Don’t Make Unnecessary Journeys

In a world full of weather, I suppose it wasn’t surprising how few people reached out to me during Southern California’s hurricane and earthquake. (For the record, people are now calling this combination of weather events a “hurriquake.” To me, the term brings to mind a particularly violent duck.) Growing up on the East Coast, I’ve lived through countless hurricanes. Hurricane, of course, is its own season—along with leaf-peeping, snow and Red Sox. There are a few central rules to hurricane season: Stay off the beach and out of the water. Avoid unnecessary journeys. Make sure you get to Market Basket when it opens or all the food will be gone. Even Market Basket can’t stock its shelves to match the fury of a hurricane-prepping crowd.

But, I kept having to remind myself during the wall-to-wall news coverage before the hurricane hit, Southern California doesn’t know the rules. Southern California doesn’t have hurricanes.

I know all these rules. If there was a Market Basket in California, I would’ve been there when the doors opened. But, I kept having to remind myself during the wall-to-wall news coverage before the hurricane hit, Southern California doesn’t know the rules. Southern California doesn’t have hurricanes. The news was providing valuable information (don’t swim!). But the constant and frequent coverage of exactly where Hurricane Hilary was ramped up my anxiety. In the end, the hurriquake was as upsetting as the wall-to-wall news coverage made it out to be. I don’t live in the mountains or the valley, so my apartment was safe from flooding and mudslides. But Southern California is not designed for weather of any kind. For some, the rain was devastating. Some saw downed trees, flooded-out roads and all manner of devastation. My husband and I planned on a weekend away to Ojai, but we cut it short. We left in the early hours of Sunday, hoping to avoid the rain. We didn’t avoid the rain—my husband did some truly heroic driving. But we did manage to miss the earthquake that struck Ojai later that day. (We were, however, able to feel it 80+ miles away in our apartment.) The whole situation made me happy that Thoughtful has weather alerts I can put on for friends and family. Rather than cozying up to a constant Doppler radar machine for the continental U.S., Thoughtful will alert me to extreme weather in the places my friends and family live. Is there a tornado in Chicago? Now, I’ll know. Snowstorm in New York? I’m sending you a text to check in. I’m not upset with family or friends who didn’t reach out. My experience of Hilary was confined to saying “wow, it’s pouring out there” and putting another DVD in the player. But I’m glad to know that I’ll be able to be there in the future when those I love are experiencing their own extreme weather.