Griffin Speaks

HURRICANE DENNIS

Before I moved to Alabama I frequently said that there are two ways that I am certain that I will never die. I will never die because of a shark attack and I will never die because of a hurricane. Today I am still certain that you will never read in the newspaper that a shark killed Greg Griffin. I am not so certain about the hurricane. Hurricane Dennis is the most powerful hurricane to form in the Atlantic this early in the season since Meteorologists began keeping records in 1851. It is a dangerous category four hurricane and is headed for the United States Gulf Coast.  It has killed thirty-two people in the Caribbean. It is expected to hit the Gulf of Mexico in Alabama late this afternoon,  Sunday, July 10, 2005 with diabolical force.   

It was just ten months ago when Hurricane Ivan Hit us.  We still have leaves in our yard as a result of Ivan.  Some Gulf residents are still patching up roofs on their homes or living in trailers provided by the government because of damaged caused by Ivan. It seems too soon to have another hurricane to hit us.  

Hurricane Ivan taught me a huge lesson about hurricane preparedness.  

We were without electricity for well over three days. the only pleasant thing that happened during the outage was a personal visit from Mayor Bobby Bright. He told us that help was on the way.   We were impressed that he was visiting the "Hood". Yes, Haardt Estates is in the hood, the "prestigious hood?"  I have purchased a high powered generator and wired my house to accommodate it. I just plug it into the outlet and it runs my whole house.  If someone attempts to steal it, my security guard will surely get him or her.

Yesterday I was running around purchasing batteries, food and gas. I overheard an old lady say she wasn’t worried about “no hurricane.” She said, “the Lord will take care of me!”  I thought to myself, She has a point, but I am going to help the Lord out with this one. I plan to be prepared. I have an ongoing bet with a close friend that the hurricane will hit Montgomery directly. He believes that it will bypass us. He thinks that all of this is just a big hype. We will see! This is the same close friend that recommended that I move out of the hood because it’s too dangerous. He moved out east into one of the wealthiest neighborhoods and was hit directly by a tornado.  

I am praying that everyone will survive this hurricane. So until next week stay safe and keep the faith.

Greg Griffin is a free lance writer. You can read his previous articles by visiting his web page at www.greggriffin.com