

[Norm]

30 to 36 hours from landfall. We're all set to ride this thing out and survive. Worst part is the waiting. It's kind of like watching paint dry or grass grow. Actually, with all the preparations in place, I'm looking forward to the neighborhood parties. The headline in today's newspaper says it all.

Download Attachment: Hurricane Jeanne.jpg

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Norm Sage

[Danny Pritchard]

Norm,

I'm just north of you.We won't get the same impact as you but I have prepared with gas to last my generator for a week,plenty of food and enough beer to last a week.I may need to get my wife some more wine.Last storm we went without power for a week.The first two days were fine.After that my wifes attitude went to S---.I think intravenous wine feedings would have helped.

[Norm]

WOW! it came and it went. Hurricane Jeanne was much stronger than Frances but it went through in a fraction of the time. Only lost power for nine hours. Used more gas in the generator than beer consumed. That sucks. Very little damage in extreme S. Florida. I guess H. Frances took care of most of that. The Treasure Coast, on the other hand, sustained substantial damage. Some folks could be without electricity for three or more weeks. Jeanne made landfall in almost the same place as Frances. My cheater cord from the generator worked like a charm even though it clearly violates all applicable codes. Back to business as usual.

NORM SAGE

[hausdok]

Hi All,

When I first found this I was worried it was our intepid friend. I was relieved to read down the page and find it wasn't him. However, it does sort of answer that question guys have occasionally asked whether it is really necessary to elevate an electric water heater off the floor of a garage or not. Guess it is.

Water heater ignites gas vapors

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike