Some Impressions On Hurricane Ike

First off, during the storm, the media drove me to distraction using the phrase "hunkered down". A quick Google search finds this...

hun·ker (hngkr)
intr.v. hun·kered, hun·ker·ing, hun·kers
1. To squat close to the ground; crouch. Usually used with down: hunkered down to avoid the icy wind.
2. To take shelter, settle in, or hide out. Usually used with down: hunkered down in the cabin during the blizzard.
3. To hold stubbornly to a position. Usually used with down: "As the White House hunkered down, G.O.P. congressional unity started crumbling" Time.
n. hunkers
The haunches.
[Perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse hokra, to crouch.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Or the more modern definition, born during Hurricane Ike 2008: to annoy the living shit out of people by repeating the same term ad nauseam until it lost all meaning and became an overnight cliche. I was just getting used to "shelter in place" and that was what most of us were doing. We didn't panic, we didn't evacuate, we didn't ask the government for help either before, during or after the storm. Which is not to say that those that did ask for help after the storm didn't need the help. I just found out that one of my kids stood in the ice, food and water lines and I'm glad she was able to endure that. They are still enduring since their power is still out one week later....which leads me to.....

My next impression is of the newest post Ike greeting: used to one would say "hi, how's it goin'" or "how ya doin'" when you'd meet and greet.....NOW it's "you got power?"! And if you do they look at you as if to say "bastard!" and some even say it outright! But, so far anyway, no one I know has gotten violent when faced with these hardships. I think we should all pat ourselves and each other on the back for our abilities to survive and go on as best we can.

If we didn't die, we can rebuild, repair, restock, regenerate, renew and rejoice! My neighborhood's look has changed overnight....huge trees are down and gone forever, but no person has lost their life. Many are still without electricity, but they are alive and kicking and surviving. We all found ways to recharge our cell phones! Some found ways to keep computers, televisions, DVD players and radio going in order to simulate some sense of normalcy and order in the dark.

Some of us have been far luckier than others and that brings about the survivor's guilt that often accompanies such a traumatic, dramatic event. I'm not one to grab a Bible and thump on it, but the spiritual side of my soul is giving God my thanks that all I know and all I love is safe and secure. Over and over I think: it could of been so much worse.