Notes on Hurricane Floyd

Related: Future Floyd Headlines

By Michael J. Legeros

Having taken a vacation day (and snapped four rolls of film) to
savor the after-effects of Hurricane Floyd, here's some of what
I saw/heard/noted on the morning-after...

  o spending the Night Nefore cleaning, playing online, pack-
    ing comic books for sale, and endlessly rearranging die-
    -cast toy fire trucks results in a bored girlfriend.

  o Best Way to Un-Bore a Girlfriend: play a game of Scrab-
    ble.

  o Second Best Way to Un-Bore a Girlfriend: go driving
    around at night in near-Tropical Storm-force winds!

  o she slept the whole night; I woke once, at 4:00, to click
    on the television.

  o fallen trees and downed power lines were the order of the
    morning.

  o of course, most of these were spotted and/or heard about
    because we were listening to the fire department dispatch
    frequencies.

  o Most Unexpected Dialogue Heard on Fire Department Dispatch
    Frequencies:  "You're on the wrong channel!"  (City fire
    unit to County fire unit.)

  o we never lost power in Brentwood, in North Raleigh.

  o only one house on our two block-long street was damaged
    by a falling tree.

  o the hedge trimmings that I intentionally left in my yard
    were *not* blown away, much to my disappointment.

  o a flooded pond washing over a dam at Laurel Hills Drive
    resulted in both a response from the fire department and
    a survey by a City engineer.  (Everything was 10-4.)

  o wading through flooded parking lots in fun!  I spent an
    hour at the office complex opposite Crabtree Valley Mall,
    walking around the Sheraton Hotel and the Cotton Incorpor-
    ated building.

  o Most Memorable Admonition From a Law-Enforcement Officer:
    Crabtree security guard shouting at me as I waded onto
    Glenwood Avenue:  "You're not supposed to be in the water!"

  o Most Memorable Retort to an Admonition From a Law-Enforce-
    ment Officer:  "This is city property!  I'll get off when
    I want to!"

  o flooding was observed on Wake Forest Road just south of
    Six Forks, as expected.

  o Atlantic Avenue, at Crabtree Creek, was still closed at
    6 p.m.

  o Most Unexpected Emergency Dispatch Call Heard on Scanner:
    "Attempted suicide [in North Raleigh], by hanging."

  o Most Interesting Storm-Related Injuries As Witnessed By
    Yours Truly:  a two-SUV accident at Green and New Hope
    Church roads.  The wind had turned one of the signal
    lights to the side, resulting in what could be mistaken
    for green in both directions.

  o by sundown, nearly everything in Raleigh was open, includ-
    ing Staple's where I bought a newer, faster modem.

  o and where I also a *cable* for said modem, thought not
    noticing that I needed same until *after* arriving home.

  o Windows 95 plug 'n' play really *does* work!

  o WTVD-TV had fabulous footage from their news helicopter
    of Johnston County rescue workers trying to locate a sub-
    merged truck (and its likely drowned driver) in Swift
    Creek.

  o Second Best Footage I Watched on Television:  Morehead
    City fire truck rescuing stranded motorists from roof of
    submerged vehicle.  (Actually, the apparatus appeared to
    be from the *Wildwood* Fire Department...)

  o that night I was unable to fall asleep, due to insomnia
    due to a three-hour, stress/Italian buffet/Dairy Queen
    dip cone-induced nap.

  o and, last but not least, was the discovery of a freshly
    picked bird carcass at the stoop of my side door.  Of
    course, this was more likely the result of Hellcat Felix
    than Hurricane Floyd...


Copyright 1999 by Michael J. Legeros