Tropical Storm Fay: Orlando Prepares

It's that exciting and scary time of the year for us Floridians. It's hurricane season! And look . . . some creature of Mother Nature, named "Fay," wants to start a party! Oh boy. Here comes the chaos! Whether the eye of the storm is directly above you or is over 100 miles away from you, you will still be directly affected by it. I can speak for that, myself, as I live in Orlando, Florida and see the craziness firsthand. Even though it seems that we are safe from extensive storm conditions, I can still feel the feeling of panic. In particular, I noticed this feeling at the supermarket.

Today, I went to a Publix supermarket to pick up some frozen dinners, bread and peanut butter. Yes, I am a bachelor. How did you guess? Anyways, as I was walking to the entrance, I immediately noticed the effect of Fay. I was about to grab a shopping cart from the cart area, but shockingly, all the carts were gone! Not one single cart was in sight. I, along with about 8 other people, then looked around for any stray carts in the crowded parking lot. I eventually spotted one and started walking toward it; however, an older lady apparently wanted it more than I did, thus, she sent her little son running after it. I wanted that cart, too, but no way was I going to race that little kid for it. What a sight, huh? People were looking around for carts like their lives were dependant on them! It almost had an "end of the world" feeling, as we all looked like starving and desperate souls that had just run out of valuable resources. Minutes later, one of the employees came around the corner with about 10 empty carts. The poor man was not even able to make it inside the building. Me and the rest of the cart-less maniacs basically surrounded this guy and retrieved all of his carts in a matter of seconds. It was quite creepy. I felt like I had just mugged a man!

I then proceeded to shop for my stereotypical bachelor foods while playing bumper cars with the other shoppers, as there seemed to be people blocking every single aisle! Approximately 15 minutes later, I was ready to cash out. After waiting in a long line for nearly 10 minutes, I cashed out and quickly made my way out of this madhouse. As I exited the store, I peeked over at the cart section, which was still completely empty. As I walked to my truck, I felt a shadow behind me. It seemed to go every direction that I went. Upon arriving to my truck, I noticed that the shadow was still there. The shadow ended up being a middle-aged man who was stalking me for my cart. He creeped me out by stalking me, so I wanted to annoy him by taking my sweet time to unload my cart. This man had no patience. He eagerly offered to help me empty my cart. After doing so, he immediately grabbed my cart and stormed off toward the store. It was pure madness! Never have I seen so many people go crazy for shopping carts!

As I was driving home from this madness, I turned on the radio. Did I hear music, you ask? Of course not. Instead, I heard the D.J. as he announced countless numbers of schools that were canceling classes for Tuesday and/or Wednesday. Wow, I bet the kids are excited! Most normal kids have "snow days," but not the Florida kids! Florida kids have "Hurricane Days!"

Does Fay have a direct impact on Orlando? Well, judging from the school closings and my experience at Publix today, I would say the answer to that question is YES!