Baa...

We're gearing up for hurricane season and the Internet is starting to scare me. Whereas yes, it is fortunate that we are able to see predictions about the nasty hurricane that is threatening to barrel through us, I'm thinking it might be better for me to not know quite as many details. I'm fairly certain I'm annoying my relatives with my questions to them about whether or not they are planning on evacuating, and I'm honestly worried that my flood-prone town is not going to be a happy camper when this thing hits. For perhaps the first time in my life, I am not looking forward to the weekend.

Given that my normal weekend shopping trips will be prevented by rain, flooding, and major winds, I figured I would hit the stores tonight and pick up the few things we need to last us through until next week. Naturally, the ingredients to make oatmeal cookies and wacky cake were high on that list. I also figured I would go to a local department store and see if I could find a few inflatable beds in case we had to bring the kidlets into the safety of the basement in the middle of the night. As soon as Pig came home from work, I headed out to see if I could find those items.

The department store was a mob scene. People were following one another like little lost sheep as they went from one aisle to the next. Foolish me thought I might pick up a couple of new flashlights for the kidlets, until I saw how decimated that aisle was. I vaguely wondered why people were buying flashlights to prepare for power outages when they were stocking their refrigerators full of food that would likely go bad should those outages actually occur. I managed to wind my way through the store and found the camping mattresses I was hoping to locate. Then I resumed my sheep-like walk to the registers, where lines were as long as they normally are during the Christmas holiday season. I was glad I left the kidlets home with Pig because they surely would have been getting frustrated by the wait.

After the department store, I went to buy groceries. I found it highly amusing to see which items were wiped out. Prepackaged romaine hearts? Gone. Water? Well, they were stocking the empty shelves, so that wasn't completely sold out. Antiseptic hand wipes were almost out, so I halfheartedly threw some in my cart thinking I could use them for the kidlets' lunches once school started. There were plenty of the non-refrigerated milk, soymilk, and rice milk packages on the shelves, but the refrigerated ones were fairly depleted.

I heard a few people discussing how they were going to buy ice cream in case the power goes out this weekend. I'm still not sure I understand their logic. Wouldn't the power going out mean the ice cream would melt? Or were they implying they wished to enjoy eating all that ice cream so it would not drip away into nothingness? Given that I was stocking up on junk food baking supplies, I can certainly see that point of view even if I don't necessarily understand it.

I followed the herd through the rest of the store and waited fairly patiently in line. All things considered, the shopping excursion went smoothly even if it took a while to be herded through the stores. I did seriously wish I had a cattle prod at certain points, but perhaps it is for the best that I did not. I will be surprised if most of the things people purchased wind up being used during the hurricane, but I am hopeful that people will have the supplies they will need to get themselves through the storm and its aftermath.

At least while I was shopping, I was away from reading all of the horribly dire predictions that the Internet is serving up for my area. Wish us luck this weekend.