June 13, 2006
HUNKER ... NEVERMIND
Got this e-mail last night from a friend I met last month in Berkeley:
From: Kristyna
Sent: Mon 6/12/2006 11:52 PM
Subject: so what's a food writer write about during hurricane season?
I'm thinking, the best in bottled water, how to make a gourmet meal out of saltines and no-electricity meals you can whip up in 5 minutes.Hope you are doing OK. Or does this stuff even phase you guys anymore. Here in Wisconsin they've made it sound as if Florida is about to fall into the ocean.
This is the kind of respect you get as a food writer. Nothing but stereotypes. I'm surprised only in that she didn't mention an apron.
About the "falling into the ocean" part, she's right. The national media have been covering (Just One-Calorie) Hurricane Alberto as if it was "Katrina II, The Revenge."
I assured Kris that we food writers have things other than hurricanes to write about and that life was going on normally.
From: Houck, Jeff B.
Sent: Tue 6/13/2006 7:12 AM
To: Kristyna
Subject: RE: so what's a food writer write about during hurricane season?
Hurricanes are to Florida what snow is to Wisconsin. You pay attention when a bad storm comes along, but that's about it.
Twenty four hours earlier, well, maybe not so much.
The drainage field in my back yard here at Casa Del Ensalada was turning into a bathtub. Quickly.
Things got so bad, I temporarily considered referring to Tampa as "Chocolate City."
Then I regained my senses.
Driving was no picnic on Monday. Many intersections were filled with water. Trees were down. And traffic lights were hit-and-miss. Motoring on the Crosstown Expressway (above) was no party. Can't wait until we get up on that elevated portion when a microburst comes barreling through. Should make a nice bonfire when a gas truck goes blowing over the side. Nice plan, FDOT.
That's not to say there wasn't damage and injuries. Limbs have been pried from their trees and then removed promptly. Someone made an incorrect decision to fly a tiny plane into the storm. That decision didn't end so well. Oh, and a barge also made a run for it like a toddler at the mall.
All that's a distant memory now.
This feeder band passed through about an hour ago. Any time you see blue sky in a hurricane situation, it usually means the storm is pretty much over. Either that, or you're on the Andrea Gail and about to lose your life.
This was more about the former, rather than the latter. All the big rain seems to be bugging out.
I think I know what would Debbie Downer say.
"Guess it's time to make way for the mosquitoes and malaria."
What will be this storm's lasting legacy?
Bad television.
I wonder if FEMA will let me file a claim for having had to watch this piece of crap last night during a particularly fierce patch of drizzle?
My inquiry as to your food subject was all done out of love you know! I knew you'd have a twist, and I'll be damned if you didn't.
But if I looked out my backdoor and saw that sheet of rain, I'd be hunkering down in the bathroom saying novenas. Of course, give me a good ol' fashioned tornado and that's a whole different story. Those you go OUTSIDE to watch!