Oh, that'll help

[mme_hardy]

The only front-page story in the SF Chronicle about what is projected to be one of the worst Pacific tropical storms ever is headlined "Bay Area travelers bracing for monster hurricane in Mexico". Here's an inspiring quotation from the body of the article:

Salvador Tovar, a 42-year-old Castro neighborhood resident, was one of the hundreds holed up Friday across town in an elementary school doubling as a shelter for vacationers at the resort he was staying at. He’d come for a wedding, but thoughts of that are long gone now.

The erstwhile vacationers have got food, water, and generators stored up, and are fearing the worst.

“It’s like we’re back into elementary school - in the desks waiting for instructions, they’ve been really good communicating,” he said about the shelter organizers.

Tovar got to the school at 10 a.m. and described an anxious crowd waiting for the hurricane.

At one point he and his friends, who are members of Cheer San Francisco, a non-profit philanthropic cheerleading group, decided to liven up the somber crowd by doing stunts outside on a basketball court.

“We decided to try to change the spirit here, getting people to clap and get happy, to stop thinking about the storm for a little while and give them a sense of team spirit and the ability to smile for a bit and not worry,” he said. It worked — a bit.

By late afternoon, hours before predicted impact, Tovar said the crowd of about 30 in his classroom — groups were huddling in several rooms — was anxious again.

If there's one thing that will ease my mind about high winds, storm surges, and landslides, it's being invited to clap along with a cheer display.

Comments

[movingfinger]

That's so Castro.

[legionseagle]

To be fair, there isn't a lot you can sensibly do while waiting for a hurricane. On the only time I ever found myself in a similar position (it wasn't really a hurricane by the time it got to us because we were in the Canaries at too high a latitude, but it had started off as one in the Caribbean) once we'd put every anchor the boat possessed, all the chain and as much weight as possible down, I recall making pancakes, out of a package mix (Betty Crocker? Aunt Jemima?) on the basis we'd probably appreciate having the calories, and humming the Chris de Burgh song.

[mme_hardy]

True, but I am fairly confident that the words "team spirit" never escaped your lips.

[movingfinger]

The traditional activities I know of are moderate amounts of alcohol and cards or board games, following the weather reports obsessively on TV until the power goes out, and filling the bathtub with potable water, then trying to keep the dog out of it.

[mme_hardy]

The current advice in California is to rely on your water heater for potable water; it's sealed and regularly refreshed. (The issue of a water softener is much rarer here than in the limestone landscape of Indiana, where I grew up.)

[movingfinger]

Yes, but Back In The Day, we filled the bathtub... I think it was even official advice, fill the bathtub.

Now that I think of it, I don't really know why. As far as I can recall, we always had water, even if the power went off, because we weren't on a well. No heat and no hot water, though.

I omitted Fighting With Siblings, but I guess that's a given.

[mme_hardy]

It was a Thing like opening one window in the house when there was a tornado warning. In fact, I've never owned a bathtub plug, built-in or otherwise, that would hold water for 24 hours.

[kore]

Yeah, "fill the bathtub" was standard advice when I was growing up. And keep a pail of water handy to be able to flush the toilet.

[neadods]

I've always pointed to my water heater when people talk about having emergency water, but it was pointed out to me that any form of water that is regularly refreshed - ie, connected to the municipal system - will be compromised if the main pipes are broken or contaminated.

[rinue]

Agreed. This is my experience of every storm.

[recessional]

by doing stunts

For me those particular words actually change it a lot? It's actually quite a lot of fun to watch someone do ridiculous backflips and other stunts, and I think the "cheer" context here can be pretty misleading, because it paints pictures of teen-movie glossy smiles and pep, when I sort of suspect it's more "hey guys come outside and watch us do backflips and big three person throws and handstands".

Which frankly I'd be fine with as a diversion waiting for a horrible hurrican.

[mme_hardy]

Fair enough. He's one of these people.

http://kalw.org/post/three-cheers-san-francisco-s-official-cheerleaders#stream/0

On the other hand, anybody who wants me to "clap and get happy" is not my friend, and should be pooped on by a seagull.

[kore]

Ugh, this reminds me of stories my mother told me about being forced to sing "You Are My Sunshine" during WWII air raid drills. Sometimes people should just get to be anxious.

[sheldrake.livejournal.com]

We decided to try to change the spirit here, getting people to clap and get happy

My heart goes out to all the people who were forced to experience that.