Hurricane Irene: North Carolina Is Ready

I would like to think that if there is ever hurricane named Mary, she will be a Category Five storm whose eye mows through the core of Raleigh, takes out the legislative building, and then curves around to wreak havoc on the District of Columbia . . . and later on, Martha's Vineyard.

Pause for wistful smile.

As it stands now, on Saturday afternoon, a massive Category 2-3 storm bearing the name of my Mother will making landfall somewhere on the coast of Eastern North Carolina. 

Since the big screw in Asheboro, and despite all the bumps/boulders in the road, I've always had the sense that I was where I was supposed to be in any given moment in time - and that there were things to accomplish - even if that thing was only healing a broken heart.  Eastern N.C. is like a second home - in my blood and in my bones.  Mama hails from the area around Bath.  Growing up, we spent a lot of summers and Christmases at Grandma's house near Belhaven (I think her offical zip code was Pinetown).  As a "pirate doctor" for the last several years (independently-contracted to ECU/UHS - all disclaimers for anything said on this blog apply), I fly Blackbeard's battle flag on my CB radio antenna.  This weekend, I'm where I'm supposed to be.

In the six years, I've been blogging.  I've never specifically named the towns/hospitals where I've worked on Housecalls while I was actively working there, but that changes today.  I will be on-call Saturday, standing with my friends and colleagues in the small, far-northeastern N.C. town of Ahoskie in Hertford County . . . a town and a people that have treated me with far greater kindness, respect and care than my "hometown" of Asheboro (or the noble progressive bloggers of Greensboro) ever did.  I'm very grateful for the opportunities provided over the last several years by Roanoke-Chowan Hospital and ECU/Pitt County Memorial.  They've been very good to me.

I would not want to be anywhere else right now but here - with these people.  We are a family.  We're been told to expect 10-15 inches of rain, flooding and winds over 100 mph.  I've heard Irene is projected to hit at high tide (an astronomical high tide at that) . . . on the other hand, we're living under near-drought conditions, so all of the creeks/etc. are way down.  On the bright side, the storm is expected to "barrel through" as opposed to linger and churn, so hopefully, flooding will not be nearly as bad as that gifted upon the region by Hurricane Floyd or Hurricane Isabel.

People here still talk in hushed tones about Floyd.  And Hazel remains the storm-that-shall-not-be-named.

Since hitting the road to make my living, 13 years ago, I've "ridden-out" my share of storms - including a few hurricanes.  I don't have to "stock-up" on much, because I carry emergency supplies/equipment in the trunk of my car at all times.  I could live in the Camry for a few days if I had to - provided it does not float away.

Yesterday, while she was checking me out at the grocery store, the clerk laughed as she surveyed my prepatory haul and said, "That's it.  I'm going home with you."  I looked at her quizically, and she added, "You are a woman who clearly KNOWS how to weather a storm."

You ain't kidding, baby;)

A few days ago, I watched a documentary on Katrina.  It was surreal to watch the old news footage (from before and after the storm) . . . footage that once again underscores just how inadequately the corruptly-run state of Louisiana had prepared for a disaster that they had known (for years and years) was coming.

To this day I STILL cannot get over the parked school buses - left to flood instead of packed with people and put on the Interstate to anywhere else but New Orleans.

In stark contrast, our Governor (who in most instances, I have absolutely no use for) is calmly and methodically doing her job (doing all she can do to brace the state for impact), and our people (of all colors and incomes  and walks of life) are quietly digesting the warnings and going about the business of taking care of themselves (as they batten-down and/or evacuate) . . . because they know that the Federal government will be days-late and dollars-short to the party. 

And they knew it long before Katrina hit.

Whatever happens, they won't blame it all on Obama (whose plans for economic recovery have to wait to be revealed to the country until his umpteenth vacation is over) the way it was all blamed on Bush back when the levees failed . . . as Daddy warned me they would fail.

There is a great scene at the end of "Kill Bill 2" . . . after Beatrix Kiddo/Black Mamba slams Bill (played by the much-missed David Carradine) with the "Five-Point-Exploding-Heart" martial-arts move that will send him to Hell after he stands and takes five steps.

Before rising out of his chair, Bill straightens his coat, looks at the angry scorned woman he could neither kill nor dodge, and asks, "How do I look?".

She smiles and takes his hand, and says, "Ready".

North Carolina is ready.

And I'm over/out for the weekend.