The Hype Before the Storm

So a few days ago the media fueled frenzy was telling us to say goodbye to the South and North Carolina coasts. One of the reverends -- Swaggert maybe -- said he would pray the storm away. Meanwhile, I was just thankful we weren't in the cone of death again -- like last year, where we fled Irma to Atlanta, only to have the storm follow us up I-75 and knock out the power in Dunwoody, where we were staying.

The media loves it. People watch and read news when a disaster is coming, and hurricanes, unlike earthquakes and volcanoes, take a looooong time to get here. My friend Jeannine posted a meme on Facebook that preparing for a hurricane was like being stalked by a tortoise.

It's a major hassle. TV showed stores in the Carolinas with people scrambling to buy supplies and generators, and throngs were driving away from the coast to escape. This one was a "monster." "Worst in 100 years." A "waiting catastrophe."

Well, sure enough, this am is appears to have largely fizzled -- to a CAT 2. I've been through CAT 2s -- you lose power, but there's no need to evacuate. Wilma came through here as a CAT 2, and I watched most of it through non impact glass. No big whoop.

We went through Andrew, which was a Cat 5, and that was no laughing matter. I truly feared for the lives of the Ds in that one.  But weaker storms are glorified thunderstorms -- with some more rain and wind.

The media truly does love to scare. Even though Florence has fizzled, a report this am points out that there have never before been so many active storms at the same time. Who cares?

Life is filled with inconveniences, and bad weather is one.  I'm happy for the folks in the Carolinas -- they'll be without power for a bit, and that will be essentially it.

Maybe they DO owe that minister a debt of thanks...