It was a beautiful morning here on the east coast of South Florida, especially since the hurricane shifted west, and we are no longer even in “the cone of uncertainty.” We’re still supposed to have 50-75 mph winds tonight, but no “hurricane of the century.”
The state and local governments here are in full Gestapo mode, going on television to constantly bark out orders: Leave now! Don’t buy too much gas! Be nice to your neighbors! Curfew!! Get off the streets! Don’t pick up any fallen power lines! Stay away from the snakes and alligators! No liquor sales! Shut down your business — now!
Thinking that I was living in America and not Nazi Germany, I set out for a walk on the beach around 9 AM since I expected to be cooped up for a day or two. I couldn’t get to the beach, however, since the police had blocked the bridge over the intracoastal waterway, which is about a quarter mile from the beach. You could get to the beach by showing the constables the proper papers proving that you lived in a house at the beach, but no one else could.
So I walked elsewhere, and at the end of my walk I noticed that the Sunnoco station in my neighborhood was still open (all other stores are closed and hurricane shuttered). So I went inside to buy a bottle of water and, before I could pay, a local cop barged in and yells at the owner over the heads of the customers in line: “Shut down now! Curfew!” This was before noon and there is a curfew, but not until 3 PM. So all the customers who were making their last minute beer-and-chips/hurricane-party purchases had to leave and the proprietor had to shut everything down and lock the doors while the cop remained there to supervise.
Most people in my town are at home or have left, so walking around, it seems that there is a police car prowling every block. Talk about easy overtime pay.
2:04 pm on September 9, 2017
