wrote in message
...
On Thu, 27 Oct 2005 14:43:13 -0400, Harry Krause
wrote:


Hundreds of thousands of them.
Might as well be living in the third or fourth world.

The only real lines I saw here was a couple days before the storm when
the TV stations started a panic buy on gasoline. We had a day of 70s
style gas lines, empty tanks and bags on the pumps.The next day, when
everyone had filled every container they had, the stations returned to
normal. Gas prices actually dropped after that.
In south Lee County we were in the swath of the storm but we didn't
have many stories of shortages, long lines or anything except where
they were giving away free stuff. You might have to wait an hour for a
free bag of ice at the distribution center but Publix had it for the
regular price, even in the stores running on generators.
We really only had 2 days (one the day of the storm) when things like
ice were hard to find and they TOLD US to have 3 days worth. I never
ran out of anything ... but I actually pay attention to the warnings.

BTW a tip;
A few days before the storm you should pack your freezer and fridge
with half liter bottles of water, every cranny.
It is a good thermal mass to hold the temperature and when they thaw
out they are still drinking water.
I didn't even lose my popcicles in a 36 hour outage. The only thing I
was nervous about was the shrimp so we had a neighborhood
feast. Other neighbors brought burgers, steaks and whatever they were
worried about losing. The cooked leftovers will keep better. It also
gave us an opportunity to pitch in and help clean the place up.

The BEST part about the power or cable being out ... the neighbors get
out and chat in the street.

Thank you for setting things straight. Harry thought that I was making it
up.